By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: With the coming in of the winter season, orange lovers of the state will get the opportunity to test the best Khasi Mandarin Oranges at the upcoming Orange Festival to be held at Polo grounds on December 20.
To promote the Khasi Mandarin Orange which is one of the best citrus fruit species in the world, the District Hosticulture Office, in collaboration with the Riti Academy of Visual Arts, will hold the festival which will showcase the variety of oranges produced in Nongsteng, Mawphu and the adjoining villages of Sohra.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Riti Academy of Visual Arts chairman, Raphael Warjri, said that the objective behind the festival is to provide the rural orange producers with a market to sell their oranges directly to the dealers.
During the festival, the farmers would also get an opportunity to interact with experts who will provide a better hand knowledge on the production of oranges to the farmers.
The festival assumes significance in view of the fact that the oranges of Meghalaya have a huge scope of exporting oranges to different parts of the country.
The District Horticulture Officer of the East Khasi Hills CD Kharkongor informed that the State has an annual turn over of 40000 metric tones of oranges, while the East Khasi Hills district alone has a turn over of 16000 metric tones. The department is now planning to produce atleast 20000 metric tones of oranges in the district in the next 3-5 years.
Reacting to a query about the export of the oranges of the state, the official informed that many traders from Assam tend to buy the oranges and some amount of orange is also being exported to our neighbouring country, Bangladesh.
Kharkongor also informed that the District Horticulture Office is trying its best to expand the orange production in the East Khasi Hills and now they are targeting to expand the production area in Mawryngkneng.
The official was also of the view that many of the orange farmers in the state tend to remove the stalk of the orange which is not a healthy trend, as they do not last for more than a week without it, making them unfit for exporting.
More than four thousand farmers are expected to showcase their oranges in the upcoming orange festival, besides folk and musical extravaganza will be organised at the festival.
