SRINAGAR: Minister for Horticulture, Hajj and Auqaf, Abdul Rehman Veeri Tuesday said the government is contemplating to setup separate Horticulture University and Specialized Horticulture Training Institutes in the State for capacity building in this key sector.
Chairing a high level meeting of Horticulture officials at Banquet Hall, Srinagar, Veeri said Horticulture sector is among the most viable sectors of the state economy and it has the potential to bring huge wealth to the J&K.
The Minister urged the horticulture players, stakeholders and officials to adopt innovative approach to increase production and meet the market demand.
You need to change your attitude towards the department. This is a huge department which contributes massively to States economy, however it lacks on many fronts, that needs to be changed, Veeri told the officials. There are some of the areas which are still lacking on infrastructure front. Money has been released but the works are still pending. I want all such works to be completed on war footing, he said.
The Minister directed the officials to make a comprehensive plan for boosting the horticulture sector. He urged them to incorporate proposals in PMs Comprehensive Package, which would include revamping of district headquarter offices of horticulture department, mobility plan of chief Horticulture officials, revamping of infrastructure at all levels, some innovative schemes for growers and farmers.
The Minister said besides setting up of a Horticulture University and Training Institutes government was mulling to set up Centre of Excellence in horticulture for north and south Kashmir. He said the mandis across all the district headquarters would have separate guest houses and high-end platform for connecting to the markets across India.
He said that demand for horticulture products was growing on national and global markets, which calls for new production methods to enhance output and meet this demand.
Veeri emphasized the need to create strong market linkages and trade relations that will help improve the regions horticulture produce and make it more competitive.
The Minister while taking on some of the officials of the department directed them to either perform or face the music. You have to choose your plan. Work or get ready to get relieved from your duties, he said.
The Minister urged the stakeholders to embrace value-addition to attract more buyers and penetrate different markets across various levels. He said that a vibrant horticulture sector could help cushion the region during worst times. He argued that it was vital for the region to invest more in the horticulture industry and related infrastructure, noting that it is the best alternative to boost exports
The challenges the sector is currently experiencing should be looked at as opportunity to stimulate investments and innovative solutions that will help it grow, Veeri said.
The meeting brought together almost all the heads and other senior officials of the horticulture department, including Director Horticulture, PK Sharma, Director Horticulture, Planning and Marketing, Hakeem Rafiq, Deputy Director, Qazi Aijaz and Engineering officials represented by Niaz Banday and other CHOs, DHOs from all the districts.
The minister also stressed on the entrepreneurship. He said that it was only viable option to tackle increasing unemployment in the state. He said J&K has tremendous potential in horticulture, agriculture and allied sectors wherein educated unemployed youth can set up their entrepreneurial ventures with the support from the government.
Pertinently over the years, horticulture has emerged as one of the potential agricultural enterprise in accelerating the growth of economy. Its role in the country’s nutritional security, poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes is becoming increasingly important. It offers not only a wide range of options to the farmers for crop diversification, but also provides ample scope for sustaining large number of Agro-industries which generate huge employment opportunities.
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