Director Agriculture Jammu Hari Krishan Razdan accompanied by team of officers today visited Kathua District to monitor the progress and implementation of various Farmers’ welfare schemes and programmes.Chairing a meeting of officers and field functionaries, the Director Agriculture stressed on for diversification of the farming through vegetable cultivation, apiculture, mushroom growing and adoption of Integrated Farming System. He impressed upon the staff to make all out efforts for dissemination of Technological Interventions and Improved Agricultural Practices for increasing the production of agricultural crops.He directed the field functionaries to reach out to the farmer’s field to make them fully aware for various farmers’ welfare schemes like Soil Health Card Scheme (SHCS), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Kisan Credit Card Scheme (KCCS), National Mission on Agriculture Extension & Technology (NMAET-ATMA), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) etc. He asked them to keep themselves updated with the latest guidelines and norms of various Centrally Sponsored and State Sector Schemes. He directed the field officers to advise and guide the farmers to make Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and to avail the benefits of Kissan Credit Cards (KCCs) and Crop Insurance Scheme to increase investment in agriculture sector.
Director also stressed on the staff to work for the exploitation of potential for the cultivation pulses and asked them to work for identification of pulse areas and also to make efforts to remove the various bottlenecks and constraints in pulse cultivation. He directed the staff to maintain the punctuality as per Biometric Attendance System and to submit the weekly tour notes and work done reports to the higher authorities.Joint Director of Agriculture (Inputs) K. S. Sambyal and Joint Director of Agriculture (Extension) Jammu R. L. Bhagat also interacted with the field fuctionaries on various implementations, inputs and extension related issues and problems on the occasion.Earlier, the Chief Agriculture Officer, Kathua, Arun Gupta gave a detailed presentation on achievements of ongoing schemes and programmes under various CSS and State Sector Schemes in the district.Others who attended the meeting were Som Nath Sharma, ADO (Veg), Kathua, Subash Gupta MDO, Kathua, Sanjeev Rai Gupta DAO (Ext), Kathua, Anil Gupta SMS (DL), Raju Mahazan SDAO Dayalachak, Babhishan Singh SDAO Billawar, Jitender Kumar Sharma SDAO Basohli, Krishan Kant SMS (SDL), Vinod Kapoor SMS (SDL), SCAs, AEOs, JAEOs and AEAs of the area.