Rudrapur (Uttarakhand): Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the 116th All India Farmers Fair and Agri-Industry Exhibition at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, Udham Singh Nagar on October 4.
The four-day event set to feature the latest advancement in agricultural technologies and innovations, will also help empower farmers by providing access to modern tools and resources.
However, the showstopper at the exhibition is the world's most expensive almond, the Macadamia nut plant that has excited farmers like never before. Most of them are optimistic about earning an extra ounce by selling it at the fair, which has drawn customers from far and wide.
ETV Bharat spoke to Ayan Mandal, the owner of a nursery in Kolkata, West Bengal who planted the first Macadamia nuts in India and cultivated them.
"Farmers in Australia, South Africa, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh were successfully cultivating macadamia nuts and earning a significant profit from these. However, India did not have a single macadamia nut plant. I brought a 25-30-year-old mother plant from Australia here for the first time and nurtured it," Mandal said.
These nut plants can be easily grown in temperatures ranging between -3 to 45 degrees, Mandal said. "Farmers cultivating macadamia nuts have to ensure that the plant is kept away from water-logged areas. It can be easily cultivated in the Terai and sloping fields of the mountains," Mandal added.
Mandal said that these nuts are a rich source of minerals, fibre and anti-oxidants and act as a saviour for cardiac patients. "Their market price varies between Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per kg. Not just this, the world's most expensive chocolate, too is made from these precious macadamia nuts," he added.
If prepared from old mother plants of Australia or Kenya, the plant starts bearing fruits in four to five years. Otherwise, it might also take as long as 10 years to bear fruits, Mandal said.
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