Agriculture Minister P. Prasad has urged the Centre to include Kerala in the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP) which has been launched to promote the export of horticultural produce.
Mr. Prasad has written to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar outlining the possibilities and opportunities that Kerala has in this sector. Kerala wants the Centre to include banana, pineapple and spices including pepper and cardamom in the scheme.
Horticulture crops have an important place in the Kerala economy. The State is already exporting banana abroad. The Kerala brand Nendran banana, which is now being exported to Europe, has huge potential. The Vazhakulam pineapple has received GI tag. The spices of Kerala have been famous throughout the globe since ancient times, Mr. Prasad said in the letter.
Inclusion of such crops in the cluster programme will attract investment, enhance farmer incomes and enable the State to strengthen the marketing network, Mr. Prasad said.
Mr. Tomar had launched the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP) on May 31. In the pilot phase, the programme will be implemented in 12 horticulture clusters in 11 States/UTs.
