Udhampur, August 25,2026-In a significant step toward strengthening women’s participation in agriculture, the Agriculture Department of Udhampur has despatched a batch of 100 women farmers from Mand East to Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Reasi for specialised, hands-on training in modern agricultural and horticultural practices.
The initiative has been organised under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme — Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (CSS-MIDH), a flagship programme aimed at promoting holistic growth in the horticulture sector while enhancing farmers’ technical knowledge and incomes.
Building Skills for Modern Farming
The training programme is designed to provide participants with hands-on exposure to contemporary farming techniques, horticultural best practices and advanced farm technologies. Officials say the objective is not merely to impart theoretical knowledge but to equip women farmers with practical skills they can directly apply on their own land — from improved cultivation methods to efficient resource management and value addition in horticultural produce.
By training at KVK Reasi, a premier institution for agricultural extension and farmer capacity-building in the region, the women from Mand East are expected to gain exposure to demonstration plots, expert-led sessions and technology transfer initiatives that are otherwise not easily accessible in their home villages. Such institutional exposure is considered particularly valuable for farmers based in areas where access to formal agricultural training has traditionally been limited.
Women as Changemakers in Rural Livelihoods
Speaking on the initiative, Chief Agricultural Officer (CAO) Udhampur, Vikas Padha, highlighted the vital contribution of women to the agrarian economy, noting that women farmers form the backbone of agricultural labour across rural Jammu and Kashmir yet have historically had limited access to formal technical training and modern resources.
Padha emphasised that programmes like this one are designed to bridge that gap, enabling women to move beyond traditional roles as agricultural labour and take on the role of informed decision-makers and changemakers within their households and communities. Officials associated with the initiative note that empowering women with technical know-how has a multiplier effect, strengthening not just individual livelihoods but the broader rural economy of the district.
Part of a Wider Push Under CSS-MIDH
The CSS-MIDH scheme has been instrumental in supporting horticulture-focused interventions across Jammu and Kashmir, funding everything from planting material and infrastructure to capacity-building programmes such as this one. Training initiatives conducted under the scheme are aimed at ensuring that farmers, particularly women who often lack equal access to extension services, receive direct and practical exposure to modern agricultural science.
Officials in Udhampur’s Agriculture Department indicated that this batch of 100 women farmers is part of a broader effort to scale up such training across the district, with further batches expected to be sent for similar exposure programmes in the coming months as the department continues to prioritise skill development among the district’s agrarian workforce. The department has also signalled its intent to identify additional women’s groups from other blocks for future rounds of training under the same scheme.
A Step Toward Rural Empowerment
For the women of Mand East, the visit to KVK Reasi represents more than a training exercise — it is an opportunity to acquire skills that could meaningfully improve household incomes and farm productivity. Participants are expected to return to their villages equipped not only with technical knowledge but also with the confidence to apply modern techniques on their own farms and share their learning with fellow farmers in their communities.
As the Agriculture Department continues to expand its outreach to women farmers, initiatives like this one are being seen as a critical step toward building a more inclusive and technically skilled agrarian community across Udhampur district, one where women play an increasingly central role in shaping the future of local farming practices.