After having been the brand ambassador for Gujarat tourism since February 2010, veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan may now promote horticulture in Maharashtra, in a State-sponsored initiative “to showcase the progress made by the State in the sector and to ensure better price for the farmers”.
Bachchan himself confirmed that he was in talks with new Maharashtra Horticulture Minister Jitendra Awhad of the ruling NCP in this regard, when he tweeted: “A meet with the Minister to promote horticulture in Maharashtra ... best mangoes, pomegranate, cheeku, grapes, onion, tomatoes et al”.Two days after Bachchan’s tweet, Awhad went to town on Friday, claiming that the veteran actor had accepted his request to promote horticulture in Maharashtra.
Awhad, who was inducted into the State Cabinet on Thursday last, met Bachchan early this week with a request to promote horticulture in Maharashtra, a sector which is very dear to NCP president and former Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Pawar has over the years has taken several initiatives to develop horticulture in Maharashtra.
Talking to mediapersons here on Friday, Awhad said: “The progress we have made in the field of horticulture over the years is both phenomenal and noteworthy. There is a need to showcase the progress made by us in this field among the people in the State and across the country. Besides, with the help of Amitabh, we would like to provide encouragement and assistance to farmers in the form of better prices for their produce”.
“In addition, we would like to create awareness among high-end consumers across the country about our horticulture products. Such a move will help farmers get better prices for their produce,” Awhad said.
Maharashtra — where the Centrally-sponsored National Horticulture Mission (NHM) is effectively implemented — produces about 17.54 million tons of horticultural products from an area of 2.49 million hectares, accounting for 7.30 per cent of horticulture production in the country.
A major share of production is from fruits (54 24 per cent), the main fruits being sapota, banana, citrus, and grapes. Other fruits grown are mango, pomegranate and guava. The vegetable produce forms about 42.78 per cent of the horticultural production in the State. Maharashtra is also a leading producer of onions, cut flowers and cashew.