Anantapur gears up to become country’s horticulture hub

Anantapur: Andhra Pradesh’s city Anantapur is gearing up to become a major horticulture hub in the country. State Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav made it clear at the first Anantha Horticulture Conclave. The district exported over one lakh tonnes of bananas to Iran. With this grand success, the state government has planned to promote five more horticulture crops on the manner of bananas. The minister went on to say that the conclave will now be held annually amid its positive response.

He stressed that all the issues in the horticulture sector should be addressed, from nurseries to marketing. He further added that it is essential to set up cold chains in large quantities to support farmers so that they can increase their income.

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The government has decided to expand the Handri-Neeva canal this season for the promotion of agriculture. With this facility, 12 pumpsets will operate and provide irrigation to farmlands. The project is likely to be completed within a year.

Special Chief Secretary for Horticulture and Agriculture, Budithi Rajasekhar, assured that the government is adamant to address all the challenges. He explained that per hectare banana production in Anantapur is 65 million tonnes (MTs), nearly Turkey’s 70.2 MTs, the highest yield in the world. Special focus will be given to maintaining supply chains to improve quality as well as packaging. All efforts are being made to reduce the post-harvest loss from 15-20% to just 9%.

Six crops, such as banana, dry chili, sweet orange, tomato, mango, and dragon fruit, have been identified by both the central and state governments to increase their production at the optimum level. The aim is to make Anantapur a grand brand in horticulture.