The Jammu and Kashmir administration has recently announced a new project worth Rs 560 crore under their Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP). This project, according to Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, will help to strengthen the existing market infrastructure and create a more efficient market ecosystem that is aimed at providing value to the stakeholders involved.
The project is divided into key areas such as market reforms, infrastructure development, institutional building and capacity building, branding, digital marketing and market research information systems. It includes the implementation of an open auction system, a single licence for trading in all mandies, and institutionalizing post-harvest infrastructure with the help of the eNAM network. The proposed activities are expected to strengthen the existing agricultural market system in the region, providing long-term benefits for all stakeholders, especially farmers.
Atal Dulloo emphasized that the project focus is on improving the Terms of Trade (ToT) and ultimately, the share of income in favour of the farmers. The project aims to also reduce value loss as well as maximize society welfare by having efficient and effective market ecosystem, quality standards, ease of doing business and waste-to-wealth interventions.
The Directorate of Horticulture, Planning and Marketing is responsible for overseeing the on-ground implementation. Incentives such as a 50% capital subsidy will be provided for infrastructure development such as Controlled Atmosphere (CAS) stores, grading lines, mini cold stores and reefer vans. The government also plans to invest Rs 11 crore to establishing 55 FPOs and Rs 1.05 crore towards capacity-building programs.
The government of J-K hopes that this project will be beneficial to farmers and consumers alike as it will help create more opportunities, promote efficient and effective market ecosystems, reduce value loss and increase income. All of these interventions are expected to foster significant growth and boost to the state’s agriculture and allied sectors in the near future.
The company mentioned in this article is eNAM (National Agriculture Market). It is a pan India e-commerce market platform that facilitates trading of agricultural commodities among buyers and sellers. It aims to facilitate direct and seamless access to other farmers, traders and consumers. The platform also provides access to real-time information on prices of commodities, agri-advisory and agro meteorological services, and strong logistics and supply chain services.
The person mentioned in this article is Atal Dulloo. He is the Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department for the Jammu and Kashmir administration. He has worked on various initiatives to improve the agricultural sector in the region. Most recently, he has been instrumental in introducing the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) project worth Rs 560 crore to strengthen the existing market infrastructure and create a more efficient market ecosystem. He is confident that this project will bring significant improvements to the agriculture and allied sectors in the region, benefiting both farmers and consumers.
