Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh launched "Concor's CSR and Sustainability Project" at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi today. Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister said that this project on ‘Sustainable Development of Apple’ in Shimla, Kullu and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh would undertake strategies for improving the productivity and quality of apple orchards by water harvesting, mechanization and agriculture education, with major emphasis on training and capacity building of farmers and would be implemented through TERI under the stewardship of Nobel laureate Dr. R.K. Pachauri.
He told that the project would benefit about 1500 apple growing households directly while around 1000 households would be benefited indirectly. He said that the Apple was the mainstay of around 1.70 lakh farm families in Himachal Pradesh. Out of 12 districts, apple is commercially being cultivated in 6 districts of the states. The State has achieved distinction in cultivation of apple and grows about 38% of the nation’s apple crop.
Virbhadra Singh said that during the last fifty five years, the State had witnessed a transformation in horticultural development. There has been a phenomenal increase in the area and production of apple in Himachal Pradesh due to which the State has deservingly earned a place of pride as ‘The Apple State of India’. The area under apple cultivation in Himachal Pradesh has increased from 3025 hectare in 1960-61 to 1.04 lakh hectare in 2011-12 which constitutes more than 48% of the total area under fruit production in the State. He said that the apple dominates the fruit production in the State and contributes about 81% of the total fruit production of the State. The production of apple has increased from 12,000 MT in 1960-61 to a record production of 8.92 Lac MT in 2010-11. The apple industry of the State is making a significant contribution of Rs. 3600 Crore annually to the state economy and has transformed the economic status of farmers.
Shri Virbhadra Singh said that although the area and production of Apple had registered manifold increase, yet the production fluctuates year to year and productivity remains low as compared to the advanced countries. The productivity of apple ranges from 6 to 11.5 MT per hectare in Himachal Pradesh in comparison to 35 to 40 tonnes in advanced countries. Low apple productivity is due to innate constraints such as rough weather, undulating topography, small and scattered land holdings and extrinsic factors like rain fed farming, weather sensitive varieties, inadequate pollinizer ratio, low mechanization and conventional orchard management technologies. The productivity of existing apple plantations has not reached the desired level despite efforts to streamline the input supply, infrastructure, efficiency in the extension service and subsidy support on production /protection inputs. He said that major factor is that apple plantations in the State established before 1970 have lived their economic life and have shown decreased productivity. The state is already facing brunt of imported Apple from China, New Zealand and other countries. To produce quality apple that meets the international standards is another challenge for survival of the apple industry of the state he added
Chief Minister said that the State Government was making strenuous efforts to meet the global challenge and make the apple industry sustainable and competitive in the international trade regime. To enhance productivity and improve quality, ‘Apple Rejuvenation Project’ is being implemented that envisages replacement of old and uneconomic apple plantations with improved, high yielding, regular bearing and globally popular apple varieties in 5000 hectare area.
He said that in order to improve the production, productivity and quality, production of quality plant material was being encouraged through promoting hi-tech nurseries and tissue culture units. Besides this, improved varieties and root stocks of apple are being imported from advanced countries which are being multiplied at the departmental orchards for further distribution to orchardists of the State. During year 2012, 10300 plants of apple have been imported from France, he added. Chief Minister said that Private entrepreneurs were being encouraged for establishment of procurement and pre-cooling units to facilitate the orchardists in fetching remunerative price of their produce at farm gate. He said that Controlled Atmospheric storages and CA storage capacity to the tune of 20000 MT had been created in major apple producing areas of the State.The infrastructure available with HPMC in terms of grading-packing houses and controlled atmosphere stores are being modernized. To reduce losses during transportation caused due to overfilling of apple fruit in prevalent telescopic cartons, the use of Standard Universal Carton is being emphasized so that apple growers are also protected from financial loss at the hands of middlemen in the market, he added.
Virbhadra Singh said that in order to bring the horticultural production on the global standards, the State Government was providing technical know-how and inputs to the orchardists on subsidy through training, extension and advisory service. Every year around 55000 farmers are trained through training camps and exposure visits and 350 to 400 MT pesticides are being supplied on subsidy to control pests and diseases Chief Minister Said .Chief Minister said that this project would further complement the efforts of the State Government in capacity building of orchardists and improving the orchard management technology through improved irrigation and mechanization and will eventually give a boost for revitalizing the apple economy of the state. He said that this project would not only benefit the project area but eventually throughout the State. Shri Virbhadra Singh thanked ‘The Energy and Resource Institute’ New Delhi and CONCOR in taking the initiative for implementing this project in the larger interest of apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh.