The third bi-monthly meeting of the District Development Managers (DDM) of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) held at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni here on Monday.

 

Fifteen DDM from Uttarakhand discussed the possibilities of horticulture in their state with the scientists of the university. The meeting is part of NABARD’sinitiative to expose their officers to thetechnological advancements and opportunities in the horticulture sector, so that they can promote the schemes associated with it among farmers. Despite the two states, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, sharing a similar topography and climatic conditions, the former has failed to utilize its potential in the field of horticulture.

 

Dr Hari Sharma, UHF Vice Chancellor, Dr. Vijay Singh Thakur, Director Extension Education, and DN Magar and Kishan Singh, Chief General Managers of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Regional Offices respectively, attended the event.

 

Speaking at the occasion, DN Manager took up the issue of rural migration in the two states. “In Uttarakhand there are over 978 ghost villages and over 1.14 lakh hectares of land has gone barren in the state. This is not the case in Himachal because of horticulture,” added Magar.It was also felt that there needed to be greater collaboration between ‘Credit and Extension’.

 

Calling for making agriculture a respectable profession among youth, Dr HC Sharma emphasized on improving the education of the farmers. He said that both states had the advantage of off season vegetable market and the scope for production of high quality ginger, turmeric and garlic. He also stressed on the need to set up seed hub in villages.In the first technical session, Dr VS Thakur, shared the details about the apple cultivation in the state and the problems associated with its production.

 

As part of the meeting, the delegates attended four technical lectures on farming of fruit, vegetables and flowers with an expert lecture on apple cultivation in the two states. The delegates also visited the hi-tech floriculture, medicinal and aromatic plants farms. On the second day, the officers will be visiting the Chambaghat based Directorate of Mushroom Research and KrishiVigyan Kendra, Kandaghat.