Agriculture & Allied Sectors

May our barns be filled with crops of every kind.
“If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate
The fields to produce more bread, otherwise, there will be no peace”

Agriculture occupies an important place in the economy of the district. The importance of agriculture in the district economy can be gauged from the fact that during the year 2019-20, 64.56% of the reporting area was under agriculture activities in one way or the other. While making manual and mechanized efforts to increase the agriculture production we should take care of the fertility of the soil. The soil should not be allowed to lose its fertility and should be improved and maintained by applying additional doses of chemical and organic fertilizers and by routine crop rotations. There should be a scientific land mapping and management. We should be able to identify the good land from the bad land and where we find bad land we should try to improve its soil and soil constituents. “Vegetation comes out of good land in abundance, by the will of its Lord, but out of bad land only scantily.” This chapter relates with land utilization pattern, area under crops, land holding sizes, agriculture inputs and minor irrigation schemes.
We have to make all out efforts that no cultivable and arable land is left unploughed and uncultivated. We should resist every move to convert the agricultural land to non-agricultural uses not even for horticultural purposes. Horticulture can be raised and developed on other uncultivated and fallow lands. We are already facing shortage of food grains and have to import it in large quantities from other neighboring states to feed our growing population. Hence we cannot bear this unbearable. We should also work for establishment of seed banks of paddy as the valley boasted of such varieties of paddy which are now almost extinct. However, if the department conducts a survey in the upper reaches some can be traced and if cultivated under scientific and supervisory conditions can bring laurels and dollars to the valleyites. Agricultural Department is duty bound to update the geographical area under different agricultural crops in collaboration with the Financial Commissioner Revenue. Then and only then we will be able to know and show where our agricultural sector is landing.
No agricultural activity is possible without adequate irrigation. Our valley had in abundant surface and ground water resources. With the onset of spring we would enjoy the bounty of the winter in the form of murmuring music of the running brooks, streams, and rivulets. The stateliness and majesty of the river Jehlum was worth to be observed. But the scenario has changed for the worse as we do not see much increase in the flow of water with the passing off the winter. This will have serious ramifications for the valley. We all should think over it individually and collectively and see where we are remiss. We should save our water bodies form shrinking and pollution, if we fail to do so then we have to rely on imported bottled water and face desertification.
Agriculture is contingent upon Irrigation. To maintain and increase the arable area irrigation schemes, Minor & Major, are being implemented and completed both under District and State sectors.

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