Says admin’s approach is farmer-centric

Jammu: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday chaired a meeting of advisory board for development of farmers and officials of the agriculture department to discuss a roadmap on the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors.
An official spokesperson said, the meeting had meaningful and in-depth discussions wherein the participants shared their assessment of the farming sector, examined apex committee’s recommendations and efforts by J&K administration for a great agriculture transformation.
Addressing the meeting, Sinha said the apex committee on agriculture has provided a roadmap to transform subsistence agriculture into sustainable commercial agri-economy.
“We are adopting an integrated approach to tackle agriculture’s extreme vulnerability to ensure increased productivity and enhanced resilience,” he said.
Sinha said his administration’s approach is farmer and community-centric enabling greater farmer participation in policies and ensuring their suggestions are taken into account in decision-making and they benefit from increased productivity, diversification, access to credit and required technical assistance.
“The integrated approach will enable and strengthen market access for small and marginal farmers. With inclusiveness we aim to improve credit flow by banks to the agriculture sector and particularly to small and marginal farmers,” he said.
The Lt Governor complimented the efforts of Mangala Rai, who headed the UT level apex committee and prepared a vision document on holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors and the farming community.
Rai’s detailed report has addressed each and every aspect, issues and concerns related to the farmers and farming, he said.
The Lt Governor said the report of the committee in itself is a revolutionary policy document and is historical not only for J&K but also for the country.
The recommendations would bring a great agriculture transformation in the Union Territory, he added.

KR Desk