Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan today chaired a high level meeting to review the performance of Agriculture& Farmers Welfare and Horticulture departments at Civil Secretariat here.The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary Agriculture and Horticulture, Navin Kumar Choudhary; Vice Chancellor SKAUST Jammu, Prof. JP Sharma; acting Vice Chancellor SKAUST Kashmir, Prof. Mushtaq Ahmad; Directors of Horticulture Kashmir and Jammu, Director of Agriculture Kashmir and Jammu, Director Horticulture, Planning and Marketing and other concerned officers of the department.
Speaking on the occasion, Advisor Khan maintained that the Jammu and Kashmir has a vast potential for agricultural and horticultural activities and therefore all possible support should be provided to farmers so that they can generate sustainable living from the agricultural and allied activities.The Advisor directed the officials to evolve farmer friendly schemes, new concepts and innovations by adopting multi-cropping system in the potential areas of Jammu and Kashmir so that the production can be enhanced.Advisor Khan exhorted upon the officers to aware the locals of far flung areas about improvement in technology related to development of agriculture and horticulture sectors.
He asked to develop integrated farming and Cluster approach through Panchayat representatives’ involvement in far flung areas besides making optimum use of available resources and formulation of innovative projects to help boost the rural economy.The Advisor asked both VCs to select 5 panchayts each in both the divisions in consultation with Agriculture and Horticulture departments, to help the farmers adopt modern practices and techniques evolved in these sectors in recent times. He further exhorted upon the officers to maintain constant coordination with each other so that the selected Panchayats become the epitome of advanced farming for entire Jammu and Kashmir.
Advisor Khan urged upon the VCs of both the Agriculture Universities to frame Farmers Strategy Calendar for their respective regions so that the dissemination of information regarding agricultural activities reaches to farmers on time. He asked them to utilise the services of PRIs to serve the purpose.The Advisor further asked the officers to develop a systematic mechanism for conducting field visits so that first hand appraisal is obtained from the ground level regarding the progress of agriculture and horticulture sectors.
Advisor Khan impressed upon the officers to hold workshops to create awareness among the college and university students so that they can explore entrepreneurship opportunities in agriculture and horticulture sectors.Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary Agriculture and Horticulture, Navin Kumar Choudhary said that the integrated farming techniques, farm mechanisation, use of hybrid seeds and other techniques have boosted the agriculture and horticulture sectors in Jammu and Kashmir as the UT witnessed tremendous increase in production of agriculture and horticulture produce.
