Meeting of the High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Agriculture and Horticulture was held under the chairmanship of Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chief Minister of Tripura, Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha; Minister of Agriculture, Assam, Atul Bora and Minister of Agriculture, Arunachal Pradesh, Gabriel D. Wangsu also participated, besides senior officers from the States of Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, and also from the Ministry of DoNER, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, APEDA, NABARD, and other stakeholder agencies. The Task Force reviewed the progress of ongoing initiatives in the agriculture and horticulture sectors across the North Eastern Region and deliberated on strategies to enhance value addition, processing, and market linkages for key agri-horti products. Key discussions centered around the development of integrated cold chain infrastructure, promotion of organic farming, cluster-based cultivation, and branding of region-specific products under a unified “Organic” labelling. The Union Minister, MDoNER, highlighted the need for economic value addition through focused state-level inputs and suggested developing short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies to ensure the success and sustainability of public sector undertakings in the region.k
