http://www.littleabout.com/news/50934,kinnow-farming-attracting-punjab-farmers.html

Kinnow farming attracting Punjab farmers

Published on : Monday 21 Dec 2009 16:22 - by ANI
By Avtar Gill

Ferozepur, Dec 21: Kinnow farming is proving to be a major attraction for farmers in Punjab.

What was once an parched land in the belt bordering Rajasthan, now wears a bright orange hue- Abohar in Ferozepur, Muktsar and Bhatinda to the northern district of Hoshiarpur, kinnows are now the best example of diversification to horticulture in the state.

In a state dominated by wheat and paddy crops, kinnows are making millionaires out of farmers, who are increasingly taking to horticulture. With favourable weather conditions this year, Punjab is headed for a record production of 7.3 lakh tones of kinnows, more then double of last years 3.5 tones. While, the per-hectare productivity of kinnow, from 10 tones in the past has gone up to 15 tones in the last few years. And this year it is almost 19 tones per hectare. The area under the crop has also gone up by nearly 4,000 hectares.

The production of kinnow is good this year because of favourable weather and the demand of the fruit is also good. Earlier, because of bumper production of orange and citrus, the rates of kinnow were affected, but this year due to reduced orange and citrus production, the demand of kinnow is high, said Gurwinder Singh, a kinnow grower.

Kinnow has also suffered due to scanty rain as the size of kinnow is small, but the overall production and demand is good. The buyers are coming from all over India and we are getting good prices in the market too, he added. The marketing of kinnow has also become convenient with the setting up of processing plants in the region. Recently, two plants of the Punjab Agro Juices Limited were installed at a cost of 16 million dollars, which will be run by a state agency to meet the demand of juice companies for kinnow concentrate. Many progressive kinnow growers now have contractors to market kinnows in big markets like Delhi. The reason for the early arrival of kinnows in the market is that the production of juicy fruits was very less and so the demand of kinnow went high. The prices are also good. The good quality of kinnow is available at Rs. 13-14, otherwise the normal rates are Rs eight to nine, said Brij Mohan Sharma, a financer.

Surinder Kumar, a kinnow exporter, said: Kinnow is being transported to all over India and Bangladesh is the only country where it is being exported. If other countries also start importing kinnow from here, it will be good for farmers, as the production of kinnow will increase. The Government too has woken up to the wonder fruit, which is estimated to possess the highest content of limonene, a compound which has anti-cancer properties. And for the first time, kinnows would be bought by a state procurement agency to be processed at the two multi-million plants at Abohar and Hoshiarpur.

Copyright Asian News International (ANI)

It's interesting to see this article now -- I wonder what brought it on just now. Exactly 9 years ago this week, I was in Punjab, working with Kinnow growers, trying to develop the crop to be more important to the region. For them, it's a nice mandarin-type fruit, and it seems to do well there. I worked mostly with production techniques.

You seem to have done some good over there, Dr. Manners.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-punjabs-crop-diversification-story-kinnow-harvests-millionaires/549728/0

In Punjab’s crop diversification story, kinnow harvests millionaires


Sukhdeep Kaur Tags : kinnow, punjab, agriculture Posted: Friday , Dec 04, 2009 at 0113 hrs

What was once an arid land, now wears a bright orange hue. From Punjab’s belt bordering Rajasthan — Abohar in Ferozepur, Muktsar and Bhatinda — to the northern district of Hoshiarpur, kinnows are now the best example of diversification to horticulture in Punjab. After canals irrigated their parched lands, citrus orchards dot the landscape of districts with favourable climatic range of extreme temperatures and less humidity.

While kinnows of Hoshiarpur are juicier, those in Abohar are bigger. But irrespective of the size, they are all making millionaires out of farmers who are increasingly taking to horticulture in a state dominated by government-procured wheat and paddy. And its marketing too is getting more and more organised. Some like Vikram Ahuja, a young kinnow-grower of Fazilka, has a contractor to market kinnows in New Delhi while Tejwinder Aulakh of Kallarkhera village in Abohar is doing it himself.

“I see diversification as the only way to save the depleting water table of the state. But for farmers to shift from the paddy-wheat cycle, Punjab will have to look at water budgeting as horticulture and cotton also require timely irrigation. As of now, we get water only from May 15 to November 15. If possible, one irrigation each in months from December to March should also be provided if diversification has to happen,” says Vikram, who sees immense possibilities in kinnows.

