Bagnan roses may soon sell in Italian stalls

KOLKATA: The state government is keen on exporting roses to Italy and other European countries and is in talks with an Italian trade organization that could visit Kolkata next month.
Agriculture and marketing minister Arup Roy said, "We are trying to market the flowers grown in Bengal in the international market. We have made a beginning with Italy. A trade organization there wants to import roses from our state."
He expects roses from Bagnan in Howrah to be in Italian markets by the end of this year.Bagnan is among the two areas in the state where roses are produced in bulk. The Italian team will visit this region to train flower growers on the latest agricultural techniques. Last Sunday, Roy had met flower growers in Bagnan.
"The flowers must be produced according to specifications of the country that wants to import. The Italian team will tell us the colour of roses they want and the exact size. Even the stem and petals have to be according to the guidelines," said a senior agriculture and marketing department official.
The production and packaging will come from the Italian team which will also help export the roses to other countries in Europe. They will not only give the specifications but also train farmers on the exact kind and amount of manure and other technical aspects.
The minister said Italy wants to buy roses from Bengal for four months at a stretch. He said the flower growers of Bagnan were living in abject poverty and badly need modern training.
The agriculture and marketing department is preparing a report on these flower growers. According to the report, despite huge potential, Bengal's flower power has remained untapped. Those involved in flower farming are now trying to diversify in other agricultural produce. Some are even switching profession in search of a more stable source of livelihood.
But some have stuck to the traditional trade, fighting the odds. There are hundreds of flower farmers in vast areas across Bagnan. Areas like Katapukur, Nobasan, and Orfuli would have more than two thousand families that depend on flower farming. Apart from roses, they grow chrysanthemum, China rose and marigold, which could be sold outside the country.
The state's biggest producer of flowers is Panskura in West Midnapore followed by Bagnan. But no flower bazaar was set up to market the huge produce either in Howrah or West Midnapore. No preservatory or storage arrangement was thought of. The erstwhile Left Front government had created a lot of hype over the Mallikghat flower market. But that was only addressing a minuscule part of the problem.