Chief Secretary reviews implementation of JKCIP across Union Territory

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, Dr Ashish Chandra Verma; Vice-Chancellors of SKUAST-Kashmir and SKUAST-Jammu; Secretary (Technical), APD; Mission Director, JKCIP; Managing Director, Horticulture Planning and Marketing; Directors of Agriculture, Horticulture, Sheep Husbandry, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry; Convenor, UTLBC; and other senior officers of the department.

Emphasising that agriculture remains one of the most important sectors of Jammu and Kashmir's economy, the Chief Secretary said JKCIP had been conceived as a transformational initiative to enhance farmers' incomes through climate-smart agriculture, promotion of niche crops, value addition, entrepreneurship development, market integration and sustainable livelihood generation.

He said the project had created a strong institutional framework for modernising the agriculture and allied sectors and stressed that implementing agencies must now shift their focus from approvals to tangible outcomes by ensuring the timely establishment of beneficiary units and measurable improvements in rural livelihoods.

To enhance the participation of women and youth, Dulloo directed the Agriculture Production Department to reach out to women associated with Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the Rural Development Department and utilise the Mission YUVA database to effectively engage aspiring young entrepreneurs across Jammu and Kashmir. He said convergence with these flagship initiatives would significantly expand the programme's outreach and ensure greater inclusion of eligible beneficiaries.

The Chief Secretary also directed Deputy Commissioners to institute a roster-based mechanism for regular field inspections by designated officers to assess the quality of implementation, verify the functionality of beneficiary units established under JKCIP and obtain first-hand feedback from beneficiaries. He said the inspections should also identify implementation bottlenecks and facilitate timely resolution of issues faced by beneficiaries.

He further emphasised that implementation of the programme should focus on accelerating the establishment of sanctioned units, strengthening field-level supervision and ensuring that approved beneficiaries receive all necessary support for timely completion of their enterprises.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ashish Chandra Verma said farmer participation under JKCIP had witnessed remarkable growth since the last review, reflecting increasing confidence in the programme.

While expressing satisfaction over the progress achieved, he said considerable scope still existed for further improvement. He called upon all implementing agencies to intensify awareness campaigns, strengthen grassroots outreach and ensure that every eligible farmer, youth and aspiring agri-entrepreneur could avail the benefits of the project through proactive facilitation and effective last-mile delivery.

Presenting the progress report, Mission Director, JKCIP, Dr Sagar Doifode Dattatray, said the number of registered farmers had increased to 60,283, marking a nearly 189 per cent rise over the previous period. He said applications received under various project interventions had reached 67,579, of which 43,168 had been approved, while 7,501 beneficiary units had already been established across Jammu and Kashmir.