The government is bringing a big gift for the apple farmers of Himachal Pradesh. The government is preparing a Rs 500 crore project to revive apple horticulture in Himachal Pradesh. State Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who was presiding over the review meeting to evaluate the work progress of different schemes implemented by the Horticulture Department, said that the project will be implemented for 5 years.
It will be based on increasing high density tree plantation to increase the income of farmers and improve the rural economy. In the statement issued by him, he said that the government is preparing a plan to set up modern cold storage facilities at the district level.
This will provide much needed help to the gardeners i.e. farmers involved in orchard farming. Pointing out the importance of diversification in horticulture, the Chief Minister said that there is a need to develop crop storage and marketing system to ensure fair prices to farmers and horticulturists.
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Emphasis on giving priority to DBT
Sukhu has given instructions to give priority to DBT i.e. Direct Benefit Transfer under market mediation to provide maximum benefits to the farmers and gardeners. The achievements of different horticulture schemes of the state were reviewed by him during the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Under the Horticulture Development Scheme, Rs 12.84 crore was spent on power tillers and sprayers, which benefited 4,244 gardeners. Rs 9 crore has been spent so far in the current financial year, which has benefited 3,156 gardeners.
Himachal Pushp Kranti Yojana
Similarly, Rs 14.45 crore was spent on the anti-hail net scheme last year, benefiting 1,767 people, while Rs 10.3 crore was spent so far this financial year, benefiting 1,223 people. Apart from this, Rs 11 crore was spent in 2023-24 under Himachal Pushp Kranti Yojana, which will benefit 750 people.
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