Auckland (The NZ Today)
Kiwifruit growers in the mountainous Indian state of Nagaland are hoping New Zealand expertise can help lift production from orchards operating in conditions far more difficult than those faced by most growers in the Bay of Plenty.
The push comes as New Zealand and India deepen cooperation in horticulture under the recently implemented Free Trade Agreement, including the establishment of new kiwifruit Centres of Excellence in major Indian growing regions.
Nagaland, in northeastern India, is home to around 1000 kiwifruit growers and accounts for about 6 percent of the country’s kiwifruit-growing area, according to Farmers Weekly. Much of the crop is grown on steep terrain at altitudes of around 1500 to 2000 metres.
One grower, Ngupetso Kapfo, told Farmers Weekly his latest harvest was expected to be around 6000 kilograms after heavy rain during flowering and fruit development reduced production below earlier expectations.
His estimated yield of about three tonnes per hectare highlights the productivity gap New Zealand-backed technical support is hoping to address. New Zealand orchards can produce around 10 times that amount per hectare, according to the report.
The challenges in Nagaland extend well beyond weather.
Growers work on steep slopes where machinery can be difficult or impossible to use, while monsoon conditions can cause rapid vine and weed growth. Much of the work is still done manually, and many orchards rely on natural forest mulch rather than synthetic fertilisers.
Transport is another hurdle, with fruit often moving through narrow mountain roads before reaching local markets.
India’s domestic kiwifruit industry currently produces an estimated six million trays annually, largely of the green Hayward variety, with most of the fruit consumed within India.
The opening of a green kiwifruit Centre of Excellence near Kapfo’s orchard is intended to give local growers access to New Zealand growing knowledge, training and orchard-management techniques adapted to Indian conditions.
Zespri says the wider five-year Kiwifruit Action Plan will establish model orchards in key regions, provide technical training and improve production and supply-chain performance. The first Centres of Excellence are being developed in Nagaland and Uttarakhand.
The initiative is closely tied to the New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement, which came into force on October 20.
Under the agreement, tariffs on up to 15,000 tonnes of New Zealand kiwifruit entering India will be removed, while tariffs on volumes above that level will fall from 33 percent to 16.5 percent.
New Zealand industry groups say the partnership is designed to benefit growers on both sides rather than simply increasing exports.
Indian and New Zealand kiwifruit seasons occur at different times of the year, meaning domestic Indian production and New Zealand imports can potentially complement each other in supplying consumers year-round.
Meanwhile, for growers such as Kapfo, the immediate focus is to produce more fruit from the same difficult terrain.
He told Farmers Weekly he was looking forward to learning from visiting New Zealand specialists and seeing whether improved growing methods could help lift output from his land.
Source: Farmers Weekly, Zespri and New Zealand–India Kiwifruit Action Plan
