NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Chief Secretary (CS) R K Srivastava, on Monday, said that the state government will formulate some schemes for the local cultivators of crops like cashew and cocoa, after interacting with the banks, just as the central Commissioner for Agriculture and Horticulture Dr S K Malhotra maintained that the country is currently witnessing a wide gap between demand and supply for such crops.
Speaking to the cultivators from cashew and cocoa producing states, after inaugurating the 2-day national conference on ‘Cashew and Cocoa: Production to marketing,’ in the city, the Chief Secretary said that there are a lot of challenges in the cultivation of cashew and cocoa as the particular field is not a technology- driven field, where there are turnkey solutions.
The conference is being organised by the Directorate of Cashew nut and Cocoa Development (DCCD), Kerala, which is presently celebrating golden jubilee year of its establishment.
“The government support for such cultivators is important, and hence the Goa government has extended minimum support price for their crops,” Srivastava added, pointing out that if other states follow the same path, then it would provide a boost to their cultivators.
“Furthermore, after production of these crops, the cultivators have neither capacity nor capability for marketing the produce, and therefore, the government wants to set up an agricultural produce marketing board,” he maintained, stating that the government needs to provide a platform to the progressive farmers, where they would receive all the information about high yield varieties of crops in the region, cultivation techniques, vagaries of weather, and integration of production in marketing network.
The central Commissioner for Agriculture and Horticulture said that the country annually needs 16 lakh metric tonne of cashew and 30,000 metric tonne of cocoa, while the actual production is much lower.
“In fact, there are few high value horticultural crops like cashew, cocoa and spices, which can help the farmers double their revenue,” he informed.
Dr Malhotra further said that pulses are also the priority area of the central government.
He also revealed that as against 35 lakh hectares of agricultural crop area brought under insurance cover, in the country, only 3 lakh hectares of horticultural crop area has been brought under such cover.
The director of DCCD Dr Venkatesh Hubballi, in his welcome address, said that in the year 1966, when the directorate was established, only 2.40 lakh hectares area in the country was brought under cashew cultivation, with the annual production of the crop being one lakh metric ton, at that time.
“The conference will discuss various confronting issues in the production, processing and exports of cashew and cocoa, and the future of these crops,” he noted.
A number of farmers from around the country, including Rohan Joshi from Goa were felicitated on the occasion, for their cultivating skills.
The day also witnessed technical sessions, with the director of agriculture, Ulhas Pai Kakode speaking on ‘Development strategies of cashew in Goa,’ and Gurudas Bhakta speaking on ‘All about Goa Cashew Feni.’