Shillong Aug 10: The Hill Farmers’ Union (HFU) on Monday demanded immediate issuing of an official notification declaring 2020 as the “Year of the Farmers†along with special packages relating to Agri and allied sectors.
The Union also demanded that “Year of the Farmers†be extended to 2021 because the year 2020 is almost over and the State government has not even issued an official notification to declare 2020 as “Year of the Farmers.â€
President of the Union, Commander Shangpliang said that the Union has again submitted a letter to the Chief Minister, Agriculture Minister and Principal Secretary (Agriculture) expressing concern over the delay of the Department of Agriculture to issue an official notification to declare 2020 as “Year of the Farmers.â€
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma and Agriculture Minister, Banteidor Lyngdoh, the Union demanded immediate issuing of an official notification to declare year 2020 as well as 2021 as the Year of the Farmers, along with special packages relating to Agri and allied sectors as well as new initiatives that would help the farmers improve their income, apart from existing schemes of both the Central and State governments.
“Though the Chief Minister had announced 2020 as the Year of the Farmers during the 2nd Farmers’ Parliament at Tura on December 9, 2019, astonishingly, no official notification has been issued by the State government till date,†he said.
Shangpliang said that the year 2020, has not been a good year for farmers in the state and farming activities have been affected due to Covid 19 pandemic.
“Farming activities have been badly affected and income of the farmers has been drastically reduced because of the present COVID-19 situation. Since 2020 has been announced as the Year of the Farmers, we the farmers have eagerly been expecting that something worthwhile would come from the State government especially in this time of crisis,†the HFU leader said while urging the state government to take immediate steps in this regard.