Vijayapura gears up to get national recognition for its lemon

Hubballi: As Vijayapura’s lime has been chosen for the One District One Product (ODOP) under Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, the district administration is gearing up to set up more processing units. It has already instructed banks to sanction more loans to lime growers. It is also encouraging to float more producer associations.
The horticulture department is working hard to get a Global Indication tag for Vijayapura lime.
Vijayapura deputy commissioner P Sunil Kumar told TOI that a proposal is sent to Intellectual Property office Chennai. “IP officials are making observations and they are expected to visit farmers’ fields in the district soon. Once they arrive, we will table our presentation. There were some allegations that banks were not sanctioning loans to lime growers. We convened a meeting with bankers and now they have sanctioned loans to nine growers this month,” he said.
“We have also formed three farmers produce organisations (FPOs) of lime growers. We are also focusing on verities of lime and providing infrastructure for storage and possibility of usage of lime in sectors like pickle, beverage and others. We are creating awareness among farmers through the horticulture and agriculture departments and documentation is going on simultaneously. We have heard that some farmers in Maharashtra have developed appropriate technologies to retain the lime longer. We are thinking of organising a study tour for Vijayapura farmers to Maharashtra,” he said.
Karnataka State Lime Development Board (KSLDB) chairman Ashok Allapur said the board is also trying to get a GI tag for four years by submitting a proposal to the authorities concerned. “Vijayapura is synonym for lime with the cultivation share of 58% in the state and grows varieties like Balaji, Pramalini, Kagaji, Saisharbat, and Pulesharbat. Once we get the GI tag, it will boost export of lime and helps growers,” he said.
Shailaja Sthavaramath, district resource person, ODOP, said Vijayapura has sufficient yield of lime but it lacks supporting industries locally. “Now ODOP is expected to rescue growers, who used to get the lowest price during rainy seasons. Meanwhile many trucks used to transport the crop to other parts of the nation. So, it’s clear that lime has value if we get supportive industries in the district itself. Considering this, the district administration and KSLDB are encouraging usage of by-products. We have identified progressive farmers and helping entrepreneurs right from the stage of preparing project report, loans from banks and connecting them with farmers,” she said.
3 lakh tonne yield per year
Lime is one of the important commercial fruit crops of Karnataka with an annual yield of 3,04,621 metric tonnes. Karnataka is in fourth position in the country.