Lok Sabha Question No. 141 (STARRED), answered on 2016-03-08
Subject: Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: MURALI MOHAN MAGANTI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 141

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8 TH  MARCH, 2016

## MISSION FOR INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF HORTICULTURE

## *141.      SHRI M. MURALI MOHAN:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण ½ãâ¨ããè be pleased to state:

- (a) the  salient  features  of  the  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture (MIDH) along with the facilities provided under the scheme;
- (b) the criteria laid down to include district/development block and the total number of districts/development blocks covered under the Mission, State-wise;
- (c) whether  in  the  wake  of  climate  change,  any  step  has  been  taken  to  innovate, diversify  and  grow  fruits,    vegetables,  flowers  and  other  horticulture  crops  in  the  nontraditional areas in the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the achievements made thereunder; and
- (e) the other steps taken to promote Horticulture in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ षि एवं ककसान कल्याण ½ãâ¨ããè

(SHRI RADHA MOHAN SINGH)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 141 DUE FOR REPLY ON 8 TH  MARCH, 2016.

- (a): This Ministry has been implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme - Mission for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH)  w.e.f.  2014-15  for  the  holistic development of horticulture sector in the country covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. Mission subsumes National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for  North  East  &  Himalayan  States  (HMNEH),  National  Bamboo  Mission  (NBM), National  Horticulture  Board  (NHB),  Coconut  Development  Board  (CDB)  and  Central Institute  for  Horticulture  (CIH)  Nagaland.  All  States  including  Himalayan  states  and Union Territories (UTs) are covered under MIDH.

The Mission envisages  production and productivity improvement of horticulture crops  including  fruits  and  vegetables  through  various  interventions.  Activities  such  as production  of  planting  material,  vegetable  seed  production,  coverage  of  area  with improved  cultivars,  protected  cultivation,  creation  of  water  resources,  adoption  of Integrated  Pest  Management  (IPM),  Integrated  Nutrient  Management  (INM),  organic farming, including insitu generation of organic inputs are taken up for development of fruits  and  vegetables.  Capacity  buildings  of  farmers  and  technologies  are  also  an integral part of MIDH for adopting improved technologies. The Scheme also envisages creation of infrastructure for post harvest management (like pack houses, cold storage units, pre-cooling units and refrigerated vans) and marketing for better price realization of produce.

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(b): For  inclusion  of  districts,  NHM  envisages  a  cluster  approach  for  development  of horticultural crops, in accordance with their comparative advantage based on agro climatic conditions, potential for development and marketing opportunities. A total of three hundred and  eighty  four  (384)  districts  under  National  Horticulture  Mission  are  covered  in  23 States/UTs. All the districts of NorthEastern and three Himalayan States namely Arunachal  Pradesh,  Assam,  Manipur,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Meghalaya,  Sikkim,  Tripura, Himachal  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand  and  Jammu  &  Kashmir  are  covered  under  HMNEH scheme. State-wise number of districts covered under NHM is at Annexure-A

(c) & (d): In order to face the challenges in the wake of climate change, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has taken steps to mitigate the effect of climate change on crops  and  has  implemented  a  project  viz.,  National  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). The major objectives of NICRA are as under:

- (i)  To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture covering crops, livestock and fisheries to  climatic  variability  and  climate  change  through  development  and  application  of improved production and risk management technologies.
- (ii)  To  demonstrate site specific technology packages on farmers' fields for adapting to current climate risks.
- (iii)  To  enhance  the  capacity  of  scientists  and  other  stakeholders  in  climate  resilient agricultural research and its application.

The major achievements of the NICRA are as under:

- (i)  Selection of promising crop genotypes and livestock breeds with greater tolerance to climatic stress.

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- (ii)    Best  practices  for  climate  resilience  have  been  demonstrated  in  100  vulnerable districts.
- (iii)   Infrastructure  at  key  research  institutes  for  climatic  change  research  strengthened. Adequately  trained  scientific  man  power  to  take  up  climate  change  research  in  the country and empowered farmers to cope up with climate variability.

