SRINAGAR, AUGUST 8: The second day of the IFAD Project Partners’ Learning Forum 2026, organised by the Mission Directorate, HADP/JKCIP under the Agriculture Production Department, was dedicated to field-based learning and first-hand exposure to successful models of farmer collectivisation, women-led agricultural enterprises and modern horticulture.
The field visit programme, as per an official statement, provided an opportunity to delegates from IFAD-assisted projects across the country to experience the implementation of agricultural interventions on the ground and interact directly with the farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and other stakeholders.
The delegation’s first visit was to Umeed Women Fresh Vegetables Kolina Producer Company Limited at Nilsar, Sultanpoora, Baramulla, an all-women FPO with 617 members. The participants interacted with the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and FPO members and visited the production and aggregation facilities.
The interaction focused on the FPO’s business operations, marketing, value addition and future growth plans. The visit provided an important opportunity to understand how women-led farmer collectives can evolve into viable and market-oriented rural enterprises. The FPO deals primarily in commodities including garlic, red chilli, basil seed and shallot.
The delegates, later, visited a High-Density Horticulture Farm at Khonmoh, Srinagar, where they interacted with the beneficiary farmer and witnessed high-density apple plantation and fruit-picking activities. The farm, spread over 12 kanals with around 1,920 plants, offered the participants a practical insight into modern orchard systems and the potential of high-density horticulture to enhance productivity and improve the commercial viability of apple cultivation.
Speaking on the significance of the field visits, Mission Director, HADP/JKCIP, Dr. Sagar D. Dattatray, said that the true value of a learning forum lies in connecting the policy and programme discussions with experiences from the field. He emphasised that the visits to the women-led FPO and the high-density orchard demonstrated how institutional support, farmer collectivisation, technology and modern production practices can translate into tangible livelihood opportunities.
He said that such exchanges allow IFAD-assisted projects from different parts of the country to learn from one another, identify approaches that can be adapted to local contexts and strengthen the culture of peer learning and collaboration.
The two-day IFAD Project Partners’ Learning Forum 2026, held under the theme “Celebrating the International Year of Women Farmers: Empowering Women, Transforming Agriculture,” thus concluded with a strong emphasis on experiential learning, women-led agricultural development, innovation, farmer institutions and cross-project collaboration.
