<p>Horticulture industry has flourished in the state in the last few years. Production of cashew has increased manifolds. Director of Jharkhand state horticulture mission Dr Prabhakar Singh, who himself is a horticulturist talks to Kelly Kislaya about this development and what more needs to be done in the state.</p> <p><strong>You are a horticulturist. What according to you is the scope of horticulture industry in the state?</strong></p> <p>Jharkhand has great possibilities in horticulture and we are trying our best to exhaust our resources to improve it. The climatic conditions and topography here are suitable for most plants and if plants are chosen in accordance with the soil type then the growth will be definitely very good.</p> <p><strong>Cashew production has increased manifolds in Jharkhand. What is the situation now?</strong></p> <p>Yes, we have improved much. In 2010, only 3000 hectare in three districts was earmarked for cashew cultivation, now it is being done in 17000 hectares in 17 districts. We are planning to involve two more districts for cashew production this fiscal. We are using high-end technology to utilize waste land in the state.</p> <p><strong>How much has cashew production helped the farmers here?</strong></p> <p>Earlier the farmers used to face problems as there was no processing plant. We have installed three processing plants and two are in pipeline. Farmers are happy, their incomes have increased 7 times - previously they used to earn Rs10-15 per kg of cashew and now their incomes have increased to Rs70-80 per kilogram. This has also helped in reducing migration from villages.</p> <p><strong>Apart from cashew what are your other missions?</strong></p> <p>We are working towards promoting spice cultivation and our major emphasis is on ginger and turmeric production. Also we have started producing pear, custard apple, chiku and pineapple on a large scale. For the first time we have started mandarine cultivation in East Singhbhoom in 200 hectare. Also we are laying stress on organic farming.</p> <p><strong>According to you what is the biggest problem being faced by the farmers of this state?</strong></p> <p>Lack of cold storage facilities is the biggest hurdle due to which farmers here are unable to store their perishable products like fruits and vegetable for a long time. We have 45 to 50 old cold storages but none work properly due to lack of infrastructure. We have plans to set up some new cold storages to deal with this problem.The demand of flowers in the state is increasing by the day as a result of which flowers are being brought from other states.</p> <p><strong>What is your plan for improving floriculture here?</strong></p> <p>We have involved many farmers in floriculture. In financial year 2012-13, rose was cultivated in 300 hectare, marigold in 400 and gerbera in 250 hectare. To prevent farmers from falling into the clutches of middlemen, we have also set up seven Surbhi Kendras in the state where farmers can directly sell their produce and get the right market price. We will also start orchid farming this year which will help farmers to step into the global flower market.</p> <p><strong>What are your future projects?</strong></p> <p>At present we are only concentrating on a two-day national conference that we will organize on November 20. The conference will highlight strategies for development of cashew in non-traditional states. This is the first time that we are organizing such a big conference so we need to give all the attention to its preparations.</p> <p> </p>