mushk budji: Jammu and Kashmir authorities plan revival of fragrant rice Mushk Budji, broaden cultivation to five,000 hectares

Mushk Budji — the indigenous fragrant rice selection from Kashmir — is prone to get a serious increase in its yield with the Jammu and Kashmir authorities planning to broaden its cultivation space to five,000 hectares within the subsequent three years, a senior official has mentioned. Based on consultants on the Sher-e-Kashmir College of Agricultural Sciences and Expertise (SKUAST), this high-cost conventional number of rice was on the verge of extinction and was pushed to some pockets of the Valley due to its susceptibility to blast illness.

Apart from, non-uniformity within the produce, lack of high quality seed, poor yield potential because of the mixing of strains and likewise as a consequence of space enlargement beneath high-yielding paddy varieties led to shrinking of acreage beneath it, they mentioned.

Mushk Budji, principally grown on over 250 hectares in 5 villages of Kokernag in south Kashmir, acquired a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in August because of the concerted efforts by the agriculture division and SKUAST.

“The area of interest crop is grown particularly weather conditions and we’re exploring varied areas in numerous components of the Valley to broaden its acreage.

“We purpose to convey 5,000 hectares of land beneath crop cultivation within the subsequent three years beneath the holistic improvement of agriculture and allied sectors scheme,” Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal, the director of the Division of Agriculture Manufacturing and Farmers Welfare, Kashmir, advised PTI.

Final 12 months, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha authorized the Holistic Growth of Agriculture and Allied Sectors programme, with an outlay of Rs 5,013 crore over the following 5 years and masking 29 initiatives. The purpose is to remodel the agriculture financial system and put Jammu and Kashmir on a brand new trajectory of progress, boosting exports and heralding a brand new part of farmer prosperity and rural livelihood safety within the Union territory. “We’ve got been profitable in increasing the Mushk Budji to Budgam and predict extra farmers to develop the crop, resulting in its elevated manufacturing to fulfill the rising demand,” Iqbal mentioned.

Based on the consultants, as a part of the programme to revive the cultivation of Mushk Budji, Sagam and adjoining villages in Kokernag in Anantnag district have been recognized in 2013.

Officers mentioned the success of Mushk Budji in Anantnag led to quite a lot of testing programmes in non-traditional areas beneath related ecologies. The agriculture division with the assistance of SKUAST-Kashmir introduced in a brand new number of Mushk Budji seeds.

“The brand new seed is proof against ailments and altering weather conditions. With the organising of farmers producers group, we’re endeavouring to make Mushk Budji faucet the nationwide and worldwide markets,” Chowdhary Mohammad Iqbal mentioned.

Referring to the week-long ‘GI Mohatsav’ which began at ‘Kashmir Haat’ in Srinagar on October 2, he mentioned 100 GI-tagged agriculture and horticulture merchandise each inside and out of doors Jammu and Kashmir are on show.

Attending the occasion, Manzoor Ahmad Bhat from Sagam village of Kokernag mentioned over 500 farmers from almost half a dozen villages are rising Musk Budji and can profit immensely from the GI tagging of their produce.

“We’re promoting one kg Mushk Budji for Rs 260 and have acquired lots of response in Srinagar. We’ve got additionally acquired calls from Dubai for the product,” he mentioned.

In Sagam village, Ghulam Mohammad, an aged farmer, mentioned they stopped rising the crop a very long time in the past and began afresh someday again with the federal government’s help.