Assam: The state agriculture department plans to distribute 2.80 lakh coconut seedlings and 8 lakh areca-nut seedlings across Assam, with more than 40% earmarked for flood-hit Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat, as outlined in a video uploaded on Tuesday.
The four Upper Assam districts were hit by severe floods around three months ago, damaging paddy and other crops, the video stated. The department said it had decided to support farmers with rabi cultivation inputs and later provide fruit seedlings.
For Sivasagar, arrangements have been made for 50,000 coconut seedlings and 1 lakh areca-nut seedlings. The video also referred to 30,000 areca-nut seedlings being sent to Charaideo, followed by references to 60,000 or 30,000 coconut seedlings and another 60,000 areca-nut seedlings; the precise Charaideo allocation was not clear from the remarks.
Rabi seeds have been stocked in Sivasagar and are to be distributed within 10 to 15 days. The department has also sent 10,000 tomato seedlings produced through Indo-Israel technology from a Centre of Excellence and plans to send another 10,000 shortly.
While flood-related assistance is being handled by the revenue department after a survey, the agriculture department has identified the four districts as its first priority this year and in future.
The video also set an irrigation target of bringing an additional 20% of Assam’s cultivated land under irrigation in the next 4.5 years. It said irrigation currently covers 21% of the state’s cultivated land and that work towards the new target has begun.
