Horticulture has immense growth potential for J&K: Lt Guv Manoj Sinha

"The J&K government is making all out efforts to tap the potential in order to give a fillip to the socio-economic condition of all those who are associated with the sector and contribute to the betterment of livelihood of apple grower," Sinha said after launching the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)-2020 for apple here. He said the objective of the MIS is to facilitate the stakeholders by providing optimum prices to the growers in the region during the peculiar situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said the horticulture sector has immense growth potential and the UT administration is making all efforts to tap this potential in order to give a fillip to the socio-economic condition of those associated with the sector. Sinha said  horticulture is one of the priority sectors of J&K due to its unique agro-climatic diversity, which makes it ideal for varied cultivation.

"The horticulture sector has immense growth potential. "The J&K government is making all out efforts to tap the potential in order to give a fillip to the socio-economic condition of all those who are associated with the sector and contribute to the betterment of livelihood of apple grower," Sinha said after launching the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS)-2020 for apple here.

He said the objective of the MIS is to facilitate the stakeholders by providing optimum prices to the growers in the region during the peculiar situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) is a great relief for apple growers. It will provide a comprehensive insurance cover against any obstacle, thus helping in stabilising the income of the Apple farmers," he said.

The scheme was launched for the first time in the history of J&K during September 2019 and was widely appreciated by the growers across J&K and, therefore, the government agreed to extend it to this year also, he added. This scheme will make way for procurement of 12 lakh tonnes of apples which will not only ensure profitability to the apple growers but at the same time, it will also create rural employment through supplementary services such as packaging and transportation.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has also allowed NAFED to utilise a government guarantee of Rs 2,500 crore. The losses, if any, to be incurred in this operation will be shared between the central government and the J&K administration on a 50:50 basis, said Sinha. The MIS will provide a valuable marketing platform to the growers, besides ensuring remuneration prices of apples and protect the Apple growers from making distress sale.

NAFED is going to collect apples from the growers and make the payment directly into the accounts of the growers through direct benefit transfer (DBT). It will also address all issues related to marketing and transportation, in addition to providing optimum returns to apple growers, which will go a long way in expanding the horizon of this sector in J&K, he said.

The government has also laid a robust mechanism to provide assistance and necessary handholding to the fruit growers to ensure that they get the effective market place and right price for their produce, he added. The lieutenant governor asked the NAFED officials to raise their investment in horticulture infrastructure from proposed Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore to give a substantial push to the development of the horticulture sector in J&K.

Horticulture is a major industry in the UT, and around 70 per cent of J&K's population is connected with the sector, Sinha said. "We had released an excess of Rs 680 crore for augmentation of agriculture and horticulture sectors so that better marketing and innovative farming techniques are incorporated by the producers. All the government's efforts are aimed at increasing the income of farmers and fruit growers," he added.

Sinha, commenting on amended land laws for Jammu and Kashmir, assured that no agricultural land would be alienated to any non-residents of J&K. However, for industrial investment and employment opportunities, non-agricultural land would be optimally utilized, he added.

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