Union Agriculture Minister announced a significant investment of ₹18,000 crore to establish 100 export-oriented horticulture clusters over the next five years.

Stance on Farmers Welfare

• PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): He highlighted the government’s commitment to direct financial assistance to farmers through this scheme.

About Horticulture Cluster

• It is a geographical concentration of targeted horticulture crops.
• These clusters allow specialization in production, postharvest management and provide growth opportunities. 
• India’s status: It is the second largest producer of horticulture crops. 
  • Major fruits: mango, banana, papaya, sapota, pomegranate, acid lime and aonla. 

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Benefits of Horticulture Cluster

Challenges of Horticulture Cluster

Indian Government Initiative for Horticulture

• The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
  • It is a centrally sponsored scheme. 
  • Initiated in 2014
  • This Initiative focuses on superior planting materials and cutting- edge irrigation systems. 
  • It has five schemes under it
    • 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), Nagaland
• Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP)
  • It is also a centrally sponsored scheme. 
  • Objective: It aims to develop horticulture clusters for increasing their competitiveness. 

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