Highlights of Salient Achievements

• Substituted 40% of coarse rice cultivation with Pusa Basmati varieties in the plains of Jammu region led to a significant increase in profitability, yielding an extra Rs. 16,000 per hectare.
• Transformed maize production over an area of 80% Intermediate hills and Temperate zones by replacing composites with hybrid varieties resulted in enhanced productivity by 28 quintals per hectare.
• Supported the Purple Revolution in 28 villages of Doda district, replacing maize cultivation with Lavender, boosted profitability by Rs. 21,000 per hectare.
• Strengthened over 200 farmers in the Kandi (rainfed) villages of Jammu through Harad cultivation, with each tree yielding an average of 100-120 kgs and generating an average income of Rs. 1800 per tree.
• Contributing to the preservation of traditional Basmati rice in Jammu by producing over 400 quintals of high-quality seed annually.
• Over 500 rural youths in 21 batches secured employment opportunities in the past three years after completing certificate courses (15-days each) on Integrated Nutrient Management since 2021.
• Supported the growth of more than 1000 entrepreneurs in mushroom growing and bee-keeping enterprises.
• Empowering Pashu Sakhis: An alternative community-led livestock extension service mechanism of NDDB has been promoted, led to generation of employment for 312 Pashu Sakhis, from remote villages in 12 batches of the Jammu region in 2023-24.
• Benefitted over 1 lakh farmers and enabled them to have access to information related to Agriculture and allied sectors besides various schemes through Regional Agriculture Fairs and Kisan Melas organized by the Directorate during 2019-2024.
• In the 2023-24 period, the Directorate introduced a recent intervention by demonstrating the utilization of agricultural drones to farmers, covering an extensive area of 300 hectares. This initiative aimed to facilitate the adoption of time and energy-saving technologies in agriculture.
• Developed and uploaded over 200 videos under YouTube channels and Daksh Kisan program to empower farmers and agri-preneurs by providing access to high-quality training and educational resources under Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP).
• Facilitating market linkages for over 1500 farmers through 15 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) promoted by the Directorate since 2021.
• Created employment opportunities for more than 500 farm women in the Reasi district through Self-Help Groups (SHGs), involving value addition and processing, with an average annual income of Rs. 2.49 lakh per group.
• Encouraged marigold cultivation in 36 villages of Doda district, involving over 680 households and generating a collective annual turnover of Rs. 1 crore.
• Providing on-the-spot solutions to farmers' queries under the new initiative 'Vice Chancellor to Village' Programme.
• Delivered capacity building support in Extension Management to 6683 extension functionaries through 222 programs, encompassing participants from both public and private sectors under SAMETI.
• Fifty extension functionaries from various line departments successfully completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Extension Management (PGDAEM), while 80 rural youth accomplished the Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI) provided by MANAGE Hyderabad.
• Successfully advocated for the adoption of high egg laying backyard poultry breeds among rural youth and women farmers, resulting in a net annual income of Rs 16000 per 20 birds.
• Enhanced the overall health and productivity of dairy animals by introducing urea mineral molasses blocks in fodder-deficient regions, leading to an increase of 1-1.25 kg in daily milk production per animal.