Achievements in action

01

International Apple Festival

Organised the International Apple Festival in Dehradun, India, from 24–26 September 2021.

02

International Mushroom Festival

Organised the International Mushroom Festival in Dehradun, India, from 18–20 October 2021.

03

International Spice Vegetable Conclave

Organised the International Spice Vegetable Conclave in Dehradun, India, from 16–18 November 2021.

04

International Honey Bee Festival

Organised the International Honey Bee Festival in Dehradun, India, from 18–20 December 2021.

05

HMNEH proposals and annual action plan

Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States proposals amounting to Rs. 1109.81 lakh were approved or recommended by the State Level Executive Committee. An Annual Action Plan of Rs. 48.89 crore was approved by the Government of India.

06

Horticulture and beekeeping workforce

Recommendations were made for hiring 115 employees at State and District Level for HMNEH implementation. Proposals of Rs. 1989.20 lakh were recommended under the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission, along with 130 implementation posts.

07

Annual budget and farmer marketplace action

For financial year 2021–22, budget provisions of Rs. 236.77 crore under State Sector Schemes, Rs. 85.56 crore under Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Rs. 10.00 crore under Externally Aided Schemes were made. Spring Festival 2021 and a Buyer-Seller meet for florists were also organised.

08

Additional action plan for horticulture

An Additional Action Plan of Rs. 280.00 crore was recommended for holistic horticulture development, covering quality seed and planting material, hi-tech nurseries, tissue culture, mushroom units, plant health, centres of excellence, mechanisation and food processing.

09

RIDF proposals through NABARD

Under the RIDF scheme, proposals of Rs. 103.69 crore were forwarded to the State and in-principle approval was granted for Rs. 74.01 crore in a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand.

10

Government garden classification and transfer

Government Gardens were classified in Grade A, B and C for quality planting-material production. Transfer of 32 Government Gardens was completed to line departments for agri-allied activities.

11

Expanded PMFME implementation team

Effective communication with the Government of India led to in-principle approval for four PMFME posts: State Lead Project Manager, Marketing Manager, Entrepreneur Development Manager and Food Technology Manager.

12

Micro-irrigation support for farmers

A proposal under NABARD’s Micro Irrigation Fund sought a 25% additional subsidy for drip and sprinkler systems for small and marginal farmers, targeting 70,000 farmers across 55,000 hectares in five years.

13

Mission Apple standards updated

Standards of the Mission Apple Scheme were amended to promote Double Working (Inter Stock Method), keeping the compatibility of hill areas in view.

14

Digital delivery and departmental strengthening

Action was taken to prepare a portal for online applications and DBT benefits. Demonstration blocks were planned in State parks, pending service matters were resolved and recruitment requisitions were sent to the relevant commissions.

15

Budget utilisation across schemes

Against a total budget provision of Rs. 425.20 crore in financial year 2021–22, Rs. 342.60 crore was approved and Rs. 338.06 crore was properly utilised across district, State, centrally funded and externally assisted schemes.

16

High-quality fruit planting material

Government Gardens produced 13.17 lakh high-quality fruit planting materials during 2021–22.

17

PMFME units and incubation centres

In 2021–22, 22 units were approved under the PMFME scheme. One incubation centre was established at Pantnagar and two additional centres at Kaladhungi, Nainital and Gangalahari, Dehradun were approved.

18

PMFME store for farmer branding

A PMFME Store was established at Rajpur Road, Dehradun for branding and marketing farmer produce. Six further locations were identified for similar units.

19

Horti-tourism sites developed

Government Gardens at Chaubatia in Almora, Ramgarh in Nainital and Dhanaulti in Tehri were developed as ideal sites for horticulture tourism.

20

Cold storage and pack-house infrastructure

Under NABARD’s RIDF scheme, a 1000 metric tonne apple cold store was set up at Arakot, Uttarkashi, while work was initiated for nine investment centres and nine pack houses.

21

Climate-smart irrigation system

A proposal of Rs. 10.01 crore was approved under NABARD’s RIDF scheme to conserve soil nutrients, improve water-use efficiency and increase product quality on Government Gardens and farmers’ fields.

22

Mission Horticulture expansion

Two fruit nurseries were established. Area expansion covered approximately 1157 hectares of fruits, 1346 hectares of vegetables, 700 hectares of spices and 90 hectares of flowers. Rejuvenation covered 80 hectares, while 29,000 square metres of polyhouses were established.

23

Uttarakhand Fruit Nursery Guidelines

The Uttarakhand Fruit Nursery Rules 2021 were promulgated to make quality planting material available to farmers across Uttarakhand.

24

Post Entry Quarantine Centre

A Post Entry Quarantine Centre was initiated at the Government Garden in Magra, Tehri, through the National Horticulture Board for importing high-quality apple and walnut planting material.

25

Special horticulture assistance project

A special financial assistance proposal titled “Harnessing the Horticulture Potential of Uttarakhand”, valued at Rs. 2000.00 crore, was drafted and sent to the Government of India for approval.

26

JICA horticulture development project

Rs. 526.00 crore was approved under an externally funded JICA project for holistic horticulture development in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Nainital and Pithoragarh.

27

Walnut production proposal

A project proposal of Rs. 400.00 crore was sent to the Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare for developing walnut production in Uttarakhand.

28

Polyhouse and shade-net proposal

A project proposal of Rs. 58.00 crore was sent to the Government of India for establishment of polyhouses and shade-net houses under conservation agriculture.

29

Four-festival international programme

Four international festivals were successfully conducted: Apple, Mushroom, Spices/Vegetable and Bee festivals. Farmers, scientists, research institutes, universities and international and national participants shared knowledge on production, processing, packaging, marketing and export.

30

Tea development budget utilisation

During financial year 2021–22, 100% utilisation was achieved against the total budget provision and approved amount of Rs. 21.08 crore for tea development.

31

Tea tourism expansion

The garden at Nainital was developed to promote tea tourism, with further development planned in Champawat and Kausani.

32

Micro-irrigation for tea gardens

Under NABARD’s Micro Irrigation Fund scheme, Rs. 1563.00 lakh was developed for drip and sprinkler irrigation across 919 hectares of tea gardens, with implementation initiated after Government of India approval.