
Kerala govt plans to set up agri hypermarkets in all districts
Kochi: Agriculture minister P Prasad announced that agri hypermarkets will be gradually established in all districts of Kerala under the leadership of Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam. He mentioned that plans are being considered to initiate such projects with the cooperation of local self-govt bodies and other public representatives at constituency and block levels. The minister was speaking during the inauguration of Thalir Agri Hypermarket in Kakkanad, completed under the leadership of VFPCK, on Monday.
Prasad also inaugurated a tissue culture lab capable of producing one million tissue-cultured banana saplings annually and Maithri Training and Information Centre built to provide training to farmers.
There will be special counters set up at the outlet for sale of locally collected fruits and vegetables, organic production inputs, quality planting materials, organic products, ornamental plants and value-added products. The outlet aims to provide healthy local fruit and vegetable produce to the public and quality planting materials/production inputs to farmers and others, thereby promoting agriculture and ensuring food security.
Tissue culture lab was completed to address the shortage of quality planting materials to some extent. Tissue-cultured saplings of Nendran, Grand Naine and Njalipoovan will be available. Tissue-cultured saplings of pineapple and ornamental plants will also be available.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around
Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List
Undo
Maithri centre was completed at a cost of Rs 2 crore with the support of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. It is equipped with three training halls, a dining hall and other facilities. Ground floor can accommodate training for 50 people and two training halls on first floor can accommodate 200 people. The centre is prepared to organize 100 training sessions annually.
The minister said if health is prioritized, producing pesticide-free food is of utmost importance. "There should be a branded outlet to market and make available pesticide-free products at better prices. It is from this idea that state govt has initiated the branded outlet for fruits and vegetables," he said.
"Govt will undertake all necessary interventions to protect Pokkali farming. A major project worth Rs10 crore has been prepared for this," Prasad said, adding that assistance from central govt will be sought for the implementation of the project.
"A team of doctors from Regional Cancer Centre will be sent to Solan in Himachal Pradesh next month for training in mushroom cultivation and to study the potential of mushrooms in cancer prevention. It is essential to manufacture and market diverse mushroom products locally. Need of the hour is smart farming methods that can produce more yield in less space, and such methods should enable production of pesticide-free crops," the minister added.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Long-pending central govt's infra projects in Belagavi back on track
Belagavi: Several long-pending central govt's infrastructure projects in and around Belagavi are finally gaining momentum after years of delay, primarily due to land acquisition hurdles. The breakthrough comes with the combined efforts of DC Mohammad Roshan and Belagavi MP Jagadish Shettar , who took these stalled projects as a top priority. Key among them is the much-awaited Belagavi-Dharwad railway line via Kittur, a 73-km project sanctioned in 2019 during the tenure of former MP and MoS for railways, the late Suresh Angadi. Despite funding from the Centre, the project was held up for years due to land-related issues. However, DC Roshan recently announced that land acquisition is now complete, and the work is expected to commence shortly. The Halaga-Macche bypass highway, a vital route connecting Pune-Bengaluru NH-4 and Belagavi-Goa national highway, sanctioned in 2009, also faced prolonged delay due to legal land disputes. With the district administration actively mediating and convincing landowners, the impasse has been resolved, and construction is underway. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo Another major infrastructure project, the Belagavi Ring Road was sanctioned in 2018. The Rs 3,800 crore project to be executed in three phases, received Rs 1,622 crore for the first phase of 34 km. DC Roshan recently confirmed that 80% of the land acquisition is now complete. This ambitious project, sanctioned under the Bharatmala project, will help resolve the traffic congestion in Belagavi city. "Most of these projects were delayed despite being sanctioned, because of land-related issues. After I became MP, I prioritised these issues, met Union ministers, held review meetings with officials, and visited the sites. Today, we are seeing the results. I expect the required land to be fully acquired in the next 2-3 months and the tender process to begin within 5-6 months," said MP Jagadish Shettar. He credited DC Mohammad Roshan for playing a vital role in resolving bureaucratic and on-ground challenges related to land acquisition. In addition, Shettar informed that land acquisition for Belagavi-Hunagund-Raichur highway, a Rs 1,452 crore project, has also reached near completion. He further assured that the new terminal at Belagavi airport will be ready by March 2026, marking a step toward upgrading the facility to international standards.


Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tender process completed for M'luru-B'luru high-speed corridor: MP
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta said that the tender process for the proposed Mangaluru-Bengaluru High-Speed Express Corridor was completed by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), and the work to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) will commence soon. Providing information about the high-speed corridor project, Chowta said that a letter was received from Union minister Nitin Gadkari regarding the construction of the fastest road corridor between Mangaluru and Bengaluru. A contract for preparing the detailed project report for this project was awarded on April 30, and it is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete the DPR, he said. "The ambitious project, which is crucial for comprehensive development, including commercial activities in Dakshina Kannada, including Mangaluru, has taken a significant step forward under the govt of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This high-speed expressway is expected to have four to eight lanes and will pass through Hassan. Once constructed, the highway will enhance the transportation infrastructure between the two major cities. The improved route will reduce traffic congestion and significantly cut down travel time between Mangaluru and Bengaluru, providing a safe, efficient, and all-weather connectivity between major cities in Karnataka," the MP said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Düsseldorf: GEERS sucht 700 Testhörer für Hörgeräte ohne Zuzahlung GEERS Undo The project will aid in the development of not just Mangaluru, but also south Karnataka and surrounding cities. It will further benefit the growth of Mangaluru's port, tourism, and commercial activities, he said. "Over the past year, I was continuously working on the implementation of the Bengaluru-Mangaluru High-Speed Corridor project, meeting several times with Union minister Nitin Gadkari, home minister Amit Shah, the secretary of the MoRTH, Umashankar, and the chief secretary of the state, Shalini Rajneesh, among other officials and ministers. Efforts and follow-ups are being made in all possible ways to realise this project. Overall, if this major expressway in Karnataka becomes a reality, the travel time between Bengaluru and Mangaluru is expected to be significantly reduced from the current 7-8 hours. Additionally, if all stages of the project proceed as anticipated, construction of the expressway is likely to commence soon," the MP said. Further, the MP said the railway ministry is also preparing to draft a DPR for a separate rail route on the Shiradi Ghat stretch. "Since Shiradi Ghat is in a sensitive ecological zone of the Western Ghats, a request was made to form a joint committee of the Railway Board and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to explore the possibilities of developing road and rail routes in parallel. An integrated plan will facilitate approval from the forest and environmental departments," he added.


Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Mining industry seeks Rs 15,000 per kWh subsidy for electric trucks
The domestic mining industry has sought a Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per kWh subsidy on electric Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) to encourage their use. According to a report by the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the upfront costs of electric trucks is a major entry barrier to their adoption. 'Electric trucks and other HEMMs are currently priced at nearly three times (3x) that of their diesel counterparts. Such price disparity discourages potential buyers,' a FIMI report said. The industry body report also recommended a 5% Goods and Services Tax rate on retrofit kits used to convert diesel trucks to electric. 'Retrofit kits currently do not have a dedicated classification. Instead, the individual components of these kits are taxed separately often at rates exceeding 18% which undermines the economic viability of retrofitting,' the report said.