Andhra Pradesh launches Rs 1 lakh crore horticulture hub

Andhra Pradesh launched its Global Horticulture Hub project in Madanapalle on October 2, with a proposed total outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore to expand cultivation, production and agricultural infrastructure across Rayalaseema and nearby districts. The ceremony also marked the foundation stone for the Indian School of Agriculture, a planned research and technology institution developed in collaboration with Reliance Industries. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Reliance Industries executive director Anant Ambani attended the foundation-stone ceremony in Madanapalle, in Annamayya district. The hub is part of the state’s Rayalaseema Rising initiative and is designed as an integrated horticulture development plan. The government’s targets are to increase horticultural cultivation from 8.41 lakh hectares to 14.41 lakh hectares and raise annual production from 222 lakh metric tonnes to 435 lakh metric tonnes. About 9.6 lakh farm households are expected to benefit, according to the project plan. These figures are goals rather than results already achieved.