Ramban, March 25: Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Ramban organised an awareness and sensitisation programme on agro-advisory services for farmers in the region, highlighting the importance of weather-based farming decisions and modern agro-meteorological tools.
The programme, held at Batote to mark World Meteorological Day, was conducted under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Prof. B. N. Tripathi and the guidance of Director Extension Prof. Amrish Vaid. It brought together officials from the agriculture department, including the District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Subject Matter Specialists (SMS), farmers, farm women and youth from the area.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Parveen Kumar, Scientist at KVK Ramban, spoke about this year’s theme, “Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow.” He explained that accurate and continuous observations of the atmosphere, water bodies and landforms form the foundation for reliable weather forecasts, climate monitoring and early warning systems that help mitigate disasters.
He emphasised that weather plays a decisive role in agriculture and said timely information on parameters such as rainfall and precipitation enables farmers to plan their agricultural operations more effectively, helping them save both time and resources.
Dr. Kumar also informed farmers about several mobile applications designed to support weather-informed farming, including Meghdoot, Damini and Kisan Suvidha, and encouraged them to download and use these tools. He further discussed government initiatives related to weather forecasting and agro-advisory services, such as the Forecasting Agricultural Output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land-based Observations (FASAL) programme and the Grameen Krishi Mausam Seva (GKMS).
During the session, District Agriculture Officer Kuldeep Bassan spoke about entrepreneurship opportunities available to farmers under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) and the Jammu & Kashmir Competitiveness Improvement Project (JKCIP).
Subject Matter Specialist Jyoti Sharma highlighted good practices for promoting sustainable agriculture among farmers in the region.
Agriculture Extension Assistants Hafeez, Satvir Singh and Anil Dutta were also present during the programme, which focused on strengthening farmers’ awareness and use of agro-advisory services to improve farm productivity and climate resilience.
