Admin decides to revive wool sector
Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to revive its wool sector and also mulling to introduce weather based crops insurance for farmers.
This was stated by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department (APD), Atal Dulloo, who chaired separate meetings to discuss roadmap for revamping wool sector in Jammu and Kashmir and implementation of Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in Jammu and Kashmir here today.
Reviewing wool sector, the ACS said that aim of reviving wool sector is not to generate revenue for the government, but rather to provide livelihood to large chunk of people, who from the ages involved in raring of sheep, engage with handloom business and holds significant economic potential.
The developments would be made with the support of Central Wool Development Board (CWDB), Rajasthan. GS Bhati represented CWDB during the meeting. At the outset it was revealed that India is a major wool producing nation of the world. Much of its produce is of coarse nature.
Regions like Jammu and Kashmir have a distinction of producing high quality, apparel grade wool and its potential is yet to be fully exploited. The Central Wool Development Board is expected to provide support in the form of skill training, human resource development, modern machinery besides other technical assistance.
The ACS informed that UT administration has already approved plans and revolving funds for revival of the sector in J&K.
“The administration seeks support in wool collection, procurement, marketing and human resource development. The meeting also had discussion on felt and fur production,” he said.
ACS said that the infrastructure for establishing the necessary setup is already in place. He suggested setting up of Common Incubation Centers to provide training to individuals in the sector besides establishing Common Facility Centers.
Dulloo expressed expectations that the Central Wool Board would extend their support to the Horticulture Produce Marketing Corporation and contribute to the mission of reviving wool sector under various other schemes.
In a separate meeting, the ACS reviewed the implementation of Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting focused on the response from various insurance companies to the tender document.
During the meeting, discussion was held on several technical issues related to the implementation of the scheme including jurisdiction demarcation and crop identification.
ACS raised concerns of farmers and urged upon the insurance companies to understand the administration’s goal of helping the farming community.
He called for finalising the terms sheet as soon as possible so that the Request for Proposal (RFP) can be floated and the tenders issued in a short period of time, thereby benefiting farmers. He also emphasized the administration’s aim to protect farmers from losses due to adverse weather conditions.
The participants discussed suggestions for different climatic conditions and geographical differences in the region. The insurance scheme aims to cover damages caused by unseasonal and excessive rainfall, abnormal temperature fluctuations, and hail storms.
