Gurez to become Valley’s potato basket

In fact,farmers in Gurez — which remains cut off from the Kashmir Valley for six months due to snow — have this year supplied over 1,700 quintals of potato seeds to the state agriculture department.

The potato seeds,said scientists,will reduce J-K’s dependence on other states. The state has to buy 4,000 quintal of seeds from neighbouring Himachal every year.

Dr Pratap said: “Gurez is our best bet for potato seeds. We will undertake its production on a large scale there. Trials for the same have already been carried out. The high-quality seeds will not only meet our requirements but will also be sent outside the state. The venture will prove profitable for potato growers too.’’

According to the agriculture department,around 1,700 hectares of land in Kashmir is under potato crop cultivation. Besides,the agriculture department has six farms exclusively for cultivation of potato seeds. “We have potato seed farms at Dawar and Ismarg in Gurez. There are plans to establish a few more in the region,’’ said potato development officer,agriculture department,Sajad Ahmad Shah. Officials said around 1.5 lakh quintals of potatoes are produced in Kashmir.