Centre likely to fund Haryana guar project

The Centre may part-fund a research project of Haryana Agricultural University to develop a guar variety that can mature in less duration as export of the commodity from the state has been increasing.

"If you agree to a cess on guar exports from your state the Centre is ready to contribute a matching share," Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh told Haryana's guar exporters at a meet here to discuss the need for developing less duration variety of the crop.

A tripartite agreement among Shellac Export Promotion Council, centre's promotion body for guar, Haryana's guar exporters and HAU could be possible, Ramesh said after exporters agreed to his proposal.

The minister, on a day's visit to the agriculture university here recently, also reviewed the activities of the HAU in developing new varieties of different seeds that can help promote agricultural export from Haryana.

There was a need to bring states such as Rajasthan and Haryana to the mainstream of exports and guar as an arid zone crop was the most suitable option due to its potential in the overseas market, Ramesh said.

Currently, HG 365 and HG 563 varieties of guar seeds developed by HAU with a duration of 85-100 days maturity period are in cultivation in the state.

"Two more varieties - HG 870 and HG 2-20 - will also be released for commercialisation soon," a senior scientist at HAU, Jai Vir Singh, said, adding both varieties have a maturity period of 75 days.

Ramesh, however, wanted the crop duration should be reduced further to 60-65 days.

"To develop a variety of that duration, we may take at least three years," Singh said.

Due to the efforts of HAU, guar seeds production in Haryana has increased to 3,00,000 tonne last year from 1.7 lakh tonne in 2005, guar exporter Rajesh Kedia said.

"Production in Haryana (3 lakh tonne) has been achieved in just 4 lakh acre area whereas India's largest guar producing state Rajasthan could produce 4,00,000 tonne in 20 lakh acres," Singh said.

Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat are leading producers of guar crop in India, which has 65 per cent share in world market.

Meanwhile, many farmers in Haryana are shifting to guar from other crops as profit is more compared to input costs.

"I shifted from cotton to guar by sowing in all my 40-acre land as I found guar lucrative," a farmer of Sirsa district Samsher Singh said, adding the current price of guar is Rs 1,750 per quintal.