Principal Secretary Agriculture Production Department, Sandeep Kumar Nayak, today chaired an officers meeting to review the progress on various agriculture related state and centrally sponsored schemes.Director Agriculture Kashmir Altaf Aijaz Andrabi and Director Law Enforcement Susheel Sahaani, besides, Joint Director Agriculture (Extension/Inputs/Engineering) Mushroom Co-ordinator, Divisional level officers and Chief Agriculture Officers of Kashmir Division attended the meeting.While reviewing the progress on implementing various Schemes, Nayak impressed the officers to get strategic inputs at grass root level and develop a monitoring and evaluation system to reach out to maximum population to raise their economic standards.He further emphasized the officers for entrepreneurship development in Agriculture sector, like vegetable, potato & apiculture and asked the Chief Agriculture Officers for identification of entrepreneurs in their respective districts.He called for shifting from inorganic to organic farming and increasing of the production in vegetables. He also laid stress on increasing the Seed replacement rate of paddy, maize, oilseeds, fodders to give boost to production.
The Principal Secretary was informed by the Director Agriculture Kashmir, that physical targets for rejuvenation under saffron mission have been percolated down and identifying of beneficiaries is under progress.He urged the officers to reach out to the growers to achieve 100% targets under the mission, as being the last year of completion of National Mission on Saffron.The Principal Secretary also reviewed the progress of Seed Multiplication Farm Padgampora/ Allowpora and other S.M. Farms and Potato Development Farms as well. Reviewing the progress of Vegetable development farms of the Valley Principal Secretary urged the officers for timely supply of high yielding vegetable seeds to the growers.The meeting was informed by the Director Agriculture that there is substantial increase in production in paddy, vegetables, maize and pulses. He said paddy has witnessed production of 848.04 thousand Metric tonnes and vegetables have recorded a production of 883 thousand Metric tonnes in the year 2016-17.He also informed that for the current year seed village programme of paddy K448 and other improved varieties has been laid at an area of 1609.51 hectares. While as 60511 Soil Health Cards have been issued and 85 percent coverage has been made under Kisan Credit Cards, he added.