VIJAYAWADA: Marking a major milestone in agricultural technology and value addition, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan launched India’s first non-GMO, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed at Katrenipadu, near Musunuru in Eluru district, on Monday.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Governor S Abdul Nazeer joined the Vice-President for the launch and a tour of Gourmet Popcornica’s state-of-the-art facility.
Describing the development as a significant step towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat in agriculture, Radhakrishnan noted that India had long relied on imported hybrid technology for high-quality popcorn maize.
He commended Gourmet Popcornica and local farmers for developing an indigenous solution on Indian soil that conserves foreign exchange while strengthening the country’s capacity to compete in global markets.
Highlighting the scale of the growing farmer-enterprise partnership, he said more than 17,500 farmers cultivating nearly 40,000 acres across eight States are now part of the enterprise.
Underlining the vital role of the farming community, Governor S Abdul Nazeer said maize was India’s third most important food crop, with annual production exceeding 43 million tonnes.
In view of emerging El Niño-related weather risks for farming community in the State, the Governor stressed the need for drought-tolerant crop varieties as a means to protect farmers’ livelihoods.
Governor Nazeer commended Gourmet Popcornica maangement for adapting tropical popcorn hybrids to Indian conditions, reversing a trend in which 70 per cent of popcorn revenues went to foreign countries and saving an estimated $125 mn in foreign exchange for India.
Crop patterns in Nuzvid in tune with evolving commercial trends: Naidu
Pointing out that popcorn consumed in India was historically imported from countries such as Brazil, Naidu said domestic processing would ensure that the wealth remained within the country while expanding ‘Andhra Popcorn’ across Asian and global markets.
Emphasising that Andhra Pradesh currently processes only 10 per cent of its total agricultural output, Naidu said cropping patterns around Nuzvid were already evolving towards commercial crops such as palm oil, cocoa and aquaculture.
Naidu commended Gourmet Popcornica for establishing its processing plant at Musunuru, which commands a 70 per cent share of the national popcorn market and is one of Asia’s largest non-GMO expandable popcorn processing centres, supplying more than 3,400 cinema screens across India.
During the event, Radhakrishnan visited the factory and cold storage facility to review processing, quality control and packaging operations. Cabinet Ministers Nara Lokesh, K Atchannaidu and Kolusu Parthasarathy, along with representatives of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research and international partners and others attended the event in Eluru district.
