The Kerala Government intends to implement a new scheme to make the State a ‘High Value Horticulture Hub’ taking into account its agro-climatic diversity.
Finance Minister K N Balagopal has provided an amount of ₹30 crore in the State Budget by including the scheme in the Co-operative Initiative in Technology-driven Agriculture (CITA).
P Indira Devi, Professor Emeritus, Kerala Agricultural University termed the scheme as a special programme which is aimed at boosting vegetable production through high-tech horticulture. Though the vegetable production has tripled from 6.28 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 17.2 lakh tonnes in 2023-24, the State is still depending on neighbouring States due to existing gap.
“We already have a Centre of Excellence in high-tech horticulture at Regional Agricultural Research Station at Ambalavayal in Wayanad under Kerala Agricultural University,” she said and hoped that the newly announced project would further disseminate the technology among the farmers.
Rice development scheme
Right now, there is no protocol for all the major vegetables produced in Kerala under high-tech farming. It will be good if the State can standardise the protocol for all the vegetables and fruits that are produced in Kerala and have a higher export potential, she said.
The land availability is a major hindrance for mass production and there is a need to apply precision technologies to produce more. However, the major driver of promoting agriculture production is the income from farming which is largely influenced by the prices from the yield, she added.
The Minister has provided an amount of ₹727.40 crore for the scheme plans in the agriculture sector for FY26. Of this, an amount of ₹115.50 crore is expected as Central assistance.
The Government will introduce a comprehensive rice development programme next year for which an amount of ₹150 crore has been provided by integrating various schemes. It includes ₹80 crore for providing royalty of ₹5500/ hectare as assistance to inputs for sustainable rice cultivation and ₹3000/ hectare to paddy land owners for paddy land conservation.
An amount of ₹78.45 crore has been allocated to the Comprehensive Vegetable Development Project. This also includes ₹18 crore for various activities to promote vegetable cultivation.
Besides, an amount of ₹18.92 crore has been provided for the development of fruits, flowers and medicinal plants focusing on increasing the production and productivity of indigenous and exotic high value fruits.
The Budget also allocated an amount of ₹43.90 crore for the scheme ‘Support for Marketing of Agricultural Produce’ and ₹8 crore for ensuring post-harvest management and value addition, revamping of Farmer Producer Organisations and generating employment opportunities.