J&K sends out vegetables for the first time

For the first time since 1947, Jammu & Kashmir has been able to send out vegetables to other parts of the country. This follows the lifting of a 35-year-old ban on the outflow of vegetables from the state. Vegetables worth Rs 27 crore have been packed off to different parts of the country, as of July end.

Last year, vegetables worth Rs 30 crore were sent out. This year the authorities have set a target of more than Rs 50 crore.

The joint director of the agriculture department, Manzoor Ahmad Shah, said farmers grew some varieties of vegetables off season.

"Pea is being cultivated here off season. The produce is sent out when it is not available in the rest of the country. It is highly revenue-generating. This year, we exported peas worth Rs 2 crore," he said.

Shah said Kashmir, by virtue of being colder than most regions in the country, could produce vegetables that were rare in other parts during July to February.

"We are trying to tap the market during this off season. Cauliflower, potato, pea, among other vegetables, have a demand and we can grow them during off season. This experiment has so far produced desirable results," he added.

Official figures suggest around 17,000 hectares of land in the state are for the cultivation of vegetables. The annual vegetable production is 290,000 metric tonnes. Under the government's technology mission, the final target is to send out vegetables worth Rs 150 crore.

"We want Kashmiri fruits to corner a large chunk of the market," he said.

With exports showing an upward trend, many Kashmiri farmers have switched to vegetable cultivation.

"Earlier we were concentrating on cash crops and fruits. But now we are exploring possibilities in vegetable cultivation. It takes 35 days to grow peas during off season. This is a very lucrative area for us," a farmer said.