A Divisional level Training programme on ‘Dairy development in J&K’ (Implementation framework of Mission Milk) was held at the Directorate of Agriculture Kashmir.
The programme was jointly inaugurated by Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhury Mohammad Iqbal and Director Animal Husbandry department, Purnima Mittal.
Addressing the inaugural session, Director Agriculture highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts between the allied departments for the successful implementation of projects under holistic development of agriculture and allied sector. He asked the officers of allied departments to work in close coordination for achieving the desired results.
Speaking on the occasion, Director Animal Husbandry said that the dairying sector has huge potential in the UT of J&K and it is emerging as an important sector of the Agriculture economy. She said the income from Dairy sector could contribute to the overall income of the farmers significantly.
She said there are a number of success stories of farmers, budding entrepreneurs in the dairy sector whose achievements could be replicated with the concerned dairy farmers.
Director Animal Husbandry said, with the implementation of this mission the milk production is expected to increase from 2594k metric tons to 4468k Metric tons, with a growth rate of 7.57% per annum. By the year 2027 we are expected to have 1633k Metric tons surplus milk with per capita availability of 930 gms, she added.
She said with the implementation of this programme, 6.6 lakh farmers will get benefited over the period of five years.
A threadbare discussion was held on the implementation of the project wherein stake holders provided feedback and suggestions on the various aspects of the programme.
The programme was attended by Joint Director Agriculture (Extension ), Mohammad Syeed Peer; Joint Director Agriculture (Inputs), Farooq Ahmad Bhat; Joint Director Animal Husbandry (Poultry), Mohammad Younis Chauhan; Joint Director Research, Dr. Mohammad Hussian Wani; Deputy Director (Central), Dr. Altaf Ahmad Laway; Officers of Agriculture Department, Sheep Husbandry, Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-K, KVKs, and other allied wings.