Already selling at Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kg, higher than last year’s Rs 6 to Rs 8 per kg, they are expected to touch Rs 15 a kg when the fully-ripe ones arrive in the market. And even as the state is headed for a record production this year — both the area under it and productivity have gone up — traders fear no price fall due to glut.

Punjab’s kinnows are now reaching as far as southern states besides Mumbai and Kolkata, where they are exported by traders. “I get Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 an acre from kinnows against Rs 25,000 to Rs 28,000 an acre from wheat-paddy. Though many sell it as early as November-December as juice demand is higher before severe winter sets in, I wait till January-end when the fruit is juicier and fetches better prices,” says Aulakh.

Punjab nodal officer (citrus) Gurkanwal Singh explains that the fruit-bearing is less every alternate year. “Last year, it was around 3.5 lakh tonnes while this year the state is headed for a record production of 7.3 lakh tonnes. From 10 tonnes till past many years, the per-hectare productivity of kinnow has gone up to 15 tonnes in the last few years. This year, it is almost 19 tonnes per hectare and the area under the crop has also gone up by nearly 4,000 hectares though it is still short of the target of the horticulture department,” he said.

The government too has woken up to the wonder fruit, which is estimated to possess the highest content of limonene, a compound which has anti-cancer properties. For the first time, they would be procured by a state procurement agency to be processed at the two multi-crore juicing plants at Abohar and Hoshiarpur.

The government’s approach is three-pronged. First is to market it well. A team of Punjab Agro, which has been allotted Rs 1.5 crore to promote it, recently visited Hong Kong to explore the export potential of the fruit. In the domestic market, hoardings and commercials are being planned to popularise it.

Secondly, the subsidy on corrugated boxes for packaging and transportation has been hiked to 25 per cent. And thirdly, the two plants of the Punjab Agro Juices Limited installed at a cost of Rs 80 crore will be run by a state agency to meet the demand of juice companies for kinnow concentrate.

I think they need your help on the other side of the border though...

http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=bn&nid=1904

Inadequate facilities cause 25% kinnow losses

ISLAMABAD (APP): Due to lack of adequate facilities and proper training of picking and packing, about one fourth of the total kinnow (Mandarin) crop production becomes victim of post harvest losses, official sources told APP. However, the sources maintained that it was due to government's initiative that pre and post-harvest losses have been reduced to 25 percent which they said were estimated at about 35 percent earlier. When contacted, Coordinator Fruit Corps at National Agriculture Research Council, Hafeez-ur-Rehman said that scientists have already launched awareness campaign to educate farmers on how to properly deal with this soft-scented and juicy fruit. "The agriculture scientists have been launching awareness campaign to train farmers on handling the fruit from picking to packing to ensure its long shelf-life and save it from rotting," he remarked. He said that major post harvest losses are inflicted due to lack of awareness about how to deal with the fruit during picking and packing adding that another factor was the lack of proper storage system which makes the fruit vulnerable to early rotting. "There is lack of proper warehouses to store the kinnow and the existing storage lack facilities as all fruits and vegetables are being kept in a similar temperature under one roof which reduces the shelf-life of these fruits," he added. He said that initiatives have been taken to encourage farmers to utilize the proper techniques of picking and packing and stressed the need for developing proper storage for Kinnow preservation. It may be recalled that besides domestic consumption, Kinnow, has become one of the major export items among fruit groups. The fruit grows primarily in plains of Pujnab province including Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabd, Toba Tek Singh. About 2.1 million tonnes of kinnow production has been estimated for this year as against the production of 2 million tonnes recorded during the past season, however, out of this only 0.231 million tonnes are targeted to be exported abroad. Share of Pakistan's citrus in the world market is as low as 1.4 percent as it earns $33 million and out of which $32 billion is the share of kinnow exports.

The problems with citrus spoilage and short shelf life that the Punjab citrus growers are having, is almost exactly the very same problems experienced by early California growers. In the Punjab it is the government that is training the pickers and packers on the correct method of harvesting. In the early 1900s in California the USDA sent G. Harold Powell to teach the growers, pickers and packers on the proper procedures of harvesting citrus. - Millet (1,116-)

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