It is good to have a systematic attitude towards all the vegetables, including fruits, to see which ones are not yet present as Indian produce and which could be proven to grow in India. Different situations we can identify:
Existing varieties: As it's becoming more frequent in India, many private farmers with a research mind want to find out why certain varieties of vegetables aren't growing well at their place. Good surprises have happened with some fruits sold at high prices, such as the apples growing in cold spots and at the same time in hot locations, as in Rajasthan, where one would have never imagined.
I would like to see this country with a high production of lovely apples very soon so that everyone in India can taste this good and rich fruit.
Portuguese sailors and scientists promoted this attitude from the 15th Century, with clear indications of preparing saplings in one place to take to all others where the vessels would go to see how they behaved in the following places, their exuberance, production, etc. In the same way, the destination port would bring different saplings to the new destinations, where to do the same: planting and accompanying their evolution to verify their adaptation to the climate and production.
Nowadays, some economic groups focused on agriculture could enter this field deeply, spreading the new improved seeds or plant varieties with the corresponding saplings around the country.
All the advancements would be patented, and the varieties of saplings would be sold according to the value they would add to the new owner. It would be an extraordinary service to all those practicing agriculture, allowing them to improve their earnings regularly through continuous research.
Innovative private groups: Must establish several Centres of R&D in the whole country, for example:
- in zones with usually high temperatures and very dry;
- in high altitude zones, where the temperature is fresher, with some humidity;
- In low altitude zones, in coastal locations,
- In high altitude zones in the North and North East of the Country;
- Other zones to consider.
The group must establish a centre in each zone with competent researchers who graduated in agronomy, chemical sciences, biochemistry, etc., not many, but very practical and creative. They must be much more oriented to research results, accelerating the outcomes.
In the first phase, all the fruits and vegetables produced in that zone would receive particular attention to improve their quality and productivity, eventually adding new characteristics, nutrient effects and vitamins to deliver more value.
This exercise of amelioration would be extended to all the eatable and edible items, such as fruits and vegetables, to give the farmers better products to take to the market. I would provide great importance to the contents of such plants and fruits to give a clear indication to the consumers of the usefulness and benefits of their consumption to one's health.
In the second phase, all the fruits and vegetables not produced in the region would deserve attention to see if they can adapt to the climate conditions or if there is a need to grow them in greenhouses during a specific period to take them to open space later, or to develop the whole lifetime in greenhouses.
There will be surprises: Many other plants may be prone to grow and give pleasant fruits in places they were not yet planted, only because no one had thought of such.
In the third phase, of all the species, choose those with high market value to make saplings available to those farmers who want to plant and obtain reasonable profits. And look at many other fruit trees you never thought would be productive in India. Pears in India are not abundant, and I feel they could do well alongside apple trees as in fresh-climate countries.
See also the behaviour of saplings of blueberries or strawberries, and the variety of fruits today becoming common, as avocados, dragon fruits, custard apples, pineapples, and pomegranates, which are now becoming very frequent in Indian marketplaces, as gradually more planted in India and well sold.
I have great expectations of the olive trees. The new varieties in Portugal and Spain are low shrubs and plenty of leaves, beginning with olives production very soon.
In Portugal, alongside vineyards, there are vast plantations of olive trees. Where grapes are planted today in India, the growing of olive trees will probably be feasible and expand thereafter. It is essential to try diverse varieties of olive saplings to choose the best one.
In all agro-production fields, it is essential to train people to plant the trees respecting the economic distances among them for the best productivity, using manure or natural fertilizers obtained by composting and also using natural pesticides made of extracts of a wide variety of leaves with properties of scaring away the agents provoking diseases in the plants.
Flowers planting: It is a vast field of learning and doing and is much more likely to provide much money. Today, their production is growing, and still, when the domestic use is very high, their export is low or stagnant, and there is room to grow, paying well all those working in such activity.
For export, long-lasting flowers are much in search as the orchids and roses. Also, long-duration flowers, such as sterilitzia (or bird of paradise), Anthuriums, etc., are much appreciated for their long duration. They grow near the Sea in sunny places.
India has fragrant flowers like jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, etc., and young girls use a vast quantity of them as permanent perfume and beauty accessories.
Mushroom production: The scientific curiosity of discovering if this or that new species goes well is to applaud! Until some time back, the mushrooms were collected in the hilly and mountainous zone, with particular risks of picking some poisonous species.
When one produces through selected varieties of microscopic spores, it gives the certainty that there are no poisonous ones. The consumption of mushrooms is growing very fast because they are nutritive and tasty when accompanying some popular dishes.
It seems there is an enormous possibility of producing much more. At the same time, a good campaign highlighting its health benefits could foster its consumption by all families since it is a nutritious vegetable.
(The Author is Professor at AESE-Business School (Lisbon), at I.I.M. Rohtak (India), author of The Rise of India)