State mulls to set up floriculture cluster at Haringhata

Kolkata: The state Food Processing Industries and Horticulture (FPI&H) department is planning to develop a floriculture cluster at its Ayeshpur farm at Haringhata in Nadia district has been hailed for imbibing the best practices in the cultivation of flowers, particularly roses and tuberoses. Bengal happens to be among the frontrunners in the production of these two varieties but is unable to tap the export market properly with the shelf life of these flowers being very short.

Bengaluru and Pune procure flowers from Bengal and do third-party export earning good revenue but farmers in our state do not get the deserving price for the hard efforts they put in the cultivation of these flowers, informed an official. Jarvera, however, has a better shelf life and remains in its best condition for 5-6 days.

“We are trying to develop a mechanism for improving our cultivation practice and enhancement of the shelf life of these two varieties of flowers so that the export market can be exploited fruitfully. We are hopeful of getting financial assistance from the central government for our floriculture cluster,” a senior official of state FPI&H department said.

East Midnapore and Nadia are the two districts with the maximum number of farmers involved in floriculture.

East Midnapore for more than six decades has been practicing floriculture. Nadia picked it up much later but has picked up extremely well.

The saplings will be cultivated and the rootstock preparation will be taken up at the cluster and spread across the state.

A preliminary meeting has already been held where the state government has been informed that the centre has selected four states for the development of floriculture. Bengal has been selected for a pilot project in regards to best practices and if successful it will be implemented in three other states.