The Hindu : National : 50 p.c. subsidy sought for horticulture mission

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 13, 2004

National

National

50 p.c. subsidy sought for horticulture mission

By Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI, NOV. 12. The Union Agriculture Ministry has sought 50 per cent subsidy for the proposed Rs. 15,725-crore National Horticulture Mission, which is to encourage farmers to diversify and upgrade technology for post-harvest management. The proposal is under consideration of the Planning Commission and, according to highly-placed sources, the Commission has asked the Ministry to rework the subsidy component.

The Mission plans to plug the eight to 37 per cent of wastage of horticulture produce including fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, coconut, cocoa and medicinal plants. Only 0.8 per cent of the produce is processed for lack of inadequate storage, processing and marketing. There is almost no institutional support to the northeast and other hilly regions. The proposal is to create facilities to process 10 per cent of the horticulture production.

Zones identified

The Ministry has identified 48 zones for horticulture products where facilities for handling and storage would be created. It now promises to bring 40 lakh hectares under new area coverage and rejuvenate two lakh hectares and generate about 497 crore man days of employment. The proposal is to double horticulture production to 300 million tonnes and optimise agro-climatic diversity during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

The key issues that the Ministry plans to tackle are low productivity, poor quality of seeds, lack of irrigation, lack of economy of scale for cultivators, inadequate research, extension and credit support.

The Ministry proposes to go in a big way for micro irrigation, research and extension, strengthen delivery mechanism for seeds, organic farming, planting material, nutrients and pesticides. In a project-based approach it plans to go in for hi-tech horticulture and precision farming.

The proposal is to establish a supply chain of cultivation, sorting/grading packaging, storage, transportation, processing and marketing and provide for collection centres and transportation to local markets. It also seeks to set up a network of cold chain storages in the cooperative, private and public sectors.

The Ministry's proposal seeks a 263.2 per cent increase in the budgetary allocation from Rs. 5,974 crores in the Tenth Plan to Rs. 15,725 crores in the Eleventh Plan.

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