Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has requested an expert group to prepare a comprehensive report on the feasibility of organic and natural farming in the North-East region.

The report to be prepared by a group of experts under Bidyut Deka, Vice-Chancellor of Assam Agriculture University (AAU), may become a roadmap and approach for any future policy related discussion at the highest level of government, the Ministry of Ayush said in a statement.

Sonowal, who met the expert group of agripreneurs and academicians under Deka on Sunday to explore possibility of an agriculture-driven growth in the North-East, stressed sustainable farming in the region.

“The use of modern technology and expert techniques must be used smartly to reap the benefits of farming in our region. We must learn from our roots and adapt modern techniques so that we can achieve sustainable development. It must respect the ecological balance of our region and at the same time attain economic prosperity for our farming community. We believe that there is huge opportunity for the farming community from the region to get benefited and become an important stakeholder in expanding the Ayush-based industry in the entire North-East,” Sonowal said.

The expert group told the minister about different types of farming practised now and their economic as well as ecological viability. The ministry said that various aspects of organic and natural farming were discussed during the deliberations and it was stressed that the growth arising out of agriculture must satiate both ecological and economic needs of the region and its people.

Other members of the group include M Saikia, Associate Director in AAU, K Pathak, Head of Agronomy in AAU, Jayanta Malla Bujarbaruah, a farmer from Nalbari.

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