Incentives aplenty for horticulturists

In upland areas of East Godavari

Pithapuram: Horticulture in the upland areas of East Godavari district has got a big boost as several incentives have been announced for small and marginal farmers to take up cultivation of vegetables and fruits.

Speaking to The Hans India, Horticulture Officer N Sujatha outlined the incentives announced by the government for the financial year 2016-17 to encourage farmers to cultivate fruits and vegetables.

A subsidy ranging from 50 to 100 per cent will be provided to horticulturists to raise fruit and vegetable crops using the drip irrigation method. SC and ST farmers having less than five acres of land are eligible to get 100 per cent subsidy on drip irrigation equipment.

A subsidy of 90 per cent will be provided to small and marginal farmers. Horticulturists of big land holdings can get a subsidy of 50 per cent on the drip irrigation equipment. The initiative is meant to conserve water and increase the crop yield.

The Horticulture Department is also encouraging farmers to take up banana cultivation under tissue culture. A subsidy of Rs 40,000 will be given per hectare to banana farmers to switch over to tissue culture. Out of the total amount, 50 per cent subsidy will be given on saplings.

The remaining amount will be directly deposited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries towards the cost of agricultural inputs. Farmers can get the saplings from the Banana Research Centre at Kovvur. The subsidy for tissue culture will be provided to six hectares of banana crop in Pithapuram Assembly constituency, she said.

In the wake of decline in mango crop acreage in the district, cultivation of the king of fruits is being encouraged in a big way. A subsidy of Rs 7,338 will be given per hectare to enable farmers to get mango plants from Tetagunta nursery. Farmers who do not receive the benefit of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) are only eligible to get the subsidy, which will be extended to 12 hectares in the constituency.

For cultivation of papaya fruit, a subsidy of Rs 30,230 will be provided per hectare. As a measure to promote floriculture in the upland areas, a subsidy of Rs 16,000 will be given per hectare to raise flower gardens, she said.

The department has also laid emphasis on increasing the yield of fruit orchards which are more than two decades old. It will provide training to horticulturists in canopy management. Farm tools worth Rs 3,000 will also be provided to the beneficiaries.

Shed nets and polyhouse farming will also be encouraged in a big way. An awareness will also be created among farmers about mechanization of agriculture to reduce the cost of cultivation, the Horticulture Officer said.

Explaining the other initiatives taken by the department to promote horticulture, Sujatha urged small and marginal farmers of Pithapuram Assembly segment to take up cultivation of vegetables and fruits by availing themselves of the subsidy and other incentives provided by the government.

By Saride Nageswara Rao