National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture  (NMSA),  which  is  one  of  the  eight mission  under  the  National  Action  Plan  on  climate  change,  aims  at  making  agriculture more  productive,  sustainable,  remunerative  and  climate  resilient  by  promoting  location specific integrated farming system, soil and moisture conservation measures, comprehensive  soil  health  management,  efficient  water  management  practices  and mainstreaming  rainfed  technologies.  Under  NMSA,  seventy  two  (72)  climate  resilient varieties of crops have been identified/released in 2015-16. Rainfed Area Development (RAD),  a  component  under  NMSA  aims  at  promoting  Integrated  Farming  System  for enhancing livelihood opportunities and to mitigate the impacts of drought, flood or other weather extreme events.

- (e):    Under MIDH, following steps have been taken to promote Horticulture in the country:
-  Production and supply of quality planting material continue to be a high priority area for horticulture development during XII Plan.  In this context, special emphasis is being laid for  establishment  of  Hi-tech  nurseries  having  provision  for  mother  /scion  blocks  of improved  varieties,  good  quality  rootstock  banks  and  hi-tech  green  house.    Besides, planting material is channelized through accredited nurseries. National Horticulture Board and Central Institute for Horticulture (CIH) Nagaland have taken up the task of accrediting the nurseries.

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-  Establishment of crop based Centres of Excellence encouraged in each state to serve as a hub for supply of planting material and dissemination of technology to farmers.
-  Horticulture is emerging as a prospective sector for replacing tobacco cultivation.  High priority is given for promoting remunerative horticulture crops for weaning away tobacco cultivation.
-  Area  expansion  programme  has  been  linked  to  availability  of  quality  planting  material through accredited nurseries and tissue culture units.  Importance is given for covering more area under vegetable hybrids and export oriented varieties of ginger, turmeric & chillies.  High  density  planting  and  tree  canopy  management  of  orchards,  right  from establishment  stage,  is  given  focus  to  derive  better  yield.    Besides,  an  integrated approach is being encouraged for taking up drip irrigation / mulching and other support systems required for cultivation of fruit and plantation crops.
-  Rejuvenation of old and unproductive orchards continue to be a focus area for enhancing productivity, profitability and sustainability.
-  Major thrust is on protected cultivation, particularly of high value crops, in green house, shade net house, plastic mulching etc.
-  Creation of infrastructure for post harvest managements and value addition also continue with focus on creating cold chain networks.
-  Setting  up  of  markets  infrastructure  has  been  linked  with  reforms  in  APMC  Act,  for permitting direct marketing of horticulture produce.

-  Mobilization  of  farmers  into  producer  groups/organizations  is  another  priority  area aimed at strengthening their negotiating power, besides functioning as viable farmer groups involved in production and marketing of horticulture produce.
-  Human resource development is being given thrust for capacity building of farmers, horticulture entrepreneurs / supervisors and field functionaries.
-  Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), states are given fund for development of horticulture. States may utilize this fund to develop horticulture in the non-MIDH districts/development blocks also.

## Annexure-A

## Statement showing State wise Districts covered under National Horticulture Mission under MIDH

| Sl. No.   | Name of States/UTs   | No. of Districts   |
|-----------|----------------------|--------------------|
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar    | Two (2)            |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh       | Eleven (11)        |
| 3         | Bihar                | Twenty Three (23)  |
| 4         | Chhattisgarh         | Nineteen (19)      |
| 5         | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | One (1)            |
| 6         | Delhi                | One (1)            |
| 7         | Goa                  | Two (2)            |
| 8         | Gujarat              | Fifteen (15)       |
| 9         | Haryana              | Eighteen (18)      |
| 10        | Jharkhand            | Seventeen (17)     |
| 11        | Karnataka            | Thirty (30)        |
| 12        | Kerala               | Fourteen (14)      |
| 13        | Lakshadweep          | One (1)            |
| 14        | Maharashtra          | Thirty Three (33)  |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh       | Thirty Nine (39)   |
| 16        | Odisha               | Twenty Four (24)   |
| 17        | Punjab               | Eighteen (18)      |
| 18        | Puducherry           | Four (4)           |
| 19        | Rajasthan            | Twenty Four (24)   |
| 20        | Tamil Nadu           | Twenty (20)        |
| 21        | Telengana            | Nine (9)           |
| 22        | Uttar Pradesh        | Forty Five (45)    |
| 23        | West Bengal          | Fourteen (14)      |
| Total     |                      | 384                |

Note: Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH): All the districts  of  North-Eastern  and  three  Himalayan  States  namely  Arunachal  Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir are covered under HMNEH scheme.

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