Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) attended the Pushp Krishi Mela under CSIR Floriculture Mission II on August 10 at DRDO-DIHAR Centre in Murtsey Colony.

The mela was organised by CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur (Himachal Pradesh) in collaboration with Defence Institute of High-Altitude Research (DIHAR).

Expressing happiness over the display of different varieties of flowers and terming it a feast for the eyes, LG commended CSIR-IHBT Palampur for providing support to the Ladakhi farmers. He highlighted the potential of floriculture in Ladakh and emphasised the need to provide necessary support and resources to the local farmers.

Calling daughters, flowers and Ladakh as the three best creations of God, LG suggested the need to come up with the ‘Phool Ugao Aur Phool Ka Vistaar Karo’ initiative in Ladakh. He also suggested planting flowers in the off-season for better marketing of flowers. He emphasised harvesting and immediate transportation of flowers to the markets.

LG asked Chairman/CEC, LAHDC Leh and Executive Councillors to coordinate harvesting and transportation of the materials on Jan Bhagidhari (people’s participation) mode for the maximum benefit of the farmers.

LG stated that the floriculture sector can attract youth towards it due to a better profit margin. He asked CEC/Chairman, LAHDC Leh to take charge to explore the potential of floriculture and the support needed to promote flowers grown in Ladakh.

LG distributed floriculture material (Gladiolus, Lilium and Tulip) to farmers and distributed certificates to them. LG also released the brochure on CSIR Floriculture Mission in Ladakh.

Chairman, LAHDC Leh, Tashi Gyalson stated that the focus post-Covid pandemic has been on making Ladakh self-reliant, especially in the primary sector. Highlighting the need to adopt sustainable practices, he stated that more agripreneurs are coming forward and availing benefits of various government schemes. He also informed about the Mission Organic Development Initiative (MODI) scheme initiated by LAHDC Leh and adopted by both the Hill Councils to make Ladakh a fully organic region.

Gyalson requested LG to make the MODI scheme more effective through adequate funding.

Secretary, Agriculture and Sheep Husbandry, Ravinder Kumar informed about the manifold increase in the budget for the primary sector after Ladakh became a union territory, the benefits availed by farmers, the introduction of the MODI scheme and the construction of greenhouses in Ladakh, the micro-irrigation and vermicompost facilities provided to farmers and various projects initiated for the benefit of local entrepreneurs. He highlighted the initiative taken by CSIR-IHBT Palampur in floriculture in Ladakh.

Director, CSIR-IHBT Palampur, Dr. Sudesh Kumar Yadav informed about the Floriculture Mission started by them in 2021 and also the workshop organised by them. He also informed that the potential of Lilium and gladiolus flowers were explored by them followed by tulip last year. He assured to provide all possible technical support to UT Administration.

Dr. Sudesh informed that other than tulips, they are exploring the potential of Calla Lily and Peony flowers, which are currently in demand in the market.

Material Transfer Agreement was signed between the Chairman of Ladakh Progressive Cooperative Society and Kargil Mendok Cooperative Society and CSIR-IHBT Palampur. The certificate of registration of both these cooperatives along with the best farmer award were also distributed on the occasion.