The Himachal Pradesh government will promote cultivation of vegetables, especially off-season, in a bigger way by setting up its centres of excellence, an official said on Sunday.
Vegetable production plays an important role in the state's economy, and centres of excellence are being established for vegetable nursery production to provide quality rootstocks to growers, a government spokesperson told IANS.
He said the government has started programmes to strengthen the economic condition of the farmers by increasing the production of agriculture produce.
The state has been emphasising on the promotion of production of off-season vegetables and farmers are having better and fruitful results. In this fiscal, there is a budgetary provision of Rs 484 crore for the promotion of agriculture.
Agriculture and its related sectors contribute approximately 15 percent in the State Gross Domestic Product.
With the collaboration of Japan International Agency (JAICA), the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion Project of Rs 321 crore is being implemented in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra and Una districts.
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The aim of the project includes improving irrigation facility, connecting fields with roads and helping farmers to adopt organic farming.
Under the project, 210 small-irrigation schemes, 147 connected road and construction of 37 storage centres would be completed.
Likewise, Y.S. Parmar Kisan Self-Employment Scheme was started with an outlay of Rs 111.19 crore to promote poly-houses and micro-irrigation schemes.
A target of building 47,000 poly-houses and 2,150 sprinkler and drip irrigation units has been set by the state from 2014 to 2018. The farmers are given 85 percent subsidy on the construction works. Besides, they are provided 50 percent subsidy for small lift irrigation scheme and to purchase pumping machinery.
The efforts of the state government in promoting vegetable cultivation have also got national commendation by getting the Krishi Karmanya Award for the consecutive three years in 2016.
Government estimates say vegetable cultivation in Himachal Pradesh, especially off-season, has increased the state's annual production to over 1.4 million tonnes, and taken its annual revenue well over Rs 2,500 crore.
The state is also a major producer of tomato, capsicum, cucumber and cabbage with the bulk of the crop finding markets not only in Chandigarh and Delhi but also as far as Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
--IANS
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