BJP MP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao stressed the need for establishing a National Research Centre for Chillies at Guntur under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, during the zero hour in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
He stated that India is the largest producer of chillies in the world accounting for over 40% of world's production. India also has a 50% share in world chilli exports.
Mr. Rao, who is the chairman of the national-level task force on chillies, said India's exports have more than doubled from ₹2,722 crore in 2013-14 to ₹6,222 crore in 2019-20.
He said though the crop is widely cultivated, farmers are suffering due to the lack of disease-resistant varieties. There is also no research support for introducing and popularisation of such varieties, he said.
Besides, farmers are forced to adopt labour intensive and unhygienic post harvest drying practices that have detrimental impact on the quality of chillies. Lack of proper machinery and post harvest processes (like drying, stem removal) have increased costs and reduced the returns for farmers.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to set up a National Research Centre for Chillies that would act as a nodal institution for R&D with focus on production, processing and value addition, the MP said.
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