'Govt to have horticulture outlet in villages'

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 23: Kerala Agriculture Minister Mullakara Ratnakaran said the government would open horticulture outlets in all villages in the state in five months.

Addressing mediapersons here, yesterday he said the project was aimed at marketing organically cultivated vegetables in the state.

As the state could produce only five lakh tonnes of vegetables against the requirement of 12 lakh tonnes, steps would be taken to increase production by encouraging organic cultivation, he added.

Admitting certain flaws in the functioning of government-owned vegetable farms, the Minister said effective steps would be taken for their efficient running.

Mr Ratnakaran said the National Horticulture Mission had cleared a project of Rs 187.67 crore, submitted by the State Horticulture Mission besides allotting a grant of Rs 14.62 crore for Wayanad, Palakkad and Kasaragod districts.

The State Horticulture Mission was implementing various projects for the development of horticulture crops from production to marketing with the cooperation of the National Horticulture Mission, he said adding that the project was aimed at promoting cultivation of pepper, cashew, banana, pineapple, ginger and medicinal plants.

UNI