Om Birla expresses concern over shrinking coriander farming area in Kota

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday expressed concern over the diminishing area of coriander cultivation in Kota, the largest producer of the herbal spice in the country, and urged farmers, traders and exporters to come together to increase its farming.

Birla, who represents Kota-Bundi constituency in Lok Sabha, was speaking at the 4th National Coriander Seminar, organized by All India Traders and Food Product Agents Association in Kota.

"We are a leading producer and exporter of spices and Ramganjmandi in Kota district is the highest producer of coriander, known for its distinctive fragrance," Birla said.

"The shrinking area of the crop in the district over the years, however, is a matter of concern," he added and urged farmers, traders and exporters to chalk out a joint strategy to enhance its production to make India a key exporter of the spice.

As Indian spices are of the best quality and wide variety, they are in high demands in the global market and the country should strive to become a key exporter of spices, he added.

Birla also called upon agriculture universities and scientists to jointly organise seminars for agriculture students and entrust them with the task of training local farmers and help them apply new and innovative farming techniques in their fields. Pointing out that the government is committed to raising farmers' income, the Lok Sabha speaker urged youths not to migrate to cities and help farmers in villages.

Speaking on the occasion, coriander exporter P C K Maheshwaran said the area under coriander cultivation has shrunk to one fourth in Rajasthan.

But despite that, Kota is still the key coriander farming centre in the country, he said, adding the marketing policy for this spice can be altered to add value to this crop.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)