Horticulture boosting states' economy.

Himachal Pradesh is famous for its sumptuous and delicious fruits all over the country and abroad. Fruit production is one of the major occupations of the people of the state and fruit crop is the main source of livelihood for the farmers. All these aspects make horticulture a significant sector for the farmers and state government as well.

Horticulture boosting State economy:
At present, 2.30 lakh hectare area is under horticulture. Fruit production has been increased to 10.38 lakh MT in 2019. Horticulture's contribution to the State's annual income is approximately Rs. 3000 to Rs. 5000 crore and about 9 lakh people are involved in horticulture activities for their livelihood. More than 30.37 lakh fruit plants have been distributed among farmers of the State and the approximately 8446.93-hectare additional area was brought under horticulture in the state during the present government.

Integrated Development of the Horticulture:
An area of 83,677 sq. m. has been covered under greenhouse and 9,44,215 sq. m. the area has been covered under Anti-Hail Nets under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in the State. To promote the mechanization of horticulture activities, the subsidy has been provided for 3,049 power-operated equipment and construction of 198 water collection tanks for the benefits of farmers in the state during the present government.
To combat the incidence of pests/diseases in fruit crops, 349.90 MT pesticides involving Rs. 5.21 crore subsidy has been supplied to the farmers of State.

          371 procurement center opened:

To ensure remunerative prices of produce to growers, 371 Procurement centers were opened for apple, mango and citrus fruits and 27,348.91 MT fruit worth Rs.2064.74 lakh has been bought from farmers under Market Intervention Scheme and 1,33,333 plastic crates were also procured to distribute among the farmers for categorization and marketing of fruits during the present government.

 Rs 3.50 crore Approved under Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY),
Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), Rs. 3.50 crore has been approved for the various developmental activities in the horticulture sector during the present government. To promote the mechanization of horticulture activities, 196 machines operated Knapsack Sprayers and 1500 manually operated horticulture machines have been provided to the farmers under this program.

1 61 524 covered under RWBCIS:
A total 1,61,524 farmers have been covered under the Restructured-Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) implemented during the year 2017-18. This scheme is being implemented in 110 Blocks for Apple, Mango, Citrus, Plum and Peach. As many as 70,104 horticulturists of affected areas were provided the insurance amount of Rs. 49.94 crore out of which Rs. 18.89 crore were given by the State government.

Training Seminars being conducted for horticulturists
As many as 90,734 horticulturists were given training through personal contact, training camps, seminars and training tours. Under the project, 58 officers have been trained outside the State to upgrade their knowledge in the field of horticulture. Besides this, international experts from New Zealand also imparted training to 320 horticulture officers and 501 farmers in the State during the present government.

          7 68 774 registered under M Kisan:

  

State Government has launched m-Kisan program for the benefit of the farming community of the State and so far 7,68,774 farmers have been registered under this scheme during the present government to solve their farming problems being encountered for the production of the healthy fruit crop.

Besides this, Asian Development Bank aided Rs. 1688 Crore project for the development of Subtropical Fruits has been proposed for implementation in the State. These efforts certainly will go a long way in boosting the horticulture activities throughout the State and also help in doubling the income of the farmers in the State.

courtesy: CMO Himachal http://www.cmohimachal.com/2019/09/horticulture-boosting-states-economy.html