Agriculture - Current Affairs for May, 2017

Bihar is also focused on research to develop new varieties and techniques of litchi farming to increase its production and to share information with the Extension Division.

Bihar is the top litchi producing State in the country. In Bihar, about 300 thousand metric tonnes of litchi is being produced from 32 thousand hectares of area.

Bihar’s contribution in the production of litchi is about 40 percent. Considering the importance of litchi, National Research Centre on Litchi was established on June 6, 2001.

The contribution of Muzaffarpur district in litchi’s production is impressive, but there is a need to increase the productivity of litchi, which is currently 8.0 tonne.

For this, all the government institutions, cooperatives and farmers will have to come forward.

Scientists at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and National Research Centre on Litchi have succeeded in treating litchi and preserving it for 60 days at low temperature.

The litchi producers will have to produce superior quality fruits for which National Research Centre on Litchi has developed several techniques.

The National Research Centre on Litchi is providing about 35-40 thousand plants every year to various institutions/states in the country.

National Research Centre on Litchi is working closely with other institutions of ICAR and agricultural universities of the state and the development centres of the Central and State Governments like National Horticulture Board, APEDA, National Horticulture Mission etc.

Centre has implemented ICAR’s Farmers First project in East Champaran district. As many as 1,000 families from 8 villages (Mehsi Block-Uzhilpur, Bakri Najir, Damodarpur Village, Chakia Block- Khairwa, Ramgarha, Jishnupura, Ojha Tola- Vaishah and Chintanpur-Malahi Tola village) are reaping the benefits of several new techniques.

The Banganapalle mango in the first week of May 2017 received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

This makes Andhra Pradesh the proprietor of the variety known for its sweetness.

The registration was given following an application from Andhra Pradesh Horticulture Commissioner.

The Andhra Pradesh government is the registered proprietor of the GI tag for Banganapalle mangoes, often hailed as “the king of fruits.”

It also known as Beneshan, Baneshan, Benishan, Chappatai and Safeda.

These mangoes are large sized, weighing on an average 350-400 grams.

The pulp is fibre less, firm and yellow with sweet taste. These mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in the state.

What is a GI Tag: Know More

• A geographical indication is a name or sign used on certain products, which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 came into force with effect from 15 September 2003.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22(1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS) Agreement.
• The tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name. Darjeeling tea was the first GI tagged product in India.