“What is most encouraging is that our farmers are showing increasing interest in potato, onion, wheat and mustard, which also indicates that most farmers today want to go out of the traditional self-sufficiency concept to a commercial level,” said agriculture minister Brahma. Farmers are also showing increasing interest towards cultivating various kinds of spices, which include coriander, garlic and black pepper.

In addition to rabi seeds being distributed under the Calamity Relief Fund, the state Government has also started distribution of seeds of various vegetables as well as summer paddy under the Disaster Management Programme. “We are spending Rs 6 crore for this second package, and expecting the farmers to produce vegetables and rice worth about Rs 50 crore,” the minister said.

Even as floods caused extensive damage to standing crops across 26 districts and affected over 7.56 lakh farm families, pests too put up a major challenge, threatening to wipe out standing paddy crops in districts where the impact of floods was less severe.

“It was in he middle of August itself that farmers reported that paddy crops were turning reddish. A detailed investigation showed that the paddy plants were not only turning reddish but were also affected by a number of bugs and pests,” said the minister.

A thorough investigation carried out by the state agriculture department in association with scientists of the Assam Agricultural University showed that high atmospheric temperature had suddenly increased the prevalence of certain insects like leaf folder, brown plant hopper, mealy bug and gall midge to an alarming level.

... contd.