Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has directed the Horticulture department to enhance the production of some fruits and vegetables to meet the market demand in the state.
At a virtual meeting of the Sanctioning Committee on Micro Irrigation, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra directed the department to make a detailed study on production and requirement of fruits and vegetables like mango, guava, papaya, lemon, onion and tomato in the state.
He told the officials to increase the production of these crops through a definite action plan and popularisation of micro-irrigation, according to an official release on Tuesday.
The chief secretary stressed the need to popularise sprinklers and drip methods among farmers having their land near bore well, deep-well and minor irrigation points. These methods will enhance efficiency and sustainability of irrigation sources and will also increase productivity of the land.
Earlier, the cluster approach was adopted for the promotion of banana, guava and papaya in several districts.
The government has set a target to promote the crops in over 1,260 hectares in the current year as against 1,015 hectares in 2021-22.
Mohapatra gave nod to an action plan of around Rs 531 crore for 2022-23 and it would be invested for the promotion of vegetables, pulses, oilseeds, coconut and plantation of fruits in over one lakh hectares.
PTI