Akash Deep talks about his dual responsibilities, agri-innovation & changes in BTR 

In an exclusive interview with Akash Deep (AD), State Project Director, ARIAS Society, and Principal Secretary of Bodoland Territorial Council, he spoke about his forward-looking approach for both entities. Excerpts:

BNE: Could you provide an overview of the ARIAS (Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services) Society?
AD: ARIAS Society is registered under the Societies Registration Act and it is housed in the Agricultural Department. This society runs the World Bank Project, which is known as APART. This APART project is primarily based on the agriculture value-based approach where selected value chains from end to end are examined. Wherever interventions are needed, they are planned and done. For example, if we take rice from the availability of good quality seeds to the time it is marketed in a good value is received by farmers by selling it, then this can be two ends of the rice value chain. In between, there are many other interventions, such as good seeds, a mechanised system of rice cultivation, risk mitigation, good quality of stress-tolerant variety of seeds, techniques of harvesting, etc. 
There is a need for transportation and then market linkage. These are various steps involved in the rice value chain. This project includes almost every value chain in Assam not only in agriculture but in allied sectors as well. We are also collaborating with industrial departments where we identify various industrial-level interventions for agribusinesses.

BNE: What are the responsibilities within your capacity as the State Project Director?
AD: The society is responsible for implementing these projects about which I talked. This whole project is headed by an officer who is known as the State Project Director for APART. He is responsible for running this project. There are various levels of structures or committees to monitor the work of the Society. One is the governing body that is chaired by the APC (Agricultural Production Commissioner) of the state where SPD is the Member Secretary and he is the Chairman. We also have a committee known as the Project Guidance Council headed by the Chief Secretary of the state. They provide general guidance.

BNE: How many agricultural upliftment projects is the ARIAS Society currently engaged in?
AD: It is not like a scheme where we give grants or some kind of subsidy. This project gives you various innovative things. For example, we thought that Assam needs those varieties that can bear stress, such as floods. However, some places also face drought. But we have introduced stress-tolerant varieties for rice. The Ranjeet Sub 1 and Bahadur Sub 1 are two examples. When we introduced these, the damages due to flood went down. So, these interventions are knowledge-based. We have introduced zero-tillage potato. For this, we are targeting the rice fallow area because in Assam there are huge rice fallow areas that can be tapped into second crop and we can increase our cropping intensity and hence, income to the farmers. In the traditional method of sowing potatoes, we need to make rows. There is no need to prepare the field with zero tillage. It saves a lot of hard labour. We have introduced this variety in Morigaon and nearby areas.
Similarly, we have introduced Banana Tissue Culture through natural ripening without using any artificial gases for the ripening of bananas. We are also focussing on millet production by encouraging farmers. 

BNE: Could you elaborate on the international collaborations of the ARIAS Society and their impact on the state? 
AD: ARIAS is looking into innovation and a knowledge-based system that we want to give to our farmers to have competence and professionalism. We have collaborated with many international organisations… These institutes have brought in the technologies, research and knowledge all across the globe and these we have applied in the state. For example, for the rice value chain, we have collaborated with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as a knowledge partner. They have been responsible for increasing the cropping intensity and stress tolerance among the crops here. For fisheries, we have collaborated with World Fish of Malaysia, for Potato CIP (International Potato Centre). Similarly, for livestock and animal husbandry, we have collaborated with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). 

BNE: Describe your role in the Bodoland Territorial Council.
AD: We all know that the Bodoland territorial region is an autonomous region as per the Bodo Accord… It was felt that to preserve their identity and culture they need to have a local self-government with a broader perspective. Therefore, this Council was constituted. The main objective of the Council is to run departments or to tackle issues. Like the state government, the Council has a state legislature, and executive headed by Chief Minister, members are honourable ministers. There is an administrative body headed by the Chief Secretary and officers. Similarly, in the Council there is a smaller version of the same. There is a Council that can be equivalent to the State Legislature. Then there are executive Ministers who are equivalent to honourable ministers of state. Then we have the Honourable Chief Executive Member who is equivalent to the Chief Minister of the state. Like a Chief Secretary is there in the state government, the Principal Secretary to BTR acts as an overall administrator and officer for all these departments. Then we have different departments which are headed by secretaries and other secretaries or deputy secretaries. This is a miniature version of the state for the transferred subjects which are 40 in number.

BNE: How is the youth in Kokrajhar being nurtured into productive and enterprising individuals, and what is your office’s contribution to this process?
AD: Focusing on youth is very important. The government here in BTR is very much interested and focused on changing the lives of the youth. There are various kinds of interventions. They have been given different schemes under different departments, be it agriculture, promotion of entrepreneurship, also through education. We are promoting many youths to take competitive exams either for Civil Services or engineering and medical examinations. We are doing counselling for students as to what career they can go for. We have one mission called Mission Blossom, which means our youths who have surrendered arms and now adopted the path of peace, we have given rehabilitation to them by giving them land and making part of various schemes so that they can earn their livelihood with self-respect.

BNE: What specific challenges have you encountered during your tenure at the ARIAS Society and in the BTR?
AD: The entirety of the interventions is quite vast. There are so many interventions that are spread across many departments and directorates. However, I would say that I would like to work in the World Bank Projects as it makes immediate changes in the lives of farmers and their families. I do not see any of the challenges here… I get a lot of support from the special team in Guwahati Headquarters. However, the challenge would be to continue the good effort after that. As far as BTR is concerned, we are trying to make the system robust. 

BNE: What are your prospective plans for the ARIAS Society's growth and the development of the Bodoland Territorial Council?
AD: Our plan is to consolidate the gains of the learning that we acquired through this project and continue it. We would like to continue the project beyond the completion period. We want to develop agriculture as a business. The groundwork has been prepared. As BTR is concerned, we are willing to make it a transparent and efficient system. We are improving the office by introducing an e-office system very soon. We have a shortage of officials. We are taking this matter to the Government of Assam. We will try to fill this gap. Our revenue resources are very less. So, we have to work more to get more revenue so that we can make our system an improved one.

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