The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare applauded Maharashtra’s significant contributions to horticultural excellence.

“Maharashtra has emerged as a horticulture hub of the country. The combined efforts of the Government and the hard work of its farmers have set an example for the rest of the nation,” said Shri Chouhan.

He also congratulated Maharashtra for its record production of grapes, pomegranates, oranges, chickpeas and various vegetables.

There is no guarantee whether the plants available for cultivation in the horticulture sector are disease-free and productive or not. To solve this problem, the Union Minister stated that the Central Government will launch the ‘Clean Plant’ program.

This program will ensure that the plants available to farmers are disease-free, he said. 9 ‘Clean Plant’ projects will be started across the country, out of which 3 projects will be set up in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

Under this, Shri Chouhan further added, projects will be started in Pune for grapes, in Nagpur for oranges and in Solapur for pomegranates. Along with these projects, he informed that modern nurseries will also be set up.

Those who use technology for agriculture will be supported by these nurseries. Rs 3 crore will be provided for large nurseries and Rs 1.5 crore for medium-sized nurseries. Through these nurseries, 8 crore disease-free seedlings will be available to farmers every year. 

The Minister therefore expressed confidence that Maharashtra’s horticulture will be able to compete with the world. Shri. Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said that cooperation from countries like Israel and the Netherlands will also be taken to implement this program:

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare