Odisha has acquired the second position in the country for developing 62 accredited horticultural nurseries after Karnataka with 65.
This was revealed at an executive committee meeting of the Odisha Horticulture Development Society held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary BK Patnaik on Saturday. Presenting the proposals for approval of the committee, Horticulture Director Sanjeeb Chadha mentioned that a target has been set to develop another 100 nurseries during the current year, which after successful completion is expected to take Odisha to the number one position.
The Chief Secretary directed the department to make robust buyback arrangements for all horticultural produces promoted through the National Horticulture Mission. He also asked the department to promote riverbed potato cultivation in large patches as this produce is more hygienic and disease-free. The department was also directed to promote mechanisation of horticultural operations by providing necessary training and equipments to youths so that they can get permanent livelihood and horticultural operations can be boosted with minimum cost involvement.
The committee approved 10 Cool Chambers each with 10-MT capacity in Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Keonjhar districts at a cost of Rs 11.70 lakh each. Similarly, 23 Rural Aggregation Centres and Functional Infrastructure have been approved for Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts with a cost involvement of Rs 25 lakh each.
A biotech tissue culture lab involving an investment of Rs 910 lakh was approved for Nimapara. Eight mushroom spawn production units with total investment of Rs 110 lakh were approved for Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Khurda. Four cashew processing units with a total investment of Rs 1270 lakh were approved for Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Mayurbhanj.
As many as 91 onion storage structures of 25-MT capacity each with an investment of Rs 91 lakh were also approved for Kalahandi, Balangir, Puri, Subarnapur and Bargarh. Bio-control labs with an investment of Rs 152 lakh were approved for Baleswar and Ganjam.
An Annual Action Plan of Rs 90 crore was approved for 2013-14. The plan’s thrust areas include protected cultivation, post-harvest management, horticulture mechanisation, creation of marketing infrastructure, promotion of organic cultivation and creation of water bodies. Principal Secretary of Agriculture Suresh Chandra Mohapatra and Director of Agriculture participated in the discussions.