By IANS
Raipur : Chhattisgarh will set up three cashew nut processing units in the iron ore rich Bastar region, a government official said Saturday.
The three units will be set up at Kumharvand, Karmari and Turenaar. These are remote areas having tribal stronghold.
A senior official of the department of horticulture told IANS: “The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) will set up the unit at Turenaar while the Horticulture Mission will establish the unit at Karmari and Raipur-based Indira Gandhi Agriculture University, will undertake the project at Kumharvand.”
The units would be equipped for processing nuts including shelling, peeling, grading into different sizes and colours in accordance with standard grading, drying or humidifying and packing.
Three private firms are already operating processing units in Bastar region to tap the rich potential of cashew nut production in the region.
The official said that the total area under cashew production in the state is about 10,000 hectare, of which 2,000 hectare is in Bastar region. The present productivity of cashew is 480 kilogram per hectare in the state while the national average is about 700-800 kilogram.