Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced a Rs 560-crore project under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) to strengthen the existing market infrastructure and create a robust market ecosystem that caters to the needs of all stakeholders.
Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, emphasized that the proposed project will be segmented into several key areas. “These included market reforms, infrastructure development, institutional and capacity building, branding, digital marketing, and market research information systems. The project aims to achieve its objectives through an investment of Rs 560 crore, which will be spread over a period of five years,” he said.
The agriculture and allied sectors in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are poised for significant growth and boost with the launch of a slew of technological advancements and extension programs, he said.
These interventions, incentivized through various schemes and projects, have already led to improvements in the quality and quantity of produce in the region.
However, the challenge remains in integrating smallholder produce with market systems that are both effective and transparent. This will ensure that farmers receive a fair price for their goods while consumers get good value for their money.
“To tackle this issue, Jammu and Kashmir is implementing a project under the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) that aims to strengthen the existing market infrastructure and create a robust market ecosystem that caters to the needs of all stakeholders,” he said.
Dulloo expressed confidence that this project will bring about significant improvements in agriculture and allied sectors in Jammu and Kashmir, providing a boost to the region’s economy and benefiting farmers and consumers alike.
The project aims to improve the Terms of Trade (ToT) in favour of farmers, improve efficiency and effectiveness of the market ecosystem and minimize the value loss while maximizing societal welfare, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department said.
The proposed activities or areas of intervention will strengthen the existing agricultural marketing system in J-K, bringing long-term dividends across stakeholders, particularly farmer-producers, he said.
“The proposed project also envisages significant growth in agriculture and allied sectors through various activities. The market reforms included implementation of an open auction system, a single license for trading in all mandies, and institutionalization of post-harvest infrastructure with the eNAM network,” Dulloo said.
He further said, “Infrastructure development will involve converting mandies into value chain parks, creating new mandies and installing composting units. Besides, institutional building and capacity development will focus on the formation of Niche Product Marketing FPOs.”
The Directorate of Horticulture, Planning and Marketing will be responsible for the on-ground implementation of the project and will serve as the nodal agency for providing unified licensing to potential traders.
The government of J-K is set to implement this new project that aims to transform the agriculture sector through a multi-faceted approach. This approach includes market reforms, development of infrastructure, and promotion of institutional building and capacity development of Niche Product Marketing FPOs, he added.
Market reforms will bring transparency and fairness in trading practices, genuine prices for produce, increase the number of buyers, and fair competition. This will result in an increase in producers’ share in the consumer rupee, he stated.
Dulloo further said, infrastructure development will create an efficient and effective market ecosystem, minimize value loss, overcome distress sales, improve logistics, adhere to quality standards, ease of doing business, target unattended geographies, waste to wealth, and minimize environmental pollution.
Private entrepreneurs will be responsible for the development of infrastructure, including CA stores, grading lines, mini cold stores, reefer vans and pick-up vans. The Directorate of Horticulture, Planning and Marketing will establish composting units at potential mandies, and also create new mandies in collaboration with the respective District Administrations, he said.
The promotion and support of institutional building and capacity development of Niche Product Marketing FPOs will be done in collaboration with allied departments and Agriculture Universities of the UT, he stated.
The emphasis will be laid on the branding of agriculture produce to promote marketing and competitive advantage of Niche crops. This will also result in scale economies in input and output marketing, operations, bargaining power, contract farming, better terms of trade (ToT), self-reliance, and confidence, Dulloo said.
The project will also include the identification, capacity building, and promotion of Rural Business and Service Hubs (RBSHs) across all districts of J-K. This intervention will provide quality inputs/services, improve logistics in management operations, improve yield and quality produce, technology outreach, extension of improved varieties and machines, and market information, he further stated.
The Government of J-K has announced a range of incentives aimed at strengthening the state’s market infrastructure.
Under the initiative, a 50 per cent capital subsidy will be offered for the establishment of 11 Controlled Atmosphere (CA) stores, each with a capacity of 5000 MT, at a unit cost of Rs 30.00 crore
In addition, a 50 per cent per cent subsidy will be provided for the establishment of 12 hi-tech grading lines, 275 portable grading lines, reefer vans, pick-up vans, and mini cold stores. Four mechanized windrow composting units, 16 simple composting units, and four new mandies will also be established at a cost of Rs 49.00 crore, he said.
The Institutional Building and Capacity Development component of the project will see 55 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) established with an investment of Rs 11.00 crore, and 35 capacity-building training programs arranged for FPOs, costing Rs. 1.05 crore Additionally, two Agriculture and Branding Centers will be established in each division at a cost of Rs 5.20 crore, Dulloo said.
A 50 per cent subsidy will be provided for establishment of 400 Rural Business and Service Hubs, with a ceiling of Rs 15 lakh on each hub.
The infrastructure for digital marketing and market intelligence will be established at a cost of Rs 11.30 crore The implementation of these interventions is expected to have a significant impact. The government anticipates that farmers’ income will double from 45 per cent to 90 per cent, while the reduction of value loss is expected to be between 20 per cent and 50 per cent, he said.
The off-season availability of fruits and vegetables is also expected to improve. Value creation is anticipated to increase by 25 per cent to 75 per cent, and there will be an increase in income, value output, employment, reduced food wastage, and an efficient decision support system, he said
Dulloo further stated, “The project will result in several key outputs, including the establishment of 11 CA stores with a capacity of 55,000 MT, 12 hi-tech grading lines, 25 mini cold stores, four new mandies in Samba, Reasi, Kishtwar, and Bandipora, 400 Rural Business and Service Hubs, two Agri Branding centers, and one Market Intelligence Cell. This project is also expected to create 6,000 jobs and 629 enterprises in the next five years.”
The government of J-K plans to implement a project that aims to transform the agriculture sector through a multi-faceted approach. It will bring transparency and fairness in trading practices, create an efficient and effective market ecosystem, promote institutional building and capacity development of Niche Product Marketing FPOs, and improve digital marketing.