Jr Sheikh Tariq
**Poonch: July, 22,2024* : Under the overall supervision of Rakesh Kumar Sharma, Chief Agriculture Officer Poonch the Department of Agriculture Poonch in collaboration with CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) Jammu organized another one-day awareness cum training camp and planting material distribution program in continuation to yesterday’s program at Chief Agriculture Office Complex Poonch,at Panchayat Ghar Ari Plaser of Sub Division Mendhar today under the CSIR Floriculture Mission-II. 50 farmers from Ari and Harni villages participated in the event receiving visual training on commercial cultivation and post-harvest technologies for loose flower cultivars. Quality planting material of hybrid Marigold seeds was distributed free of cost to the farmers.
Speaking at the event, Sanjeev Gupta, Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer Mendhar informed the farmers about this cluster approach initiative which aims to provide quality hybrid Marigold seeds and facilitate bulk selling of produce enabling farmers to achieve highly profitable returns. Moreover, he elaborated to the farmers that to generate additional income opportunities alongside traditional agricultural crops, the department is exploring marketing strategies and area expansion for flower cultivation to help farmers adopt diversified farming practices, thereby improving their livelihoods. This approach also aims to create more employment opportunities through resource optimization and integrated farming.
Dr Iqra Farooq, Project Scientist for Floriculture Mission II interacted with the farmers providing insights into the phased implementation of the CSIR Floriculture Mission in Jammu and Kashmir. She discussed the transformational change the mission has brought to the commercial floriculture sector highlighting it as one of CSIR’s flagship initiatives aimed at empowering farmers through the commercial cultivation and marketing of region-specific floral cultivars.
Ravi Kant Sharma SMS-SDL, Amarjeet Singh SMS-SDL, Money Pallisery SMS-SDL, AEO Anil Sharma, and other officials also attended the program.
In the end, the participating farmers expressed their appreciation for this initiative, noting the motivation it provided to adopt floriculture crops like Marigold to enhance their economic returns. They showed interest in utilizing their available resources judiciously to achieve maximum profitability and meet both local and export demand for flowers, given better market opportunities.
