The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in his monthly Radio address to nation ‘Mann Ki Baat’, mentioned about initiative of District Administration Srinagar regarding Formation of FPO associated with Lotus Stem(Nadru) cultivation in world famous Dal Lake in Srinagar District of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the nation in the 99th episode of his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio today, Prime Minister spoke about Kashmir’s Dal Lake which is known for its delicious Lotus Stems.
The PM said, "Lotus stems are known as Nadru in Kashmir and demand for Nadru is continuously increasing due to which farmers cultivating Nadru in Dal Lake have formed an FPO".
"About 250 farmers have joined this FPO and these farmers have started exporting their Nadru to foreign countries", the PM added.
The Prime Minister took pride in the fact that these farmers recently sent two consignments to the UAE and said that this success has increased the income of hundreds of farmers.
Pertinent to mention that the Farmers in Dal Lake associated with Lotus Stem(Nadru) got a new lease of life through newly formed and promoted Farmer Producer Organization(FPO) by District Administration Sringar.
The Kashmiri Lotus stem famously known as Nadru prepared from roots of the lotus flower is a delicacy found on the table of every Kashmiri home.
The cultivation of lotus stem is done in the various lakes of Kashmir valley, the major being Dal Lake of the Srinagar.
The farmers in the area of the Dal Lake often complained that the price they got for the harvest was not enough due to the lack of market linkages for their produce and meagre individual produce of the farmers.
Considering the uniqueness of the Nadroo (Lotus Stem) as a delicacy, the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad met the entrepreneurial farmers and after preparing a blueprint approved the FPO (Farmer producer Organisation) in December 2022 on Nadru in order to take the benefits of the economy of scale. The FPO is supported by NABARD under the ‘Central Sector Scheme of formation of FPOs’.
The FPO has been registered as ‘Dal Lake Lotus Stem Farmers Producer Company Ltd’ under Companies Act. Within a short span of time, the FPO has mobilized a total number of 250 shareholders in the Dal lake area of Hazratbal. The FPO has also registered a company owned registered brand of Nadru involving marketing of hygienically procured and top graded Nadru (Lotus stem). The FPO having its office in Hazratbal area of Srinagar district is also in the process of expanding its business in the value addition/primary/secondary processing by establishing value addition units of Nadru in the area.
With the support of the Department of Agriculture-Kashmir, the FPO has been recently been able to export two consignments of Nadru to UAE fetching a very high price to the producers.
During his onsite visit to the interior areas of the Dal Lake, the Deputy Commissioner Srinagar held an interactive meeting with the Farmers and appreciated the business efforts of the FPO supported by NABARD. He stressed upon the FPO to carry out an economic analysis of their business activities for better profitability. The DC had also asked Officers of the line Departments to identify the avenues for increasing the marketability and value addition of agriculture produce of the farmers in the District. The DC explained that the FPO scheme is an institutional mechanism to reduce cost of production, increase per unit production and facilitate better market linkage so as to enhance the income of farmers. He said that in the upcoming time, the FPOs like that of Dal Lake Lotus Stem Farmers Producer Company Ltd’ will be promoted in the district to provide better backward and forward integration in the marketing of agriculture and horticulture produce.
Meanwhile, after Prime Minister mentioned about the initiative of Srinagar District regarding fiormation of FPO like that of Dal Lake Lotus Stem, the DC Srinagar, Mohammad Aijaz Asad thanked the Prime Minister through his Twitter handle with the words "Thankful to the Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji for mentioning our initiative in #MannKiBaat . The inspirational and encouraging words will spur entrepreneurship and innovation among the Lotus producing Farmers of the Dal Lake for sustainable Nadroo cultivation".