In a bid to develop the horticulture sector in the State, clusters of various horticulture enterprises are being developed at small levels in many places of the State and the scope of the cluster of enterprises will have to be expanded and accelerated, said Director Horticulture, Varun Ranjan on Saturday.
Ranjan said this as Chief Guest of the two-day training of horticulture instructors of Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Jharkhand, on the integration of government schemes of better horticulture system in sustainable development of horticulture sector organized at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU).
On the occasion, the Director said that to speed up the rapid development in the horticulture sector in the State, the horticulture officials need to be in constant contact with the beneficiaries of the schemes. He emphasized on giving training to the garden instructors according to the area and enterprise needs of the farmers. He said that in the current year, programs of establishment of center of excellence on vegetable and flower in Dumka and Hazaribagh respectively, strengthening of 25 nurseries, re-development of all 150 nurseries in the next 5 years, development of Birsa Smart Agro Farm in 2 districts and others are being run. Due to the scarcity of staff in the department, coordinators will be appointed soon at the block and district level to speed up the operation of the scheme, he added.
On the occasion, the Director honored the resource person and participating garden officials and KVK scientists by giving certificates and Momento.
On this occasion farmers got training through the Sarva Seva Samiti, Ranchi. The team was given practical information by giving a direct overview of the techniques through the Directorate of Extension Education of the University. During the visit, Head of the Department Rekha Sinha, told about the useful tool in processing and value addition of crop products to farmers. The team was informed about mushroom cultivation throughout the year in the university's mushroom production unit. On the occasion, Smita Sweta apprised the farmers about the technical characteristics of various crops in the Technology Park of the University.
After the visit, a farmer-scientific interaction program was organized by the Directorate of Extension Education. On the occasion, Director Extension Education, Jagarnath Oraon shared the agricultural experiences with the farmers.
The farmers were informed about the proper use of irrigation resources and the success of the farmers of the State. Deputy Director (Communications), Valeria Lakra gave information about watershed and water management.