GUWAHATI, May 20: Union minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Wednesday launched the Mission on “Arunachal Kiwi: The USP of Arunachal Pradesh” — a cluster-based kiwi cultivation and value chain development mission.
The launch was graced in the presence of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu; Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, and Ministry of DoNER secretary, Sanjay Jaju.
With an outlay of approximately Rs 167 crore, “Mission on Arunachal Kiwi: The USP of Arunachal Pradesh” has been designed through a whole-of-government, convergence-led approach — anchored by the Ministry of DoNER and woven together with the schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, along with NABARD, ICAR-CITH, APEDA, NERAMAC and private investors.
The Mission has been shaped keeping in view the perspectives of every stakeholder in the value chain, ensuring that interventions reflect the ground realities and the aspirations of Arunachal’s kiwi-farming communities.
The Mission adopts a cluster-based approach with six integrated cluster-level Post-Harvest Management Hubs identified across Ziro Valley (Lower Subansiri), Dirang and Kalaktang (West Kameng), Shi Yomi, and Dibang Valley.
Over 30 strategic interventions under the Mission seek to address critical gaps across the kiwi value chain — bridging the price-realisation gap, restoring Arunachal’s lapsed NPOP organic certification, building cold-chain and post-harvest infrastructure to end the seven to 10-day distress-sale window, and integrating thousands of farming households into a unified ecosystem of plantation development, post-harvest processing, branding, traceability, export and experiential agri-tourism.
The Union Minister underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to ensuring that farmers become true stakeholders in the entire agricultural value chain — “from farm to fork.”
Emphasising the convergence-driven character of the initiative, the minister said: “Through the High-Level Task Forces constituted with all eight North Eastern states, and in collaboration with all the Chief Ministers and governments of the eight States, we have identified one unique product from each State with a distinct Unique Selling Proposition, like from Mizoram’s ginger and Nagaland’s coffee to Sikkim’s organic farming, Manipur’s polo heritage, Assam’s muga silk and Meghalaya’s Lakadong turmeric. Today, with the launch of Project Kiwi in Arunachal Pradesh, we are taking another major step in building globally competitive value chains rooted in the strengths of the North East.”
The minister further highlighted that the initiative envisions Brand North East — “Arunachal Organic Kiwi” — supported through media campaigns, participation in international trade fairs, and experiential kiwi-orchard tourism initiatives in the pilot clusters.
