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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Horticulture mission raises hopes of farmers by Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan

Horticulture mission raises hopes of farmers by Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan

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published Published on Feb 22, 2010   modified Modified on Feb 22, 2010

Central scheme boosts crop yields significantly, but suffers as NREGA’s success eats into the available workforce

S. Mallika, 27, is expecting a windfall this year. The farmer from Kurumpatti village in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district owns a 5 acre tract, which has been yielding an annual income of Rs50,000 for her family—until now.

This year, Mallika is confident her earning would be six times more—Rs3 lakh—and that too from just 1,000 sq. m. Ask her how, and she credits it to the National Horticulture Mission (NHM), a Central government scheme to to help farmers use advanced horticultural techniques to boost their yields. “My father told me about this,” said Mallika. “The country is progressing. Even daily wage labourers use cellphones these days. I thought why should we stay behind?”

Under the scheme, the government offers subsidies and other assistance to farmers to set up small nurseries and gardens, where they can grow fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers, aromatic plants and other crops in controlled environments.

One of its initiatives is providing a 50% subsidy to farmers to take up polyhouse farming. Farmers construct a metal structure covered with sheets of polythene, which allows them to control temperature and the moisture inside and enables higher yields throughout the year.

Mallika constructed her greenhouse, or polyhouse, at a cost of Rs6.5 lakh, half of which came as a government subsidy and the other half as a loan for a seven-year period. With her extra income, she hopes to build another polyhouse soon.

As more and more farmers such as Mallika show a willingness to adopt modern techniques, nearly 2,500ha have been brought under the NHM in Krishnagiri this fiscal year at a cost of Rs5.26 crore. Even though this is just about half the targeted 4,831ha for the year, it has made Krishnagiri the most successful NHM district in Tamil Nadu. State agricultural officials said they would cover the rest of the area before the end of March.

NHM, launched in 2005-06, also includes rehabilitation of existing tissue culture units, vegetable seed production, building seed infrastructure for handling, storing and packaging of seeds, rejuvenation of unproductive plantations and setting up of water sources.

Besides the subsidy, farmers can avail both pre- and post-harvesting assistance through nationalized banks and financial institutions such as National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Small Industries Development Bank of India and IDBI Bank Ltd.

Of the Rs1,100 crore earmarked for the scheme in 2009-10, Tamil Nadu’s share is Rs 96 crore. The Centre will contribute 85% of the outlay, while the states will contribute the rest.


Live Mint, 21 February, 2010, http://www.livemint.com/2010/02/21215452/Horticulture-mission-raises-ho.html
 

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