Over 91,000 Units Set Up Since March 2024 Under J&K's Holistic Agricultural Development Programme

Over 91,600 agricultural units have been established across Jammu and Kashmir under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), with more than 75,000 units being monitored through the Output Tracking App (OTA), a senior government official has said.

HADP, a flagship initiative of the J&K government launched in March last year, is aimed at revamping the agricultural sector through 29 focused projects covering seed quality enhancement, niche crop cultivation, mechanisation, and market linkage development.

Managing Director, HADP, Sandeep Kumar said the initiative has generated an impressive 1.34 crore person-days of employment, reinforcing agriculture as a key livelihood engine in rural areas.

The programme has demonstrated exceptional return on investment, generating a total revenue of ₹298 crore and profits amounting to ₹126 crore for unit holders operating across multiple sectors, he said briefing a meeting chaired by chief secretary Atal Dulloo.

The meeting on Monday conducted an activity-wise, outcome-based comprehensive review of all 29 projects being implemented under the HADP aimed at boosting the agriculture, horticulture and livestock sectors across the districts of Jammu and Kashmir in a structured, time-bound and result-oriented manner, an official said.

The meeting was informed that around 82% of the units are fully operational and tracked, with the addition of 14,000 new units since the last review held in August.

The meeting also noted the pivotal role of the Daksh Kisan Portal in farmer capacity building.

The platform has registered over 3.5 lakh farmers, with 2.6 lakh enrolled in various skill-based courses, the official said, adding that so far, 2.1 lakh farmers have learned all modern agricultural techniques to enhance productivity and income.

In vegetable production, promotion of exotic vegetables led to the establishment of 7,976 units with an additional annual production of 1.95 lakh metric tones, the official said.

Milk production has reached 39 lakh metric tonnes while mutton production stands at 380 lakh kilograms, indicating steady progress towards self-sufficiency.

In trout fish farming, production has touched 2,650 metric tonnes with the establishment of 635 raceways. Additionally, distribution of 20,800 modern farm machinery units has significantly reduced manual labour and improved field efficiency, the official said.

The promotion of high-value and niche crops resulted in the production of 207.8 MT of quality planting material, including saffron and kala zeera, across both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, the official said.

Also, the integration of technology through OTA and Kisan Sathi Portal has enabled real-time monitoring, enhanced transparency and strengthened accountability in implementation of this mega agri development programme.

During the meeting, the chief secretary emphasised on achieving tangible outcomes by ensuring the establishment of targeted units under each project.

He directed the department to track every unit rigorously for productivity, sustainability and success, stating that performance indicators under each project must become the hallmark of effective implementation.

He also instructed the Agriculture Production Department to formulate a roster of senior officers for frequent field visits to districts for on-ground assessment and real-time feedback.