Workshop on horticulture organised

Hamirpur, February 22

The Himachal Pradesh Sub-tropical Horticulture Irrigation and Value Addition (SHIVA) project will improve economy of farmers in the lower regions of the state and educate them on the benefits of crop diversification.

Dr Sanjeev Chauhan, Director of Research, Nauni University in Solan, said this while addressing a workshop of stakeholders at the College of Horticulture and Forestry at Neri near here today.

He said Asian Development Bank (ADB) had sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,292 crore to the state for the development of horticulture. Dr Som Dev Sharma, Dean, College of Horticulture and Forestry at Neri, emphasised on the need for the adoption of modern and scientific techniques in farming. He said farmers and scientists should come up with ways to improve quality and quantity of crops to improve the production. He added that awareness about government programmes was important to attract more farmers to the project.

Besides farmers, Dr RS Parmar, Deputy Director of Horticulture (DDH), Hamirpur; Dr Maya Sharma, DDH, Bilaspur; Dr SK Bakshi DDH Una; Dr VK Rana; Dr Rakesh Sharma; Dr SK Banyal; Dr AK Banyal; Dr Kumud Jarial; Dr Kamal Sharma; and Dr KS Pant attended the event.