PANAJI
With hardly sixty suggestions being received for the State Agriculture Policy, the Directorate of Agriculture has further granted one months’ time, till September 15, for the stakeholders to give their inputs.
The Directorate had on July 14 sought suggestions from stakeholders and the general public for the policy. The one-month time period lapsed on August 15.
Director Agriculture Nevil Alphonso said that further one month is granted for stakeholders to give their inputs. He said that so far only 60 suggestions have been received.
Alphonso said that the government endeavours to formulate a “Farmer Centric Policy”. He has urged all the farmers, farmers groups and societies, NGOs, agriculture experts, elected representatives, other stakeholders and the general public to provide suggestions for consideration of the Goa State Agriculture Policy.
The government in June constituted a 24-members committee under Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik to work out a comprehensive agriculture policy. The committee is directed to finalise the policy within six months.
During the recently held monsoon session of the State Assembly, the Opposition parties had cornered the government over failure to have a comprehensive agriculture policy, almost 12 years after the first draft on the policy was submitted by then chairman Narendra Sawaikar.
The newly constituted committee has to suggest means to develop agriculture as well as methods to protect and improve available resources like land, water, bio-diversity and genetic resources. Apart from focusing on market driven economy, the committee has to also suggest measures to involve the PPP model for new agriculture ventures.
