At a time when an estimated 600 debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide, shifting to horticultural crops is seen as a viable option by many.
The Integrated Horticulture Development (PPP-IHD) project launched by the government recently, which works on a public-private partnership model, is expected to help farmers who make the shift.
The project, according to Rajiv Chawla, secretary to the Horticulture Department, is aimed at improving the livelihood of these farmers by linking them to the private corporate sector with the support of the State government.
“The project helps in improving productivity, post-harvest management and value chains of major horticultural crops, besides improving the socio-economic status of farmers,” claimed Mr. Chawla.
Horticulture being a sunrise sector in Karnataka has achieved progress in the last one decade, where the area under horticultural crops has increased from 16.31-lakh hectares to 20.05-lakh hectares and production from 97.31-lakh tonnes to 169.4-lakh tonnes, according to figures made available by the department.
The PPP-IHD project would empower a group of horticulture farmers from seed to produce.
“Support will be extended in the form of good seed, fertilizers and pesticides. On the output side, farmers would get support in sorting, grading, cooling, and packaging, besides value addition to the produce,” Mr. Chawla said.
A private company or group of companies would be encouraged to provide all inputs and to buy outputs from the group of farmers under the project.
The State government would provide subsidy support as per the norms of department schemes, under various input components required as per the Detailed Project Report submitted by the company.
The project provides an opportunity for a qualified private company or a group of companies to come up with integrated horticultural projects across the State.
Cluster approach
The project would address the issue of farmers through cluster approach and utilise the Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), which are set up by the department.
Stating that the department had promoted 58 FPOs across the State during the year and planned to set up 34 more next year, Mr. Chawla said that these FPOs were to be registered under the Companies Act and comprised of about 1,000 farmers, mobilised as 50 Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) of 20 member each. These FPOs would enable the farmers to get improved production technologies, conservation of ecosystem and effective marketing facilities, which results in enhancement of productivity and income, he said.
The State government would provide support for infrastructural facilities of such FPOs at 90 per cent.

Source : The Hindu