Jammu, May 14: To promote winter maize cultivation, the Government would explore the possibility to set up community bore- wells to augment the irrigation facilities in potential areas by extending full support to the farmers.
 Minister for Agriculture   Ghulam Hassan Mir said at a meeting convened here today to review the cultivation of winter maize in the State.
 A group of local progressive farmers, besides senior officers of the Agriculture Department were present in the meeting.
 The Minister congratulated the farmers for adopting     diversification in cropping system for higher productivity and better   returns and also expressed satisfaction over the intercropping of maize with peas adopted by some farmers.
 While appreciating their efforts, the Minister instructed the Officers of the Department to facilitate the marketing of the produce by tying up with concerned Departments in Katra   and Kashmir region , where a large number of tourists visit every year.
 During the meeting, the farmers informed that besides green cobs the grain would also fetch better returns.
 Mir asked the Director Agriculture Jammu to explore the feasibility for providing community bore- wells to augment the irrigation facilities in potential areas with full government support.
 Giving details about the measures taken by the department to promote diversification of cropping, Director Agriculture,   Ajay Khajuria apprised the Minister that 167 quintals of Seeds was provided to the farmers to cover 835 hectare  of   under winter maize during the Rabi 2010-11  season in Jammu Division. The Director further said that overall production of crop remained very excellent, especially in sub-tropical areas.
 Among others   Chief Agriculture Officer, Jammu   S.R.Galotra and Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer, Marh   Manzoor Ahmed Mir also attended the meeting.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 14 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 IST