The State Horticulture Department is selling fruit and flower bearing saplings to the citizens at all the 120 nurseries of Chhattisgarh, officials stated.
With the onset of the monsoons, the plantation of saplings commences in the State. The rain water helps the saplings in growing at a faster pace. Most of the citizens prefer fruits, vegetables, flower bearing trees.
The Horticulture Department officers said that 33 varieties of fruit bearing saplings and 109 types of decorative and flowers bearing saplings are being sold at a nominal price.
The saplings are produced at these nurseries in high-tech and modern methods. Many people prefer vegetables growing plants also.
Seeds are also available for 28 varieties of vegetables and condiment crops at pre-determined prices.
It may be recalled that the Chhattisgarh government has also set a formidable target of planting as many s 10 crore saplings under its 'Hariyar Chhattisgarh Campaign' this monsoon season.
The plantation drives will be taken up at various locations of the State, officials stated.
Nearly eight crore saplings will be planted by various departments of the State government, while remaining two crore saplings are to be planted by industries and other private organizations.
This target was finalized recently in the meeting of 'Hariyar Chhattigarh Campaign' chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh at the Mantralaya here.
Singh deliberated upon preparations for conducting the campaign, and decided to organize intensive plantation programmes in all the districts of the State on July 31.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to meet the target of planting 2 to 2.5 crore saplings in all the villages and cities of the State including Naya Raipur, on July 31.
It is noteworthy that July 31 is the day when great litterateur Munshi Premchand was born.
Singh said that maximum number of school, college students and public representatives should be invited to take part in the plantation programme to be organized on July 31.
He instructed the officials to invite people from all sections of the society, senior citizens and also social service organizations in order to ensure success of these plantation drives.
A slew of Horticulture training projects would now be taken up on 75 acres of land in the proposed Botanical Garden in the State's new high-tech administrative capital.
A 'Model Floriculture-cum-Demonstration Centre' will be developed for Horticulture farmers where they could learn techniques for growing fruits, flowers and vegetables.
State-level Farmers' Training Centre and a Centre of Excellence will also be developed in Naya Raipur, officials stated.
Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal said that the proposed Botanical Garden will be developed at a site between Upkhara and Khandwa in Naya Raipur. The Horticulture premises will come up near it.
The 'Centre of Excellence' will be developed at a cost of `10 crore on the Horticulture premises.
A Model Floriculture unit will be developed at a cost of Rs 70 lakh and farmers will be given training and technical knowledge on Mushroom farming, he said.
Agrawal said that there had been a rapid expansion of acreage under Horticulture during the past decade in Chhattisgarh.
This includes fruits, flowers, vegetables and Masala (condiments) crops also.
The farmers are displaying keen interest in Horticulture owing to the many incentives offered by the State Government, he said.
The farmers will be imparted detailed technical knowledge on Horticulture on the proposed premises in Naya Raipur, Agrawal said.
Notably, the Chhattisgarh government has set a target of having 35,000 hectares of land devoted to cultivation of Horticulture crops during the next three years.The Government has prepared an elaborate action plan to achieve the target.
As per the action plan, the region to be devoted for Horticulture crops have been divided into Surguja, Bastar, Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur regions.
Agrawal said that the regions have been divided considering climate, soil condition and geography of the respective regions.
He said that the Government had been promoting cultivation of potato, litchi, pineapple, strawberry and tomatoes in the northern parts of the State.
Agrawal said that during the last financial year, the farmers of the northern region were offered grants for growing fruits in 3,000 hectares of land.
He said that during the coming years, the acerage under Horticulture crops will rise to 10,000 hectares.
During 2014-15, the joint acreage under Guava, litchi and Strawberry grew by 750 hectares. During 2014-15, the acreage under Guava reached 20,292 hectares from 3,641 hectares in 2004-05.
Moreover, the State government's Horticulture Department which is implementing a promotion scheme for cultivation of fruits had led to quantum jump in guava production in Chhattisgarh.
Horticulture Department officials informed that a special action plan had been prepared for promotion of guava cultivation in the State.
Under the scheme, the a target had been set to increase the guava cultivation to 3,000 hectares. The guava varieties especially grown in Chhattisgarh are lucknow 49, Allahabadi Safeda, lalit and Keji.
The regions in the forefront in guava cultivation are Raipur, Durg, Dhamtari, Kawardha, Bemetara, Rajnandagon and Bilaspur districts.