BANDIPORA: Continuing with the series of awareness and popularization programmes under ‘Innovative Extension Approaches for Agriculture Development in Jammu and Kashmir’; a landmark sub-project under Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), KVK Bandipora-II at Dawar Gurez organized one day mega awareness programme on ‘Income and Employment generation in Agriculture through skill and entrepreneurship Development’.
More than 150 farmers including farm women, youth, and members of various SHGs formed under NRLM, officers/officials of various departments participated in this mega event.
Dr. Bilal Ahmad Bhat, Head KVK-Gurez said that under the leadership of Vice Chancellor SKUAST-K Prof. N A Ganai, the HADP comprising of 29 different projects will be a big boon for the farming community of the entire Kashmir valley.
Prof. Masood Salim Mir, Associate Director Research is the chairman of this innovative project and about 21 such programmes have been sanctioned for various KVKs and research stations of the university.
These programmes have been sanctioned with the ultimate aim of strengthening the extension machinery and services in this region so as to ensure that the programmes designed and developed for the farming community reach out to them well in time.
While deliberating upon the programme, Dr. Parveen Kumar, SMS (Ag. Extension) and coordinator of the programme said that this was the second programme under Innovative extension approaches of HADP aimed at creating awareness and sensitization of the farming community about different skill and entrepreneurship opportunities available in the agriculture and allied sectors.
Farming community from all the three blocks of Gurez viz. Bagtore, Dawar and Tulail participated and listened to the expert lectures of different specialists of KVK-Gurez. They were sensitized on various protected cultivation technologies and various fruit crops suitable for this region and how these can be a potential source of income and employment generation for the youths of this region particularly.
Head KVK-Gurez briefed the participants about various initiatives of KVK-Gurez for the upliftment of the farming community of the region.
Earlier Tehsildar Gurez. Rouf Iqbal who was the chief guest of this programme in his inaugural address highlighted the importance of skills and entrepreneurship opportunities in various sub sectors of the agriculture sector like nursery raising, fruit crops, value addition and food processing.
He asked the youths to come forward and benefit from various schemes. Ms. Tasleema Begum DDC Chairperson attended the event as guest of honour. The farming community appreciated the role of KVK and its team of scientists in their endeavour towards farming community of the region.