State has big potential for citrus fruit farming: CM

Tribune News Service

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Dehradun, January 3

Chief Minister Harish Rawat said a support system was needed for fruits and vegetables being grown in the state. He called for a survey to determine the actual citrus fruit production in the state. He was speaking after visiting the citrus fruits exhibition and symposium organised here by the horticulture mission yesterday.

He said the state government had been making efforts to give technical and scientific know how about fruit and vegetable production for maintaining quality. The Chief Minister said Uttarakhand had great potential in citrus fruit cultivation which could help farmers economically.

He also gave away awards to farmers producing best citrus fruits on the occasion.He hoped that the awardees would act as leaders in their respective areas to motivate others.

The steps announced by the government for promoting citrus fruits plantation would ultimately yield dividends for the state farmers, Horticulture Minister Harak Singh Rawat said yesterday.

“Who could have believed that humble lemon could attract so much attention? We are perhaps among the few states that are aggressively promoting plantation of citrus fruits. We have even announced minimum support price for the fruit. I think in the coming years, citrus fruits will hold the key to prosperity,” he said.

The Department of Horticulture has earmarked Rs 5 crore for the distribution of fruit plantation material and want to increase the area under production of lemon and malta by next year, he said. “We are aiming to raise the production of citrus fruits to1 lakh metric tonne and also set up citrus fruit clusters for this purpose,” he said.

On the other hand, Additional Chief Secretary Dr Ranbir Singh said citrus fruits could be a viable option for farmers facing the brunt of climate change. “The climate in the Terai region and areas falling in between the hilly and plain areas could be conducive for the plantation of citrus fruits,” he said.

Director, Horticulture Mission, Dr BS Negi, said the department had set up an ambitious target of increasing the total area under citrus plantation in the coming years. Farmers from different parts of the state had set up their exhibits, comprising of malta, mausmi, Nagpur mandarin, pant lemon, ureka, kinnoo and mausami at the exhibition.