Srinagar, Sep 27: Director Agriculture Kashmir Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal today inaugurated a training program for the progressive women farmers and officers of Agriculture Department Kargil who are on 7 days exposure visit to Kashmir Valley.
At the inaugural function Director Agriculture welcomed the group of eighty women farmers and officers and appreciated their participation in the training program.
The department is organizing training/ awareness programs for these farmers in different specialized activities including method demonstration on organic farming and vegetable cultivation, green house technology, mushroom cultivation, soil health management etc.
Director while expressing his views said that Women empowerment and a skilled human resource in agriculture and allied wings is Department’s priority and to achieve this goal a multifaceted approach has been adopted by the Department.
Director Agriculture said that Kargil has special climatic conditions and the region is by default organic, therefore a special approach is needed to get the maximum returns ‘’in terms of production and productivity of different crops’’ out of such special climatic circumstances.
Director Agriculture asked the women farmers to go for integrated farming. There is a great potential in mushroom, vegetable, barley, floriculture and other allied wings of agriculture wherein the farmers could not only earn a sustainable income but could also generate employment opportunities for the fellow farmers as well. Director Agriculture asked the officers of different allied wings to ensure these touring farmers visit all these wings and get first hand information about the different agriculture activities for a successful implementation in their own special agro climatic conditions.
Later the touring women farmers were given the exposure visit to Integrated Mushroom Demonstration Centre, Kitchen Garden, Quality Control Lab, and Floriculture Development Centre at Lalmandi, Srinagar.
Joint Director Apiculture and Mushrooms Mohammad Syed Peer, Seed Production Officer Kashmir, experts from Agriculture and allied departments and other senior officers of the Department participated in the training program.