Guwahati, July 17, 2023: Farmers in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district received valuable training and insights during a full-day workshop on cultivating exotic walnuts, organized by the Horticulture department and sponsored under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) on Sunday.

Addressing the farmers, Tawang DC Kanki Darang emphasized the importance of expanding horticulture products and adopting scientific methods to enhance both the quality and quantity of fruits. He encouraged educated youths to take the lead in marketing these products and urged the farmers to form self-help groups to involve more people in this endeavor.

Darang highlighted the government’s initiative of promoting one district to produce one specific product, and he believed that Tawang district had the potential to excel in walnut production. He emphasized the significance of timely pruning for fruits like Kiwi, Apple, and Orange, which leads to higher-quality harvests. Drawing from personal experience, he shared insights from his own farming practices.

The District Horticulture Officer, Safior Rahman, addressed the farmers and informed them that the state government had adopted walnut cultivation as the chosen product for Tawang district under the one district one product mission. Over fifty thousand exotic walnut saplings of different varieties were already distributed to the farmers as part of this initiative. Rahman mentioned that the exotic walnut saplings from Turkey had already begun bearing fruits, but he advised the farmers to remove the fruits from the first two years for better yield and long-term plant health.

Although the expert walnut farmer from Turkey couldn’t be present due to technical issues, subject matter specialists from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Tawang and resource persons from the agriculture and veterinary departments engaged with the farmers during the technical session, addressing their queries and providing valuable insights.