Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today flagged off an export consignment of agarwood chips from Guwahati to Dubai at a programme held at Dispur this evening.
Under the Government’s One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, MJI Group has dispatched 123 kilograms of agarwood chips produced in Golaghat district for export to Dubai. Synchronizing with the programme, Chief Minister Sarma also presented cheques to three agarwood cultivators.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarma said that Assam has approximately 12 crore agarwood trees, supporting the livelihoods of around 50,000 farmers engaged in agarwood cultivation. He said that Assam accounts for 81 per cent of the country’s agarwood trees and stated that agarwood cultivation holds tremendous potential for exports and foreign exchange earnings.
The Chief Minister said that State Government is making efforts to secure recognition for Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport as an airport authorised to handle exports. Once the airport receives recognition as an export hub, agarwood products can be exported directly from Assam to international markets, thereby bringing greater benefits to state farmers.
Sarma further stated that the State Government has constituted a task force to work towards formal recognition of agarwood cultivation. The Departments of Agriculture, Industries and Forests are jointly working in this regard.
Highlighting the selection of agarwood under the One District One Product initiative for Golaghat district, the Chief Minister pointed out that indigenous farmers in the district have been engaged in agarwood cultivation for years but had not been receiving fair prices for their produce.
He said that MJI Group has recently taken the initiative to ensure that farmers receive payment for their agarwood produce through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The Chief Minister also noted that this was the second occasion on which agarwood chips had been dispatched abroad in this manner. Expressing hope about the sector’s future, Sarma said that agarwood cultivation would help Assam establish a distinct identity in international markets and create significant new opportunities for exports.
