ZIRO, 21 Nov: Agriculture Minister Tage Taki on Sunday flagged off a consignment of 6 mt of organic kiwi fruit from here in Lower Subansiri district for New Delhi.
The organic kiwis will be introduced at the Dilli Haat in New Delhi, and will also be made available in major supermarkets of the national capital by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and the Arunachal Pradesh Agricultural Marketing Board (APAMB).
The Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture and Livestock Market Committee, in collaboration with the NAFED, sourced 6 mt of kiwi from the Kiwi Growers Cooperative Society Ltd here.
Applauding the efforts of the APAMB and the NAFED in boosting kiwi trade in the state, Taki urged the farmers to practice scientific kiwi cultivation to enhance the productivity from the current 4-5 mt per hectare to 10-15 mt per hectare.
“The state government is targeting expansion of kiwi cultivation area
to 5,000 hectares by 2030, so as to meet the 50 percent demand of kiwi in the country,” the minister said.
He also urged farmers to avail the benefits under the Atmanirbhar Krishi and Bhagwani Yojana announced by the state government.
APAMB CEO Okit Palling informed that the idea of promoting kiwi was conceived by Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, and that the NAFED and the APAMB have taken the task forward.
Palling further said that the APAMB, along with the horticulture department and the Kiwi Growers Cooperative Society, will work in tandem to “quantify the marketable surplus of kiwi well in advance from next year.”
Mihin Tayu and Taro, general secretary and president of the Kiwi Growers Cooperative Society, also spoke.
