Bhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo flagged off a consignment of dragon fruit at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. This was for first time that the fruit was exported from the state.
The dragon fruit, which was grown by Singhdeo himself at Patnagarh was exported to Dubai. Earlier, mangoes from Dhenkanal and ‘parwal’ from Balangir had been exported.
Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Chief Minister said, “The decision taken during the COVID has borne fruit today and 4 quintal of dragon fruit have been exported to Dubai through Indigo Cargo. The fruits are grown completely organically so that the nutrients of the fruits remain in tact and fresh longer than those produced with chemical fertilizers. Dragon fruit is beneficial for health. By consuming it, the body will not have problems like cancer, diabetes, constipation.”
Arabinda Padhee, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department, said the state government has been providing incentives for horticulture produce. Those include farm ponds, irrigation system, subsidy through DBT etc.
“Today horticulture is given more importance as the demand for it is increasing day by day and the farmers are also getting more returns with lesser investment within a short time. In the coming days, the government aims to export high-quality agricultural products from Odisha in large scale. he added.
Director of Horticulture Nikhil Pawan Kalyan and other senior officials of the Department were present.
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