STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said that Jammu and Kashmir has diverse agro-climatic zones, which provide ample scope of adopting farm level diversifications.
“With this scientific solution, we can mitigate the impact of climate change and will be able to generate higher farm revenue from the same piece of land,” the Lt Governor said while addressing the inaugural session of the 6th J&K Agricultural Science Congress on “Diversification of Agriculture for Self-Reliant Mountain Agro-Ecology” at SKUAST Jammu.

LG lauds significant contribution of Police, SFs to society, nation

JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday lauded the significant contribution of the Police and Security personnel to the society and the nation.
“I am proud of Police and Security Forces. I bow to their magnificent heroism and selfless sacrifice to safeguard country’s integrity and sovereignty,” the Lt Governor said while speaking at the closing ceremony of 72nd All India Police Hockey (Men/Women) Championship at K.K Hakku Hockey Stadium.
The Lt Governor congratulated the J&K Police and all participating teams. He also felicitated the best performing teams and players on the occasion.
Sports inspire the youth to be fearless. Sports challenges the youth to achieve the new milestones. Sports have the power to unite the people, society and the nations, the Lt Governor observed.
He said the participation of more than 700 players from different states and UTs and strong display of Nari Shakti in this tournament signifies that with greater determination, teamwork and unity, we can overcome any challenge.
“Sports create constant challenges in life so that in our journey of nation building there is no stagnation but dynamism and every moment something new is created which makes the nation stronger,” he said.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor paid homage to the Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. He also appreciated the incredible arrangements and the impressive performances of all the players.
A total of 25 men and 9 women teams participated in the tournament.
Earlier, the Lt Governor inspected and took salute at an impressive march past by the players of different teams. A souvenir of the tournament was also released by the Lt Governor.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; RR Swain, DGP J&K; Dr Mahesh Dixit, Additional Director, IB; Vijay Kumar, ADGP Law & Order; Anand Jain, ADGP Jammu; Ramesh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, senior officials of Police, Security Forces and UT administration, prominent sports personalities, sports enthusiasts and hockey lovers were present.

The Lt Governor welcomed the eminent scientists and researchers from across the country in the three-day conference.
He said the exchange of ideas and discussions among the experts on critical aspects of alternative agriculture systems, digital agriculture, start-up culture, advanced veterinary science, innovation, and data sciences will help in addressing the challenges and exploring opportunities in sustainable agriculture.
The Lt Governor directed the Agricultural Universities to prepare a strategy for diversification, value addition, supply chain management and profitable market linkage for small and marginal farmers.
The Lt Governor made certain valuable suggestions to improve productivity and make the agriculture and allied sector more lucrative for farmers and stakeholders.
He advised for chalking out an effective scientific strategy for organic and integrated farming. Our farmers should be provided necessary handholding and guidance on Monoculture farming so that they could avail the benefits of this ‘Farming of Future’, he said.
The Lt Governor emphasized on increasing awareness and dissemination of information on the benefits of crop rotation, digitization and precision farming tools among the farmers.
He also advised for Rural Action Plan for innovation, technological advances, and digital agriculture to make rural community accessible to the key flagship areas of the agriculture and allied sectors.
The Lt Governor shared various progressive steps taken by the government including Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), high density plantation, GI tags for niche products, agri-entrepreneurship, new Farmers Producers Organisations and developing educational institutions as a technical hub to support farmers.
J&K is the biggest producer of apple in the country. Last year, our annual production was 75 per cent of the country’s total production. In the last 3 years, 2.44 lakh metric tonnes of CA storage additional capacity have been added and we are aiming to add similar capacity in the next 6 months, the Lt Governor further added.
Dr. B. N. Tripathi, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu and Conference Chair emphasised upon the importance of diversification of agriculture and its potential in attaining food and livelihood security.
At SKUAST Jammu, the Lt Governor inaugurated the International Hostel of the University.
He also released the Souvenir cum Abstracts of the 6th J&K Agricultural Science Congress being organized by SKUAST-J in collaboration with J&K Science, Technology and Innovation Council, Department of Science & Technology, J&K.
On the occasion, J&K Science, Technology & Innovation Council, Department of Science & Technology handed over a cheque of the financial assistance of Rs 1.45 crore to SKUAST Jammu on account of research of R&D projects under the Sponsored Research & Extension Programme scheme.
Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice-Chancellor SKUAST Kashmir; Saurabh Bhagat, Commissioner/Secretary, Science & Technology Department; senior Officers of UT Administration and SKUAST, Agriculture Scientists, scholars and students were present.