Kerala Budget 2025: Finance Minister assures to make state horticulture hub

Thiruvananthapuram: The finance minister of Kerala, K.N. Balagopal, presented the budget in the assembly on Friday. In his budget speech, he underscored the tremendous growth that took place in the agriculture and horticulture sector over the last three years, increasing vegetable production significantly. Now, the state is aiming to become a horticulture hub in the country. The vegetable production in the state has gone up from 6.28 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 17.2 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 due to better infrastructure development in the agriculture sector.

The State Horticulture Mission has been working efficiently since 2005, implementing the centrally sponsored scheme. This initiative helps in boosting horticulture crop yield, improving post-harvest management, processing units, and providing suitable markets.

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Agro-climatic diversity is a novel scheme by the government to make the state a ‘High Value Horticulture Hub,’ allocating Rs 18.92 crore for the farming and development of fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants, aiming to produce world-class high-value fruits. The minister has set aside Rs 33.14 crore as the government’s contribution to the state crop insurance scheme, helping farmers if they lose their crops amid natural calamities.

The State Horticulture Mission, Kerala, has left no stone unturned to deliver all the horticultural programmes efficiently in the state for the welfare of the farmers. Therefore, with the support of the state government, Kerala has made heaps and bounds progress in this sector.