Itanagar: The country’s ‘only’ certified organic fruit Kiwi from the farms of Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh was today launched at the mega National Tribal Festival being held at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.
The launching ceremony was organized by the Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Produce & Livestock Marketing Board (APAPLMB), Government of Arunachal Pradesh in collaboration with the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED).
This initiative has been undertaken as part of the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ campaign. It is worth mentioning here that Arunachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to obtain organic certification
for Kiwi fruit under the Central Government’s Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD-NER) scheme.
Earlier, taking to his twitter handle, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote: “India’s only certified organic kiwi from #ZiroValley, #ArunachalPradesh is being launched at New Delhi….Organized by #APAPLMB, Govt of Arunachal in collaboration with @nafedindia. #BuyLocal #VocalForLocal #AtmaNirbharBharat”.
“With the support of Govt of Arunachal Pradesh, NAFED has taken a step forward to provide market linkages to the certified organic kiwi growing farmers of Ziro, Arunachal Pradesh,” official sources said.
The first consignment of organic kiwi from Ziro was dispatched to Delhi on November 21 last for promotion and marketing. Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Tage Taki had flagged off the consignment to mark the beginning of a new initiative for the benefit of kiwi growers of Arunachal Pradesh.
On arrival of the consignment at Delhi, Union Minister for Law & Justice, Kiren Rijiju along with MoS Agriculture Kailash Choudhary launched this nutrient rich delicious fruit at Delhi Haat on Saturday in presence of Additional Secretary- Agriculture P K Swain, NAFED MD Sanjeev K Chaddha, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and NAFED AMD Pankaj K Prasad and other dignitaries.
“The initiative will help in enhancing the livelihood of Kiwi farmers in Arunachal Pradesh and boost the trade of Kiwi outside the state,” sources said, adding that the launch event was followed by live cooking session for the guests, during which recipes of Kiwi based dishes were demonstrated followed by sample tasting by the dignitaries.
