Leh, March 25: Secretary, Animal/Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries Department (ASH&FD), Ravinder Kumar, today flagged-off the exposure tour for progressive farmers under the Agricultural Technology and Management Agency (ATMA) scheme from Chuchot.

Forty progressive farmers from Kharu, Chuchot and Thiksey blocks will visit Kargil district on the five-day exposure tour organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry, Leh.

Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Ravinder Kumar, shared that the exposure tour is an opportunity for farmers from Leh district to learn from their counterparts in Kargil since farmers have different working styles. He urged the farmers to learn best practices and implement them on their farms.

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Secretary Ravinder apprised the farmers of the Animal Husbandry Department’s efforts to improve all its sectors, including poultry, meat and milk.

He expressed hope to see less dependency on imports from outside Ladakh to fulfil the demands due to the surplus production in all the sectors in Ladakh. He also directed the concerned officials to seek feedback from farmers post-exposure tour.

Director, ASH&FD, Dr Mohammad Raza, shared that the five-day exposure tour for progressive farmers under the ATMA scheme is an opportunity to learn from the success stories and best practices of farmers from Kargil farmers that could be adopted on the farms. He also shared that exposure tours would also be organised in the future for the farmers.

Earlier, Livestock Development Officer, Leh, Dr Shakeel Ahmed, apprised the farmers and officials of the aims and objectives of the exposure tour for the farmers. A veterinary doctor and a livestock supervisor would accompany the farmers on the exposure tour.

Speaking during the event, a progressive farmer shared his expectations from the tour and requested the department to provide necessary assistance to them in the future.

Chief Animal Husbandry Officer, Leh, Dr Mohammad Iqbal; Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Dr Mohammad Ismail and officials from the concerned department were present during the event.