Awareness camps to promote mesta

The Andhra Pradesh Jute Development Centre (APJDC) will organise awareness camps across the state to promote Mesta crop, used as a raw material for jute.

Farmers in the state cultivate mesta on only 38,000-40,000 acre. On an acre, mesta production is in between 10 and 12 quintals. The state has 30 jute units, which require 2-2.5 million quintals of mesta.

However, as the current production is about 400,000 quintals, mills have to depend on West Bengal and Bangladesh for the remaining raw material, said B V Rama Rao, vice chairman and managing director, APJDC.

The awareness camps will be held during October. APJDC aims to increase the mesta cultivated area to 1.5-2 million acres in the state in coming years, he said

 

Rama Rao said the jute parks proposed by APJDC in Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Rangaeeddy districts would attract a number of jute mills, which would require huge quantities of mesta.