Monitor News Desk
Jammu: The Government of India has sanctioned the establishment of three Common Incubation Facility Centres worth Rs 7.81 crore at Anantnag, Baramulla and Jammu districts of J&K to boost the production, processing, and export of horticulture, dairy, and fish sectors in the Union Territory.
Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare Department, Navin Kumar Choudhary, while explaining about details of this approval, said the first incubation facility Centre will be established at Anantnag with an estimated cost of Rs. 2.70 crore which will have focus on processing fish and fishery-based products.
“The Centre will aim for manifold increase in production of fish, processing, packaging and export to different parts of the country as well as abroad,” he added.
He said that the second Centre will be established at Narwal, Jammu, with an estimated cost of Rs. 2.68 crore for processing of dairy products.
“The Government is according focused consideration on increasing milk production and Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be transformed into milk surplus territory,” he added.
He said that focus of this facility will be to promote value addition by way of producing milk based products like butter, cheese, ghee, chocolate and packaging and marketing of the products on scientific lines.
“J&K will soon turn into one of the important destinations of milk-based products,” he added.
The third Incubation facility centre, Choudhary said, will be established at Baramulla for processing of apple and other fruits and vegetables.
This, he said, will give a “new dimension” to processing, packaging of fruits and vegetables of international standard and “consequently offer better marketing and income to the growers”.
“Horticulture Department is already implementing an ambitious scheme of High Density Plantation and establishment of large scale CA stores,” he added.
Choudhary said that one more proposal of establishment of Incubation Centre at Ramban is likely to be considered by the Centre shortly. This proposed Centre will focus on olive, lavender and other important products like Rajmash of erstwhile Doda region.
He further informed that three sanctioned Incubation Facility Centres at Anantnag, Baramulla and Jammu will be completed in one year’s time. He hoped that these Centres will prove to be a milestone in the history of processing and marketing of Agricultural, Horticulture, Dairy and Fish products in J&K. It will certainly help in achieving the goal of doubling the income of farmers.
Jammu and Kashmir Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (J&K HPMC) Limited has been designated as the Nodal Agency for execution of all these three sanctioned projects.
MD, JK HPMC, Shafaat Sultan, expressed confidence over setting up of these Centres within the given time lines.
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