Jammu and Kashmir is poised to emerge as the country's first state with zero below-poverty-line population by 2007, Governor S K Sinha said on Tuesday.

Addressing the 28th Annual Convention of vice-chancellors of the Indian Agriculture Universities Association in Srinagar, Sinha said this would be possible with the successful implementation of the roadmap formulated for the purpose.

He said agricultural expert and father of the Green

Revolution, M S Swaminathan, had drawn up a roadmap for the three regions of the state which have distinct terrain and weather conditions.

Sinha made a pointed reference to the challenges posed to the country's agricultural sector with special reference to Jammu and Kashmir and said agriculture would continue to be the mainstay of the state's economy.

The governor said now is the time to transform the Green Revolution into an "evergreen revolution."