UTTARAKHAND: The Uttarakhand government has introduced a string of fests to give a fillip to farm products of the state, where a rich variety of apples, mushrooms and organic honey are produced.
The department of horticulture and food processing organised the International Apple Festival 2021 last month that saw participation of apple farmers from across the fruit belt of India, including Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Devendra Bisht, an apple farmer from Ramgarh of Nainital district, was a participant in the three-day festival. "I planted 1,000 trees in April last year and reaped a harvest of 258 boxes worth Rs 4 lakh," said Bisht.
Such initiatives, he says, help small farmers like him, who have no access to facilities to sell their produce. "These festivals offer us an opportunity to learn how to improve our farming," he said.
Farmers came out with more than 50 varieties of apple during the festival. At hand were experts of apple farming, marketing, food processing, water conservation from institutions like IIT-Kanpur, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Nauni (Himachal Pradesh) and many others.
Javed Ahmed Dar, an apple grower from Kashmir, said he brought half a dozen varieties of the fruit to the festival. "It was a great opportunity to interact, learn and market our produce beyond our local bazaars and mandis," he said.
State horticulture department officials say plans are afoot to help farmers increase the productivity. HS Baweja, director of the state horticulture department, said that thousands of farmers are transforming their lives. "We plan to take 30,000 apple farmers under our care," he said.
Uttarakhand has around 4.5 lakh farmers growing fruits, vegetables, flowers and other produce which come under the ambit of horticulture in about 2.96 lakh hectares, with business worth Rs 3,250 crore. The apple covers 25,785 hectares with an annual production of over 62,000 metric tonnes.
More than 60 per cent of the fruit in Uttarakhand is produced in Uttarkashi and Dehradun districts. The department plans to develop apple cultivation zones in seven other districts - Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Pauri, Tehri and Rudraprayag.
Vijay Singh Chauhan, an apple grower from Lakhamandal who won the first prize, said festivals based on farm products offer a big platform to the hill farmers. "A lot more needs to be done to make the produce of Uttarakhand a global brand like Himachal and Kashmiri apples," he said.
State agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal says the government’s focus is on doubling apple cultivation area from 25,000 hectares. "We are also looking beyond traditional crops," he added. The stage will be organising Mushcon International Mushroom Festival 2021 during October 18-20 in Haridwar followed by the International Honey Festival in Nainital.
Divya Rawat, a pioneer in mushroom cultivation in Uttarakhand and brand ambassador of the state, says she expects all facets of mushroom industry in full display at the event. "We'll showcase the latest research, developments and innovation conducted by mushroom growers. We expect the presence of renowned international and national faculty/speakers who would take up scientific sessions, offering an insight into the latest developments and achievements in the field," said Rawat, who has trained thousands of farmers from Uttarakhand and other parts of India in mushroom farming to start with as little investment as Rs 20,000-50,000.