North Bihar Come up With Organic Litchi very soon

 MUZFFARPUR: Come summer and luscious litchis from Bihar are in high demand, not only in India but also abroad. Keeping in view the rising demand for organic food in the country, farmers of north Bihar this season have come up with their organic litchis to attract new clientele for their delicious product.
"About 2,100 farmers in Muzaffarpur district have grown organic litchis in as much as 1,200 hectare of land covering 76 villages of Motipur, Meenapur and Kanti blocks," said Kundan Kumar Raju, project officer of International Panacea limited (IPL), Muzaffarpur, an organization that provides inputs for organic farming. "We are expecting to produce around 15,000 metric tonne of organic litchis this year," Raju said.
The organic litchis will be of better quality and produce less chemical residue. It is grown with the help of vermi-compost and bio-fertilizers without using any pesticide.
The IPL, in collaboration with National Agricultural Co-operation Marketing Federation ( NAFED), started a joint venture in Muzaffarpur district about three years back. "They informed farmers about the advantages of organic farming and encouraged them to switch to it. Consequently, interested farmers entered into a three-year contract with us. Now their hard work is set to pay dividends," Raju said.
"So far as certification is concerned, it is a three-stage process. The organic litchis produced here have already got C1 and C2 certificates. The final stage certificate, which is known as C3 certificate, would be given by OneCert Asia Agri Certification Private Limited, Jaipur, in May," he said.
"There is a big market for litchis in states like UP, Delhi and Maharashtra. Earlier, in south India, the market was confined to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Now Kerala is also showing interest in Bihari litchis. They are more interested in importing organic litchis being produced in Bihar," said Rakesh Kumar, the Muzaffarpur district horticulture officer. "It is difficult for us to meet the demand for organic litchis from international markets," he added.
"Bihar government gifts about 1,000kg of litchis every year to dignitaries like the country's president, vice-president, prime minister and other Union ministers. This season they will also get organic litchis," said Sarvajeet Kumar, deputy director of horticulture.
Litchi has been one of the USPs of Bihar, which contributes about 55% of the total litchi production in the country. Other than organic litchi, Bihar's famous 'shahi litchi' is also expected to be in good demand this time, too. "The 'shahi litchi' has a good amount of pulp and a very good aroma that even the Chinese litchi lacks," said Kumar. Incidentally, China is the biggest producer of litchi in the world. India holds the second position.
Last year, the state had produced more than 3 lakh metric tonne of litchi. "This time, we are expecting a 10% rise in litchi production. Moreover, last year, around 25% of the litchis were damaged due to bad weather. This time weather is favourable and we expect a good crop," said Vishal Nath, director, National Research Centre for Litchi, Mushahari, Muzaffarpur.