With the easing of lockdown regulations, banana growers from Ardhapur in Maharashtra's Nanded district have started getting demands for export of the fruit to the Gulf countries.
The state agriculture department is also guiding farmers from the area to export bananas and other crops, an official from the department said.
The Ardhapur area and other parts of Nanded, located around 570 km from Mumbai, have been known for banana cultivation because of the availability of water in the area. Nearly 40 tonnes of bananas are now being exported every day from Ardhapur to Oman, Iran, Iraq and Dubai.
Farmers have been cultivating different varieties of bananas in this agricultural belt since many years. They are now planning to expand the cultivation process by growing a specific variety of the crop for export purposes in at least 100 acres of area in Ardhapur.
"This will help us to get the same quality of produce in the area next time. At present, we are selecting export quality bananas from the entire tehsil," said one farmer.
Source: theweek.in