9th Mar 2018 09:03:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

Getting road connectivity after decades and that too after boycotting the 2014 elections, Sissen village’s dream come true has been an example of grit and determination. ‘No road No vote’ which was launched by this village for being denied road connectivity despite voting since 1978 captured the imagination of society. Arunachal has an ongoing romance with politics and come election season it reaches fever pitch. People from urban pockets to the remotest corner are immersed in it. Therefore, even the resolve to unanimously boycott the polls in the first place was quite an achievement for Sissen.

Going on a tangent here, Sissen is famous for its organic farming but the lack of connectivity has kept the village from reaping the profits of its agri/horti produce. The potential of Arunachal in agriculture and horticulture sector has been conversation starters for the common man as well as people in authority. The quality of its produce gets even more points given the fact that they are organic in every sense of the term sans the certification.

With a hostile terrain, Arunachal can never be self-sufficient in food production.  And the way forward to ensuring farmers prosperity would be in giving the value of being ‘organic’. Organic produce carries a premium demand which fetches good revenue for farmers.

 If the state government is keen on carrying the baton of change, it must go out and out spreading awareness on the ‘why’, and ‘how’ of the organic mission. Farmers must be provided seeds and manure, trained in organic methods and also sent outside the state to get advanced training.

Marketing remains the biggest challenge especially for perishable goods in the face of lack of infrastructure such as roads and cold chain storage facilities.

For example, Dambuk  produces some of the best oranges  but the tedious journey farmers have to make due to communication bottlenecks results in huge loss. Therefore, it is paramount that an effective marketing strategy is chalked-out do that that end products reach consumers and loss to producers is minimized.

Road connectivity is directly connected with progress and prosperity of any area. In absence of this, people are being deprived of a chance at living a better life.

 


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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