In an effort to make Indian produce more competitive on the global market and increase farmer income, the Centre has granted permission to 5 private enterprises to conduct cluster farming of specified horticulture crops in a test area of 50,000 hectares. Five businesses were chosen for the prototype cluster farming programme through a bidding process: Desai Agrifoods, FIL Industries, Sahyadri Farms, the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency, and Prasad Seeds. The Centre would offer financial help up to Rs 100 crore depending on the scale of the project under the recently adopted federal programme Cluster Development Plan (CDP), which is carried out by the National Horticulture Board with an outlay of Rs 2,200 crore.
According to Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, who was speaking with PTI, the cluster-based approach has achieved amazing success all over the world. For the first time, the government of India is encouraging market-led growth of the entire value chain of specific horticulture crops by offering financial assistance. These five companies operate across an area of over 50,000 hectares and provide services to nearly 55,000 farmers. Around 750 crore rupees have been invested in these clusters.
Mango, apple, grapes, turmeric, and banana are the primary crops on which these businesses will concentrate. The project will be finished and operationalized within a 4-year time frame. 55 distinct clusters, each with their own unique crop, have been designated by the government for development across the country. In a pilot project, there will be 12 clusters with seven focused crops.
For mini-clusters of more than 5,000 hectares, mid-clusters of between 5,000 and 10,000 hectares, and mega-clusters of more than 15,000 hectares, financial support of up to Rs 25 crore, up to Rs 50 crore, and up to Rs 100 crore, respectively, will be provided under the CDP.
DCP’s primary goal is to make it simple for farmers to get clean, high-quality planting material. The availability of these planting supplies will improve farm-level produce quality and enable farmers to profit from exporting their harvests. The convergence of crop production with global standards will make this practicable.
