Organic manure to increase cashew productivity in Goa

Amid stagnant cashew production in Goa, the state government has decided to provide organic manure to growers to increase the productivity of its trees, a senior official said.
"This year, the thrust is on increasing the cashew production. We will be supplying organic manure at subsidised rate to the farmers which will help them have better productivity," Agriculture Director Ulhas Pai Kakode told PTI.
The cashew cultivation is spread over 55,000 hectares of land in the coastal state.
"This year we will take up around one and half thousand hectares where the growers will be provided with the manure," he said.

The department, after consulting agricultural experts, has decided to supply neem cake and rock phosphate to growers at marginal rate through farmers' cooperative societies.
Cashew plantation across the state lacks maintenance due to which its yield has been stagnant, Kakode said.

"On an average, each cashew tree produces one to one and half kilograms of nuts annually. This productivity can surge up to fifteen to twenty kilograms per tree if the tree is provided the organic manure," he said.
Goa produces about 25,000 tonnes of cashew per annum, but despite this the processing industry has to source the nuts from outside the state or African countries, he said.

"Cashew is the backbone of Goa's agriculture. Once the production boosts, it will help the state's economy, besides improving the financial condition of the farmers," he said.