ONGOLE: The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, is rolling out the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP) nationwide through the National Horticulture Board (NHB), aiming for holistic growth of horticultural crops across the value chain.
An awareness session on the CDP will be held at the Joint Director of Horticulture (JDH) office in Ongole at 10 am on Tuesday.
The programme focuses on developing High-Value Multi-Commodity Clusters and Peri-Urban Vegetable Clusters to enhance productivity and market competitiveness.
So far, eight projects from Andhra Pradesh, covering mango, chilli, banana and cocoa, have been shortlisted under the initiative, with an estimated investment of Rs 564 crore.
The central government will provide 100% grant-based financial assistance for cluster development across various components. Implementation will be carried out by selected agencies through a national-level selection process overseen by NHB.
Eligible applicants include Farmer Producer Organisations, Farmer Producer Companies, entities registered under the Companies Act, co-operative societies, NGOs, partnership firms, joint ventures and consortia, but Proprietorship firms are not eligible.
“The awareness programme will help strengthen understanding of CDP among FPOs and FPCs in the district horticulture sector,” said Y Gopichand, District Horticulture Officer.