India’s Himachal Pradesh state government has announced it will spend Rs1.98bn (US$40.4m) in the second phase of a horticulture development scheme to support farmers.
The second phase of the ‘Pandit Deen Dayal Kisan Baagwan Samridhi Yojna’ scheme was announced on the weekend to coincide with India’s independence day celebrations, reported the North India Times.
“Besides giving support prices under `the` Market Intervention Scheme for apple and citrus fruits, the government has decided to bring apple, mango, tomato, potato and ginger under a crop insurance scheme so as to sustain the economy of the farmers from losses,” said Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
The second phase will also bring 20,000ha of horticultural land under irrigation, utilising 17,312 sprinkler and drip irrigation setups.
The first phase of the scheme was launched in January, and aims to build 29,000 polyhouses, with farmers being given an 80 per cent rebate on the cost to build them.
