Expressing concern over failure of successive state government to help farmers associated with floriculture, the Flower Growers Association today demanded that the state should extend support to cultivators as it could create employment avenues for youth.
Association president Tajinder Singh, while welcoming the announcement by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of expanding the commercial floriculture in the state, said it could create employment for thousands of youth and generate revenue worth crores of rupees.
Tajinder Singh said the exploring potential of international market should be the aim of the government and there was need to use scientific methods to cultivate different varieties of flowers. “There is potential market of Rs 2,000 crore within India and our state has flower market of more than Rs 150 crore, which needs to be explored,” Tajinder Singh said.
The association has demanded that the government should focus on establishing cold storages, post-harvesting marketing and allow greater participation of private companies.
At present 400 people are associated with the flower cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir and the state annually exports flowers worth around Rs 2 crore every year.
The geographical area of Jammu is about 1 lakh sq km and net cropped area is about 3.86 lakh hectares.
Flower growers turn to Mehbooba for support
