Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Srinagar, functioning under the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), has rolled out a fresh push for sustainable agriculture with the launch of the “Ashirwad Ka Diya” initiative, alongside a five-day training programme for field functionaries under the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).
The initiative was formally launched at KVK Srinagar on September 17 through a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, presided over by Prof Raihana Habib Kanth, Director Extension at SKUAST-K. The occasion was attended by G N Var, Chief Patron of PSAJK, along with Dr S A Simnani, Head of KVK Srinagar, university scientists, and a gathering of officials. Farmers, representatives of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Krishi Sakhis, Farm Machinery Technicians (FMTs), and Farm Workers (FWs) also took part in the ceremony, signalling broad grassroots participation in the drive.
The training programme, running across five days, has been specifically designed for Krishi Sakhis, FMTs, and FWs linked to seven Natural Farming clusters spread across the Harwan and Khonmoh blocks of Srinagar district, all falling under the ambit of the NMNF scheme. The scheme itself is part of a wider national push to wean farmers away from chemical-intensive agriculture toward practices that restore soil vitality and long-term productivity.
In his introductory remarks, Dr Simnani underlined the growing relevance of natural farming methods, stressing that the shift toward sustainable practices is essential for safeguarding soil health and preserving microbial diversity in agricultural land, both of which are increasingly under strain from conventional farming inputs.
On the technical front, experts from SKUAST-K are leading hands-on sessions to equip field functionaries with practical skills. Dr Sumiti Narayan and Dr Aasima Rafiq are training participants in preparing natural farming bio-inputs using livestock byproducts and locally available on-farm resources, an approach that reduces dependence on external chemical inputs while cutting costs for farmers. Meanwhile, Dr Haseeb, Dr Showket, and Dr Owais are walking participants through the broader objectives and practices of natural farming, framing it as a pathway to sustainable and resilient agricultural production systems capable of withstanding climatic and economic pressures.
The “Ashirwad Ka Diya” initiative has been positioned within the larger framework of the nationwide “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan,” a campaign running from September 17 to October 17 that emphasises community participation and service-oriented outreach toward farmers and rural populations. By tying the local training effort to this broader national observance, SKUAST-K appears to be signalling its intent to deepen its extension network and strengthen last-mile delivery of sustainable farming knowledge across Srinagar’s agricultural clusters in the weeks ahead.
