Supply fresh fruit to customers, farmers told

Only 30 to 40% of the produce are A grade produce in horticultural sector, ICAR Deputy Director General (Agriculture Extension and Horticultural Sciences) Dr A K Singh said.

He was speaking at a two-day national conference on ‘Horticultural Crops of Humid Tropics-Diversification for Sustainability’ organised by the ICAR, central horticultural experiment station in Chettalli and Society for Horticultural Development here at Gandhi Maidan here on Saturday.

He said farmers should cultivate A grade produce to fetch profit. It is the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double the income and yield of the farmers, he added.

Western Ghats are suitable for horticultural crops. Along with traditional methods of cultivation, the farmers should follow modern technology to increase production. They should ensure that fresh fruits are supplied to customers, he added.

Singh called upon the farmers to make use of the facilities available and make farming a profitable venture.

He said seeds and insecticides should be made available in 5 gram and 10 gram sachets for the benefit of small and marginal farmers.

Indian Horticultural Research Centre Director Dr M R Dinesh said oranges have disappeared from the maps of Kodagu district owing to various reasons.

The farmers should practise environment-friendly agriculture system to increase the production. In the past, the farmers had taken up apiculture along with coffee and black pepper cultivation. However, the apiculture has declined in the district. The multicrop system will help in increasing the income of the farmers. The farmers should visit research centres to get latest developments in the farming sector, he explained.

Progressive farmer Bose Mandanna said coffee planters should take up mixed cropping system. Instead of leaving paddy fields fallow for six months in a year, the farmers can cultivate vegetables and flowers, he added.

 220 varieties of mangoes

Around 220 varieties of mangoes, including the varieties from abroad, exhibited at the venue were centre of attraction. In addition, there were butter fruit, rambutan, Kokum, passion fruit, Italian lemon, Licchi and other fruits were on display.

Though the conference was organised for the benefit of farmers, there were only a handful of farmers during the inauguration of the conference. The various sessions were attended by the agriculture scientists and the staff. 

Former MLC Arun Machaiah, progressive farmers Chaya Nanjappa, Veera Arasu, Prema Ganesh were felicitated.