Alipurduar, 22nd January: Under the initiative of North Bengal Agricultural University, a two-day workshop has been organized from today to make the farmers of the forest areas self-reliant in spice cultivation.
Reportedly, the workshop has been organized at the Santalpur Civil Rights Protection Welfare Society in Alipurduar district’s Samuktala in collaboration with North Bengal Agricultural School and National Horticulture Mission. About 50 farmers including women participated in the said workshop.
The farmers said that elephants and other wild animals often raid villages near forested areas and damage the crops. Hence, with the introduction of spices cultivation, their chance of financial gain has increased.
Parthasarathy Medda, a professor at North Bengal Agricultural University, said that the area was selected as an ideal place for spice cultivation. Farmers can become self-sufficient by cultivating chilli, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom, he added.