Agartala, Oct 27 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Monday that the Kisan Rail service should be further strengthened among the states of the Northeastern region.

Participating in the virtual meeting of the High Level Task Force on Agriculture and Horticulture of the Northeastern states, the Chief Minister said that such a system should be developed so that the products produced in different states of this region do not face any obstacles in being exported among themselves.

In addition, attention should also be paid to whether the cold storage system of Kisan Rail can be further improved. Minister of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia presided over the virtual meeting while Chief Ministers and Agriculture Ministers of the Northeastern states attended the meeting virtually.

While addressing the meeting, Saha said that various crops of the Northeastern states that have received Agri GI tagging should be converted into individual brands.

He mentioned that the soils of the Northeastern region, comprising eight states, are very fertile and that farmers can benefit financially by scientifically cultivating suitable crops.

In this regard, close coordination should be maintained with the agricultural colleges of the region, Saha pointed out.

Moreover, the Chief Minister emphasised that special attention should be given to exporting local products to the rest of the country and abroad through cluster-based production and marketing.

During the meeting, DoNER Minister Scindia specially praised Sikkim’s organic farming model and suggested popularising it in other states of the region. Many senior officials of different Northeastern states were present in the virtual meeting.

The DoNER ministry had constituted several High-Level Task Forces to identify key interventions and formulate actionable short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies for the integrated development of the North East Economic Corridor.

The High-Level Task Forces were constituted following the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) held in November last year in Agartala. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the NEC plenary session.

–IANS

sc/dan