BHUBANESWAR: Having witnessed a quantum rise in the production of horticulture crops in the last 10 years, the State Government has now decided to lay emphasis on floriculture, coconut and banana crops. Three new schemes - floriculture development, coconut development, banana development - besides inter-cropping have been introduced under the State plan for the current financial year.

Sohra, May 18: Nimbus may be liberal while showering blessings on Meghalaya, which is deemed to be the “home of the storm cloud.” But when it comes to Sohra (Cherrapunjee), the generosity gets lavish. But the lavishness, which can be converted into “wealth” by way of attracting tourists, can also turn out to be a “bane” especially for struggling farmers as agricultural production has been severely hit in the past several years.

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for New and Renewal Energy Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said the Centre would provide financial assistance to states for grid connectivity to renewable energy sources. Inaugurating a solar power plant and a hi-tech horticulture and floriculture farm at Tangi, about 30 km from here, Farooq said several renewable energy projects could not be commissioned for lack of support from states.

Srinagar: The state government aims at planting 33.70 lakh saplings across the Valley in the coming months. The plantation season begins in the Valley after the harsh winter. The government will also make available 14,000 chinar saplings free of cost for plantation. This was stated during a meeting of various departments to discuss the action plan for the plantation of saplings throughout the Valley. The meeting was chaired by Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Asgar Hassan Samoon recently.

Jasmine growers near Coimbatore are now able to export them to the Gulf and the US, thanks to the packaging technology that has enhanced the shelf-life of the flowers. At Rajpipla village near Surat, a group of farmers have set up a unit to extract fibre from banana stem, considered a waste and pollutant. The unit generates about 3,000 man-days of employment annually, besides generating a modest profit and compost for the village.

To increase the State's agriculture products and production in Madhya Pradesh, Agriculture University of Holland (Netherlands) has agreed to impart technical and scientific support to the State and an understanding was reached in this regard between the State Agriculture Department and Holland Agriculture University at a meeting held in New Delhi on Monday.

A poverty-stricken Tripura village has blossomed into an exporter of flowers after the villagers adopted floriculture with the assistance from Horticulture Department and Technology Mission.