Handwara, June 16: Vice Chancellor of SKUAST-Kashmir, Prof. Dr. Nazir Ahmad, during his visit to the Walnut Research Centre at Kulangam Handwara, called for a complete overhaul of the walnut marketing and processing system in Kupwara district, citing the lack of standardization and proper infrastructure.
“The marketing system of Kupwara district is more like a flower system—highly disorganized,” Dr. Nazir remarked, highlighting that even a kilogram of walnuts in the local markets contains nearly 10 different varieties due to the absence of a proper grading mechanism.
He said the university, through its Research and Development (R&D) stations, is working to address this gap. “We have provided a full walnut processing value chain—right from de-hulling to grading, breaking, drying and packaging—in two villages of Kupwara district,” he added. These centres aim to streamline post-harvest handling, although he acknowledged that the current facilities cannot cater to the entire district.
Dr. Nazir said that SKUAST-K also plans to establish a dedicated processing unit at the university level and encourage local educated youth to adopt the technology for self-employment. “They can not only secure their own livelihoods but also generate jobs for others,” he noted.
He also announced plans to establish a high-tech walnut multiplication point under a protected system within the centre. “We’ve taken steps to protect the area which was earlier exposed, and further improvements are underway,” he said.
On infrastructure, Dr. Nazir assured that road connectivity to the research centre would be taken up with district authorities. “The road work has reached up to a certain point, and we will pursue its extension with the Deputy Commissioner to ensure full access,” he added.
