Horticulture Cluster Development Programme

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    • Recently, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has prepared the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

    About 

    • Nodal Agency: The National Horticulture Board (NHB)
    • Aim: 
      • To improve exports of targeted crops by about 20% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops. 
    • Objectives: 
      • To promote the Agriculture sector in the country and 
      • to increase the income of the farmers by giving them a reasonable price for their produce.
    • Key Features:
      • CDP will support integrated interventions to enhance the competitiveness of targeted clusters.
      • The interventions have been classified into the following three verticals: 
        • Pre-production and Production
        • Post-harvest Management and Value Addition
        • Logistics, Marketing and Branding
      • MoA&FW has identified 55 horticulture clusters.
      • The geographical specialization of horticulture clusters will be leveraged.
      • It will promote integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities.
    • Implementation Framework:
      • NHB shall provide financial assistance and supervise the overall implementation of the programme.
      • A government/public sector entity, recommended by state/central government, shall be appointed as a Cluster Development Agency (CDA) for each identified cluster for the implementation of CDP. 
      • CDA will establish a Cluster Development Cell (CDC) with a dedicated team of officers within the CDA for smooth implementation of the programme. 
    • Significance:
      • The CDP will benefit around 10 lakh farmers and related stakeholders along the value chain.
      • The interest of the farmers should be paramount in the center of any programme/scheme.
      • The overall development of horticulture in the country would be focused with the help of the implementation of this Programme.
    • Way Ahead:
      • Emphasizing crop diversification and linking this ambitious programme with the market for produce sale and capacity building.
      • There is a need for geo-tagging of infrastructure for benefitting small and marginal farmers, tracking of activities implemented in the fields, monitoring purpose, etc.

    Source: PIB

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