Use of vertical spaces and barren land for farming hold the key to double the income of the farmers. These spaces, if used for protected cultivation of fruits and vegetables, could be used to achieve the government’s target of enhancing the farm income two-fold by the year 2022. This was highlighted by Prof K K Jindal, UGC adjunct faculty, Department of Horticulture, Sikkim Central University at a seminar at DAV University on “Protected Cultivation of Fruits and Vegetables”. He said that Chinese used waste wrapping material sourced from Japan for setting up protected structures and enhanced vegetable productivity. Such models could be replicated in India, he added. The seminar was organized by Department of Agricultural Sciences at DAV University.

Prof Jindal said that farmers could consider export oriented crops while following the judicious use of permitted chemicals for earnings from abroad. Emphasizing on the use of quality seeds or saplings, he said that their use would lead to better yield and lower the cost of production.

The seminar was inaugurated by Prof Rakesh Kumar Mahajan, Vice-Chancellor. Prof Mahajan said that scientific cultivation had led to the Green Revolution. Similarly, protected cultivation could take the dividends of the Green Revolution further by doubling the income of the farming community. He said that Israel had already proved that protected farming had tremendous potential.

An interactive session with the students was also organized at the seminar. Dr Desh Bandhu Gupta, Dean Academics, Dr Sushma Arya, Registrar, Dr Jasbir Rishi, DSW, Dr Anju Pathania, HOD and faculty members of the Department of Agriculture were also present at the seminar.