Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 8: The Mapping of Agro-Ecological Zones of Jammu Province was released today by Prof Manoj Kumar Dhar, Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu.
The demarcation of (AEZ) Agro-Ecological Zones of Jammu Province is the outcome of one of the major Research Project, sponsored by UGC, which was supervised by Dr Shashi Prabha, Sr Asstt Professor in the Department of Geography, JU as a Principal Investigator.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dhar stressed upon the proper propagation of such research attempts which would help to investigate the problems at the micro-level. He further underlined that the faculty as wells as the scholars working under similar studies should contribute through their critical analysis so that the future research would be of more relevance for the society as well as the region to promote balanced development.
It is pertinent to mention here that the framework of agro-ecological zoning and describing its concepts, methods, and procedures was conceptualized for the first time by the Food & Agricultural organization of the United Nations. Agro-ecological zoning refers to the division of an area of land into land resource mapping units, having a unique combination of landforms, soil, and climatic characteristics. Its main objective is to integrate the region-specific plans of the agro-climatic regions with the Government plans & policies so as to enable policymakers to formulate the development based on techno-agro-climatic considerations.
In the present work, the demarcation of various agro-ecological zones in Jammu province has been identified on the basis of various parameters such as temperature, rainfall, soil types, slope, and elevation. The physiographic composition of Jammu Province is so diverse in nature wherein the identification of homogenous strata with respect to the physical parameters using GIS techniques which will help in identifying the strength and weaknesses of the areas at the micro-level. This approach will help in preparing the region-specific plan (AEZ wise) in Jammu Province which would help in effective and efficient agricultural planning in this region.
Prof Arvind Jasrotia, Registrar JU; Prof Anuradha Sharma, HOD, Geography, various Asst Professors and research scholars of the Dept were present on the occasion.
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