Lucknow: State Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, while addressing the event as the chief guest on the occasion of the closing of the three-day Mango Festival said that the Horticulture Department is touching new heights under the leadership of the Yogi government. Today, the mango of the state is being sent not only in the country but also abroad.
He said that many schemes are being run by the Central and State Government to ensure that farmers get a fair price for their crops. World-class pack houses, treatment centers and modern testing centers are being established to increase exports.
Foreign markets are being made available by treating, packing and keeping the farmers’ products safe through pack houses. He said that to ensure that the products of the farmers of the state are in high demand abroad, we will have to pay special attention to the care and quality of our products. Events like Mango Festival can prove to be a milestone in helping farmers improve their products.
State Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Horticulture, Agricultural Marketing, Agricultural Foreign Trade and Agricultural Export, Dinesh Pratap Singh said that just as a delegation of the Horticulture Department and progressive gardeners was sent to Moscow, Russia to encourage exports in the year 2023, similarly a delegation will be sent to Ukraine this year as well.
He emphasized on maximum export to increase the income of farmers. Referring to the success of the Aamras-2023 program organized in Russia, he said that there is a constant demand for mangoes of the state in Russia. He briefly informed about the facilities and grants given by the Yogi government to promote exports. As a result of encouraging exports, various species of mangoes like Dussehri, Rataul and Langra have received GI tag and efforts are being made to get GI tag for species like Gaurjeet, Chaunsa etc. Similarly, while providing subsidy on the transportation cost in export, exporters are being given the facility of subsidy in road expenses up to Rs 20 lakh.
With the aim of promoting exports, an Integrated Testing and Treatment Park is being constructed near Jewar Airport. The mango sold in the state at Rs 80-90 per kg is sold in Russia at Rs 800-900 per kg, which is helpful in increasing the income and prosperity of farmers.
In Mango Festival-2024, the winners were honored by distributing prizes by Minister Shri Surya Pratap Shahi and Minister Shri Dinesh Pratap Singh. A total of 115 prizes in the first, second and third category were won by 41 winners in 07 categories of different species of mango and in the competition of 46 sections and a total of 19 prizes in the first, second and third category were won by 19 winners of 11 categories of the competition of mango based preserved products and the winner of the best exhibit of mango, Abdul Salim, Malihabad, Lucknow was awarded the Best Exhibit Award for the display of Arunika species and 09 awards in different varieties of mango.
On the occasion of the festival, the maximum 17 awards were received by Iqbal Ahmed, Malihabad, Lucknow and 13 awards by S.C. Shukla, Gomtinagar, Lucknow.
In this three-day long mango festival, competitions were organized for various varieties of mango and their processed products in 58 sections of 7 categories. In which 2660 samples of about 800 varieties of mango were displayed. In the festival, while on one hand 2340 samples were displayed by 1224 participants in various varieties of mango, on the other hand 310 samples were displayed by 90 participants in the preserved product category of mango. 10 samples of mango dishes were displayed by 03 participants. The Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture, Horticultural Experiment and Training Centers established in Saharanpur, Basti, Prayagraj, Jhansi (Barua Sagar) and Lucknow (Malihabad) of the Horticulture Department and progressive gardeners displayed the varieties grown in their respective institutes/gardens. Apart from this, the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand also participated and displayed their exhibits.
Along with the famous Dussehri, Langra, Chaunsa, Gaurjeet, Lucknow Safeda, Rataul, Amrapali varieties of mango in the state, colorful varieties like Tommy Atkins, Sensation, Arunika etc. were also the center of attraction. On the last day of UP Mango Festival-2024, a technical session was organized in front of farmers, entrepreneurs, women self-help groups, students on the importance of food processing and contribution in employment generation. In the session, subject experts discussed in detail on the topics of testing, food safety, value addition, packaging, semi-processing, mango product processing and product testing.
On the closing occasion, Legislative Council member Devendra Pratap Singh, District Panchayat President Rae Bareli, Vandana Choudhary, Additional Chief Secretary Horticulture and Food Processing B.L. Meena, Agriculture Director and Director Horticulture and Food Processing Department and other senior departmental officers were present.
