SHILLONG: The 4th Orange Festival held here on Friday suggested ways to improve production of the fruit besides showcasing a wide range of indigenous wild fruits.
Altogether 45 groups participated in the festival from the villages of Nongsteng, Umblai, Mawphu, Kunongrim, Sohbar under Sohra Sub-Division; Nongtrai from Mawsynram block and from Pynursla Sub-Division.
The event also showcased a wide range of indigenous wild fruits that are edible and have medicinal properties.
Speaking to media persons, District Horticulture officer CD Kharkongor said more than 4000 hectares of land in East Khasi Hills is used to produce mixed fruits even as 30 per cent of that space is used for the production of oranges.
He also said that the department is encouraging farmers to go for large scale cultivation of oranges which can render huge benefits.
He said that the bedding method of plantation will yield better results than the traditional seedling method.
“The bedded plantation will bear fruit within three years whereas the seedling method took up to seven or eight years to yield,” he informed.
According to Kharkhongor, the Government is providing financial help to the orange producers of the state through Central Government scheme and state plan budget.
“We have requested the farmers to select a place for growing Mandarin Orange,” he said while adding that the state has the capacity to grow 8000 metric tonnes of orange per hectare.
It may be mentioned that the Orange festival is an initiative of Synjuk Development Self Help Group (SDSHG), Nongsteng and Riti Academy of Visual Arts, with the support of the government and other agencies including the Horticulture department and Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship.
Riti Academy of Visual Arts chairman, Raphael Warjri also rued that the export of oranges from the state to other states hardly takes place although oranges are exported to Bangladesh unofficially and through the border haats.
“We want that the orange producers should open a market in the state where producers can sell their oranges to the customers,” Warjri told media persons.
Herman San Lyngdoh, secretary of SDSHG from Nongsteng also said that orange production is helping many villagers in their livelihood and now they need a larger and wider market to sell their produce.
Later in the day, an interaction between the subject matter specialists from the Horticulture Department and the farmers was held to enlighten the participants about the various problems and prospects of orange farming in the State.
