SRINAGAR: Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Cooperative, and Election Departments, Javid Ahmad Dar, today chaired the 67th Board of Directors (BoD) meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Produce and Marketing Corporation (JKHPMC) at the Civil Secretariat here.
The meeting was attended in person and via video conferencing by senior officials including Principal Secretary Agriculture Production, Shailendra Kumar; Principal Secretary Finance, Santosh D. Vaidya; Commissioner Secretary Forest, Ecology and Environment, Sheetal Nanda; Secretary Transport, Avny Lavasa; MD NHB, Priya Rajan; MD JKHPMC, Mohd. Farooq Dar; Directors of Horticulture for Kashmir, Jammu, and P&M, and other concerned officers. Academics from SKUAST-J and SKUAST-K also participated.
During the session, the Board reviewed ongoing and planned development projects under the CAPEX budget, assessed the Corporation’s financial and operational performance over the past year, and evaluated progress on various initiatives. Completed projects highlighted included common incubation centers for apple, fruit, and vegetable processing at Doabgah Sopore; fish and marine product processing at Achabal; and bakery and dairy product processing at Narwal. Under the Apple Cluster Development Programme (Shiopan CSS-NHB), 55 horticultural clusters have been identified, with 12 selected for pilot implementation, alongside 29 projects under HADP.
Minister Dar urged the Corporation to optimize operations, leverage assets effectively, and explore new areas for growth. He emphasized adopting technological innovations to enhance competitiveness in the food sector, expanding market outreach, and promoting hi-tech horticulture for the welfare of the agricultural community.
Highlighting the sector’s potential, he noted that European consultants have previously studied the region’s horticulture, reflecting its historical significance and global relevance. The Minister stressed the need to harness this potential to drive growth and development.
Earlier, the MD of JKHPMC presented a detailed overview of ongoing projects and other key aspects of the Corporation’s work.
