The nodal agency is expected to bring Kerala farmers closer to global market

The State government has decided to appoint the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam(VFPCK) as the nodal agency for the promotion of agricultural exports from the State.

The decision is expected to bring Kerala farmers closer to the global market by instilling in them good agricultural practices (GAP) and the know-how of global market requirements, Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar told The Hindu on the sidelines of a two-day workshop on ‘Organic farming and good agricultural practices for quality production’ here on Friday.

“Under the export policy of the Central government, all States have to assign a nodal agency for promoting export of local produce. We have chosen the VFPCK. Since the agency lacks an export-related mandate at present, we propose to amend the by-law,” Mr. Sunil Kumar said.

68 clusters

Under its new mandate, the VFPCK will select farmer groups from among its approximately 10,000 self-help groups and equip the farmers in export-oriented cultivation. To enable this, 68 clusters will be formed with the focus on improving traditional farming practices under the Centrally funded Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).

“We can easily achieve global acceptance by maintaining GGAP (global good agricultural practices) with crops such as jackfruit and coconut,” Mr. Sunil Kumar said. The VFPCK was formed as part of a State government decision to institutionalise the Kerala Horticulture Development Programme (KHDP), launched by the government in collaboration with the European Union in 1992.

Role of facilitator

In its new role, the VFPCK will be a ‘facilitator’, Saji John, chief executive officer, VFPCK, said. A State-level nodal agency stands a better chance of grassroots-level interactions unlike Central agencies such as the APEDA, he said.

“We will be involved in all aspects from cultivation to post-harvest applications such as packing and labelling. We will provide quality inputs and training in GAP,” he said.

While inaugurating the workshop, the Minister insisted that the VFPCK revitalise the 10,000 self-help groups under it, many of which had become inactive. Blaming shortcomings in its organisational set-up, Mr. Sunil Kumar urged the VFPCK to reorganise the self-help groups and identify groups with potential in the export market.