From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Feb 17: There is a need to establish a cooperative society, develop storage and preservation facilities for mango crop, said health and medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

He was speaking at the inauguration of mango farmers and sellers meet.

Mango needs quick market disposal as it cannot be stored for long period. There are no proper storage facilities including cold storage in Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts, he said.

Dr Sudhakar said sugarcane farmers in north Karnataka have established a cooperative society to store and preserve their produce. Similarly, there is a need here to establish a society for the storage and preservation of mangoes.

"This is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat,’’ he added.

Mangoes are grown in 1.67 lac hectare area in the state, Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagar are leading with the production of 12-14 lac tonnes of mangoes. As much as 14 lac tonnes of mango yield is expected this season as there is an increase in production, said the minister.

Kisan Rail is helpful for farmers to transport their produce. Diseases are increasing due to excessive use of chemicals in the crops. Farmers should not go for more production using chemicals, organic farming is healthy and sustainable, said Dr Sudhakar.

The minister said the border areas are kept under strict vigilance as there is an increased number of Covid cases in bordering Kerala. People entering from Kerala should mandatorily have RT-PCR negative test report which is not older than 72 hours.

Discussions will be held with the home department to formulate guidelines in the border areas. Vaccines will be available to the public from March onwards, he said.