Prof. Zaffar Badri, Prof. Rihana Kant Highlight Protected Farming Under HADP; Say Year-Round Cultivation Can Boost Farmers’ Income, Reduce Outside Vegetable Dependence
Bilal Habib
AWANTIPORA, November 11:
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir’s Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Malangpora, Pulwama has successfully cultivated cucumber and other fresh vegetables under protected conditions in its high-tech polyhouse during November under its Winter Management initiative, demonstrating the potential of year-round vegetable production in Kashmir.
Several varieties of vegetables are growing successfully at the KVK Malangpora facility, with cucumber among the prominent crops ready for harvesting.
The initiative aims to encourage farmers to adopt modern agricultural technologies and protected cultivation techniques to ensure a continuous supply of fresh vegetables, even during the harsh winter months.
The successful demonstration is expected to help reduce Kashmir’s dependence on vegetables imported from outside the Valley, enhance farmers’ income and strengthen local agricultural production.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Malangpora, Prof. Zaffar Afroz Badri, expressed gratitude to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for the launch of the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He also appreciated the vision of SKUAST-Kashmir Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, saying the programme has been designed to help the farming community generate employment and improve their income through various agricultural projects.
Prof. Badri said protected cultivation is one of the important components of HADP, under which high-tech polyhouses have been provided to farmers and agricultural institutions. KVK Malangpora has also received two protected polyhouses.
He said the institution has been using these polyhouses to demonstrate the benefits of scientific farming practices and how farmers can earn better returns by cultivating different vegetables under protected conditions.
“Our primary objective is to explore how farmers can generate sustainable livelihoods and derive maximum benefits from modern agricultural techniques. Through these polyhouses, we are demonstrating the economic potential of protected cultivation,” he said.
Prof. Badri said vegetable production under normal conditions in Kashmir generally continues until September, after which locally grown vegetables become less available and people largely depend on supplies from outside the region.
However, he said KVK Malangpora has successfully demonstrated the possibility of growing fresh vegetables even during the winter season, earning more than Rs 3 lakh from its polyhouse cultivation this year.
Explaining the strategy, he said the institution did not depend on a single crop but cultivated three to four successive crops in the polyhouse. Initially, seedlings were raised and sold to people in February, generating income. This was followed by tomato cultivation, then beans, while cucumber is currently being harvested.
He said the ongoing cucumber cultivation is particularly significant because fresh cucumbers are generally not available in Kashmir during November under open-field conditions. Normally, cucumber production in open fields continues only until the end of August or the first week of September.
“Although the present production is not as high as during the regular growing season, we are successfully providing fresh cucumbers even at this time of the year,” he said.
Prof. Badri said cucumber cultivation was introduced on a trial basis after sowing in September, and the crop started producing within two months.
He added that the experiment was conducted on a limited area of around five marlas rather than across the entire polyhouse. While the initial results have been encouraging, the institution will now assess the overall production potential of the crop.
He said KVK Malangpora plans to organise awareness programmes next year for farmers who have received polyhouses under HADP and other departmental schemes.
“Through these programmes, we will educate farmers about cultivating different vegetables during the winter season, as our successful experiment has demonstrated that they can earn additional income by adopting such practices,” he said.
Prof. Badri expressed hope that the initiative would encourage more farmers to adopt protected cultivation, ensure the availability of fresh local vegetables during winter and create additional employment and income-generating opportunities across Kashmir.
Speaking to Morning Kashmir, Director Extension SKUAST-Kashmir, Prof. Rihana Habib Kant, said that Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) play a vital role in bridging the gap between agricultural technologies developed by SKUAST-Kashmir and their practical adoption by farmers.
She said that technologies developed at the university are first tested by KVKs to assess whether they are farmer-friendly, transferable and suitable for the specific agro-climatic conditions of different districts. Since technologies are not always developed according to the specific requirements of every location, KVKs test them at their respective centres and farmers’ fields before promoting their wider adoption.
Speaking about the initiatives at KVK Malangpora in Pulwama, Prof. Kant told Morning Kashmir the centre has established high-tech polyhouses and greenhouses to demonstrate the potential of protected cultivation and encourage farmers to adopt these technologies.
She said the government is providing subsidies of more than 90 per cent for setting up high-tech polyhouses, with the aim of encouraging farmers to invest in modern agricultural infrastructure. However, farmers often remain concerned about the returns on their investment.
“At KVK Malangpora, we are demonstrating how farmers can recover their investment through year-round vegetable production. The cucumber crop being harvested here is already in its fourth cycle. These are hybrid, seedless cucumbers, and farmers can take up to four crops in a year. The centre has maintained continuous production and harvesting throughout the year without a break,” she said.
Prof. Kant said that if farmers invest around Rs 20–25 lakh in establishing a high-tech polyhouse, the government subsidy significantly reduces their financial burden. The demonstrations at KVK Malangpora are aimed at assuring farmers that such investments can generate sustainable returns.
She added that apart from cucumbers, farmers can also cultivate other vegetable crops, including tomatoes and capsicum, throughout the year under protected conditions. Some other cucumber varieties can also provide up to three crop cycles annually.
Highlighting the importance of these technologies during Kashmir’s winter season, she said that while the availability of summer vegetables in open fields becomes limited during winter, protected cultivation makes it possible to grow and harvest such vegetables even in November.
“Today is November, and cucumbers are still being harvested here. This means we do not necessarily have to depend on supplies from outside Jammu and Kashmir when these vegetables can be produced locally through high-tech greenhouses,” she said.
Prof. Kant said KVK Malangpora has tested and demonstrated these technologies keeping in view the agricultural conditions of Pulwama district, adding that the initiative aims to motivate farmers to adopt protected cultivation, increase their income and ensure year-round availability of fresh vegetables.
