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Horticulture is the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy with a yearly turnover of Rs.3500 crores. It provides direct and indirect employment to about 23 lakh people and has the potential for further growth.

Keeping this in view, the state government has declared horticulture a thrust area and is taking a number of initiatives to give it a boost.

Recently, the horticulture department organized a fruit show in Srinagar to spread awareness among orchard owners about growing rare and profi table varieties of fruits, apart from traditional ones.

Over 400 varieties of fruits were displayed at the show, including dry fruits, kiwis, hazelnuts, lemon and oranges.

“I would like to congratulate traders and growers of Jammu and Kashmir, because initially, we were apprehensive that other states like Himachal Pradesh were progressing faster than us. But when we talk about our horticulture, especially fresh fruits like apples and other varieties, then we hold a share of 70 percent,” said Sham Lal, Minister for Health, Horticulture and Floriculture, Jammu and Kashmir..

The Department of Horticulture has introduced new machinery for horticultural activities to familiarise growers with the latest technology.

The state government has also introduced drip irrigation system worth Rs.6 crore to save water and improve the quality of fruit production.

There was a technical session as well at the fruit show to provide more information about growing different varieties of fruits.Orchard owners appreciated the state government’s efforts.

“The fruit show has a variety of fruits on display collected from various states. We got an opportunity to see rare fruits that we haven’t seen before and we want to grow them too. It would be profitable for us. We got to see a lot of things, even on the technical front,” said Manzoor Ahmed, an orchard owner.

“This show is very beneficial and will spread awareness among growers who will try to improve quality. There are already different varieties of fruits and many new varieties have also come in. The government has also announced a 90 percent subsidy for the drip system,” said Gulam Rasool, another orchard owner.

The state government is also renovating existing wholesale fruit markets, constructing new ones and setting up cold storage facilities, with the objective of promoting horticulture.
 
 
January 2012
 
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