By AO News Service
NAHARLAGUN, Feb 13: ‘Santra le lo, bahut mitha hey’ (take orange, it is very testy), the sound of a young Arunachalee daughter was drawing attention of many passers-by in the market here on Thursday evening to buy from her.
She was Yasam Esso from Upper Subansiri district’s Taliha but presently living at Papu Nallah here, who responding to questions disclosed that almost 1,000-kg arrived here on Wednesday have been sold, except few kgs.
She has been selling orange for Rs 50 per kg since Wednesday afternoon with patience reflecting that Arunachalees could be good salesmen/women too. However, she had no idea how many farmers were engaged in orange cultivation in the district but said that marketing was a common problem or else why truck-loads of oranges have been arriving here from Daporijo regularly?
Orange, one of the major horticultural crops of Arunachal Pradesh, is known to have several health benefits among the most popular fruits around the world. It is excellent source of Vitamin-C and one orange offers 116.2% of daily value for Vitamin C; vital keeping immune system healthy, prevents skin damage, keeps blood pressure under check; lowers cholesterol and risk of cancer; controls blood sugar level; maintains eye health; safeguards against constipation, according to nutrionist.
Mandarin orange produced in Wakro, once known as ‘orange bowl’ of Arunachal Pradesh, which got Geographical Indication (GI) registration in 2015, is exported to Bangaldesh from there to other countries. Wakro oranges were exported to Dubai for fist time through Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati on 03.01.18 inking a record.
Orange having so much potentials could be a money spinner to boost rural economy if backward and forward linkages once provided to the farmers and efforts are made for (GI) registration in other areas, a senior GoAP officer. The state government, horticulture department in particular, should encourage farmers to take up orange cultivation with a very suitable ago-climatic condition of this Himalayan state.
Interestingly, first set of oranges was grown in north eastern part of India, South East Asia and the south of China. First cultivation in China was reported in 2500 BC. The Roman took young orange trees from India to Rome in first century AD. Christopher Columbus, who had bought seeds in 1493, had planted orange in Haiti. Panama and Mexico got their first taste of oranges by 1518, and shortly thereafter Brazil started growing.
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