The state government has encouraged people to take up horticulture under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Between 2019 & 2022 approx 4,900 farmers have brought 10.242 acres under horticulture.
The entire cost of cultivation of horticulture crops will be borne by the government for the first three years. To get a steady income, more and more small and marginal farmers are envisaging interest in taking up horticulture.
horticulture and MGNREGS officials have been instructed to create awareness among farmers through field visits, explaining the advantages and also about applying for horticulture under MGNREGS and assisting them in cultivating horticulture crops under the scheme in a planned manner. Under MGNREGS, mango, sweet orange, dragon fruits, guava, Taiwan guava, sapota, coconut, custard apple, pomegranate, tamarind, apple ber (Indian jujube) and flowers like rose and jasmine are being grown. Job card holders, whose families own less than five acres of patta land, are eligible for the scheme. They should provide copies of their pattadar pass book, and Aadhaar along with their applications. Those who are not having irrigation facilities can opt for dry horticulture corps. Under the scheme, they can cultivate up to five acres. The soil in the field will be tested before taking up the cultivation. On the basis of plants they opt to cultivate, they have to dig pits of 0.6 metres to 0.9 metres in depth with a 3-10 metres gap between rows of pits. Payments for digging pits will be paid under the MGNREGS. That is, per an acre 40 to 444 pits will be there. Saplings will be provided by the horticulture department and the government will bear the transportation charges. Rs 3,500 will be paid for organic and chemical fertilisers and vermicompost, per acre.Rs 680 will be provided per acre for providing support to the plants. For maintaining horticulture crops, Rs 76,800 will be paid for three years. Moreover, for watering plants, another Rs 13,125 per acre will be paid per year. In total, Rs 1.5 lakh will be provided per acre.
