Srinagar, June 17: The Agriculture Department Kashmir has expected bumper production of garlic this year and the prices have also increased compared to previous years, officials said.
Joint Director, Agriculture Department Kashmir (Inputs), Mohd Younis Chowdhary said last year valley produced 16,000 Mt of garlic and this year they expect 29,000 Mt.
“Rates have also gone up this year compared to previous years. This year farmers get Rs 53-60 for one kilogram of garlic. In previous years, farmers would get just Rs 30 for one kilogram of garlic and this is for the first time that rates have gone up,” he said.
On Friday, Director Agriculture Kashmir, Chowdhary Muhammad Iqbal along with the Joint Director visited Jablipora Kulgam Mandi where a huge quantity of garlic was ready to be dispatched to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other States of the country.
“There was one consignment of 100 metric tons and that belongs to Kulgam and Shopian districts only and the quality of the produce was very good,” the Joint Director said.
He said earlier the farmers were not allowed to send vegetables and spices to the Jablipora Kulgam Mandi which belongs to the Department of Horticulture Planning & Marketing. “However, the matter was taken up with the concerned department to use the Mandi for vegetables and spices. This year that has happened and farmers have now got a space there,” he said.
The Joint Director attributed the expected increase in garlic production to the high market value adding that farmers are showing keen interest in expanding garlic farming.
“We had also distributed high-quality seed to the farmers. It all depends on the market. The department has also worked and stressed on the spices including garlic,” he said.
Younis said the agriculture department played an important role in marketing and the department kept a special provision for the marketing of garlic. “When the rates are up, every farmer would like to sell the garlic produce instead of keeping it at home for domestic use,” he said.
He also said the J&K government has approved many 29 projects under Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) and there is a special provision for vegetables and garlic.
The Agriculture Production Department launched a mass farmer orientation program, developed an innovative IT dashboard to facilitate farmers’ access to the projects and launched a groundbreaking Hybrid Skilling initiative with the name “DAKSH KISAN” offering over 121 certification courses to farmers and rural communities, he said.
