New budget
Central government has decided to give a big push to the agriculture and allied sectors in Jammu and Kashmir by providing Rs 3156 cr in 2023-24 budget.
The government has taken several concrete steps to increase agriculture and horticulture production besides improving crop quality with a special emphasis on post-harvesting management infrastructure particularly in the private sector.
As part of HADP, the UT administration has launched a Rs 46.65 crore ‘Promotion of Beekeeping’ project to triple the honey production over the next 5 years.
Monitoring and traceability will be done through GI labs besides 20 Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) will also be established for extending pollination facilities. “Jammu and Kashmir will have a full-fledged center of excellence for constancy, capacity building and post-harvest management,” said the official.
Under the project, the value addition of honey is also being envisioned coupled with efficient growth of the bee sector using native honey bees.
To make Fish farming a prosperous sector, the UT government has approved a Rs. 176 crore project to boost fish production. The project involves importing genetically improved fish seed, upgrading existing hatcheries and fish rearing units, introducing species diversity in aquaculture through R&D and commercializing trout and carp fish production using modern technologies such as RAS and Biofloc and is estimated to double trout and carp production over the next 5 years.
