Srinagar, Apr 13: Mustard oil seed cultivation has achieved momentum in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district with the agriculture department expecting bumper crop production this year.
Chief Agriculture Officer Kupwara, Ghulam Mohammad Dhobi said this year the Agriculture Department has brought 6,700 hectares of land under oilseed cultivation during 2022-23 (Rabi season) which is a record number so far.
Last year, he said the area under mustard cultivation in the frontier district was 4,300 hectares. “We are working on a mission mode over the past two years to being more land under mustard oil cultivation and double farmer income,” the CAO said.
Over the years, the agriculture department has been working to further push mustard oil cultivation and now farmers have brought more land under its cultivation this year.
“We have huge land area in Kupwara for mustard cultivation but unfortunately at many places, there are waterlogged areas and mustard seed would not survive there,” he said.
Dhobi said this year nearly 30,000 farmers have been involved in mustard cultivation and the production is likely to witness a boost this year. He said last year, 43,000 quintals of mustard was produced in the district.
“We have achieved a momentum feat. Now people would have mustard oil in their own land. They do not need to get oil from markets,” he said.
The CAO also said that the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) of the Agriculture Production Department, has charted out the roadmap for the promotion of oilseed cultivation and it has been given due consideration.
The oil seed project includes several interventions aimed at increasing oilseed production and productivity, with an estimated annual output worth Rs 1290 crore.
In Kashmir region, oilseeds are grown in almost all areas. Last week, the Agriculture Department Kashmir revealed that during 2022-23, an area of 1.5 lakh hectares has been brought under oilseeds cultivation in Kashmir.
To realize the Prime Minister’s goal of doubling the farmer income, the Department of Agriculture Kashmir last year launched a massive campaign under the ‘National Mission on Edible Oils’ for doubling the area under Oilseeds (Mustard).
