Bhubaneswar: The Banana cultivation is one of the best cash crop in the horticulture activities for Western Odisha, Asit Tripathy, Chairman of WODC and Principal Advisor to Chief Minister said while addressing a gathering of women SHG at Sambalpur. The climate, soil condition and overall scenario are conducive for Banana farming. He stressed on farmers to switch-up to horticultural activities in order to generate more income out of cultivation. It gives better returns in compassion to traditional paddy cultivation.

Diversification of crop is the need of the time, he added. Now Sambalpur University is promoting the tissue culture of Banana in Western Odisha. Today Tripathy inaugurated a BananaTissue culture facility in Jyoti Vihar, under the Department of Biotechnology and Bio-informatics which is being supported by the NABARD. In the first phase around 50000 Banana tissues of G-9 variety has been planned to grow which will be enhanced subsequently. It is noteworthy to mention that State like Gujarat and Maharashtra have registered good result in farming Banana using this tissue culture. Hence farmers must become Progressive and come forward for banana and other fruit bearing crop cultivation, he suggested.

He also launched a Hand Book on Banana Tissue Culture on this occasion and distributed G-9 Banana Tissue Seedlings to Women SHG farmers. The event was attended by Prof. B. B. Mishra, Vice Chancellor, Jyoti Vihar, Ananya Das, Collector, Sambalpur, G. Udayabhaskar, CGM, NABARD, Dr.Ajit Mishra, CEO, Sunil

Nayak, Technical Consultant, WODC, Jagyaseni Nag, Expert Member, WODC, Dr. Nruparaj Sahu, Register & other senior officials of Sambalpur University.