Begin typing your search...
Tamil Nadu can be world leader in banana cultivation
Tamil Nadu, currently the fifth largest producer of banana in the world, accounting for nearly 30 pc of the world’s banana yield, has the potential to become the largest producer within the next five years, said experts who participated at the fourth edition of CII National Banana Festival, a three-day exhibition and seminar organised here by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) from July 21
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The exhibition displaying latest cold storage technology, high yield seeds, among others, and field visits attracted the participation of five state ministers and hundreds of farmers from 14 Indian states. R Doraikkannu, Minister for Agriculture, said the State has made great strides in increasing the productivity of banana farms.
He pointed out that while the national average of banana yield is 37 metric tonnes per hectare, it is over 100 metric tonnes per hectare in Tamil Nadu.
In Theni district alone, there are over five banana processing centres in the private sector that are into exporting banana and value added products.
One of the key enablers of the sector is state government’s initiatives such as subsidy for drip irrigation, tissue culture plant varieties, and liquid fertilizer.
He said that Tamil Nadu is the only state in India that produces over 18 varieties of banana, while other Indian states do not produce more than four varieties. Theni, Tiruchy Erode, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Thanjavur and Dindigul districts are leading in banana cultivation.
He pointed out that two new varieties, developed by Coimbatore Agriculture University, and National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy, have received overwhelming response from the farmers.
Dindigul C Sreenivasan, Minister for Forests, urged the farmers to focus on exports for better price realisation.
He appreciated that with the help of agriculture scientists, the banana farmers of Tamil Nadu have adopted cold storage technology that can preserve bananas for as many as 90 days.
The minister pointed out that the state government has been responding to the grievances of farmers - it had recently permitted shooting of wild boars that affect agricultural farms and fields.
Reaping Rewards
Tamil Nadu produces over 60 lakh tonnes of banana every year
The state has about 3 lakh hectares of land under banana cultivation
The state government has recently introduced new schemes for the promotion of hill and traditional banana, and tissue culture
The state government has allocated about Rs 62 crore for setting up cold storage facilities exclusively for banana
While banana fruit fetches about Rs 30 a kg at farm gate, the value-added products like banana powder and banana chips can fetch up to Rs 200 and Rs 250 a kilogram
In Madurai, over 2500 hectares is under banana cultivation and about 4,000 farmers are engaged in cultivation
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
