CHANDIGARH, July 29:
In yet another initiative to provide farmers a substitute to the conventional crops, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government to set up a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence for Onion at Village Kheri in Sangrur district.
This would be the third centre of excellence to be established in sync with the Indo-Dutch agreement in Punjab, said Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh Sarari here on Friday.
The Minister was presiding over a meeting with PUM Expert from Netherlands Mr Tjaart Hoffmanpum and Director Horticulture Punjab Shailender Kaur. Joint Director Horticulture Dr Dinesh kumar also attended the meeting.
Horticulture Minister Fauja Singh said that the centre is aimed not only to make the Punjab farmers introduce the latest technological and scientific advancements in cultivation of onion but to break the traditional cycle of two-crop system, which has been resulting in depletion of water table.
“Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann government is focusing on increasing the income of Farmers by introducing new crops and latest technologies while simultaneously continuing the efforts to conserve the natural resources and save the environment,” he said.
Divulging more details, the Minister said that this centre will focus on increasing the productivity of onions from 22 tons to 40 tons per hectare using Dutch interventions and reducing the loss in post harvest by 30 percent by using the latest storage technology of the Dutch.
He said that the centre will be established under the Mission of Development of Horticulture with the cost worth Rs 10 crore. This Centre will create entrepreneurs for onion nursery, he said adding that the benefits of this centre will be provided in the villages.
The Horticulture Minister said that, presently, Punjab has been catering 25% requirement of the onion and once the centre will be established, the area will increase to 60000 acres within 3 years. Currently, 25000 acre area is being cultivated under onion crop.
Meanwhile, the two Indo-Dutch Centres in Punjab include Centre of Excellence for Potatoes in Dhogri Jalandhar, which is producing an extremely pure form of seed potato. While, another centre for Floriculture is coming up at Doraha Ludhiana, which will encourage seed production technology. The Punjab also has two Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence including for vegetables at Kartarpur in Jalandhar and for fruits (citrus) at Khanaura in Hoshiarpur.
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