KIWI FRUIT
Kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry (Actinidia deliciosa) is known as ‘China’s miracle fruit, In North East, it is being cultivated in Arunachal Pradesh in some sizable area North Eastern State has diverse agro climatic The kiwifruit grow well from 300-2000m above mean sea level,needs warm and humid climate it requires moderate to high rainfall conditions. Kiwifruit requires 700-800 chilling hours below 7 0C. The summer temperature should not go beyond 35°C.
WHY KIWI FRUIT HAS POTENTIAL
Kiwifruit generally ripens from October to December, which is the lean period for other fruits in the market, so the price for kiwi fruit is always high.The fruits can be stored for longer period of time which makes it possible to supply for extended period.It has high nutritive and medicinal value It has more fibre than most breakfast cereals, It is a rich source of sugars and several minerals such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium. It is a rich source of vitamin ‘C’ and ‘E’ and low in calories It has multiple use can eaten fresh,processed in jam etc .seed used in pastries,flowers in perfume and roots in insecticide.
TOTAL PRODUCTION IN 2010-2011
| REGION | AREA(HA) | PRODUCTION(MT) | PRODUCTIVITY(MT/HA) | YEAR |
| NER | 2,670 | 4,097 | 1.53 | 2010-2011 |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 2,620 | 3,930 | 1.50 | 2010-2011 |
| MIZORAM | 50 | 157 | 3.14 | 2010-2011 |
Source: NHB and State Departments (2010-11)
Kiwi fruit is mainly grown in Arunahal Pradesh it produces around 97% of total kiwi fruit in NER nd rest 3% from Mizoram.
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
AGRO-CLIMATIC ZONES IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH
| AGRO-CLIMATIC ZONE | CROP | AREA/DISTRICTS |
| TEMPERATE | KIWI | High-hills of West kameng,ziroTawang,upper subansiri,siang. |
Source: “An In-depth Market Study and Impact Assessment Report”
SEASONALITY OF CROP
| CROP | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JLY | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
| KIWI | BEG | PEAK | LEAN |
Source: “An In-depth Market Study and Impact Assessment Report”
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
Production Practices
The most popular varieties grown are Alison and Harvard. During the crop cycle, the farmers do not apply any kind of chemical fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides and weedicides. Only FyM/Vermicompost are applied at the rate of 5-7 kg per plant. At the field level, due to fruit drop and insects, pests and diseases, the fruit loss is nearly 5-10 percent.
Post-harvest Practices:
Harvesting: The fruiting period is two months i.e. October and November. The yield in the region is nearly 3-4 MT/ha.
Value Addition at Farm Level: the farmers carry out the manual sorting and grading of the fresh produce on the basis of weight as follows:
| GRADE | WEIGHT(GM) | MARKET |
| A | 90 AND ABOVE | EXPORT |
| B | 60-90 | DOMESTIC |
| C | 50-60 | DOMESTIC |
| D | 40-50 | PROCESSING |
Marketing & Logistics:
The fruits are transported in mini trucks without any kind of packaging, or packed in gunny bags. The farmers either sell the fresh fruit directly to consumers at the local or main market The farmers carry the fruit on head loads to the nearest transport point and from there it is transported by jeep/maxi to the local market. The post-harvest losses during transportation from local market to main market are nearly 8-10 percent due to the perishable nature of the fruit.
THE FRUIT SOLD ON THE BASIS OF GRADE
| GRADE | WEIGHT(GM) | FARMER SELLING PRICE(Rs) | MARKET | MARKT PRICE(Rs) |
| A | 90 AND ABOVE | 100/KG | EXPORT | 150-200/KG |
| B | 60-90 | 65/KG | DOMESTIC | 100-125/KG |
| C | 50-60 | 50/KG | LOCAL | 75-100/KG |
| D | 40-50 | 35/KG | PROCESSING |
In most of the cases, the farmers sell the whole orchard to the contractor before harvesting at a pre-fixed price. However, some farmers do sell the produce to the middlemen/aggregators/ traders from outside places such as Guwahati, Silchar, Kolkata and Delhi.
PRICE BUILTUP (per kg) FROM FARM GATE TO CONSUMER
| Particulars | AMOUNT(Rs) | PRICE MARKUP(Rs/kg) | %CONTRIBUTION |
| AVG SELLING OF FARMER | 65 | 65 | 52.11 |
| AGGREGATOR CHARGE(15-20%) | 13 | 78 | 10.42 |
| TRANSPORT TO MAIN MARKET INCLD LOADING & UNLOADING | 2 | 80 | 1.60 |
| COST OF WASTAGE(8-10%) | 8 | 88 | 6.41 |
| WHOLESALE MARGIN(30-35%) | 30.80 | 118.80 | 24.69 |
| COST OF WASTAGE(3-5%) | 5.94 | 124.74 | 4.76 |
Source: ISAP analysis from various stakeholders’ interaction
THE MAJOR CONCERNS
Land Tenure and Ownership System
Land ownership and laws are uneven and unclear in the entire NE Region. The entire system falls under the following three broad categories:
- Land owned collectively by the villagers
- Land owned by the tribal chiefs, who allot land among the individual households for shifting cultivation purposes, and
- Individually-owned land.
Poor Cultivation Practices and Low Productivity
Small land holdings, poor investment capacity, general neglect and non-adoption of scientific cultivation practices are the major constraints for poor return from the crops in the Region and despite the favourable agro-climatic conditions, the rate of production and growth is low
Poor and Weak Extension System
Despite high potential, difficult terrain with poor connectivity, lack of trained & dedicated human resources and poor coordination among departments are some of the key factors responsible for ineffective and poor extension programme.
Poor Logistics and Connectivity
Poor infrastructure in terms of roads and railways are the main constraints in the development of NE Region Due to hilly terrain, most of the farmers transport their saleables on head loads (in case of periodic markets), as the public transport in the region is expensive and mostly inaccessible from the production zones or villages.The movement of produce to main (urban) markets is through buses/mini trucks/jeeps that add up transportation costs.
Poor Marketing and Post-harvest Infrastructure
Due to lack of organised and alternative marketing structure in the region, farmers are getting low return compared to the other parts of India, whereas the middlemen get the profit at their expense. Lack of primary processing, logistics, marketing and post-harvest infrastructure across various levels of the value chain, are the major factors for quality detoriation and value loss of the perishable produce in the region.
Lack of Processing Industries
For NE Region, particularly Arunachal Pradesh the success of growing perishables is closely linked to the success of fruit processing units. The processing industry can help in sorting out the problem of proper disposal of perishable commodities. To date, there are hardly any cold storage facilities available.
RECOMMENDATION
- Formation of kiwi farmer’s group for efficient marketing practices and price negotiation
- Marketing through organized channel by diret procurement from farm gate by corporate groups
- Logistics systems should be upgraded to access the major market in india.
- Integrated pack house should be installed to grade high quality kiwi to target export and prime Indian market
- Hard berries should be harvested for distant markets
- Certification of organically managed orchards.
REFERENCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit.
http://gbpihedenvis.nic.in/html/vol16_1/a.%20singh.htm
http://www.apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/index.asp
http://www.sikkimagrisnet.org/General/en/NERMAC.aspx
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