Nadia district farmers see horticulture improvement under NREGA

Farmers in West Bengal’s Nadia district, which shares a border with Bangladesh, are benefiting from improvement in horticulture infrastructure under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme.

A senior official from the state agriculture department said, "Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Nadia, stress is being given on quality production of gerbera flowers and capsicum in shed-net houses and poly-houses through horticulture. From the last financial year, Mahatma Gandhi NREGA scheme has helped construction of poly-houses in seven organic villages."

According to the official, these structures are used for off-season cultivation, nursery raising and hardening of crops. They help in improving quality of products, increasing productivity and optimising use of resources.

The official said demand for gerbera flower is huge in the world market.

In India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture centres. While West Bengal, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the leading cut-flower production states, accounting for 33.1%, 12.3% and 10.3% of the country’s produce, respectively, Tamil Nadu (18 %), Andhra Pradesh (12.98%) and Karnataka (12%) are major loose flower production states.