SAMBA: Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare Department, Navin Kumar Choudhary, today inaugurated a new Seed Processing Plant of 4 Tonnes Per Hour (TPH) capacity at SIDCO Industrial Complex Samba.
The establishment of this first-of-its-kind unit in the Private Sector in J&K is an effort to meet the increasing demand of certified seeds by the farmers of the Jammu division.
District Development Commissioner, Anuradha Gupta, Director CAD, S Rajinder Singh Tara, Director Agriculture, Jammu, K K Sharma, Director Horticulture, Ram Sevak, Director, Animal Husbandry, Vivek Sharma, Joint Director, Mushroom and Apiculture Development, Iqbal Singh and Chief Agriculture Officer, Samba, Sanjay Verma were present on the occasion
The Principal Secretary expressed hope that the opening of this Seed Processing Unit will motivate the farmers to shift from traditional crop production to seed production business. This would be a significant addition to the initiatives being taken up by the government towards achieving the target of doubling farmer’s income. He emphasized to promote the registered seed growers in the nearby areas so that actual benefit of this unit is extended to the farming community.
“This seed processing unit at Samba will open up a new vistas for the farmers of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts in the field of certified seed production on cluster basis,” Navin maintained. He said that more than 200 seed growers will be benefitted by this initiative and an estimated 25000 quintal of certified seed production is expected this season. The said seed processing plant will cater to 20% of the quality seed requirement of the area through the private sector, he added.
It was apprised on the occasion that New Seed Processing Plant has been equipped with pre dryer, cleaner system, seed graders and performs multifunction including automating grading, treatment, weighing, packing and tagging of seed. Seeds of major crops like wheat, paddy, maize, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and other minor seeds shall be processed here.
Later, Principal Secretary chaired a review meeting of agriculture and allied departments at DC office Samba.
District Development Commissioner, Anuradha Gupta, informed that under 8 agriculture zones total cultivated area stands at 71454 hectare, of which, net cultivated sown area stands at 39103 hectare and 14409 hectare area has been irrigated. The cropping pattern of district Samba for Kharief season included Paddy, Maize, Pulses, Fodder, Oilseeds, vegetables while Rabi season included Wheat, Pulses and Oilseed, she added. She further informed that the proposed plantation for 2021-22 included Spices like Turmeric and Ginger besides aloe vera covering 50 and 100 hectares respectively.
Giving details on other sectors, she informed that Samba has 4 horticulture zones having 12395 MT production including major crops like Citrus Fruits, Mango and Ber. The proposal for 2021-22 lays focus on intensive cultivation of Mango, Peach, Pear, Gauva, Litchi, Lime etc.
The meeting also discussed other allied sectors including Animal Husbandry, Horticulture (Planning & Marketing), Sheep Husbandry, Fisheries besides reviewing schemes including E-NAM, market linkages, ODOP, KCC and IDDS.
Principal Secretary emphasized on formulating area-specific holistic development plans with maximum participation of local community. He directed the concerned officers to further increase the cultivation area with a focus on replacing low-yield crop with high-yield crops. “Plants of aloe vera, mushroom, lemongrass, soya beans, guava, mango and amla are ideal to be planted in this region for enhancing the production of agro products,” he added.
Navin Choudhary stressed on formulating proposals for the cultivation of aloe vera and lemongrass in border belts besides encouraging plantation and other agriculture-related activities in convergence with MGNREGA. He also asked for developing Strawberry Park adjoining National Highway, promotion of Ramgarh Basmati besides engagement of SHGs in agriculture-related activities and collaboration with industries for promotion and production of Agro-based products.
During the meeting, Rajinder Singh Tara, Director Command Area Development, Jammu, Vivek Sharma, Director Animal Husbandry, Jammu, Ram Sevak, Director Horticulture, Krishan Lal, Director, Sheep Husbandry Department, K K Sharma, Director Agriculture Production and Farmer’s Welfare Department, Jammu, Arun Manhas, MD JK Agro Industries Development Corporation, ADDC, Joint Director, Mushroom and Apiculture Development, Iqbal Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Chief Horticulture Officer and others were present.
