Speaking on the occasion of the laying of foundation stone for the Banana Research Centre at Gorole, Vaishali, Bihar Centre, on Saturday, Union Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that Bihar and particularly Vaishali district is very suitable for the cultivation of bananas and large scale production of banana can change the fate of farmers.
The Minister further stated that this centre will work in the areas of finding reasons of less production in banana, enhancemet in acreage for cultivation, suitable utilization of the various parts of the plants, different products, marketing and value addition. He was hopeful that with the cooperation of the researchers of this centre and with the participation of farmers, it would help to bring a new era of banana cultivation in Bihar and surrounding states like it happened in Maharashtra.
Shri Singh further informed that the total production of banana in the country is around 14.2 million tons. India holds number one position in the world in the area of banana production and stands at number three in acreages which is 13 per cent of the entire acreage and 33 per cent of the total production. Among the states, Maharashtra is the largest producer followed by Tamil Nadu. Productivity of Maharashtra is 65.7 ton/ha, which is more than the average national production of 34.1 ton/ha. Banana is grown in Bihar in around 27.2 thousand hectare, production is around 550 thousand tons and average productivity is 20.0 ton/ha, which is very less than the national average.
