Nabarangpur: The Chief Minister is keen to raise the earning of people through cashew farming and a cashew apple juice processing unit would soon be set up to make it a success, state cashew development corporation chairman Muna Khan Friday said at a review meeting here.
The quality of cashew produced in undivided Koraput district is among the best and the climate is suitable for the cultivation. Therefore, a large nursery would come up in Nabarangpur district which would help in employment generation. The tehsildars have been asked to find suitable lands for the purpose, Khan added.
Emphasis would be laid on utilizing vacant government land into cashew orchards and establish cashew apple juice making units to help the peasants. Besides, all steps would be taken to make Nabarangpur number one in cashew production in the state. The quality of cashew saplings in the district is so good that they are being supplied to Andhra Pradesh, said the chairman.
Attending the meet, collector Ajit Kumar Mishra advised experts to develop jack fruit saplings along with cashew to make the project more beneficial for the farmers.
Two months back, the agriculture scientists from ICAR and other technical institutions visited the district and collected cashew samples. They were of the opinion that the juice made from cashew apple can be marketed for revenue generation. The scientists asked the district administration to send at least 20 active SHGs to the training centres of other states to acquire knowledge on it.
Earlier, cashew plantation projects were being implemented for soil conservation. But these days it is considered a cash crop as establishment of cashew processing units has become easy, officials said.
The farmers can annually earn upto Rs 20,000 per acre if the product is raised and conserved properly, Khan said during the meeting.
Additional district magistrate Parikhit Sethi, all tehsildars and additional tehsildars of the district were present at the meeting.