Principal Secretary Animal, Sheep Husbandry & Fisheries and Agriculture Production Department, Navin Choudhary, today chaired a meeting to review the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan with respect to Agriculture and allied sectors.The meeting was attended by Director Agriculture Kashmir, Ajaz Altaf Andrabi; Director Horticulture Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat and Director Sericulture Kashmir.Director Horticulture Jammu, Sevak Ram; Additional Secretary Horticulture, Jahangir Hashmi and other concerned from Jammu attended the meeting via video conferencing.The meeting had a detailed discussion on Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme for food processing of Agri products which will be supported by Government of India under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.Additional Secretary Horticulture, who is also Nodal Officer for Atma Nirbhar Bharat in J&K, briefed the meeting about the components of Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme. He informed that Government of India will provide financial support for both the existing and new food processing units for Agriculture and Horticulture yield.Regarding submission of requisite list under One District One Product (ODOP) scheme to Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Principal Secretary asked the head of Departments of Agriculture and allied departments to give their recommendations after selecting the potential product from the particular district.
The ODOP scheme is aimed at to encourage food processing of indigenous products of the particular district keeping in view the existing clusters and availability of raw material. Under the scheme prospective entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups and rural entrepreneurs will be given financial assistance for establishing food processing units.The meeting also discussed Infrastructure Development Fund under Atma Nirbhar Bharat.It was given out that Agriculture mechanization is extending a financial support at 40 per cent of project cost for establishing Customer Hiring Centers (CHCs) and High Tech Hubs for project cost upto Rs. 60 lakh and Rs 2.5 crore maximum. Rural entrepreneurs, corporate societies of farmers, registered farmer societies, farmer producers organizations and Panchayats are eligible for financial assistance for establishment of CHC and high tech hubs, the meeting was informed.Principal Secretary asked the officers to nominate SKAUST-K and SKUAST-J as technical institutes and also hire technical experts for the same where resource person can be hired to provide expertise.He also called for robust publicity campaign so that the prospective entrepreneurs would get to know about the schemes meant for them so that they would come forward with their projects and get benefitted. “We must focus on publicity campaign regarding our schemes during the ongoing Jan Abhiyan,” Choudhary asserted.The meeting also took stock of seed testing labs and the proposal of four new seed testing labs two each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions.