Explained: Can PAU Kisan Melas help bring more area under fruit cultivation

As per the data sourced from Punjab Horticulture Department, area under fruit cultivation was about 86,774 hectares in 2018-19. This is nearly 22 per cent of the total 3.81 lakh hectares under horticulture. Punjab produces 18.50 lakh tonnes of fruit, which is 25 per cent of the total horticulture produce. The state’s fruit production is below the national average. In Punjab, the main fruits are kinnow, sweet orange, lime, lemon, mango, litchi, guava, pear, peach, plum, grapes, ber, amla, and banana. Kinnow is cultivated in maximum 54,000 hectares.

What should be the minimum required area under fruit production in Punjab?

There is no policy in Punjab, which defines any minimum area under fruits in Punjab but experts said that it should be between 1.50 lakh hectares to 2.0 lakh hectares. Punjab has a total of around 43 lakh hectares cultivable area, which includes 39.69 lakh hectare under agricultural crops and remaining under horticulture crops.

How far will PAU efforts go in increasing the area under fruits?

Experts say that these fairs will certainly motivate farmers to take up fruit cultivation but bigger efforts are needed from Punjab government and its horticulture department.

“However, there are several hiccups. The horticulture department is working with only half the sanctioned staff and with negligible grants. For instance, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 25 crore to the state horticulture department for the year 2019-20, but Punjab government has not released it till date because it will have to release its own share too,” said a senior horticulture department official.

“We have got planted several orchards of kinnow, guava, pear, plum and peaches in the past 7-8 months but farmers are still waiting for 50 per cent government subsidy,” the official added.

“The department doesn’t get more than Rs 60 to 65 crore in grants annually from both Union and state governments and that too is not released timely,” said another officer, adding that if the funds are released timely, the department can help bring a huge area under fruit cultivation.

Then how Fruit cultivation can be promoted?

Currently, over a dozen high-quality varieties of citrus fruits are being prepared by Citrus Centre of Excellence, Hoshiarpur, which has to provide 80,000 citrus seedlings this year – double of the 40,000 it provided last year. “But to make them shift to fruit cultivation, Punjab government needs to provide huge support to the farmers – from providing seedlings to helping them with regular technical know-how and from pushing for drip irrigation to marketing support,” said a senior officer, adding that assured price for the crop is a must.

The diversification will happen on the ground only if farmers who venture into fruit cultivation get all types of support in the initial years, said farm expert and progressive farmer Paramjit Sigh Sooch.

“I am motivating farmers to dedicate just one kannal (1/8 of an acre) land for seasonal fruits so that a family of five’s fruit needs are taken care of throughout the year ,” says Sooch.

What would be the benefits if more area is brought under fruit cultivation?

If Punjab manages to double the area under fruits, at least 90,000 hectares can be diversified from paddy cultivation permanently. Fruit cultivation needs half the water and fertilizers as compared to paddy. Farmers can make Rs 2 to 4 lakh per acre annually depending upon the varieties of fruits, compared to Rs 70,000 to 80,000 per acre they earn the wheat and paddy crops.

Director, Horticulture Punjab, Shailender Kaur, said that horticulture crops, especially fruits, have a huge potential in Punjab and the area under it is being increased every year, which means that land is being diverted from traditional crops.

What is the per capita fruit availability in Punjab and how much consumption is required per capita?

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 120 gm per capita is the minimum required daily consumption of fruit while currently, the availability is of 60-70 gm per capita,” says Dr Balwinder Kumar, the state nodal officer for citrus and project officer of the Citrus Centre of Excellence, Hoshiarpur. “Fruit consumption in rural areas is very low compared to the urban areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, as per Union Ministry of Agriculture, India produced nearly 973.35 lakh tonne fruits in 2017-18. In this Punjab’s share was less than 2 per cent while Andhra Pradesh led the list with 15.6 per cent followed by Maharashtra (12 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (10 per cent).