Horticulture, allied sector hold potential to triple income: J-K Lt Guv

Asserting that horticulture and other allied sectors have immense potential to generate huge employment avenues, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor G C Murmu on Thursday said the sector has the potential to yield three times more income than the currently income. He asked the officers to put in extra efforts for making agriculture a sustainable and remunerative economic activity for farmers.

Reviewing the functioning of Agriculture, Horticulture and other allied sectors in a meeting here, Murmu stressed on the need for taking reformative measures for the development and expansion of these sectors. Horticulture and other allied sectors have immense potential to generate huge employment avenues, he said and directed for mobilizing available resources in this regard.

He also laid emphasis on improving productivity and production of horticulture and agriculture crops to make the sectors more vibrant, an official spokesman said. The Lt Governor directed the officers to work out a plan to prepare four crore root stock for 10,000 Ha of land for developing high density apple orchards and set a timeline of three years for the same.

He underscored the importance of increasing productivity in the Horticulture sector, which has the potential to yield three times the income currently being generated. To make the fruit mandis more vibrant, Murmu directed the officers to explore the possibility of converting the fruit mandis into entities under Section 8 of the Companies Act.

He also directed the officers to establish new fruit processing units which will increase the returns to growers and enhance employment, the spokesman said. The Lt. Governor asked the officers to come up with the proper plan for sprinkle and drip irrigation for the areas with no or limited irrigation sources.

He also directed them to complete all the ongoing projects within the stipulated time, the spokesman said. The spokesman said the meeting  was informed that Apple produce from J&K contributes a huge 83.50 percent ( 20.9 LMTs) to the National produce while the contribution of Walnut and Almond is 92.69 percent ( 2.72 LMTs) and 93.63 percent (0.103 LMTs), respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)