Skim Agri min visits Kahlon Farms in San Francisco.
Guwahati: Kahlon Farms, owned by Indian-American Raj Kahlon in Merced, near San Francisco, California, had a “never give up” message to the Sikkim farming community.
A delegation from the Sikkim Department of Agriculture, led by Agriculture Minister Lok Nath Sharma, visited Kahlon Farms in California on May7.
Rajesh N. Naik, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of India, San Francisco, California, also arrived in Merced with a delegation to visit the farm.
Kahlon started his journey in the early 1990’s when he migrated from Punjab and started farming with only 50 acres of leased land. Today, 30 years later, he owns RHM Farms, which have 10,000 acres of pistachio, almond and walnut farms. The pistachio crop is grown on about 7,000 acres.
During the discussion, Nike said that the demand for organic commodities is increasing in the United States and Sikkim, with its unique products, can find a suitable market. It was also reported that Sikkim sought to intervene and invest in the marketing of organic commodities in addition to health, education and tourism.
He said that crops grown in Sikkim such as turmeric and ginger have a huge market in the United States and farmers should produce such commodities for export to the United States.
Kahlon also hinted at the possibility of a student exchange program to learn about the cultivation and processing of pistachios, almonds, and walnuts from Sikkim, and said that he would do so after consulting Merced College, University of California, Merced. Will provide details.
Kahlon also agreed to implement ‘hothouse technology’ in Sikkim, a technology similar to the greenhouse technology where the temperature is artificially controlled for crop production, allowing year-round harvesting. Production can help.
He also suggested launching a ‘foreign’ horse breeding program for Sikkim’s international clients such as Austria, Spain and others.