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Centre launches ‘Clean Plant Programme’ for grapes, oranges & pomegranates from Maha
The launch was announced at India’s first international Agri Hackathon organised in Pune, which was attended by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The union government has launched the ‘Clean Plant Programme’ for grapes, oranges and pomegranates from Maharashtra; the programme will be implemented pan-India whereby farmers will get the said horticultural plants ‘disease-free’.
The launch was announced at India’s first international Agri Hackathon organised in Pune, which was attended by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan lauded the innovation and enthusiasm demonstrated by the participants and acknowledged Maharashtra’s significant contributions to horticultural excellence. “Maharashtra has emerged as a horticulture hub of the country. The efforts of the government and the hard work of the state’s farmers have set an example for the rest of the nation. There is no guarantee whether the plants available for cultivation in the horticulture sector are disease-free and productive. To solve this problem, the central government will launch the ‘Clean Plant Programme’ to ensure that plants available to farmers are disease-free,” Chouhan said.
Nine ‘Clean Plant Programmes’ will be started across the country, three of which will be started in Maharashtra at a cost of ₹300 crore, Chouhan said. The ‘Clean Plant Programme’ for grapes will be started in Pune; that for oranges in Nagpur; and that for pomegranates in Solapur, Chouhan informed.
Modern nurseries too will be set up along with these projects, Chouhan further said. The nurseries will support those who use technology for agriculture. A sum of ₹3 crore will be provided for large nurseries whereas that of ₹1.5 crore will be provided for medium-sized nurseries, he said. Through these nurseries, eight crore disease-free seedlings will be available to the farmers every year. The union minister expressed confidence that Maharashtra’s horticulture will be able to compete with the rest of the world. Chouhan also said that India looks forward to cooperation from countries such as Israel and the Netherlands for this programme.
The union minister added that scientists work in laboratories to produce good seeds, increase production and diagnose diseases. However, their research does not reach farmers in a timely manner. To bridge this gap, the government is trying to bring scientists and farmers together through ‘Lab to Land’. For this, Chouhan said that the central government has taken an important decision that 16,000 scientists from across the country will come out of the laboratories and work directly with the farmers and the agriculture department of the union Government. Chouhan expressed his belief that if science and farmers come together and they get the support of the government and agricultural universities, miracles will happen in the agricultural sector.
