Jammu, Nov 10: Minister for Agriculture Production, Finance, Mining and Cooperative Departments, Javid Ahmad Dar, on Tuesday chaired a review meeting with senior officers of the Horticulture Department to assess the progress of ongoing projects and implementation of development schemes aimed at strengthening the horticulture sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was attended by Director Horticulture Jammu Gul Syed, Director Horticulture Kashmir Vikas Anand, Managing Director JKHPMC Mohammad Farooq and other senior officers.
The Minister called for a focused, outcome-oriented and farmer-centric approach to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach the intended beneficiaries, particularly small and marginal farmers. He stressed transparency, accountability and timely delivery of benefits.
Emphasising stronger field-level outreach, Javid Dar directed officers and field functionaries to undertake regular visits to horticulture areas, interact with farmers and assess their problems. He said such visits should help identify bottlenecks and ensure prompt resolution of grievances.
He also called for intensified awareness and extension activities to familiarise farmers with government schemes, financial assistance, technological interventions and available support facilities. No eligible farmer, he stressed, should be deprived of benefits due to lack of awareness or procedural hurdles.
Underlining the need for district-specific planning, the Minister directed officers to assess the horticultural potential, production patterns and requirements of individual districts and introduce need-based, crop-specific interventions.
Javid Dar stressed strengthening the entire horticulture value chain, including production, productivity, post-harvest management, processing and marketing, to ensure better returns for farmers.
He called for coordinated efforts among the Horticulture Department, Jammu and Kashmir Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (JKHPMC) and allied agencies for effective implementation of programmes and optimum utilisation of resources.
During the meeting, officers presented a detailed account of the physical and financial progress of various ongoing schemes and projects being implemented by the Horticulture Department, JKHPMC and allied sectors.