The Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhury Mohammad Iqbal today visited different areas of Baramulla District and inspected various under implementation works at Pattan, Kanispora and some other places.
Addressing the officers, the Director asked them to strictly follow the guidelines for the implementation of different works. He asked them to speed up the process of implementation of different under implementation works, under Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) and other centrally sponsored schemes so that they could be dedicated to the farmers.
Later, the Director inaugurated an awareness programme for the fertilizer dealers of north Kashmir (Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara) at Sopore.Speaking on the occasion, the Director highlighted the importance of quality inputs including fertilizers to the overall socio-economic development of the farming community.
He said that it is the moral responsibility of every stakeholder including the department, fertilizer dealers to ensure that only genuine inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, seeds etc) reach the farmers.Iqbal impressed upon the participants to work in a coordinated manner against the menace of sub-standard, duplicate inputs (fertilizers, pesticides etc).
He said the poor quality fertilizer is not only an economic burden to the farmers but also an environmental disaster for the region.He concluded that all the stakeholders including the department, fertilizer dealers must collaborate for the development of the farming community.Director Agriculture interacted with the fertilizer dealers and took feedback regarding the stock and supply position of different fertilizers in the Kashmir division.
The programme was attended by the Deputy Director Law Enforcement Mujtaba Yahya, Assistant Director Law Enforcement Srinagar Feroz Ahmad Shapoo, District Law Enforcement Officer South Kashmir Sheikh Imran, District Law Enforcement Officer North Kashmir Dr. Amarjeet Singh besides fertilizer dealers of North Kashmir.