By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala is all set to promote mango farming and apiculture as the state agriculture department will launch a special drive and distribute free saplings to raise the output.
The drive will begin with an apicultural expo and a mango festival here May 8-13.
Kerala Agricultural Minister Mulakara Ratnakaran told reporters here Tuesday close to 100,000 mango saplings would be distributed free in the state.
“Kerala is home to around 152 varieties of mangoes and we want farmers and homesteads to make use of these saplings,” Ratnakaran said.
“The mango festival will display about 300 varieties of mangoes from various parts of the country. This is certain to rekindle interest in farmers in the state,” he added.
“The honey from Kerala, especially from places where coffee is grown, has been found to be of very high quality. The apiculture expo will help to motivate farmers to adopt advance scientific technologies in apiculture and also to rebuild this industry which has huge potential,” said Ratnakaran.