Rajiv Ranjan Singh visits SKUAST-K, interacts with farmers
SRINAGAR: Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, who is on two-day visit to Kashmir, on Wednesday said the central government will extend all possible help to J&K for developing dairy and fisheries sectors.
The union minister was speaking at a function, ‘Reimagining Livestock & Fisheries with Future Ready Farmers: Vision 2030’, at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir.
The minister while stressing the Central Government’s unwavering commitment to agricultural advancement and farming community in J&K, said to benefit dairy farmers, who are mostly small and marginal, these sectors need to be organised by strengthening and bringing them under cooperatives at district, block and panchayat level.
He said there is tremendous potential for exports for Kashmir trout and niche dairy products, however, that requires processing and value addition. He said his ministry will provide full support to the UT government for establishing retail dairy outlets at each district.
J&K Agriculture Minister, Javid Ahmad Dar; Union Secretary Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Alka Upadhyaya; Principal Secretary APD (J&K), Shalendra Kumar; Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai; Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof BN Tripathi; Additional Secretary; Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Varsha Joshi; Animal Husbandry Commissioner, DAHD, Abhijit Mitra; Joint Secretary Ministry of Fisheries, Sagar Mehra were present at the function.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh at the occasion also interacted with the dairy and fisheries farmers, poshu sakhis and entrepreneurs, who informed the minister about the progress these sectors, have made in J&K over the years and issues and challenges they face.
Earlier at the arrival at SKUAST-K, the minister toured the SKUAST-K Hig Density Apple orchards, followed by an inspection of various stalls showcasing groundbreaking agricultural innovations, particularly in animal sciences. A key highlight was the Minister’s interaction at a stall featuring recently produced India’s first gene-edited sheep, a testament to the cutting-edge research being conducted at SKUAST-K in animal husbandry. This achievement places India at the forefront of advanced genome editing technologies in livestock.
J&K Agriculture Minister, Javid Ahmad Dar, thanked the Union Minister for his support in transforming livestock and fisheries sector in J&K. He stressed on processing and value-addition of livestock produce for economic empowerment of the farming community.
Principal Secretary APD (J&K), Shalendra Kumar, gave an overview of the dairy and fisheries sectors of the UT. Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir A Ganai, delivered the welcome address, and briefed the guests about the university.
Officers and faculty members from SKUAST-K, directors and officers from line departartments and a huge number of farmers were present at the occasion.