Jammu, Aug. 10 -- Taking a leaf out of the Kangra tea gardens in Himachal Pradesh's Palampur, the agriculture department of Jammu and Kashmir has initiated a tea plantation drive in the hilly Billawar tehsil of Kathua district. The initiative is being seen as a landmark step towards diversification from the maize-wheat cycle as the region's temperate climate and altitude of 5,000 feet is suitable for the cash crop. "The region's climate and soil conditions, particularly across the Shivalik range, are akin to Palampur for tea cultivation. More than 20,000 tea saplings have been sourced from Palampur and planted in Billawar by over 500 farmers. Though we have done it on an experimental basis, we are confident of fruitful results. The crop will be ready in a year and a half," says sub divisional agriculture officer Ravi Sharma. "If this pilot project proves to be successful, more such plantation drives will be taken up across the region. The aim is to make villagers here self-reliant," he said. Billawar MLA Satish Sharma, who inaugurated the plantation drive recently, had raised the issue of cultivating tea in Billawar during the budget session in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in March given the conducive climate and soil conditions though the region gets less rain than Palampur. "Subsequently, the director of the agriculture department got in touch with the agricultural university in Palampur and we roped in more than 500 farmers in Billawar, where three clusters have been set up," the agriculture officer said. Assuring growers of round-the-clock support from the department, he urged them to stay updated and avail benefits of departmental schemes and technical services. "The yield can be processed here itself. We will definitely increase the area under tea cultivation next year," he said. Additional deputy commissioner Vinay Khosla termed the initiative path-breaking. He urged young farmers to become active stakeholders in such projects and said the government was committed to rural transformation under the Mission Yuva campaign. Palampur tea, popularly known as Kangra tea, is known for its delicate flavour, fruity aroma, and tinge of honey-like sweetness. The drive was inaugurated on July 24. Local farmers have adopted the tea plantation as they anticipate higher income compared to wheat and maize. "We adopted tea plantation because the climatic conditions in Billawar are similar to Palampur. For lesser rains, we have installed drip system wherein water droplets keep irrigating the saplings," said Lokesh Sumbria, one of the farmers, who has adopted tea plantation. Sumbria has planted 250 saplings on his farm at Kishanpur Billawar. "There is a positive response to the initiative by agriculture department. We have been cultivating wheat and maize but farmers should also try something new," he added. Another farmer Rakesh Kumar said that tea was a favourite beverage across India and that's why tea estates have been thriving in north-east and Himachal Pradesh. "We are confident of getting fruitful results and who knows that J&K also become a major producer of tea leafs in the times to come and change socio economics condition of farmers here,"he added....