Centre approves Rs 6.71 Cr for establishment of centre of excellence for temperate fruits
Thursday, 20 February 2025 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The State Agriculture minister Ganesh Joshi thanked the Union Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan for the Central government’s allocation of Rs 6.71 crore for setting up the Centre of Excellence for temperate fruits at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya State Garden in Chaubatia, Almora. He thanked the chief minister, too, for his support.
He further said that this initiative would be executed with the collaboration of the Indo-Dutch Netherlands Working Group, focusing on temperate fruit crops such as apple, peach, pear, plum and walnut. The project includes the development of necessary infrastructure, a training hostel, irrigation systems, polyhouses, sorting and grading units, demonstration blocks and cold storage facilities.
The minister further said that the State government would support the establishment of a soil laboratory. “The primary goal is to enhance both production and productivity through the adoption of modern agricultural techniques,” he said.
He informed that demonstration blocks would be set up based on various crops to showcase these innovations. “The Centre of Excellence will assess various effective agricultural practices and crop varieties, providing farmers with hands-on training to maximise their benefits from adopting suitable methods,” he said, adding that the centre would be vital in advancing cultivation, research and training related to these fruits in Uttarakhand.
Besides, this initiative would revitalise the State’s horticulture sector by educating the local farmers on scientific approaches for high-quality fruit production, enabling them to achieve fair market prices for their products, he added.
