Chandigarh, Jul 8 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that the state government is constantly working to expand the horticulture sector.
The government has set an aim to double the horticultural area to 22 lakh acres by 2030, from the current 7 percent of total cultivated land, and triple the production by then.
For this, subsidies are offered to farmers under various schemes. In the financial year 2022-23, a subsidy of Rs 166.20 crore was distributed to 25,000 beneficiaries under various horticulture schemes, said Khattar while interacting with progressive farmers producing vegetables and fruits through audio conferencing held here Saturday evening.
The Chief Minister said that there are many similarities between the climate and land of Israel and Haryana.
"The technology there is most useful to us. That's why we are adopting Israeli technology in the field of fruit, vegetable and flower cultivation and beekeeping in the state," he added.
“14 Centres of Excellence have been set up in the state to promote horticulture using the latest technologies. It is proposed to set up three new Centres of Excellence in the state in the year 2023-24, which includes centre of excellence for post-harvest management in Panchkula, Pingawan, Nuh for onion, and Munimpur, Jhajjar for flowers," he said.
During the interaction, progressive farmers hailed several type of new initiatives that the Manohar Lal-led state government has initiated for them, said an official statement. In addition to the reduction in the cost of agriculture, these initiatives have ensured that their produce has maximum access to the market, they said.
The government has provided significant aid to farmers by launching innovative schemes such as the Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana, said the farmers. According to the statement, during the interaction, a farmer raised a complaint before the Chief Minister that Horticulture Officer Shyam Singh of Ferozepur Jhirka block of Nuh had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs.7000 from him for giving the "Bhavantar" compensation scheme benefit.
Taking immediate strict cognizance of this, Khattar later issued immediate suspension orders of the officer.
In another case, an explanation letter was issued to a horticulture Development Officer (HDO) for being clueless about the scheme run by his department.
Khattar stated that farming and farmers are the focus of the Haryana government's policies.
“We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the farmers while adopting 'Beej se Bazar Tak' approach. It is our goal to assist farmers at every stage of the farming process. All facilities should be made available to farmers from the time the crops are sown and sold in the market. The state government is constantly taking steps in this regard," he added.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the farmers to move towards organic and natural farming and minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
He said that Haryana has already formulated Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana for the benefit of farmers in case of damage to horticulture crops due to natural calamities.
Khattar said that in order to promote the cultivation of fruits and vegetables and to encourage bee keeping, the government is giving numerous subsidies and facilities.
The Chief Minister said that under the Crop Cluster Development Programme, 393 horticulture crop clusters have been identified in 1763 villages.
"One FPO is being formed in each cluster with 300 farmer members. In addition, an integrated pack house is also being set up in each cluster for supply chain, marketing of horticulture produce and to link farmers directly to the market," he said.
Khattar said that to promote horticulture, the state government has implemented Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana for vegetables and fruits.
"Due to this, farmers have been freed from risk at the time of fall in the prices of fruits and vegetables in the market. In this, protected prices have been fixed for 21 horticulture crops. Under this scheme, an amount of more than Rs 23 crore has been distributed to 9,485 farmers so far," he said.