Context:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) supports India’s Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme (CPP).
Clean Plant Programme:
- Approved under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH).
- Objective: Provide farmers access to virus-free, high-quality planting material, leading to increased crop yields.
- Key Components
- Clean Plant Centers (CPCs): Establishment of nine world-class state-of-the-art CPCs equipped with advanced diagnostic therapeutics and tissue culture labs.
- Certification Framework: Supported by a regulatory framework under the Seeds Act 1966.
- Support for Nurseries: Development of infrastructure for large-scale nurseries.
- Implementing Agencies – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare through the National Horticulture Board (NHB) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- Timeline – Implemented from 2024 to 2030 with 50% assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
India’s Horticulture Sector:
- Horticulture is the branch of agriculture focused on growing plants for human use, including food, medicinal, and aesthetic purposes.
- It involves the cultivation and sale of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and ornamental plants.
- Key Areas of Horticulture –
- Pomology: Focuses on fruit and nut crops.
- Olericulture: Concerned with vegetable production.
- Arboriculture: The care of individual trees and shrubs.
- Ornamental Horticulture: Divided into floriculture (flowers) and landscape horticulture (beautification of outdoor spaces)
- Significance of the Horticulture Sector in India –
- Economic Impact: Contributes around 30% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while using only 13% of the gross cropped area.
- Production: India is the 2nd-largest producer of fruits and vegetables globally, after China2.
- Productivity Growth: Productivity has increased significantly, with horticulture production surpassing food grain production in recent years.
- Government Initiatives and Programs –
- Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH): Aims at the holistic growth of the horticulture sector.
- National Horticulture Mission (NHM): Focuses on the development of horticulture through a cluster approach.
- Horticulture Cluster Development Programme: Enhances forward and backward linkages in the horticulture value chain
Source: PIB
Previous Year Question
With reference to ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’, consider the following statements:
1. Under this scheme, farmers will have to pay a uniform premium of two percent for any crop they cultivate in any season of the year.
2. This scheme covers post-harvest losses arising out of cyclones and unseasonal rains.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2016 Prelims]
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is not correct: The premium rate for Kharif Crops is 2%, for Rabi Crops it is 1.5% and for annual commercial and horticulture crops it is 5%.