Imphal, July 30,
State and the Horticulture & Soil Conservation Department today achieved a major milestone as one metric ton (1 MT) of organic pineapples grown in the State was airlifted today to Delhi from the Imphal International Airport. This is the first ever airlift of locally grown organic pineapples from the State.
Horticulture & Soil Conservation Department had tied up with NE Agro Products, a Gurgaon based company for selling fresh organic and chemical free pineapples (850 grams to 1.5 kilograms) for ‘queen’ and ‘kew’ varieties. The pineapples are produced by the Organic Pineapple Growers of Thayong, Andro, Waithou Chiru, where queen variety is cultivated and Bunglon and Khousabung where kew variety is cultivated under the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER) implemented by the Mission Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) in the State.
At present, 600 organic growers/farmers are cultivating organic pineapples covering 600 hectares of land under phase-1 of the scheme and another 1,000 growers/farmers are being promoted at 1,000 hectares of land under the phase-II of the mission. The seasonal fruit is available in the State from the month of July to October.
Addressing the media persons at his New Secretariat office, Horticulture and Soil Conservation Minister Thounaojam Shyamkumar described the first ever airlifting of the consignment of organic pineapples to Delhi as a new dawn for the department and for the organic farmers of the State. Encouraging the organic farmers of the State, he asked them to work harder and cultivate more pineapples as the govt. is committed to provide a suitable market for the pineapples.
Minister Shyamkumar opined that with the initiative, people outside the State can savour the unique characteristics and special refreshing taste of the varieties of pineapples grown in the State. The move will benefit the farmers as well the State and many more such initiatives will be taken up in the future to benefit all the stakeholders, he said.