The Government of Andhra Pradesh is now moving forward with an ambitious vision to establish a global horticulture hub in the Rayalaseema region, as part of the broader Rayalaseema Rising initiative and in collaboration with the Indian School of Agriculture.
The transformative initiative aims to unlock the region’s immense agricultural potential and position Rayalaseema, which shares its borders with Karnataka, as a leading global centre for fruit cultivation, horticultural innovation, processing and exports.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu along with Deputy chief minister CM Pawan Kalyan and Anant Ambani executive director, Reliance Industries jointly laid the foundation stone for the project at Mandanapalle in Annamayya district less than 50kilomeres from the Karnataka border.
Pushed as one of the largest farm transformation projects in south India, the joint initiative of the Centre and the State is designed as an Integrated Horticulture Development Plan (IHDP), said the officials.
The project has been allocated an outlay of Rs one lakh crore and spans four erstwhile Rayalseema districts as well as Prakasam and Markapuram. Crops from apples, strawberries, banana, avacados, kiwi fruits and dates can be grown. Food processing and exports are expected to give farmers stable income.
The government plans to expand the region’s horticulture area from 8.41 lakh hectares to 14.41 lakh hectares and raise the annual production from 222 lakh to 435 lakh tonnes to benefit over 9.6 lakh farm households. AP chief minister Naidu said that government aims to develop food processing, agri tech, logistics and agriculture infrastructure into an integrated eco-system.
Established collaborations with Reliance Industries ISA will focus on research and innovation across agriculture, horticulture, modern farming and artificial intelligence. There is a need to develop drones that can map crop health ad guide the precise use of water and nutrients.