After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat, it is now time for Aam ki Baat.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat, it is now time for Aam ki Baat. Aam ki Baat, strictly speaking has nothing to do with the “aam aadmi” or the Aam Aadmi Party, but concerns itself mainly with mango (aam) and its growers.
The Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) in Uttar Pradesh’s mango belt in Rehman Khera, on the outskirts of Lucknow, is planning a community radio programme that will provide information mainly to mango growers and also for subjects like vegetables and other fruits.
A proposal for setting up the community radio has been sent to the ministry of information and broadcasting and a response is awaited. This, in fact, will be the first time that a Central institute will set up its own community radio to reach the target group.
The duration of the programmes on the community radio and the scheduling is still being discussed and will be finalised as soon as the permission gets through.
CISH director Dr S. Rajan said that, at present, the institute provides relevant information to farmers through newspapers and its website.
The entire mango belt around Lucknow has a thick concentration of mango trees, with the delicious and some outsized fruits hanging down, almost touching the ground.
It is not unusual for the residents of Lucknow to drive down to the mango groves in summer and pick and eat the fruits from the orchards — large quantities can be purchased at the spot.
Mango growers live in their orchards once the fruit begins to ripen and the radio is their only companion under the shade of trees during the day and also in the night.
“A community radio will have a great impact because dissemination of information to local mango growers would be much faster,” he said.
We also hold seminars and conferences from time to time to educate mango growers. We propose to have a 10-kilometre range of the community radio in which we can give information about new techniques, kind of pesticides needed to keep mango crop free from pests, harvesting techniques, packaging and even trading,” he said.
CISH is also negotiating with a mobile service provider so that it can send bulk SMSs to mango growers when there is some urgent information to be given.
