First-Ever Visit by Director Horticulture Jammu Explores Marwah Zone to Boost Fruit Cultivation

KISHTWAR, JULY 5 — In a historic first for the region, the Director of Horticulture Jammu, Gul Syed, accompanied by Chief Horticulture Officer Kishtwar Sajid Mustafa and Assistant Director Sunil Gupta, concluded a comprehensive two-day administrative and field visit to the remote Marwah Zone in Kishtwar district. Aimed at accelerating rural economic growth, the Director spearheaded a Mega Awareness Camp at GFPN Nowpachi, bringing essential agricultural services and critical advisory information directly to the doorsteps of local orchardists. During his extensive interactions with the farming community, Syed highlighted the immense transformative potential of various government initiatives, specifically focusing on the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), the Revised Modified High-Density Plantation Scheme, and advanced post-harvest management and value-addition techniques for fruit crops.

The two-day itinerary also featured a series of technical inspections and infrastructure upgrades, including the evaluation of a departmental nursery, the grand inauguration of the newly constructed Horticulture Development Officer (HDO) Office at Marwah, and field assessments of several Ultra High-Density (UHD) apple and walnut orchards to provide expert technical guidance to the growers. Demonstrating a strong commitment to public grievance redressal, Director Gul Syed patiently listened to the issues and feedback presented by the orchardist community, resolving multiple localized challenges on the spot while promising priority consideration for long-term infrastructural demands. Local fruit growers expressed immense gratitude for the historic visit—noting it as the first time a Director of Horticulture Jammu has ever traveled to the Marwah Zone—and lauded the department’s proactive approach to modernizing the horticultural landscape in this remote terrain.