Foundation of self-reliant Jammu and Kashmir through ‘Agriculture First’ policy: Lieutenant Governor!

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the three-day Agriculture Summit and Kisan Mela organized at SKUAST-Jammu campus. On this occasion, he described the ‘Agriculture First’ policy as the foundation of developed India and self-reliant Jammu and Kashmir and said that agriculture and allied sectors are the biggest insurance policy, which no developing society or country can ignore.

Lieutenant Governor Sinha emphasized on ‘AI-powered advanced agriculture’ in the keynote address. He said, “Agriculture provides us with stability and prosperity of citizens even amidst climate change, economic uncertainty and global turmoil. AI technology will revolutionize farming. We need affordable, effective and workable solutions for small and marginal farmers.”

He directed the officials, SKUAST and experts to create digital farm twins using IoT sensors and satellite imagery. This will make accurate irrigation possible and reduce water consumption by 50-60 percent.

LG focused on developing farmer-centric AI tools that will increase yields by 15-30 per cent, reduce input costs by 50 per cent and provide real-time soil, crop health and nutrient data.

The Lieutenant Governor ordered to set up seed banks of climate-resilient local varieties at the village level. Emphasizing on circular farming model, he said that crop residue should be converted into high-protein animal feed and manure should be returned back to the soil as organic fertilizer. This will maintain soil fertility and eliminate dependence on external inputs.

He called for setting up processing facilities in all 20 districts and connecting FPOS directly to consumers for value-added products so that farmers get full margins and the influence of middlemen is reduced.

Refuting the misinformation being spread on the recent trade deals, the LG said that the Government of India is fully protecting the interests of farmers and strict safeguards are being implemented.

“Technology creates startups, industries and unicorns, while agriculture is the foundation of life. Strong agriculture means strong countries, better economies and human well-being,” he said. Referring to the thinking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that soon every plate in the world will have an Indian dish and agriculture will become the biggest contributor to developed India.

At the function, the Lieutenant Governor inaugurated several facilities including Buyer Learning Centre, Branding Centre, Pesticide Quality Control Lab. Startup winners of SKUAST-Agrithon 2.0 were felicitated and several publications were released.

On this occasion, Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmed Dar, Chief Secretary Atal Dullo, Additional Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar and many senior officials were present.