Makhana trial raises hopes for new high-value crop in J&K agriculture
The Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Department on Wednesday said the successful demonstration of makhana cultivation at KVK Bandipora has strengthened prospects for introducing the high-value aquatic crop in Jammu Division, where farmers will also be taken on exposure visits to established cultivation centres.
The two-day Seminar on Makhana Cultivation concluded today at Baba Jitto Kissan Kendra, Talab Tillo, Jammu. Organised by the Joint Directorate of Agriculture (Extension), Jammu, the valedictory session was graced by Director Agriculture Jammu and Nodal Officer for Makhana Cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir Anil Gupta as Chief Guest.
Addressing the participants, Anil Gupta described the seminar as a significant initiative towards introducing makhana as a high-value crop in Jammu and Kashmir. He appreciated Principal Scientist and Head, ICAR–Research Centre for Makhana (RCM), Darbhanga, Bihar, Dr Indu Shekhar Singh for sharing his extensive technical expertise on scientific makhana cultivation, production technologies, processing and value addition.
The Director informed the participants that a successful demonstration trial of makhana has already been established at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Bandipora, yielding encouraging results. He expressed confidence that, based on the experience gained, makhana cultivation would soon be initiated in suitable areas of Jammu Division.
He said the Government of India has approved a Central Sector Scheme for the Development of Makhana, reflecting the growing national emphasis on the crop. Anil Gupta observed that Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Jammu Division, possesses considerable potential for makhana cultivation and expressed hope that farmers would readily adopt it as a profitable diversification option.
He said organising seminars alone would not suffice for the successful promotion of makhana cultivation. The Department would soon organise exposure visits for farmers and departmental officers to established makhana-growing regions so that they could gain first-hand knowledge of scientific cultivation practices, processing technologies and modern production techniques, which could subsequently be replicated in Jammu Division for the benefit of the farming community.
During the interactive session, Diana Foter, a young woman agripreneur working on a start-up focused on the processing, branding and marketing of makhana, shared details of her venture and products with the Director. Appreciating her initiative, Anil Gupta assured her of the Department’s full support and said young agripreneurs are the backbone of agricultural transformation. He said the Agriculture Department would extend every possible assistance to promote innovative agri-based start-ups and entrepreneurship in the Union Territory.
Earlier, Joint Director Agriculture (Extension) Idrees Bashir Ahmed welcomed the participants and highlighted the importance of scientific knowledge dissemination and capacity building for the successful introduction of makhana cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir. He thanked the farmers from Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts for their enthusiastic participation on the second day of the seminar and encouraged them to use the knowledge gained to promote makhana cultivation in their respective areas.
The proceedings were conducted by Agricultural Extension Assistant (AEA) Veena Wazir.