Pune: Punyashlok Ahilya Devi Holkar Ropwatika Yojana To Increase Income Of Farmers
Pune, 16th March 2023: There is an increasing demand for germ and disease-free vegetable plants produced in a controlled environment to increase the export of agricultural produce. Punyashlok Ahilya Devi Holkar Ropwatika Yojana is being implemented under the National Agricultural Development Scheme to increase the income of farmers by encouraging vegetable production.
The state of Maharashtra is a leader in horticulture. A large number of fruit and vegetable crops are cultivated and produced in the state commercially. It is also exported in large quantities. Farmers are increasingly trending towards exportable and toxin-free production of vegetable crops and hence the demand for good varieties of vegetable seeds and good seedlings is increasing. In that sense, this scheme is going to be useful for the farmers.
Applicants must own at least 0.40 hectares of land to avail of the scheme. There should be permanent availability of water for setting up the nursery. Beneficiaries are selected based on these criteria.
While selecting the beneficiaries, the first priority is given to women agriculture degree holders, second priority to women groups and women farmers, and third priority to small and marginal farmers and farmer groups producing vegetables. Selection is made according to the seniority list of the second priority only after processing the entire application in the first priority seniority list.
As the beneficiaries have to set up the nursery completely anew, the private nursery owners who have benefited from the government earlier under this component, the private nursery owners who have been set up without the government benefit, and also the beneficiaries who have benefited from the protected agriculture (shed net and greenhouse) component through National Agricultural Development Scheme, Integrated Horticulture Campaign, Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture (PoCRA) or other schemes will not be eligible for the said scheme.
Nurseries are established for Tomato, Brinjal, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chilli, Onion, etc, and other vegetable crops. 50 per cent of material cost including a shed net house of 1000 square meters, the polytunnel is given as a subsidy to the extent of Rs 2,77,500 for the construction of the nursery. As the plan is to be implemented in the form of a project, it will be mandatory to build all four components namely the shed net house, polytunnel, plastic crate, and power knapsack sprayer in one place. Otherwise, the project will not be eligible for a grant.
60 per cent of the permissible subsidy is deposited in the farmer’s account after the initial site inspection through the sub-divisional agriculture officer. After the physical sale of the plants in the nursery, after the collection of the plants, the remaining 40 per cent of the subsidy is distributed to the beneficiary’s Aadhaar-affiliated bank account after conducting a second spot inspection through the Agriculture Supervisor of the board.
Under the Seeds Act, the beneficiaries are required to obtain a license from the District Superintendent of Agriculture. Care is taken to ensure that no beneficiary is deprived of subsidy due to lack of license.
Beneficiaries who want to benefit from the vegetable nursery are required to undergo training for three to five days at Horticulture Training Center Talegaon Dabhade, Agriculture Research Centre Baramati, Nashik, Jalna, Agriculture College Nagpur, and Horticulture College Akola.
Farmers interested in participating in the scheme should apply through the website https://mahadbt.maharashtra.gov.in/ or through Taluka Agricultural Officer. While applying, a copy of 7/12 & 8A, a photocopy of the Aadhaar card, a photocopy of the first page of the passbook of Aadhaar affiliated bank account, cadre certificate for Scheduled Castes and Tribes should be attached with the application. As per the eligible application, a category-wise seniority list is prepared and the concerned farmers are apprised of the lottery process.
Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Plantation Yojana is beneficial for the farmers to increase yield and production of vegetable crops by producing quality and pest-free seedlings, providing agribusiness opportunities to local farmers through the nursery, making changes in crop composition and using new technologies, increasing the financial income and vegetable production of the farmers.
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