Asia's best horticultural centre planted in Pune

ALREADY a hot-seat for advanced agriculture, Pune will soon become the first city in Asia with the biggest and most advanced functional horticultural training, extension and research centre (HTC).Planned and executed by the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), with crucial assistance from the Government of Netherlands and a corporate based there, this Rs 13-crore project is expected to improve product quality, storage and preservation, aimed at catapulting India as one of the biggest horticultural players in the world.Agriculture Marketing Minister of Maharashtra, Harshavardhan Patil, says, “India is now the second largest exporter of horticultural products, including vegetables and fruit, in the world. The state government wants the HTC to be a unique resource centre in India working to promote advanced horticulture and marketing of the produce thereof,� he elaborates.Situated 35 km away from Pune on the Mumbai-Pune highway near the CRPF campus in Talegaon, the HTC is spread over 50 acres and will have eight internationally designed poly/green houses, a meteorological station, soil and water testing laboratories, small-scale storage and grading facility and accommodation for trainees.With construction in the last stage, the HTC will be formally inaugurated by President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam later next month. “The speciality of this centre will be that almost 80 per cent of teaching will be done through practical experiments.The syllabus here is designed considering international methods and their application to Indian geographical conditions. We have a faculty of 11 agricultural experts, specially trained in Holland, researching how to Indianise procedures for our farmers,� says HTC director Dr Suresh Dhumal, “Though the courses will be short term in the beginning, we are planning a degree and diploma in Horticulture and Agricultural Marketing. The plan also has provisions to start courses in organic farming, medical and aromatic plants,� he adds.Mark Van Stokkum, trainer from Practical Training Centre (PTC), an enterprise of the Government of Netherlands, explains, “We have set up one such institute in China, but due to the reservations of Chinese government, it is still non-functional. We find the Indian attitude very encouraging.The centre is already in demand. Andhra Pradesh has booked 10 batches for 150 farmers, while Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh are in the queue. “Inquiries have come from the Middle East and South-East Asia too.We are sure Pune will be an international horticulture hub,� says Dr Dhumal.sharvari.joshi@timesgroup.com