Srinagar, Sep 05 (KNS): A review meeting was convened by Mission Director Horticulture Kashmir Ajaz Ahmad Bhat KAS, at Horticulture Complex Rajbagh Srinagar wherein all the Chief Horticulture officers and other Divisional level officers participated in the meeting. During the course of meeting a review of all the schemes under implementation was taken and Director laid a stress for completion of all the developmental programmes before the onset of winter season so that there is no any unspent balance left in the current financial year.
Director also envisaged that all the Chief Horticulture officers will prefer their graft wood requirement for top working in the public as well as private sector orchards with superior and commercially viable cultivars so that there will be a significant impact on the net commercial returns from the orchard unit areas . During the meeting it was made clear that all the Chief Horticulture officer must concentrate on the production of quality planting material for which the adequate root stocks have been made available in the public sector nurseries but simultaneously the monitoring committees constituted by the Directorate will conduct the physical verification for propagation of the elite fruit plants of the approved cultivars.
All the Chief Horticulture officers will initiate installation of innovative machines in the public sector as well as private sector so as to facilitate the farmers for up gradation of their resource strength which will include installation of the mini grading lines in the farmers field with the assistance as per the MIDH guidelines and in the initial phase some demonstrations at district level will be installed for Demonstration and facilitation of the farmers. Formation of FPOs will be given a thrust for cohesive development and for which the identification of such organizations will be initiated from the ground level. Chief Horticulture officer Shopian was asked to generate and submit the information with regard to development of Shopian District as Apple cluster area in Kashmir Division as per the requirements, which has been identified as one of the clusters among eleven clusters identified in the country.
In the meantime some developers of Kashmir division in connection with the establishment of high density orchards were also invited to join the meeting for clarification of some issues. They were latterly informed that they will ensure to gearup the establishment of targeted areas as per the design and specifications in consultation with the Horticulture experts working in the field in the scheduled time frame. Since Department of Horticulture is working whole heartedly for the upliftment of the growers so it will be the responsibility of the Chief Horticulture officers to publicize their activities through the media for increasing the adoption rate by the farmers in general on large scale (KNS)