SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government is stepping up interventions in agriculture, irrigation, mechanisation, post-harvest management and market linkages in Lolab constituency of Kupwara district, Agriculture Minister Javid Ahmad Dar informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Replying to a question raised by MLA Qaysar Jamshaid Lone, Dar said agriculture and horticulture plantations cover around 9,134 hectares in Lolab. Of this, 4,320.44 hectares, or 47 per cent, are irrigated, while 4,813.6 hectares, or 53 per cent, are unirrigated. Around 1,213 hectares have been classified as uncultivable.
He said a dedicated departmental structure, including the Sub-Divisional Agriculture Office at Sogam, has been put in place to implement schemes and provide extension services to farmers.
According to the minister, several Central Sector, Centrally Sponsored and UT government schemes are being implemented in Lolab, including the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), J&K Comprehensive Investment Plan (JKCIP), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Seed Village Programme, farm mechanisation, protected cultivation and natural farming.
Dar said around 4,226 units under HADP and CAPEX had been approved and established in Lolab as of August 2026, with financial assistance of around Rs 269.88 lakh. The subdivision also has 28 functional Kisan Khidmat Ghars and 28 Krishi Udyamis providing local support to farmers.
Under JKCIP, 127 units were established in Sogam block during 2025-26 with financial assistance of around Rs 15.75 lakh, he said.
The minister said Rs 33.62 lakh had been provided to 1,867 beneficiaries under PM-KISAN, while Rs 37.44 lakh had been extended to 422 beneficiaries under Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
The government is also supporting farmers through quality seed production and replacement, field demonstrations, training, subsidised farm machinery, Custom Hiring Centres and Farm Machinery Banks, soil testing, Soil Health Cards, natural farming and protected cultivation, Dar said.
He added that irrigation development, water conservation and efficient water-use practices were also being promoted, while horticulture schemes were supporting orchard development, quality planting material, protected cultivation and post-harvest management.
Allied-sector schemes are being used to promote dairy, sheep and goat rearing, poultry, apiculture, mushroom cultivation and fisheries as additional sources of rural income, he said.
On irrigation and post-harvest infrastructure, Dar said the government plans to strengthen irrigation, water harvesting, storage, grading, sorting, packaging and processing facilities in Lolab through convergence of various schemes, including CAPEX, NABARD, SACS, PMC, HADP, MIDH and JKCIP, subject to scheme guidelines and availability of funds.
He said priority was being given to restoration and improvement of irrigation infrastructure, along with promotion of drip and sprinkler irrigation and better utilisation of available water resources.
Dar further said efforts were underway to strengthen Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and market linkages to facilitate aggregation, value addition and better marketing of agricultural and horticultural produce.
He said convergence of agriculture, horticulture and allied-sector schemes was being pursued to raise productivity, reduce cultivation and post-harvest losses, improve market access and enhance farmers’ incomes.
