The Hindu Business Line : Govt chalking out plans to boost grape farming

GRAPE cultivation is being given a boost with the proposal to set up four nurseries and an increase of 1,000 hectares in acreage in Maharashtra. These would be in Nashik, Pune, Nagar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara.

Disclosing this here at the International Symposium of Grapes, Ms Radha Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, said about 20 pack houses with the attached facilities would also be developed. She said it was time for the grape growers to start looking at other varieties which could be grown on the home soil.

Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said the total grape production in the world was estimated at 66.60 million tonnes (mt) from an area of 7.6 million hectares.

Mr Pawar said despite the available potential, grape production like all other fruit crops were facing constraints of poor quality planting material, insect pest and disease, high post-harvest losses, inadequate marketing infrastructure and inadequate trained manpower.

He said the bulk of the produce was harvested in March-April but as cold storage facilities were inadequate, there were frequent market gluts. Diversification of uses as wines, juices, raisins and export of table grapes could ease the marketing problems while noting that maintenance of quality of table grapes by crop regulation is a priority consideration.

Mr Pawar said the quality for grapes was an important issue governing exports and with the liberalisation of trade under the WTO regime, efforts were needed for Indian grapes to be competitive both in terms of price and quality.

He said the Codex standards for grapes was being formulated by the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables and India was a member of the drafting group of the Draft Codex standards for grapes headed by Chile. He said he would initiate implementation of a national programme for good agricultural practices with a funding support from the Ministry of Agriculture and added that APEDA was developing the document.

More Stories on : Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables | Maharashtra

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