Guwahati, 13 August (HS): Assam Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika on Thursday visited the Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Vegetables at Khetri in Kamrup (Metro) to review its operations and progress in high-yield vegetable seedling production.

The Centre, established under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), uses Israeli precision farming technology for producing disease-free seedlings of crops including tomato, capsicum, cucumber and brinjal.

Hazarika said the Centre will play a vital role in farmer training and high-yield seedling development in Assam and directed officials and scientists to expedite its development. He said the initiative would help increase farmers’ income across the state.

The Minister said high-yield seedlings are currently being distributed to farmers free of cost, which will later shift to subsidised sales, with the Centre expected to become revenue-generating by 2027. MLA Tapan Kumar Das and Commissioner of Agriculture Aruna Rajoria were also present.-----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash