VIJAYAWADA: In a bid to encourage more youth to adopt fruit ripening technology, the State Government should increase the subsidy portion from existing 35 to 75 percent to construct fruit ripening chambers in view of public health, said CS Rao, Former Director of National Horticulture, Government of India.
Rao said that despite High Court’s direction to stop usage of calcium carbide for ripening fruits, still most of the fruit traders are opting for the process to make quick bucks.
“However it is important to note that calcium carbide is not the sole chemical used, with oxytocin and ethephon being two other widely used artificial ripeners. The court should ensure that the use of these is also stopped for the sake of public health,” said the former director. Rao added that ethylene gas can be used to artificially ripen mangoes and bananas without any harmful effects of calcium carbide.
However, this requires enhanced infrastructure in the form of ripening chambers. He underlined the need of the State Government to promote safe methods for artificial ripening by establishing enough number of ripening chambers in the market across the State.
Rao said each ripening chamber requires 8-10 workers for its operations. The existing infrastructure is unable to operate owing to lack of skilled manpower. To meet this demand, the National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCCD) started a skill development program. Samagra Agri-Business was entrusted with the responsibility of trainings the unemployed so that they could operate these chambers.