Horticulture mission to back project for FPOs
The project is being implemented through the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium Kerala (SFAC-K) under the agricultural department. An amount of I3 crore has been set aside for the scheme.
Projects involving horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, plantation crops, mushrooms and honey will be supported. Priority will be given for projects that develop facilities for post-harvest processing, storage, value addition, marketing and export.
Financial aid of up to 80 percent of the total project cost will be provided, with a maximum limit of I15 lakh. The projects must be carried out through loans from recognised banks. The loan amount should not be less than the subsidy offered.
For details, FPOs can contact SFAC or approach the 'ATMA' project directors at their district principal agricultural offices. An MoU has been signed between the State Horticulture Mission and SFAC-Kerala. The aim is to complete the project within this financial year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
FPOs must harness tech to boost farm income: Collector
Tirupati: District Collector Dr S Venkateswar urged Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to embrace modern technology to maximise income and transform agriculture into a profitable venture. Speaking at a review meeting at the Collectorate on Thursday, he said the administration was actively working to support FPOs by facilitating access to bank loans and subsidies to procure advanced agricultural machinery. The Collector said that FPOs should fully utilise government schemes and policies to drive their growth. 'We will take appropriate measures based on a clear understanding of FPO operations and their needs,' he assured. Calling for coordinated action from all departments, he stressed the goal of making farming a viable livelihood for farmers. A key highlight of the meeting was the emphasis on the use of drones and other smart technologies to enhance agricultural productivity. Dr Venkateswar noted the need to diversify cropping patterns, encouraging farmers to cultivate millets in addition to traditional crops. He noted that horticulture crops were currently generating higher returns than traditional agriculture, and instructed officials to ensure both sectors are equally remunerative. As part of a broader push towards tech-driven farming, the Collector announced workshops for agriculture and allied department officials on emerging tools like Agri Stack and Artificial Intelligence (AI). He explained that Agri Stack was a unified digital repository that integrates key datasets such as farmer registries, geo-referenced village maps, and crop sown data. These datasets, unified through the Unified Farmer Service Interface, can be securely accessed by banks, insurance companies, agri-tech firms and government agencies. 'AI, when integrated with these datasets, has the power to radically transform farming practices,' he said, citing applications like multilingual chatbots, precision farming tools, real-time analytics, and image-based pest and disease diagnostics. He also unveiled a new mobile interface named APAIMS, designed to serve as a one-stop digital platform for farmers. This interface provides a host of services, including pest alerts through crop photo mapping and relevant spray recommendations. Joint Collector Shubham Bansal, District Agriculture Officer S Prasad Rao, District Horticulture Officer B Dasharatha Rami Reddy, Animal Husbandry Officer A Ravi Kumar and other senior officials attended the meeting.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business Standard
Tenant farmers can access Fasal Bima if authorised by landowners: Govt
The government on Tuesday said that tenant farmers can now avail benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) if they are authorised by the landowning farmer. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that even for minimum support price (MSP) purchases, if the landowning farmer provides authorisation, crops grown by tenant farmers can be procured at MSP with the permission of the state government. Earlier, tenant farmers were unable to receive the full benefit of several government schemes. Chouhan said this is now being addressed. According to the National Statistical Office's (NSO) Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households survey for 2018–19, 17.3 per cent of the total estimated 101.98 million operational holdings in rural India were on leased land. The share of such leased-in lands in the total area used for agricultural production stood at 13 per cent. In previous surveys, the NSO had estimated the share of leased-in holdings at 11.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively. However, several experts believe these figures are grossly under-estimated, as many tenancy arrangements are oral and undocumented. Chouhan also stated that tenant farmers or share-croppers can now become members of farmer producer organisations (FPOs). He said more than 650,000 tenant farmers had benefited under PMFBY in recent months, while MSP procurement had been extended to around 4.2 million share-croppers. He asserted that several reforms introduced by the government had led to the doubling of income for many farmers. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, record procurement had been made at MSP, fertilisers were made available at subsidised rates, and insurance claims worth ₹1.83 trillion had been settled. Chouhan also criticised the previous UPA government for rejecting a proposal to implement the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, which had called for fixing MSPs by adding a 50 per cent profit margin over the cost of production.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
Horticulture mission to back project for FPOs
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Horticulture Mission has announced special support project for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) formed to improve agricultural production, value addition, processing, and marketing including exports. The project is being implemented through the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium Kerala (SFAC-K) under the agricultural department. An amount of I3 crore has been set aside for the scheme. Projects involving horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, plantation crops, mushrooms and honey will be supported. Priority will be given for projects that develop facilities for post-harvest processing, storage, value addition, marketing and export. Financial aid of up to 80 percent of the total project cost will be provided, with a maximum limit of I15 lakh. The projects must be carried out through loans from recognised banks. The loan amount should not be less than the subsidy offered. For details, FPOs can contact SFAC or approach the 'ATMA' project directors at their district principal agricultural offices. An MoU has been signed between the State Horticulture Mission and SFAC-Kerala. The aim is to complete the project within this financial year.
