HT CorrespondentÂ
Tezpur, Dec 10: A day-long programme on Participatory Varietal Field Day of Rice Variety Cafeteria was organised by CSS -ATMA Baghamora block, under the aegis of Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) at Ratuwa Pothar village of Baghamora block on Saturday.
The crop cafeteria was set up in the field of farmer Prem Teli where 10 different rice varieties of stress-tolerant type (Ranjit-sub1, Bahadur-sub1), premium quality type (Soyagmoni, Kunkuni Joha, Ronga Borah, Bora, Aijung, Kumal, Ketiki Joha, Kartika etc.) were grown.
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The programme started with a welcome address by BTM, Baghamora block Bing Kong Loi Boro. ADO, Gingia— Kamal Krishna Das addressed the participants by thoroughly highlighting the importance of farm mechanisation in the paddy fields of farmers in order to shift from traditional farming to commercial farming practice and also to procure benefits of Minimum Support Price (MSP) by realising remunerative prices of their rice crop. He also stressed upon mass procurement of paddy by registering under Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs).
SDAO cum nodal officer, APART, Biswanath extensively elaborated the importance of selecting rice varieties by the farmers themselves for their local environment which would ease researchers and breeders to develop varieties according to the choices of farmers of the region and thus explained the importance of conducting participatory varietal evaluation by establishing a rice cafeteria.
APART-IRRI Research Technician, Pankaj Baruah described the entire evaluation process of the 10 rice varieties grown in the cafeteria and he allotted voting cards to the farmer participants to vote for their desired varieties by observing the phenotypic characteristics of their interest. He also said that the entire exercise from seed sowing to harvesting are closely monitored by the officers and officials of IRRI and ATMA teams timely.
