Bhubaneswar: A consignment of dragon fruit weighing 4 quintals was exported for the first time from Odisha on Wednesday. The fruit grown in Patnagarh in Balangir district was exported to Dubai from the cargo terminal of Biju Patnaik International Airport here through Indigo Cargo at 8.30 AM.
Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo broke coconuts and flagged off the export. Principal Secretary Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment (DAFE) Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Director Horticulture Nikhil Pawan Kalyan, other senior officials from DAFE, Sitakanta Mandal, Biswajit Behera, Debarati Ghatak, Arthak Darshan, Sritam Panigrahi, Bibhuti Pilai from APEDA and Palladium were present during the flagging off.
Introducing himself as a proud farmer, Deputy Chief Minister Singh Deo said that the decision taken during the COVID has borne fruit today and 4 quintals of dragon fruit has been exported to Dubai through Indigo Cargo.
“These fruits are grown completely organically so that nutrients remain intact and they stay fresh longer than those produced using chemical fertilizers. Dragon fruit is beneficial for health. By consuming it, the body will not have problems like cancer, diabetes, constipation etc.,” Singh Deo added.
“Incentives are provided by the state government for horticulture. These incentives include farm ponds, irrigation system, subsidy through DBT, etc. Today horticulture has been given more importance as the demand for it is increasing day by day and the farmers are also getting more return with lesser investment and within a short span. In the coming days, the aim is to export high-quality agricultural products from Odisha to foreign countries in large scale,” said Principal Secretary of DAFE Dr Padhee.
Earlier mangoes from Dhenkanal, parwal from Balangir have been exported abroad. Now the government is stressing upon horticulture, and advising farmers to adopt this practice.
