The Department of Agriculture celebrated the first Ladakh Kisan Diwas 2020-21 at the NIELET Training Hall on March 17 to acknowledge and recognize farmers and their contribution to the economy and society.

Similarly, Ladakh Kisan Diwas was celebrated in different sub-divisions of Leh district, including Khaltse, Nyoma, Durbuk, Kharu, and Nubra.

Chief Guest, CEC, LAHDC, Leh congratulated the farmers and other stakeholders on the first-ever farmer day. He said that celebrating this day in March is more reasonable and symbolic as our agriculture activities begin after March but at the national level, it is celebrated on 23 December.

“Agriculture is the ultimate sustainable source of income in Ladakh. If we heavily depend on imported food items then we may face even food shortages in the future. Therefore we must give attention to agriculture as well. At the global level, the trend is changing and people are purchasing agricultural land”, he added.

He also discussed the importance of organic farming and gave assurance to help the farmers at every step. 

EC, Agriculture, Stanzin Chosphel said, “Our aim is to aware the farmer about the schemes of the agriculture department so that each farmer could take the advantage of each scheme. Talking about the MODI initiative he said that it is the council’s flagship mission to make Ladakh an organic state. To achieve this, we are working on the ground with the agriculture dept. and we are also planning to open organic shops and markets in Leh to increase the sale of our farm products. In addition to that, we are also working to get market for our organic products in different parts of India like Delhi and Chandigarh.”

Dr. Dorjay Namgyal, SKUAST sharing the achievement of his department said, “We have transferred many technologies to the farmers like apricot harvest net. We taught farmers about the vermicomposting technique. We also give micro-irrigation demonstrations to the farmers, so they could apply in their orchard. We make Soil Health Card, with the help of agriculture department to check the fertility of the soil.”

Dr. Tsering Stobdan, Sr Scientist at DIHAR talked about the doubling of farm produce in Ladakh and also emphasized the selection of suitable fruits and vegetables to grown in Ladakh, which will enhance production. 

Tashi Tsetan, Chief Agriculture Officer, Leh;  Mohd. Iqbal, Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, Leh; Tsewang Phunchok, Chief Horticulture Officer also spoke on various issues. 

The programme concluded with the distribution of certificates to the farmers. Progressive farmers shared their experiences about their achievements. Krishak Award 2020 winner, Sonam Angmo and the Indus Farmers Group were felicitated by CEC Gyalson during the event.