PAMPORE, August 18: Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election Department, Javaid Ahmad Dar, accompanied by MLA Pampore, Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi, on Monday undertook a detailed visit to the Pampore Assembly Constituency and Indian International Kashmir Saffron Trade Centre (IIKSTC) Dusoo, Pampore.
The Minister, along with the MLA, visited several areas including Chandhara, Lethpora, and Khrew, where they interacted with local farmers and reviewed their concerns. Farmers raised a number of issues related to agriculture and allied sectors. The Minister gave them a patient hearing and assured that all genuine demands would be addressed on priority.
Director Agriculture Kashmir Sartaj Ahmad Shah, Additional Deputy Commissioner Awantipora Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Tehsildar Pampore Malik Asif Ahmad, Chief Agriculture Officer Pulwama Waheed-ur-Rehman, BDO Pampore Saima Ramzan, and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.
The farmers particularly highlighted issues under the National Saffron Mission, stressing the urgent need to make incomplete borewells functional for irrigation purposes. Responding to their concerns, the Agriculture Minister assured that the matter would be taken up on priority and necessary measures would be initiated to resolve this long-pending demand.
As part of the visit, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, District Pulwama, organized a training programme under ATMA 2025-26 at IIKTSC Dusoo, Pampore. The programme was attended by Agriculture Minister Javaid Ahmad Dar, MLA Pampore Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi, Director Agriculture Kashmir Sartaj Ahmad Shah, ADC Awantipora Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Tehsildar Pampore Malik Asif Ahmad, Chief Agriculture Officer Pulwama Waheed-ur-Rehman, BDO Pampore Saima Ramzan, along with officers of the Agriculture Department, Saffron Growers Association head Abdul Majeed Wani, and representatives of the farming community, officials told Morning Kashmir.
The programme focused on modern agricultural practices, capacity building, and addressing farmers’ challenges. The dignitaries appreciated the department’s efforts and assured farmers that every possible step would be taken to promote sustainable agriculture and enhance productivity in the district.
On the occasion, sanction letters for tractors, brush cutters, motorized shaft cutters, and vermicompost units were also distributed among several beneficiaries by the Agriculture Minister and MLA Pampore.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Minister Javaid Ahmad Dar said that when MLA Pampore, Hasnain Masoodi, had raised a question in the Assembly regarding the Saffron Mission, while the session was going on, he himself had assured that he would personally visit the site. He had said that he would meet with all the farmers and growers involved with saffron, listen to their concerns, and wherever there were problems, they would be addressed on the spot and efforts would be made to resolve them.
“Today’s programme is in continuation of that commitment. Although it is raining here, we are trying to visit the fields and interact with our fellow growers of this area, since this is a major production zone. We listened to their concerns and genuine demands, and our effort will be to seriously consider them and find ways to resolve the issues.”
He said that there are around 128 borewells, some of which are functional while others are not functional. Regarding this, he discussed the matter with MLA Pampore, Retired Justice Hasnain Masoodi. He added that once they return to Srinagar, they will hold a meeting in his office with a team of officers, including the Principal Secretary and officials from various departments associated with the project. In that meeting, they will work out a plan to ensure that all the borewells are made fully operational and serve the purpose for which they were established.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, At IIKTSC Dusoo, Agriculture Minister Javaid Ahmad Dar said that they are meeting at IIKSTC Dusoo with growers in Saffron Town Pampore and have held many discussions with them. He mentioned that across the entire constituency, wherever saffron is cultivated, they interacted with different growers. Some suggestions were put forward by the growers, which they listened to and noted down. He added that efforts will be made to review all those suggestions and discuss them with the concerned departments to incorporate them accordingly.
When the Agriculture Minister was asked about the export of saffron corms from Kashmir UT , he said that the department had recently recovered 1.5 quintals saffron corms, and this issue was also discussed in today’s meeting. He added that there needs to be some mechanism to prevent such practices. He assured that once they return, the matter will be further discussed, and in the coming days, definite action will be taken in this regard.
