PANAJI: Believe it or not, but in a development akin to selling coal to Newcastle, Goa has started selling a vegetable—green chilli—to the Belagavi market. Traditionally, it is from Belagavi that Goa gets almost all its vegetables.
Agriculture director Orlando Rodrigues told TOI that for the first time Goa has witnessed a surplus of green chillies, such that the state horticulture corporation has sold around 14 tonnes of the vegetable to the Belagavi market in the last about one month.
Rodrigues said the agriculture department's initiatives in encouraging vegetable cultivation in Goan villages has yielded bumper crops of 'Nisha'—a hybrid variety of green chilli promoted by the department.
Leading in green chilli production are the two Canacona villages of Cotigao and Gaondongorim in Goa's extreme South. But 'Nisha' has been bountiful in places across the state including Dharbandora, Sanguem, Pernem, Amona-Bicholim, Aldona.
Goan village farms in Bicholim, Sakhali, Pernem, etc, are also seeing a big bounty of brinjals, but these have not been sold outside Goa yet.
One reason for the spurt in vegetable production is the state government's encouragement.
The agriculture department gives inputs in the form of hybrid seeds, fertilizers and other materials to the extent of 33,000 per hectare.
More important is that the government has given a support price of 27 per kilo for green chillies and 19 per kilo for brinjals to these farmers. "If the market price is higher, we pay them the market price. But if the market price falls below the support price, we pay the support price," said Rodrigues.
The marketing is done by the Goa state horticulture corporation, which has set up about 17 collection centres all over Goa. Farmers bring their produce to these centres before 8.30am and the corporation then distributes to its over 800 sales stalls all over Goa. The surplus chillies are sent to Belagavi every other day.
Asked why the farmers were not encouraged to grow other vegetables like lady fingers, cluster beans, etc, Rodrigues said many of these vegetables have a very short shelf life.
"What is important is to get the farmers to cultivate, so that they realize this business is profitable. Then we hope they will bring larger areas under cultivation so that the produce can be exported abroad," said Rodrigues.
The director said that presently about two tonnes of such vegetables are exported daily from Dabolim airport, although the airport has a potential for exports of about 15 tonnes. The vegetables come from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and are exported mostly to the Gulf.
Goa has not ventured into this because local agents in the Gulf are needed to sell the produce there and collection of payments from them is a ticklish issue, said Rodrigues.
Kerala got around this problem by tying up with Keralite expats in the Gulf. Goa is studying the issue. "So maybe someday our chillies, brinjals and other vegetables will be exported and sold in the Gulf," said the agriculture director with a smile.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/In-a-first-Goa-sells-its-green-chillies-to-Belagavi/articleshow/46883031.cms
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