Guwahati, 18^th August, 2024: Shri Ramnath Thakur, Hon’ble Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India visited ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Zone VI, Guwahati, on 18^th August, 2024. During his visit, he led an interactive session with Directors and senior officials from various ICAR Institutes of Assam and Meghalaya, focusing on the 'Impact of Institute Technologies at Farmers’ Fields.' The Minister stressed the importance of extending ICAR’s technological outreach to farmers in remote rural areas for advancing agricultural welfare through targeted research and development initiatives. In addition, he also echos on employment generation by the agricultural graduates for creating the agriculture a lucrative enterprise.

Dr. G. Kadirvel, Director of ICAR ATARI, Zone VI, welcomed the distinguished guests, highlighting the institute's achievements and the need for making the region atmanirbhar, i.e, self-reliant, in field crops, horticulture, livestock, fisheries and poultry. He also emphasized increasing cropping intensity with a focus on crop diversification.

Dr. A.K. Mohanty, Director, ICAR-ATARI, Zone VII, Umiam, also spoke about the importance of developing rural entrepreneurship through Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and creating market linkages along with promoting Govt. schemes through KVKs. Dr. V.K. Mishra, Director, ICAR RC for NEH Region, Umiam, emphasized the necessity of bringing a change in the farmers’ lives through doubling their incomes with better livelihood opportunities. Dr. V.K. Gupta, Director of ICAR-NRC on Pig, Rani highlighted the potential of North East in the livestock sector and export hub for the meat and meat products.

Earlier in the day, Shri Ramnath Thakur paid a visit to KVK Kamrup, where he interacted with farmers and entrepreneurs. During his visit, he observed the innovative practices in mushroom cultivation and the cultivation techniques for dragon fruit and Assam lemon. This interaction provided valuable insights into the region's agricultural advancements and the practical application of these technologies at the grassroots level.

The program was attended by Dr. Alpana Das, PS & Head of ICAR-CPCRI, Regional Station, Guwahati; Dr Kanchan Saikia, Head, ICAR-RRLRRS, Gerua., and scientists from ICAR-NRC on Pig, Rani, ICAR-ATARI, Zone VI, Guwahati etc.