Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 5: Director Horticulture Jammu Chaman Lal Sharma, conducted two days extensive tour of District Ramban. He was accompanied by Chief Horticulture Officer Ramban, Manager cum Chemist, District Horticulture Officers, Farm Manager ACHD Ramban, Horticulture Development officer and other staff of the Department.
The tour was aimed to chalk out plans for development of departmental nurseries on scientific lines with latest facilities under the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP). During inspection of Govt. Fruit Plant Nursery Batote, the Director stressed the need to prepare a plan for its up gradation on scientific lines by incorporating latest equipments/ machinery and installation of Micro-Irrigation system for the mother blocks.
He visited the private nursery namely Sada-e- bahar at Dharmund, Ramban established by an entrepreneur Abdul Qadoos, with the assistance of the department wherein he inspected the nursery plant material stock and other facilities available. He guided the entrepreneur to modernize the nursery with latest technological interventions for production of quality planting material of High Density cultivars.
Acknowledging the importance of quality planting material in establishment of orchards, the Director inspected the Advanced Centre for Horticulture Development Farm at Ramban and laid emphasis on the need for modernization and development under HADP. He instructed the farm manager to upgrade the Hi-tech poly house structures with latest equipments. The Director underscored the importance of divisional level farm for imparting training to the new recruits as well as to the aspiring private entrepreneurs on scientific lines enabling them to acquire advance skills in plant propagation techniques and nursery management practices. This will also equip the youth technically for establishment of private nurseries and orchards thereby generating employment opportunities for them.
During the visit, the Director addressed a large gathering of farmers at Ramban and elaborated the details of the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme providing incentives / assistance for the welfare of the farming community. He sensitized the gathering about the main components of the programme and asked them to apply online for different Govt. schemes through Kissan SATHI- Dashboard. He urged them to avail the benefits on different components of the schemes viz: Plantation, Protected cultivation, Water harvesting tanks, Drip irrigation, Custom Hiring Centres, Machniery, Processing units, Nursery establishment etc. for upliftment of their socio- economic status.
Later, the Director Horticulture took a meeting of the Extension and Nursery staff in order to review the scenario of Horticulture in Ramban District.
At the outset of meeting, Chief Horticulture Officer Ramban Anil Kumar Gorka briefed Director about the status of Public Sector nurseries and works going on in the field. Farm Manager ACHD, Govindpora, Ramban Virinder Kumar also remained present during the meeting and briefed the chair about the farm activities and production status of the Plants. Among others, Manager cum Chemist Anil Chhibber, DLSMS Sandeep Sharma, HDO’s Abhinav Gupta & Sunil Gupta were also present during the meeting.
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