Srinagar, Apr 1 (Representative) Jammu and Kashmir Government has rolled out a holistic Agriculture Development Plan with 29 proposed projects worth an outlay of Rs 5,012 crore to be implemented over a period of next five years, an official spokesman said. To create an enabling environment for transforming J&K agriculture and allied sectors in order to increase farmer income, ensure food security and accelerate economic growth, Rs 3,156 crore have been allocated for these vital sectors in the budget for 2023-24. He said that the novel initiative will create additional job opportunities for 2,87,910 people in agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors besides 18,861 new business enterprises will be created over the period of next five years. Under the ambitious project, the government will create 67,000 Metric Ton Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Storage Capacity enabling the farmers to store their produce for better returns.
Jammu and Kashmir government is encouraging and aiding private players to set up cold storage facilities in order to reduce post-harvest losses by increasing the shelf life of various agriculture and horticulture products, as well as to address the issue of distressed crop sales by farmers. As part of Hill Area Development Programme (HADP), the administration has launched a Rs 46.65 crore “Promotion of Beekeeping” project to triple the honey production over the next 5 years. Monitoring and traceability will be done through GI labs, besides 20 Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) will also be established for extending pollination facilities. “Jammu and Kashmir will have a full-fledged center of excellence for constancy, capacity building and post-harvest management,” the spokesman said. The government has also approved a Rs. 176 crore project to boost fish production which involves importing genetically improved fish seed, upgrading existing hatcheries and fish rearing units.
It will also introduce species diversity in aquaculture through R&D and commercializing trout and carp fish production using modern technologies such as Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS) and Biofloc and is estimated to double trout and carp production over the next 5 years. The milk production is expected to reach 45 Lakh MTs from 25 Lakh MTs over next 5 years and will be achieved through a range of measures including expansion of breeding coverage and increasing per animal productivity. One of the key elements of the Dairy under HADP project is to increase per-animal productivity from 2400 litre to 4300 litre, which is a significant increase. This will be achieved through a range of interventions including the expansion of Artificial Insemination (AI) centers from 1389 to 2189, the spokesman added.