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G.K. Nair

KHDP has evolved into a successful mechanism for farmers to market their produce directly, without any intermediaries.

KOCHI, May 3

ENTHUSED by the success of the EU-supported Kerala Horticulture Development Programme (KHDP) in seven districts, the Kerala Government has now allocated Rs 2 crore for taking it to the Kollam and Alapuzha districts as part of the plan to spread the schemes all over the State.

As part of KHDP's women's empowerment programme, in the Alapuzha district, women are being motivated to undertake vegetable and fruit cultivation.

"Those holding 50 cents to two acres of land can easily take up cultivation of vegetables and fruits such as bananas, pineapple and mango. They can also do it on leased land,'' Mr K.R. Viswambharan, Programme Director, KHDP, told Business Line.

Currently, there are 2,000 self-help groups (SHGs) comprising 40,000 farmer members.

KHDP plays the role of a facilitator by providing them with improved variety planting materials and technical advice, apart from assisting them in securing bank finance and marketing the produce directly without any intermediaries, he said.

The programme, which consistently monitors the prices of vegetables and fruits, has fixed a benchmark price for the products depending on the market dynamics.

As a result, the producers' share in the consumer rupee is 58-75 per cent in the case of fruits, and 30-60 per cent in the case of vegetables.

According to Mr Viswambharan, the demand for vegetables in Kerala is estimated at two lakh tonnes.

Under KHDP, the farmers produced 24,000 tonnes of vegetables and 13,000 tonnes of fruits last fiscal. "There had been a 6-8 per cent growth in production over the years."

One of the motivating factors has been the "innovative credit package" under which coverage is given to lease land cultivators, he added.

Besides, procedures are simple and disbursement is done quickly. Adequate amounts for horticultural needs have been disbursed.

"KHDP facilitated participatory decision-making between bankers and farmers. The credit package is implemented through SBI, SBT, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India and South Malabar Gramin Bank, where a revolving fund is being maintained."

He added: "By agreement, the banks sanction crop loans to KHDP farmers who are cultivating even on leased lands without any registered tenancy agreement.''

Any farmer who is an active member of an SHG formed at least four months before, with no overdues or history of revenue recovery action in the past three years, is eligible for this credit.

Mr Viswambharan said that the aggregate cumulative lending including renewals ever since the project commenced has crossed Rs 130 crore. The total turnover so far of the farmers stands at around Rs 52 crore.

According to him, the remarkable aspect of the credit package is the very high recovery rate. The overall repayment rate for crop loans so far is an impressive 88 per cent. In several SHGs, it is even 100 per cent.

"The EU and the Central Government have appreciated it as a successful programme, and the latter had shown interest in spreading this scheme to other States.''

KHDP is also working on introducing organic farming and value addition to vegetables and fruits, given the ever-growing demand for such food products in the overseas markets, according to Dr Mohan Pillai, Director, Horticulture Research Centre at the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK).

VFPCK is an autonomous, self-financing, non-profit company created to provide a legal identity to the ongoing activities set in motion by KHDP.

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