Naga Pineapple: How to market the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s favourite?

Third edition of Nagaland Pineapple Festival gets underway at Agri Expo site in Dimapur Staff Reporter Dimapur, August 8 (EMN): As far as endorsements go, it really doesn’t get much better than this. The Rashtrapati Bhavan, synonymous with the nation’s highest constitutional authority, and the official residence of the president of India. If that alone is not enough, the next on the list is the home minister’s residence at 17 Akbar Road. The common denominator to these two offices of power, and overarching influence, is the humble Naga Pineapple. Recently, the Naga Pineapple – taken from the sun-dappled farmlands of Medziphema (and cultivated across the state) – found itself inside the halls of these two exceedingly influential offices, courtesy the governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya. Last month, during his trip to Delhi, the governor presented the Naga Pineapple to the country’s new president, Ram Nath Kovind, and Rajnath Singh, the home minister. Today, at the inaugural session of the Pineapple Fest at Agri Expo site in Dimapur, the governor shared that both the president and the home minister ‘loved and appreciated’ the taste of Naga Pineapple, especially its melt-in-the-mouth texture. [caption id="attachment_131498" align="alignleft" width="300"] Pineapples are displayed at a stall during the Pineapple festival at NE Agri Expo site in Dimapur, Nagaland on Tuesday, 08 August 2017. Photo by Caisii Mao[/caption] The president, described by the governor as a ‘good friend from our (BJP) party days’, instructed the ‘maalee’ (gardener) to plant the top of the Naga Pineapple inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens. He narrated the story to drive home the point that the Naga Pineapple, as loved as it is, belongs somewhere else – even beyond the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens. “Why haven’t we found a market for the Naga Pineapple”, Acharya wondered while speaking as the chief guest at the two-day event. He suggested that the norm for all ‘festivals and seminars’ in Nagaland was simply to ‘motivate and encourage’ while ‘any action is hardly done’. This year’s edition of the pineapple festival, he pointed out, was the third of such kind in Nagaland. The governor suggested setting up processing units based on Private-Public-Partnership model to create a market. “There are so many crorepatis in Nagaland. Get them involved”. Acharya also suggested forming a core-committee comprising 10 members, with him as the chairman. The committee would include the minister for Horticulture, department officials and 5 members from the pineapple farmers’ community. [caption id="attachment_131501" align="alignright" width="300"] PB Acharya, Governor of Nagaland alone with Kejong Chang, Minister for Horticulture,DB&GB and other official visits a pineapple stall during the Pineapple festival at NE Agri Expo site in Dimapur, Nagaland on Tuesday, 08 August 2017. Photo by Caisii Mao[/caption] Within 3 months, the committee would come up with recommendations concerning post-harvest intervention, especially on processing of the Naga Pineapple, according to the governor. The joint director of ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Nagaland Centre, Medziphema, Dr DJ Rajkhowa shared that even though the current rate of pineapple production in Nagaland was 6 tonnes per hectare, the state was still in need of ‘marketable surplus’ for commercial purpose. Currently, 3700 hectares of farmland are being used for pineapple cultivation in Nagaland, he informed. Rajkhowa suggested that jhum farming could be used as a means to enhance pineapple production in the state by encouraging farmers to cultivate pineapples in their jhum fields. Kejong Chang, the minister for Horticulture, DB and GB, was the guest of honour at the occasion. [caption id="attachment_131502" align="alignleft" width="300"] Make in India symbol is displayed during the Pineapple festival at NE Agri Expo site in Dimapur, Nagaland on Tuesday, 08 August 2017. Photo by Caisii Mao[/caption] Pineapple farmers from all the eleven districts of the state have set up stalls. The department of Horticulture is offering hands-on demonstration on how to prepare 10 ‘easy’ pineapple-themed items, including squash, ice-cream and solar-dried pineapple preserves. The festival has been organised on the theme ‘Naga Pineapple- Subsistence to Enterprise". Branding of the ‘Naga Pineapple’ was also conducted during the inaugural session.