Organic apricots grown in Himachal Pradesh are finding a good market in Europe and Latin America.
Over 15,000 farmers are jointly marketing fruits, vegetables, fruit nuts, species, cereals and pulses within and outside India under the brand name HIMOARD or Himalayan Organic Agri-Product Research and Development, a non-profit organisation formed in 2001.
It has also forayed into the marketing of walnut oil that is only available in Spain and Austria. "On an experimental basis we have extracted a small quantity of walnut oil for the first time from the excess crop. It's good for cooking and body massage and its price is Rs 1,600 ($24) per litre," HIMOARD chairman RS Minhas told IANS.
Likewise, there is an export order for seven tonnes of apricot, priced at around Rs 375 a kg. "The state produces 13 tonnes of apricots annually. On an average, the state is exporting seven to eight tonnes of apricots mainly to Spain and Austria. This time we got export order of seven tonnes," Minhas added.
Agriculture is the mainstay of people in the hill state, providing direct employment to about 71 per cent of the population.
Interestingly, farmers in the state's landlocked valleys like Pangi in Chamba district and Dodra Kwar in Shimla district have never used pesticides and fertiliser for growing crops.
A Rs 3.2 bln project with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is currently under way to push crop diversification, increase farm income by adopting organic farming and creating jobs in rural areas.
According to the state government, an additional 2,000 hectares will be brought under organic farming in this fiscal and 200 villages will be converted into complete bio-villages.
