Lemon Board: The way ahead

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the office of the Lemon Development Board in the town of Vijayapura district and it opens a new chapter for all the lemon growers in the district. Facing various adversaries, the lemon farmers who produce the high quantity of lemon in the region face exploitation by middlemen. Working in the extreme difficulties, the farmers do not give up producing lemon which they have been cultivating from generations.

A demand was made to establish a development board to support farmers and also give an economic boost to the lemon grower in the district."It is a historic step for lemon farmers of the district as the govt. has acknowledged the demand and is setting up an office of the board in the Indian town," said Yeshwantraigouda Patil, MLA. Mr. Patil said that the Horticulture Minister would be the chairman of the board.

"Though the board is now in the nascent stage, in the coming days, its responsibilities would be formulated. These include value addition, setting up with cold storage, coming up with high yielding varieties and better marketing facilities to save the farmers from exploitation by middlemen. The establishment of the office is a first step in this regard," he said.

-Shubham Malik