Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 3: Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Horticulture and Floriculture, Nazir Ahmed Gurezi underlined the need for reaching out to the farmers at ground level to aware them about the various schemes and programmes launched by the Government for their betterment in agriculture and allied sectors and a better monitoring system.
The Minister was addressing at an introductory cum review meeting of the officers of the Agriculture, Horticulture and Floriculture Departments and scientists of SKUAST-J held at Directorate of Agriculture, Krishi Bhawan Jammu today.
Asserting the officers to work with more zeal and dedication, the Minister impressed upon them to mobilise their field functionaries to provide basic knowhow to the farmers by involving representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions. He added that yet a number of steps have to be taken to make State self sufficient in agriculture and allied sectors to improve the socio-economic condition of farmers in the wake of shrinkage of cultivable land due to huge construction and other non agricultural uses.
Mr. Gurezi called upon the officers to aware the farmers with the latest knowledge and innovations in the field of agriculture for increasing the production and productivity.
The Minister also reviewed various schemes of the Agriculture Department such as Micromanagement which includes watersheds (NWDPRA) and River Valley Project Thein, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna which includes National Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters and National Mission on Saffron, ATMA, Seed Village programme, Farm Mechanization through Training Testing and Demonstration, National Mission on Micro-Irrigation, National Food Security Mission and Technology Mission.
The Minister also reviewed the progress of Kissan Credit Cards and facilitation process of the department in food grain procurement.
Earlier, the Commissioner Secretary Shaleen Kabra, briefed the Minister about the working of the department.
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