Important Schemes and Missions for Horticulture and Value Addition in India

India ranks as the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables globally, contributing substantially to agricultural GDP and farm livelihoods. The transition from basic cereal production to high-value horticultural crops has expanded nutritional security, export revenues, and rural employment. To minimize post-harvest losses, boost crop yields, and build integrated supply chains, the central government implements several flagship schemes and infrastructure initiatives across the country.

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare implements the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. Launched in 2014–15, MIDH promotes the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa, and bamboo.

Sub-Schemes Under MIDH

• National Horticulture Mission (NHM) operates in selected districts of states and Union Territories to expand crop area and establish post-harvest units.
• Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH) caters to hill region topographies in the North Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir.
• National Horticulture Board (NHB) implements high-tech commercial horticulture projects and post-harvest management infrastructure across the nation.
• Coconut Development Board (CDB) focuses on area expansion, productivity improvement, and product diversification for coconut palm cultivation.
• Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH), Nagaland provides technical support, capacity building, and human resource development in the North Eastern region.

Specialized Interventions Under MIDH

• Clean Plant Programme (CPP) provides disease-free, virus-tested, high-quality planting material to fruit growers to improve yields.
• Cluster Development Programme (CDP) targets specific geographical zones to build end-to-end supply chains, from pre-production to market export linkages.
• Protected Cultivation provides subsidies for greenhouses, polyhouses, shade net structures, and anti-hail nets to protect crops from climate extremes.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY)

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries executes the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana as a Central Sector Scheme. PMKSY builds modern infrastructure to connect farm gates directly to retail outlets, preventing food wastage and boosting crop value.

Primary Sub-Schemes of PMKSY

• Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure provides grants for farm-level pre-cooling, pack houses, reefer vans, and temperature-controlled storage facilities.
• Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities focuses on modernizing existing processing units and establishing new micro and small enterprises.
• Mega Food Parks and Agro Processing Clusters create shared industrial infrastructure for food processing units, linking farmers, processors, and retailers through a cluster approach.

Operation Greens

Announced in the Union Budget 2018–19 on the lines of Operation Flood, Operation Greens aims to stabilize the supply and prices of perishable produce. It prevents distress sales by farmers during peak harvesting seasons.

Structural Components of Operation Greens

• Short-Term Measures provide a 50% subsidy on the transportation and cold storage hiring costs during market gluts.
• Long-Term Measures support integrated value chain development projects, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), processing facilities, and professional management.
• Coverage Expansion extended the scheme scope from Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP) crops to all fruits and vegetables (TOTAL) and 22 perishable crops.

PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme

Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the PMFME scheme offers financial, technical, and business support to unorganized micro food processing units across India.

One District One Product (ODOP) Approach

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium-to-long term debt financing facility launched in 2020. It finances post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.

• Provides 3% interest subvention per annum on loans up to 2 crore rupees for a maximum duration of 7 years.
• Covers credit guarantee fees for eligible borrowers under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
• Supports FPOs, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Agri-entrepreneurs, and startups building cold storages, sorting units, and warehouses.

Key Facts and Trivia for Quick Revision

• India is the largest producer of bananas, papayas, mangoes, and ginger globally.
• The Central Advisory Board on Agriculture classifies horticulture crops into fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops, spices, and aromatic plants.
• The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) enforces AGMARK standards for quality grading of horticultural produce.
• Coconut Development Board was established as a statutory body under the Coconut Development Board Act, 1979.
• National Horticulture Board headquarters are located in Gurugram, Haryana.
• The National Research Centre for Banana is located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.
• The National Research Centre for Citrus is located in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) operates from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
• Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) functions out of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• Operation Greens price stabilization measures are coordinated with NAFED as the nodal agency.
• The funding pattern for MIDH between the Centre and Himalayan / North Eastern states stands at 90:10.
• For other states, the funding pattern between the Centre and State governments under MIDH is 60:40.