Bhaderwah in Doda district, J&K is the potential destination of Agri-tech StartUps of the country, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science, MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said.
After Inaugurating the country’s first ‘Lavender Festival’, the Union Minister described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said the country’s first lavender festival in Bhaderwah has been possible today only by the progressive thinking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who after taking the oath as PM in 2014 stressed that the regions which have been disconnected from the mainstream India must be connected to the mainstream through development.
Today’s Lavender Festival in the valley of Bhaderwah is the best example of development of present progressive government at the centre which should have been celebrated much earlier, Bhaderwah being the best place for lavender cultivation in terms of land and climate, he added.
The CSIR-AROMA Mission, under the Ministry of Science & Technology aims to develop and disseminate the aroma-related science and technology to reach the end user/clients of CSIR: Farmers, industry and society.
Pertinent to mention that Aroma Mission is attracting the Start-ups and agriculturists from across the country, and during Phase-I CSIR helped cultivation on 6000 hectares of land and covered 46 Aspirational districts across the country.
More than 44,000 persons have been trained and several crores of farmers’ revenue generated.
In the second Phase of Aroma Mission, it is proposed to engage over 45,000 skilled human resources with the aim of benefitting more than 75,000 farming families across the country.
CSIR-IIIM introduced lavender to farmers in Doda, Rama, Kishtwar, Kathua, Udhampur, Rajouri, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kupwara and Bandipora districts.
It provided free quality planting material and end-to-end technology package on cultivation, processing, value addition and marketing of the Lavender crop to the farmers.
CSIR-IIIM also installed 50 distillation units — 45 fixed and five mobile — at different locations across J&K under CSIR-Aroma Mission.
Lavender cultivation has employed about 5,000 farmers and young entrepreneurs in geographically remote areas of J&K. More than 1,000 farming families are cultivating it on more than 200 acres.
The country’s first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine is being built in Bhaderwah which will attract scholars and researchers not only from India but across the globe generating employment opportunities for the region.
