India’s horticulture sector has emerged as a potential agriculture enterprise. India is the world’s second-largest producer of horticulture crops and is accelerating growth with high potential. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India, has brought up the Cluster Development Programme (CDP) for the horticulture sector, enhancing competitiveness in the global market.
CPD is implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) to bring growth and development to the identified horticulture clusters. Horticulture is the part of plant agriculture that deals with garden crops, vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants.
Objectives
• CDP aims at creating cluster-specific brands to improve the competitiveness of cluster crops.
• To improve the export of targeted crops.
• To increase the adoption of good agricultural practices, which will lead to a reduction in the cost of production and better quality of products.
• To increase the production and promotion of a new variety of crops.
• It also aims to develop proper infrastructure to improve storage quality and reduce post-harvest losses.
• To strengthen the integrated and market-led development of horticulture clusters.
• To result in produce’s efficient evacuation, CDP aims to develop and adopt multimodal transport systems.
• Increasing private sector participation in the market to bring investment.
Initiatives taken for Horticulture
• National Horticulture Mission (NHM): It launched under the 10th five-year plan. It is an Indian Horticulture Scheme that the Government of India promotes. It aims at enhancing horticulture production, improving nutritional security and providing income support to farm households. It also aims at promoting, developing and disseminating scientific technology.
• Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalaya States (HMNEH): This mission was established to address the issues related to the production and productivity, post-harvest handling, marketing and processing of horticultural crops in the North Eastern states. This mission consists of four mini-missions to enhance horticulture crop development.
• National Horticulture Board (NHB): It is an Autonomous organization under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare set up by the Indian Government in 1984. It was brought up to develop hi-tech commercial horticulture in identified belts, develop post-harvest management infrastructure, popularise identified new technologies, promote fresh horticulture produce and so on.
• Coconut Development Board (CDB): A statutory body established by the Government of India, CDB functions for the integrated development of coconut production and utilization in the country. It works for the adoption of measures for the development of the coconut industry, providing technical advice to those engaged in it, providing financial support, encouraging the adoption of modern technology, fixing standards for coconut and its production, collecting statistics on production and undertaking publicity activities.
• Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH), Nagaland: CIH was established by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in 2005-06. The institution is putting efforts into the exponential development of the horticulture sector.
