Horticulture Planning & Marketing Deptt organise Growers’ Contact prog

Jammu : Horticulture Department and Horticulture Planning & Marketing Department Wednesday organised Growers’ Contact program at Apni Mandi Tapyal to promote horticulture marketing activities at Apni Mandi Tapyal to make it functional by coming mangoes harvesting period in Samba.
SDM Gaghwal Ritu Gupta, CHO Sushil Angurana, Area Marketing Officer Priyadarshini Parihar, SMS KVK Nirja Kumari, Scientist Sanjay Khajuria KVK, AGMO Samba Anuj Verma, HDO Gaghwal Rakesh Kumar, members of recently constituted Local Management Committee of Apni Mandi Tapyal and a number of local farmers/ orchardists were present on the occasion.
SDM Gaghwal exhorted on agriculturists to take benefits of the facility created exclusively for farmers at Apni Mandi Tapyal. It was informed that the Deputy Commissioner Samba is personally supervising the schemes and government programs, especially for uplifting living standard of the agriculturists, in Samba district.
CHO Sushil Angurana gave a brief about the schemes being run by the Horticulture Department in Samba district. He assured his full support to make the Apni Mandi functional.
AMO Jammu Samba Kathua Pridarshini Prihar threw light upon different post harvesting schemes of the department including three tier Fruit & Vegetables Markets Network created by the Department of Horticulture Planning & Marketing Department. She asked farmers to take benefit of national highway side facility created by the department for saving farmers from exploitation in hands of the middle men.
AGMO Samba, Anuj Verma, introduced the members of newly constituted Local Management Committee for Apni Mandi Tapyal, as per approval accorded by the Director Horticulture Planning & Marketing. The management of Apni Mandi Tapyal has been decentralised and handed over to a group of local farmers/ orchardists. He further informed that no commission agent can charge commission from agriculturists while purchasing their produce. In case any farmer is charged commission by any commission agent in any Mandi with in J&K, he may approach the departmental officers at Samba. Growers were asked to get empowered and stop getting exploited in hands of middle men, who is eating most of the share of farmers’ income.