The National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) here will observe its Foundation Day on Friday with focus on banana exports.
It teamed up with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and an exporter to export bananas through sea port last year.
The utility of the post-harvest technology is now available to other exporters as well.
Development of pre and post harvest technologies have significantly pushed up India’s marketing of the fruit on a par with other banana-exporting countries. But, volume-wise, the extent of handling and marketing are negligible in proportion to the production.
With this in the backdrop, the research centre has fixed ‘banana export prospects’ as the theme for the Foundation Day and Kisan Mela on Friday.
The theme was chosen to encourage venture capitalists and exporters to promote banana export for enabling growers to get a good price, S. Uma, Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-NRCB, said in a press release. The technologies developed by the ICAR -NRCB will be disseminated to all the stakeholders, including growers, Prof. Uma said, adding that about 300 to 350 banana growers from different parts of the State and entrepreneurs, extension workers and non-governmental organisations were expected to participate in the mela.
Chhabilendra Roul, Special Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Extension and Secretary-ICAR, will inaugurate the Foundation Day celebration in the presence of P. Manisankar, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathidasan University.
