Agri, research would now flourish in valley: Experts

Nagpur: Agriculture and related research would flourish more than ever before in Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Ladakh following the revoking of special status to Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week, feel experts.
So far, agriculture scientists and scholars were averse to undertake study tours in the regions because of the risk involved, they said.
Director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture and Research (ICAR) Trilochan Mohapatra said even before the historic decision was announced, the institution was implementing government schemes and holding discussions with farmers on a regular basis.
Speaking to TOI on the sidelines of ICAR’s regional committee meeting, Mohapatra said, “Kashmir is already a good producer of various fruits. Animal husbandry, too, is good with farmers reaping the benefits.”
Sounding cautious, he said Ladakh’s ecology has to be taken into account while choosing crops. “Two agriculture universities have been working on issues faced by local farmers. ICAR, too, has been actively addressing them. The formation of Ladakh as a Union Territory would certainly bring in more development. We would be able to take introduce more projects as this region would now be directly controlled by the Centre,” he said.
With Ladakh being a hill-dominated area, the availability of water needs to be factored in by local farmers. “We can’t cultivate a crop like wheat as water is less in Ladakh. But there are crops which require less water and they need to be encouraged,” Mohapatra said.
On the fruit scenario, Mohapatra said apart from apple, apricot, indigo and almond are good examples of agriculture flourishing in the strife-torn region.
“High density planting would result in bumper yield of apples in the coming years. Storage and transport would be major challenges before the government. When production increases, unfortunately, farmers’ incomes plummet. This shouldn’t happen,” said Mohapatra, who was flanked by several top agriculture officers from across the country and academicians as well.
Akola’s PDKV vice-chancellor VM Bhale said the government’s decision has opened the doors for researchers and scientists from across the country for higher learning. “Agro-tourism, research and higher learning will get a major boost. Earlier, people were reluctant to undertake a study tour to Jammu and Kashmir because it was risky. With things likely to normalize in the coming days, scientists and scholars can visit the Union Territories to understand the agricultural issues,” Bhale said.