At the outset, may I wish you a very prosperous and happy new year 2010.
It is a matter of great pleasure for me to be with you on this inaugural ceremony of "1st Inter State Horti Fair – Sangam being held during the year 2010. Prior to this NHB has organized three such events at New Delhi, Cochin and Bangalore during the year 2009.
Friends, you are aware that India is endowed with a variety of climatic conditions enabling it to grow diverse horticultural crops. There is tremendous scope to improve the economic status of our small and marginal farmers by increasing quality production and productivity of these crops. Although, a number of programmes and activities have been launched in this direction, yet much more needs to be done. India being the second largest producer of the fruits and vegetables, still the productivity of fruits and vegetables grown in the country is low as compared to the developed countries.
The Board has recently taken a decision to promote production of exports quality fruits & vegetables in the country for bridging the gap between export potential and availability of export quality fruits & vegetables. To fulfill this dream, it is necessary to make the grower aware of latest technologies for production, post harvest management and marketing of the produce and promote them to adopt these technologies.
It is also a need of the time to develop "farmer-centric value chain" so as to increase producer farmers' net gain.
It is also a known fact that some of the varieties of fruits and vegetables grown in one corner of the country have not yet reached the consumers of the other corner for which exposure to such markets is required. With a view to create awareness of various varieties of fruits and vegetables being grown all over the country amongst the producers and consumers, the Board has taken appreciable initiatives to organize Inter State Horti Fair namely Sangam at various locations across the country benefiting the producers and consumers.
The 1st Sangam was organized by the Board in the month of May 2009 in New Delhi. A large number of producer farmers across the country participated with their produce for display and sale of their produce directly to the consumers. People of NCR visited this fair and purchased the horticultural produce in large quantity. This fair has not only created the awareness amongst the producers but also amongst the public. Some of the varieties of Banana grown in the states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu which were not even known to the people of NCR were in high demand.
Similarly, during Haritolsavam 2009, at Kochi from 28th to 31st August 2009 which was organized by the Board and local Administration, some vegetables grown in the states like Bihar, Orissa and U.P. were also liked by the people of Kerala on occasion of 'Onam' festival.
During the Apple Mela at Lalbagh, Bangalore, the producers of apple from Arunanchal Pradesh participated with their produce, which was a very good exposure for the farmers of NE Region to introduce their produce in the market like Bangalore and to know the know-how of latest production and marketing strategies. They also exchanged their experiences with regards to the latest technology for quality production, PHM, transportation and packaging with participating farmers from Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and J&K. Since, the farmers of NE Region were not aware about the pruning process in apple orchard, the Board made them aware by imparting the training for pruning during month of December 2009. For this, expert from Agriculture University of Solan visited Arunanchal Pradesh, stayed with farmers over there and trained them.
I am informed that about 150 citrus growing farmers from NE States, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu are participating in this fair.
Friends, I am sure that the participating citrus growers across the country will get a good exposure of new market. I hope the National Horticulture Board will continue to organize such types of Sangam for their benefits in future.
I congratulate the organizers including State Directorate of Horticulture for making such a nice arrangements for providing a platform for the horticultural producers and awareness of the consumers. I also welcome the participants with a wish to all success of this Sangam.
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