Mushk Budji cultivation to be expanded in 3 yrs

PTI

Srinagar, October 8

Mushk Budji — the indigenous aromatic rice variety from Kashmir — is likely to get a major boost in its yield with the J&K authorities planning to expand its cultivation area to 5,000 hectares in the next three years, a senior official has said.

According to experts at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), this high-cost traditional variety of rice was on the verge of extinction and was pushed to a few pockets of the Valley because of its susceptibility to blast disease.

Besides, non-uniformity in the produce, lack of quality seed, poor yield potential due to the mixing of strains and also due to area expansion under high-yielding paddy varieties led to shrinking of acreage under it, they said.

Mushk Budji, mostly grown on over 250 hectares in five villages of Kokernag in south Kashmir, received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in August due to the concerted efforts by the agriculture department and SKUAST.

“The niche crop is grown in particular climatic conditions and we are exploring various areas in different parts of the Valley to expand its acreage. We aim to bring 5,000 hectares of land under crop cultivation in the next three years under the holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors scheme,” Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal, Director, Department of Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare, Kashmir, said.

Last year, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha approved the Holistic Development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors programme, with an outlay of Rs 5,013 crore over the next five years and covering 29 projects. The aim is to transform the agriculture economy and put J&K on a new trajectory of growth, boosting exports and heralding a new phase of farmer prosperity in the UT.

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