The Hindu : Other States / Himachal Pradesh News : Himachal vegetable output on the rise

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Friday, Jan 28, 2005

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Himachal vegetable output on the rise

By Our Staff Correspondent

SHIMLA, JAN.27. The famous fruit bowl of the country, the hill State of Himachal, has now become a "natural glass house" for the production of off-season vegetables and temperate seeds in the region. The vegetable production is contributing at least Rs 400 crores to the State's Gross Domestic Product.

The area under vegetable production was just 3000 hectares in the 1950s with a production of 25,000 metric tonnes of vegetables but now it has gone up to 34,000 hectares and the production 6.27 lakh tonnes. The State Government is planning to raise the area under cultivation to 50,000 hectares and production to 10 lakh tonnes in the next three years, claimed a government spokesman.

The State has a huge bio-diversity and its agro-climatic conditions are congenial for the production of off-season vegetables and seeds for temperate vegetables. The seeds produced here are too vigorous and absolutely disease- free.

The faster growth in the area and production in the recent past has become possible with the increased irrigation facilities, creation of infrastructure like rural roads, marketing complexes, supply of quality seeds and adoption of latest technology and expansion of extension services, said the spokesman. The State Government has given top priority for the expansion of irrigation facilities and water harvesting.

For faster area expansion under vegetables the government has followed project approach where in 100 projects are being taken up in such areas where irrigation potential has been created. In each project area the farmers are given training, demonstration and exposure visits to enable them to start off-season vegetable cultivation. The good quality seeds and crop protection materials are assured by the Agriculture Department. And in order to give a further boost to crop diversification through off-season cultivation the government has formulated a project for external funding of Rs. 80 crores which is under consideration of the Union Government, said the official spokesman.

The major areas under off-season vegetable and seeds production are Saproon Valley and Kandaghat in Solan district, Theog in Shimla district, Rajgarh in Sirmaur district, Bajoura in Kullu and Pattan Valley in Lahaul-Spiti district which once had the highest per hectare production of potato in the World.

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