Advisor to Governor Farooq Ahmad Khan Thursday chaired a meeting here to take stock of controlled atmosphere storage facilities being provided to the fruit growers of the valley.
Secretary Agriculture and Horticulture Manzoor Ahmad Lone,Director Horticulture Kashmir Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, Director Horticulture Planningand Marketing Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari and representatives of CA storeentrepreneurs were present in the meeting, according to an officialspokesperson.
During the meeting, Advisor Khan said that horticulturesector is the backbone of the State’s economy and has a vast potential toemerge as a viable and lucrative venture. He said that the value addition ofthe fruit products is the prime concern of the Government and the focus is toincrease the shelf life of fruit crops by introducing hi-tech cold storagefacilities at every fruit growing area.
He said that the horticulture sector of the state has a vastpotential of high-density plantation as the agro-climatic condition of thestate is feasible and directed the officers to take initiatives to bring moreareas under the plantation.
Khan also stressed upon the officers to reach out to thegrowers with the latest technologies and aware them regarding post-harvesthandling and storage of the fruit cropsso that the shelf life of the crop is increased for getting more returns whileselling the fruit crops during offseason.
Advisor directed the officers of Horticulture Department torope in young educated youth of the state, train them with latest technologicalinterventions and innovations so that they are converted into successfulentrepreneurs for earning their livelihood.
On the occasion, Secretary Horticulture apprised the meetingregarding the availability of cold storage facilities and said that the coldstorage facilities across the state will be upgraded and new units will beestablished for the benefit of the growers.
The CA store entrepreneurs raised various issues whichincluded finance, bad condition of roads resulting in spoilage of fruit cropsduring transit and transportation, more funds for establishing grading andpacking units and raised the demand for an extensive horticulture estate in thestate.
The Advisor gave the CA store entrepreneurs a patienthearing and assured that all of their genuine issues will be looked into andaddressed accordingly.