Pakistan kinnows on tree

The Haryana state horticulture department is to extend its crop insurance scheme to cover kinnow producers in an effort to stimulate its cultivation in the region.

A spokesperson for the department told Punjab News the insurance scheme already covered 60ha of kinnow orchards.

Under the scheme remuneration would be offered to participants in the event crops were damaged by weather related events such as storms, heavy rainfall and temperature extremes.

Those insured under the scheme would be charged a 50 per cent premium on claims while the central and state governments would make up the balance.

Kinnow is grown on some 8,000ha of land in the state and generates around Rs14bn (US$270m) for growers in the region. It is one of the most widely produced crops there and is exported to countries such as the UK, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the Punjab News reported.