Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar virtually launched the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP). Initially, the programme will be implemented in a pilot phase in 12 horticulture clusters out of the total 53 clusters selected for the programme.
- CDP will be implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW).
- Objective: To grow and develop identified horticulture clusters, and make them globally competitive.
Features of CDP:
i.CDP will benefit about 10 lakh farmers and related stakeholders of the value chain, improve exports of the targeted crops by ~ 20 percent, and attract an estimated investment of Rs 10,000 crore after being implemented in all the 53 clusters.
ii.CDP will address issues related to the Indian horticulture sector including pre-production, production, post-harvest management, logistics, marketing, and branding.
iii.It is designed to leverage geographical specialisation and promote integrated and market-led development of horticulture clusters.
About the pilot phase:
i.List of 12 clusters under the pilot phase
- Shopian (Jammu and Kashmir) and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) for Apple
- Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Kutch (Gujarat) and Mahbubnagar (Telangana) for Mango
- Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) and Theni (Tamil Nadu) for Banana
- Nasik (Maharashtra) for Grapes
- Siphahijala (Tripura) for Pineapple
- Solapur (Maharashtra) and Chitradurga (Karnataka) for Pomegranate
- West Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) for Turmeric.
ii.These 12 clusters will be implemented through Cluster Development Agencies (CDAs); they will be appointed on the recommendations of the respective State/UT Government.
Convergence of CDP with Govt Schemes:
i.CDP will be connected with other Government initiatives such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, which is a medium – long term financing facility for investment in projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.
ii.CDP will support the central sector scheme for the Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs).
Recent Related News:
MoA&FW has allocated INR 2250 Crore for the FY 2021-22 for ‘Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture’ (MIDH), a centrally sponsored scheme. It aims at developing the Horticulture sector in the FY 2021-22.
About Horticulture:
Horticulture is the branch of plant agriculture that deals with the development, sustainable production, marketing, and the use of high-value, intensively cultivated food and ornamental plants.
About National Horticulture Board (NHB):
Establishment – April 1984, by Government of India on the recommendations of M. S. Swaminathan committee
Headquarters – Gurugram, Haryana
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar (Morena, Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Parshottam Rupala (Rajya Sabha, Gujarat), Kailash Choudhary (Barmer, Rajasthan)
