Future of Jobs 2025 report suggests J&K’s agri sector must transform

Ziraat Times Editorial Board

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects significant growth in agricultural employment globally. For J&K,  it is imperative to capitalize on this trend to create meaningful jobs in the sector. However, achieving this requires strategic interventions in policy, addressing the fundamental challenges in the sector. J&K’s economy is predominantly agrarian, with a significant portion of its State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) reliant on agriculture. Over the years, the state has witnessed a notable transition from subsistence farming to high-value horticulture, particularly apple, vegetables and other high value crops. A lot has been done at the governmental and private sector levels to bring about positive transformation. Despite this, J&K faces one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Vast tracts of J&K’s land are still barren with low productivity. Karewa lands, despite their high economic potential, are not able to transform the way they should. Seeds available to farmers, especially suited for dry karewa lands, continue to be of low quality and not suited to local conditions. High productivity of the plain lands is shrinking at a fast pace, which needs conservation.

The agricultural sector in J&K must now transition from being labor-intensive to innovation-driven. Young people would be encouraged to view agriculture as an entrepreneurial venture only when they see it generating meaningful incomes rather than a last-resort occupation. One of the biggest challenges faced by the agriculture sector is the high interest rate bank loans. J&K’s agriculture sector could flourish more if the bank interest rates are lower than what they are today. While initiatives like Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and self-help groups have been experimented with, they have yet to transform into mass and successful programs of scale.

In the days to come the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and precision farming is going to revolutionize  agriculture globally. J&K must come up to speed and create a dynamic public policy framework that is quick to adapt to these new mind-boggling changes. Drones for crop monitoring, AI-driven weather forecasting, and smart irrigation systems are now the things of the future, and J&K will have to embrace these innovations as quickly as possible. However, this would also necessitate extensive training programs to equip farmers with the necessary skills to operate and manage advanced agricultural technologies. Agriculture and Horticulture Departments’ field offices and Krishshi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will have to be re-structured and transformed into truly farmer supporting institutions, including the monitoring of crop performances and generating research data. That research data must be used by policy makers for their decision making rather than serving to only support individual academic research papers.

Importantly, J&K needs to strengthen its agricultural research institutions to develop climate-resilient and high-yield crop varieties. These institutions have to do much more addressing the pest and climate management challenges that farmers of J&K face today, especially in the apple sector. With the growing global demand for organic produce, J&K has the potential to establish itself as a leading organic farming hub. The region’s relatively low industrial pollution makes it ideal for organic cultivation. However, the fact remains that J&K agriculture sector is now reeling under the challenge of over-use of harmful agrochemicals, which are damaging its land and water. For agriculture to be a viable employment generator at a mass scale, the government must also address the fundamental challenge of shrinking farmland. If J&K has to exist as an economic system with low poverty, it must protect its existing mass of agri land.  J&K has immense potential to leverage its agricultural sector for job creation, but this requires a multi-faceted approach. With the right interventions, J&K can not only combat unemployment but also emerge as a model of sustainable and profitable agriculture in the country.