Kulgam:The CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday organised a day long Awareness cum Training programme on Cultivation, Processing and Marketing of Medicinal and Aromatic plants at KVK Kulgam.
The programme was organised under the patronage of Director, CSIR IIIM Jammu, Dr. D. Srinivasa Reddy and Dr. Zabeer Ahmad, Head, CSIR IIIM, Srinagar and was presided over by District Development Chairperson, Mohd Afzal Parrey.
The DDC chairperson on the occasion complimented the organizers for organising such programmes and stressed agrarians to adopt new and innovative methods to make the sector more profitable.
After Inaugural and Technical sessions, an interaction with participants, farmers, growers and other stakeholders was conducted.
Earlier, a welcome address was given by Dr. Qazi Parvaiz Hassan. He apprised the participants about the main objectives of the event regarding promotion of medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation for income and employment generation.
Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Malik (CSIR IIIM) gave an overview of CSIR IIIM mandate and activities. He highlighted the role of IIIM in detail especially towards society development through cultivation of high value Aromatic crops in J&K and outside.
Dr. Shakir P Sultan (CSIR IIIM) gave a detailed presentation highlighting Cultivation and Processing of Aromatic crops in J&K and also gave an overview of CSIR Aroma mission and its importance for cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants for better returns and income generation.
He gave a detailed description of many high value aromatic plants like Lavender, Rose cultivated on a large scale in different parts of the country with an aim to increase farmers income by cultivation of these high value cash crops.
Prof. Tasneem Mubarak, (Head, KVK Kulgam) spoke on the role of CSIR IIIM in promotion and development of medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation and processing sector in J&K and thanked organizers for conducting such events.
Dr. Shahid Rasool (CSIR IIIM) also gave a detailed description of cultivation methodologies of high value Aromatic crops and highlighted the role of IIIM in promotion of Aroma sector in J&K.
Iqbal Ahmad (Chief Horticulture Officer, Kulgam) thanked organizers for conducting such events of high importance which have direct bearing on their livelihood and economic prospectus.
