Dr. Charan Das Mahant, Union Minister of State (Agriculture & Food Processing) yesterday, reached Aizawl for a one day visit to Mizoram. Immediately upon arrival, he held a review meeting at the State Guest House Conference Hall with Pu R. Lalzirliana, Agriculture Minister of Mizoram, Lt. Col.(Rtd) Z. S. Zuala, Parliamentary Secretary and officers of Agriculture and Allied Departments. The high level meeting which was chaired by Pu Lalram Thanga, IFS, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department reviewed among others, the progress of various central government schemes such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY), National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and National Mission of Food Processing (NMFP).

Dr. Charan Das Mahant appreciated the efforts of the various line Departments in the agriculture and allied sectors and expressed satisfaction in the way RKVY was being implemented in the state. Agriculture Minister Pu R. Lalzirliana thanked the Union Minister for his visit and requested him to take steps for the materialization of a Horticulture College which Union Minister of Agriculture Shri Sharad Pawar had promised during his visit to Mizoram in 2011.

Joint Secretaries Smt. Rani Kumudini and Smt. Anuradha Prasad who accompanied the Union Minister spoke on the need for farm mechanization and expansion of food processing industries in the state and promised to extend all possible help to the state government in these two crucial areas. Today morning, the Union Minister and officials visited College of Veterinary Sciences, Central Agricultural University, Selesih, Aizawl, Mizoram where Dr. Charan Das Mahant inaugurated the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Agricultural Technology Information Centre (ITAC) within the campus of the college.

The Union Minister also released a farmers’ guide magazine ‘Kisan Diary’ on the occasion and commented that Mizoram, with its temperate climate is highly suitable for agricultural and livestock production. Agriculture being a significant employment generator, it is important that advances are made to modernize cultivation process and technologies and in this regard, the KVK centre should be utilised to have a wide reaching effects, said the Union Minister.

Also speaking on the occasion, AH & Vety Minister Pu Ngunlianchunga expressed his confidence that the KVK centre would be used for enhancing animal husbandry practices in the state thus improving the lives of farmers in the state.

The Union Minster also made a brief visit to different sections of the College and also inspected the Regional Boar Semen Station at AH & Veterinary Farm, Selesih, the first in North East India. This facility is expected to be inaugurated shortly.