Umaisar Gull Ganie
Kulgam, Jul 12: Wanigund, a small village here in Kulgam district has over the years emerged as a large vegetable producer in South Kashmir.
Almost all the 200 families, living in the village, are engaged in vegetable cultivation throughout the year. These days, the village produces almost 3,000 kgs of cucumbers per day.
The village supplies vegetables not only to J&K, it has also been exporting a good quantity of green vegetables to many other states of India.
“Earlier I used to think that a government job would be a niche for me, but then I realized that agriculture is more effective than any other sector,” Aaquib Ahmad, a highly qualified youth, who grows vegetables, said. “Farming is often not viewed as a glamorous or a profitable work but Thank God we earn a good profitable income with this cultivation.”
Around 400 Kanals of land in the village is under cultivation of various kinds of vegetables including cucumber, cauliflower, radish, turnip etc.
“With our sustained efforts, the production over the years has increased considerably. As a result, the per capita income of the people associated with vegetable farming has shown a sharp improvement,” a local, Riyaz Ahmad Wani, another vegetable grower, said. “Due to organic manure like vermin-compost, the production of crops increases and accordingly the market value increases as well. Every member of my family is engaged with this.”
Chief Agriculture Officer (CEO) Kulgam, Farooq Ahamd said that the village is producing more than 3000 kgs of vegetables per day. “Entire village is engaged in vegetable cultivation”, he said.
