Highlighting the virtues of protected cultivation to boost horticulture productivity, a Rs 30,000 crore outlay has been proposed for bringing at least 10 per cent of the horticulture crop area in the country under this high tech cultivation practice in the 12th Plan. The proposal has been prepared by experts in the Horticulture Department under the Agriculture Ministry for submission to the Planning Commission prior to finalisation of the 12th Plan. "It is proposed to have a target for bringing a 1 lakh hectare area under protected cultivation, which is 10 per cent of the area under horticulture," the estimate papers says. The proposed investment of Rs 30,000 crore in the 12th Plan is expected to result in at least three times more yield from crops brought under protected cultivation, a senior officer of the Horticulture Department said. The officer involved in the exercise said that on an average, a green house cultivation structure costs Rs 15 lakh per hectare. He said high tech horticulture technology was the answer to the shrinking land mass for horticulture crops. "It is high time that instead of area expansion, focus is given on protected cultivation so that from the available area, more horticulture crops can be produced," he added. Read Full: India: Cash to boost high tech horticulture, Image: flickr.com
