J&K approves Rs 463 cr project to push sustainable agriculture

Jammu, Feb 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) Giving a huge push to sustainable agriculture in the Union Territory, the J&K government has approved a five year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir", officials said on Wednesday.

The project, worth Rs 463 crore, is aimed at empowering farmers and educated youth through technology driven and inclusive agri-extension services.

One of the critical outcomes of the project would be creation of 2,000 Kissan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs), which will serve as a One Stop Centre for extending farmer-oriented services.

"The extension system in Jammu and Kashmir faces many challenges, including serving a large clientele with structural complexity and functional diversity. Currently, there is a significant gap between extension workers and farmers, with a ratio of 1:1100 and contact intensity of one hour per farmer per year. The existing system is also plagued by defects such as lack of realistic base-level information, poor coordination and cohesiveness among the extension players and a low level of public confidence," Additional Chief Secretary, Agricultural Production, Atal Dulloo said.

"The project aims to address these issues by developing a dynamic agri-extension system using IoT-enabled real-time big data for farm-centric planning and resource allocation. This technology enabled system will form the basis for a proactive agriculture extension system with a cluster approach. This approach will use real-time regional analysis of climate and agro-ecology information to promote niche agriculture under given agro-climatic conditions", he added.

"Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalizing Agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir" is one among the 29 projects, which were approved by the Jammu and Kashmir administration after being recommended by the UT Level Apex Committee for holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors in the UT.

Source: IANS