ZestFest in Bengaluru: Meghalaya govt’s initiative to help Khasi Mandarin orange farmers

Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh assured the farmers of the state that the state government will handhold them whenever required

In a move that would help farmers of Meghalaya producing Khasi Mandarin oranges find a market outside of the state and get a better price for their produce, the Meghalaya Government organized ZestFest in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka.

“We are already doing it (conducting such events) in Delhi, we have started doing it in the southern and western side (of India), so now you see us in Bangalore (Bengaluru), we are now in UAE, we are trying to collaborate even in Singapore. We are trying to take our farmers to all these markets and give them exposure. We want to show our farmers that there are great opportunities out there for them,” Agriculture Minister of Meghalaya Ampareen Lyngdoh said after inaugurating the fest, a cultural celebration, dedicated to the flavours and cultural significance of the Khasi Mandarin oranges.

“The government of Meghalaya is proud to come up with such an event, today, we as a state are displaying some of the items currently being harvested in the region. ZestFest is an event which will benefit our farmers, farmer groups, farmer organizations, self-help groups and multiple organizations in the state of Meghalaya,” the Minister said.

One of the farmers at the event said, “The response from the public has been decent although we hope to see an increase in sales in the coming days.” He said that there were two sizes of oranges, the larger size selling for Rs 15 each and the smaller size selling for Rs 10 each.

The 4-day event is being held at different malls located across the city – Lulu Mall in Bengaluru, Forum Mall, Kanakpura, and Lal Bagh Botanical Garden.

The Khasi Mandarin orange was given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2014 and the Meghalaya government has been working to promote the product in the country and abroad.

On December 11, 22 tones of the fruit was exported to Dubai and were on display at Lulu Hypermarket.

The Khasi Mandarin oranges have an intense orange colour and accounts for 43.6 per cent of citrus fruit production in the country.

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