Tomar also said the central government will do everything in its capacity to ensure that the income of the farmers of the northeastern region (NER) is doubled.
The agriculture minister was addressing a virtual meeting with eight north eastern states. Union minister for development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy and junior DONER minister BL Verma, besides other officials, were present in the meeting.

"Some horticulture and medicinal crops are only produced in north-eastern states. There is a very big export opportunity for such crops.

"Agriculture and commerce ministries are working together to tap such opportunities and to solve the logistic problems faced by the northeastern states," an official statement quoted Tomar having said in the meeting make India self-reliant in edible oil. Agri-research body ICAR has suggested that nine lakh hectare land in the northeastern region is suitable for oil palm production.

Oil palm production farmers of the NER will be hugely benefited as employment will be generated and import of oil palm can be reduced, he added.

DoNER minister G Kishan Reddy suggested that a task force will be formed with representatives from the agriculture ministry, DoNER and state governments to ensure that the central schemes can be customized to address the unique nature and the nuances encountered in the region.

Stating that there is a huge scope for employment generation in agriculture and tourism industries, Reddy said there is a tremendous potential for the development of horticulture as a major contributor to the region's economic prosperity.

Be it pineapple, oranges, kiwi or spices, such as turmeric, ginger and cardamom, the NER is gaining popularity in the market that needs to be taken to a global level now, he said.

Further, there is a need to focus on strengthening the agricultural and horticultural produce value chains. For this, post-harvest management also needs to be improved by involving farmer producer organisations (FPOs), self-help groups (SHGs) and the private sector, he added.

This is a crucial step in doubling our farmers' income. There should be greater coordination with the Union agriculture ministry, line ministries and among all northeastern states, he added.

Agriculture ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura
discussed the issues and challenges they were facing in detail.

Officials from organisations such as North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi), Tribal Co-Operative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) also made presentations on the work being undertaken in the NER.

The officials from the ministry of food processing were also present and made presentations on the various schemes available for the NER.

Source: The Times Of India.