STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Professor JP Sharma, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu has been nominated as a senior committee member at National level from Agricultural Universities to promote Zero budget based farming to change cropping pattern keeping in mind the changing needs of the country and to make MSP more effective and transparent.
The committee has been constituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Government of India issued in the Gazette of India vide notification on 12.07.2022. The Committee has been constituted to provide suggestions to make available MSP to farmers of the country by making the system more effective and transparent; give suggestions on practicality to give more autonomy to Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and measures to make it more scientific and to strengthen the Agricultural Marketing System as per the changing requirements of the country to ensure higher value to the farmers through remunerative prices of their produce by taking advantage of the domestic and export opportunities.
The Committee will also suggest programmes and schemes for value chain development, protocol validation & research for future needs and support for area expansion under the Indian Natural Farming System by publicity and through involvement and contribution of farmer organizations; strategies for making Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) and other Research & Development institutions as knowledge centers, and introduction of natural farming system curriculum and skill development courses in the Universities and other educational Institutions and suggest farmer friendly alternative certification system and marketing system for natural farming processes and products. Committee will also suggest for mapping of existing cropping patterns of agro-ecological zones of producer and consumer states, Strategy for diversification policy to change the cropping pattern according to the changing needs of the country, arrangement for agricultural diversification & system to ensure remunerative prices for the sale of new crops and Review and suggestion on micro irrigation scheme are the other areas where committee will work to promote farming.
Dr J. P. Sharma is presently Vice-Chancellor of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu and has been recently elected with prestigious NAAS Fellowship. Prof Sharma is also a member of the General Assembly of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi and Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) Society, Dehradun and has been awarded with various prestigious awards at National level.
Dr. Sharma is recipient of more than 60 awards/recognition including Dr. Rajendra Prasad Puruskar and Hari Om Ashram Trust Award of ICAR, Best Agricultural Extension Scientist Award of IARI, Raj Bhasha Gaurav Puraskar of Ministry of Home Affairs, Manthan Award-South Asia, MANAGE Best Agricultural Extension Book Award and Dr. G.S.Vidyarthi Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of agricultural extension. He has vast experience of 33 years conducting strategic research, guiding, teaching postgraduate students, conducting national/ international training programmes and carrying out agricultural development interventions at the national level.