With the purpose of shifting chemical and harmful farming to natural and traditional farming in the State, a cow fair was held in Oinam Sagol Kangjeibung in the Bishnupur district of Manipur.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the cow fair in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren said that the fair would be organized every six months in different districts and identified cow owners will be awarded monetary prizes of Rs 100,000, Rs 50,000, etc, and further called against unnecessary selling off of cows.
The Chief Minister also said that the DCs have been instructed to identify grazing fields in consultation with the MLAs concerned.
The major obstacle in rearing cows today is the lack of fodder, Biren said before stressing that the main objective behind encouraging cow rearing is the promotion of organic and traditional farming in the State.
Biren further elaborated that today there is an increased risk of developing cancer and other critical ailments including diabetes etc. which was unheard of in olden times because today people are consuming vegetables loaded with chemicals. Under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah, the cow fair is an effort to encourage organic and traditional farming through the use of cattle manure and other organic fertilizers.
We are also turning the phumdis from Loktak Lake into organic fertilizers, he said stating that we are discouraging chemical fertilizers. We have also taken a decision that instead of chemical fertilizer, we will initiate and encourage the use of nano-fertilizers, Biren added.
CM also said that the government will acquire drones for spraying nano-fertilizers to cover the entire State. Stressing that we cannot survive without the farmers, he said that this is the main reason behind the government’s saving the agricultural land policy. We are also putting efforts like encouraging double cropping, distribution of seeds, machinery, and building dams to ensure self-sufficient production in the State.
Minister for Agriculture Th. Biswajit, Minister for PWD Govindas Konthoujam, Minister for Education Th. Basanta Kumar, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Khashim Vashum, MLA of Oinam AC Irengbam Nalini, officials of various departments, and others were present during the Cow fair.