Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE 

LOK SABHA 

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4566 

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 8th JANUARY, 2019 

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture 

4566. SHRI GODSE HEMANT TUKARAM 

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृषि एवं किसान कल्यान मंत्री 

be pleased to state: 

• (a) the salient features of the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) along with the facilities provided under the scheme; 

• (b) the criteria laid down to include district/development block and the total number of districts/development blocks covered under the Mission, State-wise; 

• (c) whether in the wake of climate change, any step has been taken to innovate, diversify and grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and other horticulture crops in the non- traditional areas in the country and if so, the details thereof and the achievements made the re-under; and 

• (d) the other steps taken to promote horticulture in the country? 

(a)  Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme which is implemented w.e.f. 2014-15. Main aim of MIDH is holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. MIDH subsumed National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH), National Horticulture Board (NHB), Coconut Development Board (CDB) and Central Institute for Horticulture (CIH), Nagaland. All States/UTs are covered under MIDH. 

Under MIDH, financial & technical assistance is provided to States/UTs for following major interventions/activities: 

• Setting up of nurseries, tissue culture units for production of quality seed and planting material. 

• Area expansion i.e. Establishment of new orchards and gardens for fruits, vegetables, and flowers. 

• Rejuvenation of unproductive, old, and senile orchards. 

• Protected cultivation, i.e. poly-house, green-house, etc, to improve the productivity & grow off season high value vegetables and flowers. 

• Organic farming and certification. 

• Creation of water resources structures and watershed management. 

• Bee-keeping for pollination. 

• Horticulture Mechanization. 

• Creation of Post Harvest Management and Marketing infrastructure. 

(b)  For inclusion of district under MIDH, a cluster approach for developing potential horticultural crops for ensuring backward and forwarded linkages was adopted. The selection of the district was decided on the comparative advantage of crops based on agro climatic conditions and potential for developing marketing opportunities. State-wise details of total number of districts included under MIDH are at Annexure I. 

(c)  In order to face the challenges in the wake of climate change; Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has taken steps to mitigate the effect of climate change on crops and has implemented a project named National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). The major objectives of NICRA are as under: 

• (i) To enhance the resilience of Indian agriculture covering crops, livestock and fisheries to climatic variability and climate change through development and application of improved production and risk management technologies. 

• (ii) To demonstrate site specific technology packages on farmers’ fields for adapting to current climate risks. 

• (iii) To enhance the capacity of scientists and other stakeholders in climate resilient agricultural research and its application. 

The Major achievements of the NICRA are as under: 

• (i) Selection of promising crop genotypes and livestock breeds with greater tolerance to climatic stress. 

• (ii) Existing best practices for climate resilience demonstrated in 100 vulnerable districts. 

• (iii) Infrastructure at key research institutes for climatic change research strengthened. Adequately trained scientific man power to take up climate change research in the country and empowered farmers to cope up with climate variability. 

(d)  Apart from the above, activities for development of horticulture can be carried out under other Government schemes like Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) etc. 

Annexure I 

Statement showing State wise Districts covered under MIDH

Sl. No.	Name of States/UTs	No. of Districts*
1	Andaman & Nicobar	Two (2)
2	Andhra Pradesh	Eleven (11)
3	Bihar	Twenty Three (23)
4	Chhattisgarh	Nineteen (19)
5	Dadra & Nagar Haveli	One (1)
6	Delhi	One (1)
7	Goa	Two (2)
8	Gujarat	Fifteen (15)
9	Haryana	Eighteen (18)
10	Jharkhand	Seventeen (17)
11	Karnataka	Thirty (30)
12	Kerala	Fourteen (14)
13	Lakshadweep	One (1)
14	Maharashtra	Thirty Three (33)
15	Madhya Pradesh	Thirty Nine (39)
16	Odisha	Twenty Four (24)
17	Punjab	Eighteen (18)
18	Puducherry	Four (4)
19	Rajasthan	Twenty Four (24)
20	Tamil Nadu	Twenty (20)
21	Telangana	Nine (9)
22	Uttar Pradesh	Forty Five (45)
23	West Bengal	Fourteen (14)
24	Arunachal Pradesh	Twenty One (21)
25	Assam	Thirty Three (33)
26	Manipur	Sixteen (16)
27	Meghalaya	Eleven (11)
28	Mizoram	Eight (8)
29	Nagaland	Eleven (11)
30	Sikkim	Four (4)
31	Tripura	Eight (8)
32	Himachal Pradesh	Twelve (12)
33	Jammu & Kashmir	Twenty Two (22)
34	Uttarakhand	Thirteen (13)
Total		Five Hundred Forty Three (543)

* Subsequent to identification of districts for MIDH implementation, some of the MIDH districts were bifurcated/merged.

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