PUNE FARMERS TO GROW VEGETABLES SOLELY FOR EUROPE

PUNE FARMERS TO GROW

 VEGETABLES SOLELY FOR EUROPE

700 farmers to grow vegetables solely for Europe

The Maharashtra  state government has identified groups of farmers in the state who will grow vegetables especially for export to the European markets. The development comes in the backdrop of importers raising objections about non-availability of pre-harvest information about vegetables that are currently exported. The Union government too has taken serious note of the objections raised by the European Union, said Govind Hande, phytosanitary inspecting authority, state horticulture department. So far, more than 700 farmers from Thane, Pune, Satara and Nashik have enrolled for this project. They completed the first round of training last week. The current annual revenue from vegetable export is Rs 2,000 crore, of which Maharashtra's share is 55%.

As per the new arrangement, farmers will produce export-quality vegetables like brinjal, ladies finger, green chilli, bitter gourd, drum sticks and curry leaves. These six vegetables comprise 80% of total vegetable export from India.A delegation from European Union (EU) member countries visited Pune office of the state horticulture department followed by farm visits in Satara and Nashik. The farmers, who have enrolled for growing exportable vegetables, interacted with the EU panel and shared the traditional agricultural practices followed by them.A set of guidelines for Indian farmers is being prepared by the state horticulture department. Hande said, "The EU norms are very strict and the government does not want farmers' produce to get rejected because of small mistakes which will result into losses. A policy has been drawn with help of the Union agriculture ministry and agricultural and processed food products export development authority (APEDA) to set up a chain of growers, processors and exporters. The farmers who have enrolled for the project have been trained through workshops. There will be further workshops on post-harvesting, which will be conducted soon. It will ensure that vegetables grown in a developing country like India meet the quality norms set by the European Union."

The Union government is developing a 'Hortinet' system which is based on the 'Grapenet system' which grape growers are using since last decade.Thane-based exporter of vegetables Kaushal Khakhar said, "Hortinet is a good concept. It will ensure export happens as per the strict norms of EU. The Grapenet system is already successful. If Hortinet is modified keeping in mind that vegetables are harvested daily and not one-time like grapes, it can ensure EU norms compliance."For grapes, there is a laboratory testing system wherein samples are tested a few days before they are harvested. However, this system cannot be used for vegetables as they are harvested daily.The EU has very strict norms for compliance irrespective of the source of produce. For instance, Spain and India need to adhere to the same rules for supplying produce to EU, but the resources at the disposal of a Spanish farmer are far superior compared to an Indian farmer. Spanish farmers have strong trade associations and lobby strongly to get chemicals used by them accepted by the EU. This unfortunately is not happening with Indian farmers. This makes supply to EU that much tougher for the Indian farmer, Khakhar said.The entire exercise is part of a programme drafted by the Union government to increase trade between EU and India. In the first phase of the programme, six districts each from Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been selected. Pune, Thane, Nashik, Satara, Jalgaon and Amravati have been selected from Maharashtra.

Prof. John Kurakar