Early Times Report
KISHTWAR, Sept 1: In an effort to empower local farmers with advanced agricultural knowledge and techniques, a series of farmer training programs focused on the scientific cultivation of Amaranthus crops were conducted in Kishtwar district. These initiatives were organized by the Division of Agronomy and KVK Kishtwar SKUAST Jammu, as part of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) sponsored Project titled "Exploration of underutilized Amaranthus species for sustainable livelihood, nutritional security, and climate resilience of Western Himalayas." The training sessions took place in Pranzil, Sigdi Dadpeth, Talaran, and Palmar villages within the district.
Under the guidance of Dr. SK Gupta, Director Extension SKUAST Jammu, and Dr. BC Sharma, Dean Faculty of Agriculture at SKUAST-J Chatha, who also serves as the Principal Investigator of the project, these training programs were organized by Dr. Narinder Paul, Head of KVK Kishtwar and Co-PI of the project. Dr. Vishal Gupta, Associate Professor in the Division of Plant Pathology at SKUAT-J, Co-PI, and Dr. Anil Kumar, Research Fellow, were also instrumental in conducting the programs.
Throughout the training sessions, a total of 90 farmers were provided with valuable insights into Good Agricultural Practices suited for higher hill regions, the potential of underutilized grains of Amaranthus grown in various areas of the district, effective weed management techniques, and cultivation practices for improved varieties of Amaranthus crops. The objective was to encourage the adoption of scientific methods for Amaranthus cultivation.
Farmers were also encouraged to consider Amaranthus cultivation due to its resilience to kharif drought conditions, which are prevalent in many parts of the district. The training programs witnessed active participation from local farmers, including Lal Chand, Kuldeep Sharma, Dunni Chand, Ashwani Kumar, Meena Devi, Farooq Ahmad, Jamala Begum, Kush Mohammad, Rahida Begum, Madan Lal, Anoop Raina, and 80 others.
These farmer training initiatives aim to enhance agricultural practices, improve crop yields, and ultimately contribute to the sustainable livelihoods, nutritional security, and climate resilience of the Western Himalayas region. |
