Sikkim Governor urges to create ‘Hub Centre’ on Sikkim floriculture



GANGTOK, March 23: Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh called on the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and requested him to take urgent steps to create a Hub Centre on floriculture in Sikkim.

A press release issued from Raj Bhawan informs that the Union Agriculture Minister has promised to look into the matter urgently and to do the needful.
Besides, the Governor had also wanted ICAR Centre in Sikkim to provide special focus on organic farming and Sikkim centric research in horticulture.

It may be recalled that Sikkim has succeeded in earning a place in the floriculture map of the world. It is also informed that the need for a hub centre was to boost the efforts of the farmers in a manner that brings them sustainable livelihood and remunerative prices.

The State Government along with the assistance provided by the Government of India had built requisite infrastructures for facilitating post harvest handling and marketing, said the release adding that the efforts are on to enhance the production and productivity of cut flowers and bulbs covering a range of exotic flowers.

“With all these activities already in place, what is required is a centralized Hub Centre for Floriculture promotion and propagation. This Centre should have the state-of-the-art facilities not only to promote production of cut flowers, disbursing of planting materials or post harvest handling but it should also be a place for training of farmers and coordination of marketing activities,”

source; sikkim express