Union Minister for ‘actively promoting’ use of organic, bio-fertilizers in J&K

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Jammu: 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&K Manzoor Ahmed Lone, Director Fertilizer Movement (FM), GOI, Harvinder Singh, Director Agriculture, Jammu, (Controller Fertilizer J&K), P. S. Rathore, Director Law Enforcement, J & K, A. R. Samoon were also present on the occasion.
Stressing on the importance of inculcating sustainable and organic agricultural practices in farmers, the Minister said ‘the indiscriminate and un-judicious use of Chemical Fertilizers is harmful for the health of humans as well as animals. It is essential that government actively supports farmers to shift to organic practices that will not only yield healthy crop but also help improve structure and quality of the soil and increase its ability to hold water and nutrients.’
For this, he asked the department to actively promote use of organic/bio-fertilizers in the state. He also asked the department to engage with agriculture experts to identify sustainable ways for adoption of need based technology in farm sector.
Taking note of the issues pertaining to supply of fertilizer in the state, the Minster said avenues will be explored to set up storage facilities for fertilizer to create buffer stock of fertilizer to ensure no shortages during peak demand seasons. He said that the demands for opening of additional Rake Points and for developing infrastructure at existing rake points will be taken under consideration.
The Minister also directed officers of the State Agriculture Production Department and the Fertilizer Supplying Companies to adhere to the guidelines and deadlines to bring transparency in the fertilizer business and to ensure timely supply of quality fertilizers to the farmers. He further asked to monitor the correct data entry regarding fertilizer stocks and sale records by the Wholesalers and Retailers in their respective areas.
Earlier, the Minister was briefed about the existing infrastructure for supply of fertilizers, primary movement of fertilizer supplies in the Jammu and Kashmir Divisions, fertilizer targets for stocking and receipts during the current year.
Secretary Agriculture Production Department apprised that 62702 qtls of fertilizers have been received during Kharif 2019-20 against target of 91000 qtl which include 36941 qtls of Urea, 14602 qtls of DAP, 10294 qtls of MOP and 855 qtls of NPK fertilizers for availability to farmers of Jammu and Kashmir Divisions. He asked the Fertilizer Supplying Companies to ensure timely stocking of fertilizers particularly in the valley in view of the closure of Jammu–Srinagar National Highway during winter and inclement weather conditions.
The Minister was also apprised of the problems being faced in the fertilizer movement in the state, the need for augmenting current infrastructure including need for opening of additional Rake Points.
The meeting was also attended by Joint Director (Inputs), Kashmir, Deepak Kuchroo, Joint Director of Agriculture (Extension) Anil Arora, Chief Agriculture Officer Reasi O.S. Choudhary, State Manager, NFL, Prem Lal, State Manager, CFCL, Manish Jain, State Manager, IPL, Ravi Agarwal, Senior Manager, IFFCO, Nirmal Singh and other senior officers of State Agriculture Production Department.