Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 30: Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir, today said that efforts to curb the sale and purchase of spurious insecticide and pesticide are on and measures are being taken to promote horticulture in the State.
The Minister was replying on the Motion moved by Javid Ahmad Dar in the House yesterday to discuss the measures taken for stop of sale, purchase and use of these pesticides and fungicides in the orchards that has caused huge losses to the farmers.
Terming horticulture sector as back-bone of the State economy, the Minister said that large chunk of population directly or indirectly associated with it.
The Minister informed that a Committee headed by Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST was constituted to find out the causes of damage to the horticulture due to scab. The Committee in its reports stated that the pesticides and insecticide did not prove effective due to heavy rains from March to June.
The Minister said in Kashmir Division, products of 39 Pesticide/ insecticide Companies are being supplied and sold to avoid the monopoly of any company and the sale of spurious Pesticides and insecticides. In all 150 products of pesticides of these 39 manufacturing companies have been recommended by SKUAST for distribution and sale.
Mir said that the Directorate of Enforcement, for the first time, has taken initiative and circulated that the farmers should use only those fungicides whose efficacy has been testified by the SKUAST.
The Minister said Enforcement Wing of the Department has also written to the Companies in this regard, that they have to deposit the sample of pesticide and insecticide in the SKUAST for the testing their efficacy.
Mir said no doubt the horticulture industry has received 7 per cent loss because of use of spurious fungicide and the rest is because of hailstorm. He said against the 52 lakh tones produce of apple last year, 50 lakh tones have been registered so far in this year.
The Minister said that the farmers don’t follow the guidelines of the SKUAST. “Those who follow the guidelines don’t suffer losses”, he added.
M Y Tarigami, A R Veeri, Javid Dar, Sukhnandan, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain and Mohammad Sharief Niaz participated in the discussion. They said that Government has failed to curb the sale of spurious pesticides, fungicides and insecticides in the State and farmers are suffering heavy losses.
Sukhnandan said that Government is not supplying the quality seeds to the farmers in Jammu division and they are suffering huge losses.
The Speaker, Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul, in the meantime, directed the Government to upgrade the Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura of SKUAST to the level of a full residential campus on the pattern of Kashmir University’s North and South Campuses.
The direction came during a discussion on a Calling Attention Notice on the subject moved by MLA Sopore Haji Mohammad Ashraf Ganai.
The Speaker said that the issue has come up repeatedly during several sessions of the House and also it would be befitting to the immense horticulture potential of the area.
Earlier, replying to the Calling Attention Notice, Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir assured the House that the Government is strengthening the Wadura Campus of SKUAST and also the intake capacity of Horticulture and Agriculture faculties there has been increased.
He also assured that no shifting of students from Wadura to Shalimar Campus would be allowed as was raised by several members.
Not satisfied with the Government response, Engineer Rashid, Basharat Bukhari, Abdul Haq Khan and NC MLA Gania stormed into Well of the House. However, other members later resumed their seats but Gania sat inside. He was marshaled out of the House.
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