Lt Governor chairs a review meeting of Agriculture Production Department

SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review performance of Agriculture Production Department and progress made in agriculture, allied sector and flagship scheme of Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP).

The meeting, at Civil Secretariat, was attended by Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Shailendra Kumar, Administrative Secretary, Agriculture Production Department (Addl. Charge); Santosh D Vaidya, Principal Secretary, Finance Department; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lt Governor; Baldev Prakash, MD & CEO J&K Bank; Dr Nazir A Ganai, Vice Chancellor SKUAST Kashmir and other senior officers.

The Lt Governor directed the officials to establish 2000 Kisan Khidmat Centres on priority for handholding and clusterization and linking all farmers to institutional credit.

Timely and hassle-free credit to small and marginal farmers would play important role in increasing production, he added.

Highlighting the important role SKUAST-Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir in conceptualizing Holistic Agriculture Development Programme, the Lt Governor said the continued support of two Universities in implementation of 29 projects should be ensured.

He further directed to extend Daksh Kisan module to colleges to inform budding entrepreneurs about scope and opportunities in agri-business.

The High Density Plantation Scheme has been extended to 13 Crops now. The farmers should be provided with guidance and support to chart out a new course and reap the benefits of technology extension, better infrastructure and improved marketing facilities, the Lt Governor told the officials.

The Lt Governor congratulated the officials and all stakeholders generating overwhelming response from farmers across the UT for the ongoing Kisan Sampark Abhiyan.

The Lt Governor directed for impact assessment of Kisan Sampark Abhiyan and exploring the possibility to extend the drive beyond August so that maximum farmers are covered and maximum utilization of schemes under HADP is ensured.
He said, the 29 interventions of HADP focuses on quality, productivity and efficiency in Agriculture and Allied Sectors.

“Our sustained efforts can propel subsistence agriculture to sustainable commercial agri-economy and mitigate the challenges faced by farming community. It should be our collective endeavour to provide effective IT support for monitoring of HADP’s project implementation,” the Lt Governor said.

The Lt Governor impressed upon the officials for dedicated IT teams to bridge the knowledge deficit, improve the reach and strengthen the inter-sectoral approach for effective implementation.

The Lt Governor issued instructions for using Common Service Centres as learning facilities for youth and directed for monitoring every step of HADP by constituting a dedicated and exclusive IT team with the required technical support. Directions were also passed to Banks to monitor credit disbursal at the highest level.

He also called for increasing the reach of YouTube channels and to publicise the mobile applications on App download stores and also streamlining Daksh Kisan for hybrid skilling of farmers.

The Lt Governor also took appraisal of the different schemes, initiatives, achievements of the Agriculture Production Department and the progress on the training, orientation, and onboarding and Skilling programs for farmers under HADP.