JK Governor, CM call for a time bound Action Plan for seed replacement

Jammu, March 21 (Scoop News) –    The Governor,  N. N. Vohra, and the Chief Minister,  Omar Abdullah, today stressed the need for the implementation of Action Plan on time-bound basis for the progressive growth of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fisheries, poultry farming, mushroom cultivation, dairy farming, sheep and goat rearing, animal husbandry and allied sectors which have vast potential for generating ready and gainful employment for the youth of the State. In this context, the Vice Chancellors were called upon to organize relevant short-term training courses in both the Agricultural Universities of the State, so that the trained youth are equipped with the required skills to set up their own ventures.   

          The Governor and the Chief Minister were addressing the 20thUniversity Council meeting of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, here today, at the Raj Bhavan.

          The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the University, stressed the need for time-bound action being taken for the development of pastures and increased fodder production to meet the present and emerging requirements of livestock. He said that there is need for drawing a comprehensive roadmap for the next 20 years to achieve the envisaged targets.

          Referring to the need for large scale seed replacement to increase agri-productivity and production, the Governor said that to achieve even 10% Seed Replacement every year it would be necessary to draw up crop and district wise action plans and monitoring progress on a monthly basis. He asked both the Vice Chancellors to formulate a time bound programme for procurement of breeder seeds and their multiplication and distribution to the farmers along with the other required inputs. He reiterated the importance of an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that the requisite infrastructure being created within a precise time frame, between the Universities and the State Agriculture Production Department.

          The Chief Minister, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the University, emphasized the need for structuring courses in various disciplines to match these with the emerging job market requirements. He said that the State Agricultural Universities need to lay greater stress on creating centres of excellence by focusing on the sectors, with high growth potential on sustained basis for benefiting the State in a big way.

The Minister for Horticulture and Floriculture,  Sham Lal Sharma, put forth several suggestions for the growth of these sectors, pointing out that they have a vast potential in the State.

The Minister for Agriculture,  Ghulam Hassan Mir, observed that certain initiatives had already been taken to secure seed replacement of maize and potato crops, the ongoing efforts would need to be enlarged. He added that both the Agricultural Universities and the Agriculture Department have to play a pro-active role in the production of high quality seed, keeping in view the requirements of various areas of the State.      

          The Vice Chancellor, SKUAST, Kashmir, Dr. Tej Partap, made a detailed power point presentation dwelling on the achievements of the University and the major tasks to be handled during the next few years. He also dwelt on the various components of the Rs. 100 crore special grant announced by the Prime Minister for the University. He also commented on the future plans of the varsity to make it a centre of excellence in teaching, research and other fields of activities in the coming years.

          The meeting was attended by the Vice Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu, Dr. B. Mishra, Commissioner/Secretary, Finance,  Sudhanshu Pandey, Principal Secretary to the Governor,  R. K. Goyal and Director Research, SKUAST, Kashmir. Dr. Shafiq A. Wani.