Srinagar: The Department of Agriculture, Kashmir Friday organised a one day interactive program for the farmers of Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal and Baramulla districts at Lalmandi, here.
Addressing the gathering, the Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Iqbal said formation of Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) and of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) is the only everlasting solution designed for economic prosperity of the farmers by way of transforming agriculture into a remunerative venture and farmers into agri-entrepreneurs.
He reiterated that the present policies of government including formation of FPOs are best suited to J&K as the region is endowed with various agriculture products with export potential and has great demand and relevance in national and international markets.
The Director also highlighted various farmer friendly schemes that have been devised to transform the rural economy and requested the participating farmers to avail these schemes for sustenance and economic prosperity.
He assured the participants that the department is always at the back of the farming community and urged upon the officers to increase touring to the farmers field with latest recommendations and suggestions from agriculture universities and other institutions.
Director said the Department has recently taken some initiatives which include Farmer Darbars, establishment of Model Farm Schools at district headquarters, holding of awareness camps and kisan melas, exposure visits within and outside J&K, introduction of farm mechanization for updating the common farmer and saving time and labour component in order to double the farmers income.
During the course of the interaction, participating farmers raised issues regarding the marketing of their vegetable produce.
The Director after listening patiently to the demands informed the participants that in order to provide a succor to vegetable growers for marketing of their produce, recently an initiative has been taken by the Directorate of Agriculture Kashmir and J&K Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (JKHPMC) Ltd to provide better marketing linkage to the vegetable growers.
