PUNE : If things go well, then Sikkim, the Himalayan mountain state strategically located along the border with China, could get foreign investment in its floriculture industry. The state government is in talks with the Orchid Growers’ Society of Thailand to sign an MoU, under which training will be imparted for various aspects of the floriculture industry, ranging from plant material supply to the marketing of the produce. Although Sikkim has been trying to promote its floriculture industry, there was no major progress. Despite being declared the Agri Export Zone for orchids in 2002, the state sent a meagre 1,000 cut flowers to test markets in the Netherlands, last year. It expects to export one lakh cut flowers by March 2008, focusing on Dubai, which is the nearest market. With 80% literacy, coupled with an unemployment rate that is higher than the national average, the state thinks that floriculture could be the panacea for solving its socio-economic problems. “Because of the h...
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