SRINAGAR: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technolgy of Kashmir hosted a high-level Farmer Organisations Conclave at Shalimar campus.
Organised by SKUAST-K under the Competitiveness Improvement of Agriculture and Allied Sectors Project in Jammu & Kashmir (JKCIP) – an initiative supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – the event served as a critical platform for addressing the challenges and opportunities within the region’s growing farmer collective ecosystem.
A major highlight of the day was an expansive panel discussion that brought together a diverse group of national and international experts to deliberate on institutional convergence financial inclusion, value chain development and market access. The panel featured prominent figures including Vikas Mittal, General Manager, NABARD J&K, and Surinder Singh, Deputy General Manager of NABARD Kashmir. They were joined by Lalit Goel, Regional Director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), and Abhijeet Bose, a US-based expert in crop insurance, alongside senior university officials Director Research, Prof Haroon R Naik. The panel was chaired by Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K and moderated by Head Division of Fruit Sciences, Dr Ashiq H Pandith. The discussion focused on bridging infrastructure gaps, enhancing financial inclusion, and creating robust branding frameworks to ensure local produce can compete on a global scale.
The dialogue then shifted to a direct interactive session where approximately 100 FPO CEOs and Directors voiced their grassroots-level concerns directly to policymakers and financial heads. These leaders highlighted the pestering problems of credit access and the need for sophisticated value-addition facilities within the Kashmir Valley. In response, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai delivered a compelling session, where he underscored the role of FPOs as engines of rural transformation and stressed that technology integration must remain at the heart of their operations to ensure farmers receive a fair price for their produce. He also directed for creating an FPO data portal.
Earlier Prof Raihana Habib Kanth, Director Extension and Chairperson of Upscaling Collectivization under JKCIP, spoke on the vital importance of upscaling collective farming models to build economic resilience among local farmers. This was followed by a technical presentation from Dr Mohammad Iqbal Bhat, Coordinator of Upscaling Collectivisation at JKCIP, who provided a detailed analysis of the current scenario and future strategies required to strengthen Farmer Producer Organizations in Jammu & Kashmir.
The event concluded with a felicitation ceremony recognizing newly formed and high-performing FPOs, followed by a formal vote of thanks delivered by the project’s co-coordinators, signifying a unified commitment from SKUAST-K, NABARD, and other government partners to sustain the growth of rural entrepreneurship in the region.