Jammu | Nov,12:The Department of Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare Jammu Thursday organised a two-day seminar on Makhana Cultivation here at Baba Jitto Kisan Kendra Talab Tillo.
The orientation focused on promoting Makhana as a high-value crop and sensitising departmental officers and officials about its scientific cultivation, production techniques, value addition and income-generation potential. Around 50 officials from Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts are taking part in the seminar.
The seminar was inaugurated by Joint Director (Extension) Suresh Kumar Khajuria in the presence of Chief Agriculture Officer Manohar Lal Sharma; Agriculture Economist, Tilak Raj Sharma; Regional Level Subject Matter Specialist, Ashwani Kumar; SMS-DL, Rajeev Katoch; Programme Officer (JDA Extension), Vivek Mahajan; senior officers from Farmers Training Centre (FTC), Jammu, besides other departmental officers and officials.
Addressing the participants, the Joint Director highlighted the Department’s efforts towards promoting crop diversification and introducing high-value crops like Makhana in suitable agro-climatic regions of Jammu and Kashmir. He stressed the need for capacity building of field functionaries and effective dissemination of scientific cultivation practices to farmers, adding that coordinated efforts by departmental officers and technical experts would help identify suitable areas and facilitate the successful adoption of Makhana cultivation.
The technical sessions were conducted by eminent resource persons, Dr. Manoj Kumar, Professor, Division of Vegetable Science, SKUAST-Jammu and Dr. Meenakshi Gupta, Professor, Division of Agronomy, SKUAST-Jammu. They delivered detailed presentations on the scientific cultivation of Makhana, covering agro-climatic requirements, soil suitability, water management, temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, crop establishment, nutrient management, harvesting and post-harvest handling.
