Horticulture Cluster Development Programme

In News

• 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