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Context

• Ananthapur for Banana has been selected as a pilot cluster under Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP) of National Horticulture Board.

 

National Horticulture Board (NHB)

 

About

• The National Horticulture Board (NHB) was set up by the Government of India in 1984 as an Autonomous organization under the administrative control of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• It was registered as a society under Societies Registration Act with its headquarters at Gurugram.

Aim

• The broad aims and objectives of the Board are to develop

1. production clusters/hubs for integrated Hi-tech commercial horticulture,
2. development of Post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure,
3. ensuring availability of quality planting material and
4. to promote adoption of new technologies/tools/ techniques for Hi-tech commercial horticulture etc.

Horticulture Cluster Development Programme

 

About

• Horticulture Cluster Development is a Central Sector Scheme and a component of NHB to enhance the global competitiveness of the Indian horticulture sector. The National Horticulture Board has been designated as the Nodal Agency for implementation of Cluster Development Programme.

 

Mandate

• The Cluster Development Programme (CDP) is designed to leverage the geographical specialisation of horticulture clusters and promote integrated and market-led development of preproduction, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities.

 

Implementation

• For the implementation of the CDP, a Government/Public Sector entity is appointed as a Cluster Development Agency (CDA) based on the recommendations of the State/Central Government.
• This involvement of state government bodies through CDA will ensure institutionalization of learnings which can be replicated in future for development of new clusters in the country.

 

Pilot Phase Clusters

• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has identified 55 horticulture clusters, of which 12 have been selected for the pilot launch of the programme.
• The clusters of the pilot phase include:

1. Shopian (J&K) and Kinnaur (H.P.) for Apple,
2. Lucknow (U.P.), Kutch (Gujarat) and Mahbubnagar (Telangana) for Mango,
3. Anantpur (A.P.) and Theni (T.N.) for Banana,
4. Nasik (Maharashtra) for Grapes,
5. Siphahijala (Tripura) for Pineapple,
6. Solapur (Maharashtra) and Chitradurga (Karnataka) for Pomegranate and
7. West Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) for Turmeric.

 

Banana Cluster in Ananthapur

• Banana Cluster in Ananthapur will benefit about 14,000 banana farmers and related stakeholders.
• With this programme, there will be improvement in exports of the targeted crops by 20-25% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops.

 

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1814891