Anantapur To Be Made A Horticulture Hub: AP FinMin

Anantapur: Andhra Pradesh Government will provide policy support to make Anantapur district the country's horticulture hub with 25 per cent of the State's Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2027.

Inaugurating the first Anantapur Horticulture Conclave in the presence of several top-level officials and industry representatives, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said the district had exported more than one lakh tonne of banana recently to Iran through Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) train rakes and a similar marketing push will be given for five other horticulture products. Looking at the response to the conclave, he declared that it will be an annual event.

The need of the hour is providing end-to-end solutions for horticulture produce from nursery to marketing stage, which will make Anantapur (the fruit bowl of the State) contribute 25 per cent to State GVA as part of the Swarnadhra Vision-2047, said the Finance Minister. Helping companies invest in logistics, cold chain and farmers’ support systems will give an impetus to this vision, he remarked.

The TDP-led NDA Government will take up the widening of the Handri-Neeva Canal immediately during the current agriculture season so that all the 12 motors can be operated and more cultivable lands can be given irrigation water, said Mr. Keshav and promised the farmers to complete the project within next 12 months.

Special Chief Secretary, Horticulture and Agriculture B Rajasekhar in his address said that there are many challenges in achieving the dream, but the government is determined to overcome all that. The per hectare banana yield has remained at 65 MT in Anantapur, very close to 70.2 MT in Turkey, the world’s best. Maintaining the supply chain, improving the product quality and packaging along with developing value-addition are the immediate necessities for the horticulture sector to reach its desired target. The post-harvest losses were 15 per cent to 20 per cent, which had to be brought down 9 per cent, he added.

The Centre and and the State Government are giving a push to 11 priority crops in 24 clusters, out of them six - banana, Dry chilli, sweet orange, tomatoes, mango and dragon fruit are being cultivated in Anantapur, said Rajasekhar.

District Collector Vinod Kumar said that the aim is to make Anantha a global brand, for which MoUs have been signed with seven companies during the conclave for various aspects of improving productivity of identified horticulture crops.

The MOUs were signed with seven companies, which included: Micro Algae Solutions, Siddhartha Cold Storage, Kousuri Bajaj Agro, Green Gurukulam, Agro Life Science Croporation and Puro Natural.