The Mission for the Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is a centrally funded program to develop the horticultural sector. This sector includes fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconuts, cashews, cocoa and bamboo. The Government of India (GOI) contributes 85% of the total estimate for development programs in each state and only 15% is contributed by the state government. However, the Government of India contributes 100% of the estimated amount to the Himalayan countries.
The Mission for Integrated Horticultural Development or MIDH is a program for the holistic growth and development of the Indian horticultural sector.
This centrally sponsored program includes vegetables, fruits, roots and tubers, aromatic plants, flowers, spices, bamboo, coconut, cashew and cocoa. The MIDH also provides technical support and advice to the state horticultural missions Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), the Saffron Mission and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
MIDH reports to the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, GOI. Strategies to improve the horticultural segment employed under the program include technology advancement, research, post-harvest handling, expansion, processing and marketing. The scheme emphasizes the use of differentiated strategies for different states based on the region’s agro climatic characteristics.
Objectives
The main objective of this program is to encourage the growth of the horticultural sector in India. The program envisages the amalgamation of farmers into Farmer Groups such as FIG/FPO and FPC to:
- Achieve economies of scale
- Increase horticultural production
- Improve farmer income
- Increase food security
- Increase productivity in the form of high-quality germplasm, planting material and Improving efficiency in the use of water through micro-irrigation.
- Support skill development.
- Creating jobs for rural youth in horticulture, post-harvest management and also in the cold chain sector.
The plan also envisages building the capacity of farmers to use improved technologies through existing institutions such as Krishi Vigyan Kendras, state agricultural colleges and institutes of the US Department of Horticulture.
Activities
Some of the activities for which financial support is provided under the Mission for the Integrated Development of Horticulture are the following:
- Establishment of nurseries, tissue culture units to produce high-quality seeds and planting material.
- Area range extension is the establishment of new orchards and gardens for flowers, vegetables and flowers; and also the regeneration of unproductive and old orchards.
- Sheltered cultivation, polyhouse, greenhouse etc. to improve productivity and grow high-quality vegetables and flowers in the off-season.
- Organic farming and certification.
- Creation of water resource structures and basin management.
- Bee-keeping for pollination.
- Horticultural mechanization.
- Development of a post-harvest management and marketing infrastructure
Funding
The program is a centrally funded program, which means that it is partly funded by the central government.
The Government of India provides 85% of the total program spending under the Mission in all states except the Northeast and Himalayan states. The remaining 15% comes from the state governments. In NE and Himalayan countries, the Government of India contributes 100%
Research and Development
The R&D horticulture and bamboo programs are based on applied research in the following areas:
- Seed and planting material
- technology standardization
- technology acquisition
- front-line training delivery and demonstration in a Himalayan project mode