Jammu, 31-03-2026: Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperative and Election Department, Javid Ahmad Dar, today informed the Legislative Assembly that the Government is implementing a comprehensive set of initiatives to promote and strengthen the dairy sector in the Shangus–Anantnag East constituency, with a special focus on entrepreneurship generation, self-employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities for rural youth and farmers.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by MLA Reyaz Ahmad Khan during the ongoing Budget Session in the Legislative Assembly.
The Minister informed that the department has undertaken multiple interventions to modernize and expand dairy farming in the constituency like provision of artificial insemination services for genetic upgradation of livestock under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission, including use of improved germplasm such as sexed semen to enhance productivity and breed quality.
He added that vaccination and disease control measures are being implemented under the National Animal Disease Control Programme, aimed at safeguarding the livestock health and preventing the spread of major animal diseases. He added that the Department is also organizing awareness campaigns and farmer-oriented training programmes under Krishonnati Yojana (SAME-ATMA component) to enhance the technical capacity of dairy farmers and improve farm management practices.
To promote dairy-based entrepreneurship and self-employment among rural youth, he informed that the Department is facilitating access to financial and technical support under schemes like Integrated Dairy Development Scheme and targeted interventions under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme, including Project-23 (Dairy Development). He added that these initiatives aim to support establishment of dairy units, encourage start-ups in milk value addition and enhance income-generation opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs.
The Minister further informed the House that the Government is taking concrete steps to expand dairy activities and strengthen the dairy value chain in the Shangus–Anantnag East constituency. Efforts are underway to augment the milk collection and processing infrastructure by facilitating the establishment of Automatic Milk Collection Units (AMCUs), small chilling units and Bulk Milk Coolers (BMCs), he added.
The Minister also said that support is being provided for setting up need-based processing facilities for production of value-added dairy products such as dahi, paneer, ghee, butter, ice cream and khoya, thereby enabling farmers to increase profitability through value addition. He informed that during the last two financial years, a significant number of beneficiaries from the Shangus–Anantnag East constituency have been covered under various dairy development schemes.
Under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme, he said that 434 beneficiaries have been supported for activities such as fodder development, milk value-addition start-ups and satellite heifer units, while 6 beneficiaries have been supported specifically under satellite heifer units and 27 beneficiaries have been covered under the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme.
Additionally, 394 beneficiaries in the constituency have availed financial assistance under the Kisan Credit Card, facilitating easier access to institutional credit for dairy and allied activities, he said.
The Minister emphasized that these interventions have significantly contributed to promoting self-employment, entrepreneurship and livelihood security among rural youth and farmers in the constituency. He reiterated that the Department will continue to expand coverage under existing schemes, undertake capacity-building and awareness programmes and introduce need-based interventions to further strengthen the dairy sector and enhance income opportunities for farmers across the region.