The Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal today visited Budnambal Chowkibal area of Kupwara district.During the visit, the Director addressed a huge gathering of farmers, agri-entrepreneurs and representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions and highlighted the importance of the agriculture sector.He said that agriculture is an important sector and contributes immensely to the economy of the region. He said 70-80 percent of the population is directly or indirectly associated with this sector.Iqbal marked the various initiatives taken by the Department for strengthening the agriculture sector in the region. He said the Department is reaching out to the farming community in every corner of the valley.He said a number of farmer centric programs and initiates have been introduced by the Department for the upliftment of the farming sector in the region.
Talking about the Budnambal and adjoining areas, the Director said that there are agriculture crops which are by default organic, therefore Budnambal would be promoted as an organic village for Potato/Rajmash. The site has been identified for the establishment of Potato Farm in the area, he further said.In his address, the Director assured the farmers that organic certification, marketing facilities would be provided to the farmers of the area so that they could fetch maximum returns for their produce.Earlier, a delegation led by Sarpanch Budnambal Ghulam Nabi Lone called on Director Agriculture and brought various agriculture related issues into his notice. Director assured him that all the genuine demands would be taken up on priority basis.Director Agriculture was accompanied by Chief Agriculture Officer Kupwara Nazir Ahmad Wani, Divisional Seed Certification Officer Kashmir Sheikh Imran, Sub Divisional Agriculture Officer Handwara and other senior officers.