Horticulture Cluster Development Programme

• 01 Dec 2022

For Prelims: Horticulture, Cluster Development Programme, Related Initiatives

For Mains: Horticulture Sector of India, Cluster Development Programme & Its Significance, Government’s Initiatives for Horticulture

Why in News?

Recently, a meeting was held by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

• Overall development of horticulture in the country would be focused with the help of the implementation of the CDP.
• Horticulture is the branch of plant agriculture dealing with garden crops, generally fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants.

What is the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme?

• About:
  • It is a central sector programme aimed at growing and developing identified horticulture clusters to make them globally competitive.
  • Horticulture cluster is a regional/geographical concentration of targeted horticulture crops.
• Implementation:
  • It is implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
  • The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand etc. will also be included in the list of 55 clusters, identified with their focus/main crops.
    • Earlier, in pilot phase, it was implemented in 12 clusters covering 11 States/UTs.
• Objectives:
  • The CDP aims to improve exports of targeted crops by about 20% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops.
  • To address all major issues related to the Indian horticulture sector including pre-production, production, post-harvest management, logistics, marketing and branding.
  • To leverage geographical specialisation and promote integrated and market-led development of horticulture clusters.
  • To converge with other initiatives of the Government such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
  • A lot of investment will also come in the horticulture sector through CDP.
• Significance:
  • Cluster Development Programme has a great potential to transform the entire horticulture ecosystem by creating last-mile connectivity with the use of multimodal transport for efficient and timely evacuation and transportation of horticulture produce.

What is the Status of the Horticulture Sector in India?

• Status:
  • India is the second-largest producer of horticulture crops globally.
    • India is a leader in producing fruits like Mango, Banana, Pomegranate, Sapota, Acid Lime and Aonla.
  • In 2021-22, Uttar Pradesh followed by Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal were the top states in horticulture production.
    • West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were the top States in vegetable production.
    • Maharashtra followed by Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were the top states in fruit production.
  • The area under horticulture crops increased to 27.74 million hectares in 2021-22, and produced around 341.63 million tonnes.
• Initiatives for Horticulture:
  • Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture:
    • MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables and other areas.
    • Under MIDH, Government of India contributes 60% of the total outlay for developmental programmes in all the states (except North Eastern and Himalayan states where GOI contributes 90%) & 40% is contributed by State governments.
    • It has five major schemes on horticulture:
      • National Horticulture Mission (NHM)
      • Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH)
      • National Horticulture Board (NHB)
      • Coconut Development Board (CDB) &
      • Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH), Nagalan

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Assess the role of National Horticulture Mission (NHM) in boosting the production, productivity and income of horticulture farms. How far has it succeeded in increasing the income of farmers? (2018)

Source: PIB