The Haryana Government has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the US-based Apio Inc. for processing and packaging of horticultural products.
Under the MoC, farmer-producer organisations would be established at cluster-level. These organisations would manage the acitivities of the clusters with the assistance of the Horticulture Department.
A chain would be established from farm to consumer, which would benefit both consumers and farmers. According to the terms of the MoC, Apio Inc. would work in Haryana for the next three years.
The MoC was signed by Director General, Horticulture Department, Dr Arjun Singh Saini, on behalf of the Horticulture Department and Dr Steven P Bitler, Vice-President of Apio Inc, on behalf of the company, in the presence of Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, OP Dhankar at New Delhi on Sunday.
The Agriculture Minister said that during the golden jubilee year of the State, 340 villages would be developed as ‘Horticulture Villages’ at a cost of ` 93 crore. As many as 140 clusters would be established in these villages.
With the assistance of Apio Inc., horticultural products would be packaged in a quality manner and delivered to the consumers, said he.
Dhankar said that with a view to meet the needs of people living in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), the areas of Haryana bordering these regions were being developed as peri-urban areas. Under this, producers in Haryana would supply fruits, flowers, vegetables and dairy products to these areas, he added.