Union Minister of State for Chemical & Fertilizers, Mansukh L Mandaviya on Saturday convened a review meeting regarding supply and availability of fertilizers in Jammu and Kashmir.
Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, J&KManzoor Ahmed Lone, Director Fertilizer Movement (FM), GOI, Harvinder Singh,Director Agriculture, Jammu, (Controller Fertilizer J&K), PS Rathore,Director Law Enforcement, J & K, AR Samoon were also present on theoccasion.
Stressing on the importance of inculcating sustainable andorganic agricultural practices in farmers, the minister said, “Theindiscriminate and un-judicious use of Chemical Fertilizers is harmful for thehealth of humans as well as animals. It is essential that government activelysupports farmers to shift to organic practices that will not only yield healthycrop but also help improve structure and quality of the soil and increase its abilityto hold water and nutrients.”
For this, he asked the department to actively promote use oforganic/bio-fertilisers in the state. He also asked the department to engagewith agriculture experts to identify sustainable ways for adoption of needbased technology in farm sector.
Taking note of the issues pertaining to supply of fertilizerin the state, the Minster said avenues will be explored to set up storagefacilities for fertilizer to create buffer stock of fertilizer to ensure noshortages during peak demand seasons. He said that the demands for opening ofadditional Rake Points and for developing infrastructure at existing rakepoints will be taken under consideration.
The minister also directed officers of the State AgricultureProduction Department and the Fertilizer Supplying Companies to adhere to theguidelines and deadlines to bring transparency in the fertilizer business andto ensure timely supply of quality fertilizers to the farmers. He further asked to monitor the correct dataentry regarding fertilizer stocks and sale records by the Wholesalers andRetailers in their respective areas.
Earlier, the Minister was briefed about the existinginfrastructure for supply of fertilizers, primary movement of fertilizersupplies in the Jammu and Kashmir Divisions, fertiliser targets for stockingand receipts during the current year.