lVegetable prices are soaring due to short supply and have burnt a hole in the common man’s pocket. What steps are you taking to check the price rise and improve vegetable production in the state?
This year, we have intervened in a big way but marketing is not something that comes under our purview. The food and civil supplies department and directorate of cooperation look after that. At our level, we have identified certain growing clusters in different parts of the state and provided farmers with cold storage facilities and refrigerated vans so that they can take their vegetables to nearby markets of Vizag, Raipur or Ranchi. You will see a huge improvement next year.
lCan people expect relief from this price hike next year onwards?
If one crop doesn’t grow well, its price will naturally go up. But the artificial shortage can be arrested. We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Udyan Fresh, which will set up its outlets and the scarcity can be taken care of.
lYou have a plan to set up a vegetables and fruits mall in Unit-II area in Bhubaneswar to promote farmers from rural areas. Do you think this would create resentment among those selling fruits and vegetables in the city’s vending zones?
Bhubaneswar’s population is nearly 10 lakh. The demand is huge. Mall and vending zones will exist side by side. I don’t think there would be a problem.
lOdisha depends on onion supply from Maharashtra (Nasik) and Andhra Pradesh to meet its requirements. We saw an onion crisis in 2007. How far have we been successful in covering up the shortfall?
We are no longer dependant on Nasik. Odisha is among the top five onion producers in the country. Apart from fulfilling our own consumption requirements, we also export it to other cities. But it was not organised. Now, we are trying to capture the market in the North East. Since we are closer in terms of distance, our farmers would have better access and sell onions at a cheaper rate.
lThe farmers here have to sell part of the produce outside the state because of poor cold storage facilities. What is being done about this?
Onions need to be dehumidified and kept in open cold storage structures. We are promoting it so that our farmers can wait till the market rates are favourable to sell their produce. Earlier, we used to procure the onion seeds from Nasik but from the next season, we would produce the seeds here itself. We would expand the cultivation areas for more production so that onion prices can come down.
lTraders from certain states buy Dashehari mangoes from Odisha villages at Rs 5-Rs 8 per kg and sell it in north India at Rs 40-50 per kg. What are you doing to ensure that farmers don’t sell mangoes at a throwaway price and get their due?
Our farmers are becoming conscious about the market rates and we will try to organise the export in a better way from next year. This year, we trained them on good harvesting and packaging practices. For the first time, we exported the Dasheharis to Delhi and they said our mangoes were far superior than the ones they get from Uttar Pradesh. Another advantage is that our mangoes are ready to be picked quite early, by April-end. Challenge is to drive out the middlemen and brokers from the system.
lThe mango festival organised by your directorate was a huge success this year. Are you planning to export more mango varieties?
The government has approved a mango hub in Dhenkanal region, which has emerged as a major mango producing area with an annual production level of over 1.25 lakh tonnes. The farmers there are growing Amrapali, Langra, Dashehari, Himsagar and Mallika varieties on a commercial basis.
lThe National Horticulture Mission (NHM) is being implemented in 24 districts of the state. How is it coming along? What is your annual budget?
Barring those 24 NHM districts, we have undertaken various agricultural and horticulture activities in the remaining districts. Our budget this year is Rs 80 crore. Our weak area is post harvest management. So, we are focussing more on it to minimise wastage. We are also stressing on the mechanisation and setting up of greenhouses to cultivate high-yield varieties of crops as well as unseasonal vegetables and fruits.
lWhy don’t we have a horticulture information system yet?
We have a website in which we are putting up all information. We have brought together farmer groups and growers’ associations in different districts and started a marketing cell. On a weekly basis, we are informing them about major commodities, be it a vegetable or fruit, and their rates in different markets so that they can plan their rates accordingly. We have set up a farmers’ portal where we have included all beneficiaries under our directorate and are following an online system for providing them subsidies and benefits.
