"White" and ''Green" revolutions in agriculture emphasized

Baglung, Feb 28: Agriculture experts participating in a recently held agriculture conference at Sarbasiddhadham of Panchakot in Baglung district called for two kinds of revolutions in the agriculture sector- "White" and "Green".     

By white, they meant milk and dairy products while green meaning fruits and vegetables.     

Interestingly, Baglung district is self-sufficient in dairy products, and against this backdrop, agriculture experts suggested capitalizing on these products to generate income for the milk farmers.     

It may be noted that over 15,599,200 million litres of milk is produced in Baglung annually. The production is not only sufficient but also surplus for the district having 168,713 people.     

According to the World Food Organization, a person needs 91 litres of milk annually. Going by this, the district needs 15,352,883 liters. It means the district is producing 1.46 litre of milk per person in surplus. So, with the sales of surplus production, the experts opined that the district could generate better income from dairy products.     

Dr Tanka Prasad Prasai, Province Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Management in Gandaki Province, called for "White" and "Green" revolution in the agriculture sector.     

Secretary Prasai viewed that animal husbandry, a profitable enterprise, should be adopted in abundance in the district for bulk production of dairy products under the "White" revolution besides prioritizing farming of fresh vegetables and fruits under the "Green" revolution.     

Prasai informed that the provincial government was considering scientific measures to boost domestic agricultural production. To protect the local species of cows, the provincial government is running a Gaushala Programme, he said.     

According to him, Manang, Mustang and Kaski districts had low production of dairy products. Hence, a special emphasis should be laid in these districts for increasing production, he opined, informing that Gorkha, Lamjung, Tanahun, Parbat, Syangja and Baglung districts produce food as per the requirement.     

He also underlined adopting plans and programmes and plans to increase the production of various species of crops, fruits and vegetables dairy products in Gandaki Province.     

He highlighted the need for expanding collective farming and increasing the scale of commercial farming. According to him, the provincial government had prioritized the production of dairy products, the establishment of orange garden, vegetable farming, apple farming, goat and chicken rearing and was trying to commercialize local species of crops and make farmers and the district self-sufficient.     

Establishing a model agriculture village, implementing agriculture tourism-focused programmes, animal insurance programme and setting up a processing industry and cold stores as well as animal insurance were on top priorities of the provincial government, the Province Secretary asserted.     

Similarly, Nepali Congress Gandaki Province President Sukraraj Sharma suggested the farmers not to leave the arable land barren. He urged them to utilize the barren land for agricultural gain.     

Likewise, religious leader Muktinath Baba Kamalnayanacharya stressed on identifying the soil and considering farming accordingly and be self-sufficient in agricultural products.     

The conference saw the participation of agriculture experts from the Agriculture Knowledge Centres and Veterinary Service Centres in Baglung, Parbat, and Myagdi districts and local farmers. (RSS)