JAMMU: Department of Horticulture Jammu today launched a Plantation Drive at Kangar, block Bhalwal and organised an Interaction Program with Farmers & Fruit Growers under Meri Maati - Mera Desh Campaign. Director Horticulture Jammu Ram Savak, Chief Horticulture Officer Jammu, Ashwani Sharma, Subject Matter Specialist (Pomology) Jammu Sandeep Gupta, I/c Bhalwal Sanjay Khajuria and Farmers in large numbers participated in the program.
Addressing the farmers, the Director stressed the need to encourage High Density Plantation in the area. He said that the rainy season is highly suitable for new plantations especially in the kandi area and the farmers should adopt cluster approach to develop new orchards and take benefit of all the departmental schemes.
The Director Horticulture Jammu explained in detail the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) providing incentives / assistance for the welfare of the farming community. He sensitized the gathering about the main components of the programme viz: DAKSH- Learning Management System related to skill development, SATHI- Dashboard to apply online for different Govt. schemes, etc. He impressed upon farmers to adopt the Horticulture sector on commercial lines by adopting latest technologies in the field of Mechanization, Modified High Density Plantation, Strawberry Plantation, Aloe- vera Plantation etc.
The Chief Horticulture Officer Jammu also motivated the farmers to adopt Horticulture on commercial basis and imparted them awareness about online Jan Sugam portal and Kissan Sathi portal to apply for various components of different Horticulture schemes. Sandeep Gupta briefed them about Strawberry cultivation and other Plantation schemes presently under implementation in the district.