UK Governor calls for creation of Agri-business consortium

Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul today said special focus was needed for marketing of aromatic plants in the state and suggested creation of an agri-business consortium for the purpose.
The Governor made the suggestion while reviewing the performance of Selaqui-based Centre for Aromatic Plants (CAP) at the Raj Bhawan here.
He said that with a strong marketing system in place, cultivation of aromatic plants could become a major source of income for the state.
Asking CAP to also focus on marketing, Paul said, "Services of marketing experts can be taken for this and an agri-business consortium can be created to help cultivators of aromatic plants in improving the quality of their produce and market it effectively".

CAP director N S Chauhan said 31 clusters and 58 distillation points has been created in the state for the cultivation of damask rose and distillation of its oil.
The damask rose oil is mainly used in perfumes and pan masala, he said.
According to Chauhan, 1200 farmers were cultivating damask rose on over 71 hectares of land with the support of CAP in Munsiyari, Chakrata, Garood, Tehri and Pauri.
He also said that the state produced 80 quintals of rose water and 1.5 kg of rose oil this year.