Development of Fodder Resources for UT of J&K (HADP Project 28)

What is HADP Project 28?

Development of Fodder Resources for UT of J&K is Project 28 of the all-round Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) of the Agriculture Production Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. It is run in network mode with SKUAST-Kashmir, SKUAST-Jammu, the Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Sheep Husbandry of both divisions, ICAR-IGFRI Srinagar and the J&K Forest Department.

The problem is quantified precisely in the project document. The total annual fodder requirement of bovines is 96.425 lakh tonnes and of sheep and goats 33.069 lakh tonnes. Feed cost is about 75 per cent of the total cost of producing milk, and green fodder is 35 per cent of the feed input. Jammu and Kashmir produces around 64 lakh MT of green fodder and 35 lakh MT of dry fodder against requirements of 139.13 lakh MT and 58.53 lakh MT, an overall deficit of about 40.93 per cent. Barely 4 per cent of the cultivated area carries fodder crop varieties.

The project's total outlay is Rs 129.05 crore over 5 years, entirely from the capex head, and its stated aim is a reduction of the fodder deficit by 80 per cent, with 5,000 direct beneficiaries and 7,500 indirect beneficiaries.

What does HADP Project 28 pay for?

Under the seed kit component, 1,500 hectares of orchards are also to be brought under the fodder programme, since inter-space in orchards is one of the largest untapped fodder resources in the Union Territory.

The components on which incentive or subsidy is available are grouped as cattle feed processing units, commercial cattle or poultry feed mills and nano or small feed plants, and fodder development, silage making units, fodder harvesters, reapers and chaff cutters, hydroponic fodder units, fodder demonstration plots and mini fodder banks, hybrid fodder seed kits, and azolla fodder plots.

Who is eligible for HADP Project 28?

You can apply if:

• You are an individual, a group of individuals, a dairy farmer, a milk federation, a Self Help Group, a dairy cooperative society or a Farmer Producer Organisation.
• You have a minimum land holding of 5 kanals, which is one of the criteria the Chief Agricultural Officer and the university working group use to demarcate demonstration sites, alongside the administrative district, geo-coordinates, source of irrigation and the nature of beneficiary participation.
• You can provide geo-tagged photographs of the unit, along with your Aadhaar number and, for a group, the relevant SHG, FPO or cooperative registration.
• You buy the equipment or plant from a registered company, authorised dealer, distributor or sole manufacturer within or outside Jammu and Kashmir, meeting the minimum standard specifications issued by the department or a central government institute.

You cannot apply if:

• You want subsidy on old machinery, equipment or accessories. No incentive is provided on second-hand purchases, and this is stated plainly in the guidelines.
• Your machinery is not certified to the requisite safety and quality standards. Subsidy is released as fixed per unit by the department regardless of the price paid, but only as long as the prescribed specifications are met.
• Your holding falls short of the 5 kanal criterion for a demonstration site.
• You are outside one of the identified agro-climatic zone districts for the pilot phase, which restricts the demonstration component.

Which districts are in the pilot?

The pilot is implemented in selected villages of identified districts of each agro-climatic zone:

How to apply for HADP Project 28

1. Register on the HADP Kisan Sathi portal at hadp.jk.gov.in with your Aadhaar and mobile number, and open the Project 28 scheme page for the component you want: hay and silage unit, hydroponic unit, chaff cutter, reaper, fodder depot, demonstration plot or seed kit.
2. Apply to the Chief Agricultural Officer of your district or to the concerned officer of the line department, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry or Sheep Husbandry — depending on the component.
3. Get the site demarcated. For demonstration plots, the Chief Agricultural Officer and the SKUAST working group demarcate sites against the criteria of district, geo-coordinates, land holding of at least 5 kanals, source of irrigation and whether participation is individual or group.
4. Buy the machinery only from a registered supplier after sanction, ensuring it carries the prescribed specifications and safety or quality certification.
5. Submit the invoice and geo-tagged photographs of the installed unit together with your Aadhaar and registration details.
6. Receive the fixed per-unit subsidy in your bank account after verification. The department releases the amount fixed per unit, not a percentage of whatever price you paid.

If you want to add your own capital as a loan, the project implementers will issue you a beneficiary certificate so that you can approach a bank. The project itself is not party to the loan or to any benefit or loss arising from it.

Who does what under Project 28

SKUAST-Kashmir and SKUAST-Jammu make available basic seed input and nutritionally rich fodder varieties, extend fodder processing technologies for silage and hay along with the crop list and crop calendar for the year, and work out and demonstrate hydroponic farming at experimental units and at farmers' locations.

Line departments up-scale those technologies with large-scale demonstrations in collaboration with the universities, and provide the incentives and inputs. The machines, equipment and operational farm inputs; from the incentives budget head.

For pilot-scale demonstrations across Jammu and Kashmir, a total of 32 tonnes of quality seed is required: 16 tonnes of cultivated annuals such as fodder maize, sorghum, fodder cowpea and oats; 5 tonnes of perennials such as sainfoin, red and white clover, BN hybrid, guinea grass, tall fescue and phalaris; 6 tonnes for grassland; and 5 tonnes for horti-pasture.

Targets the project is measured against

• Farmer demonstration plots on 4,100 hectares per year.
• 300 hay and silage making units and 25 fodder depots.
• 500 hydroponic units producing 15,000 MT of green fodder.
• 30 to 40 per cent increase in productivity from fodder crops through improved varieties.
• 15 lakh MT of fodder to 15 per cent of the deficit; from 60,000 hectares of orchards, a quarter of the total orchard area.
• 3.75 lakh MT from 25,000 hectares of forest closures, and 1 lakh MT from 20,000 hectares of alpine and sub-alpine grasslands.

Why applications get rejected

• Second-hand machinery, which carries no incentive at all.
• Machinery without safety or quality certification, or not matching the department's minimum standard specifications.
• No geo-tagged photograph of the installed unit, which is a recorded requirement.
• Holding under 5 kanals for a demonstration site.
• Purchase from an unregistered supplier, rather than a registered company, authorised dealer, distributor or sole manufacturer.
• Annual target exhausted, with only 60 hay and silage units and 100 hydroponic units in the design, these components fill quickly.

Help and grievance redressal

• Chief Agricultural Officer of your district, the first point of contact
• Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department, Jammu: 0191-2505201, email devagri-jk@jk.gov.in
• Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Department, Kashmir: 0194-2310265
• HADP portal: hadp.jk.gov.in, including its grievance section
• Daksh Kisan: dakshkisan.jk.gov.in, for free training on silage, hay making and hydroponic fodder

The project committee is required to draft a uniform manual for beneficiaries including a checklist and all procedures for applying under each component, and to upload the beneficiary list with details of subsidy utilisation on the official website. Ask for that manual before you buy any machine.