Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 01 July 2022
Mr. Jitendra Narain, Chief Secretary, Andaman and Nicobar Administration held a virtual meeting with farmers of Great Nicobar Farmers Association and discussed the issues put forward by the farmers before him.
Earlier the Farmers had requested an appointment to meet the Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to inform him of their issues.
Chief Secretary interacted with the farmers and responded to all issues raised by them positively.
The farmers of Great Nicobar have been demanding to start the procurement of COPRA under MSP at Great Nicobar from a long time. At present, the farmers are not getting adequate prices for coconuts and copra due to the non-availability of the market at Great Nicobar. Chief Secretary assured the farmers that he will look into the issue and will try to start the procurement of COPRA on MSP from Great Nicobar in 15 days.
The farmers further demanded a ship per month with containers from Campbell Bay to Chennai, for transporting cargo directly to Chennai. The Chief Secretary assured the farmers that ships with containers will be scheduled accordingly.
The farmers also informed the Chief Secretary that the Agriculture Department at Campbell Bay is not supplying Seeds, Urea, DAP & Pesticides to them on time. The Chief Secretary took the issue seriously and informed the farmers that proper supply of agricultural inputs will be ensured.
The farmers of Great Nicobar have expressed gratitude towards the Chief Secretary for patiently interacting with them and for assuring to solve all their issues.