Roque Dias
Margao: The Agriculture Department will distribute three lakh marigold seedlings to farmers across Goa in August. The seedlings are being raised for the first time at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Codar, Dharbandora, under technical assistance from Israel.
The Directorate of Agriculture partnered with Israel under the Indo-Israel Agriculture Project (IIAP) a year ago. The initiative is aimed at increasing local marigold production and reducing the state’s dependence on supplies from outside Goa, particularly during the festive season.
“The seedlings were raised using Israeli technology in an automated greenhouse and are expected to produce disease-free flowers. Israeli consultants visit us periodically and guide us step by step on how to prepare the seedlings,” said Deputy Director of Agriculture Dattatray M Pandit.
The CoE was established at Codar after the state government expressed its interest in the IIAP, as many states in the country had already set up such centres, he said. Pandit said all three lakh seedlings had already been booked by farmers. Farmers planting the seedlings in the first week of August can expect flowering around Dussehra, when demand for marigolds increases, he said.
Goa’s annual demand for marigold flowers is estimated at around 2,500 tonnes. While local production has increased in recent years with government support and subsidies, the state continues to depend on supplies from outside to meet peak-season demand.
Local farmers currently produce around 180 tonnes of marigolds across 30 hectares. The flowers fetch between Rs 80 and Rs 200 per kg, depending on the season and market demand. The department had initially conducted trials with 20,000 seedlings. “The results were good, following which the department decided to increase production with technical assistance from Israel,” said Pandit.
On pricing, Pandit said growers earlier paid around Rs 5 per seedling. The department will supply the seedlings at Rs 4 each, while the government subsidy will bring the farmer’s cost down to Rs 1 per seedling for cultivation on 500 sqm of land, he said.
The department is preparing for a second cycle of seedling production. The CoE at Codar, whose cornerstone was laid by Eynat Shlein, head of MASHAV, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is expected to have several automated greenhouses producing seedlings of high-value vegetables and flowers, including capsicum, chillies, brinjal, cucumber and marigold.
