AP govt allocates Rs 930 crore for horticulture in budget

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has been making all possible efforts to excel the horticulture sector in the state. Therefore, the state government has allocated Rs 930 crore for the horticulture sector in the financial year 2025-26 with the aim of making the state a horticulture hub in the country. Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu announced this on Friday while presenting the budget in the state assembly. It is currently contributing 16 percent of horticulture products of the country.

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Mango, banana, guava, papaya, sweet lemon, watermelon, and so on are grown extensively in the state. Six districts of Andhra Pradesh, Prakasam, Anantapur, YSR, Annamayya, Sri Satyasai, and Kurnool, are among the top 15 districts in India for the yield of maximum fruits. As per the estimates, the GVA for horticulture alone at current prices is Rs 1.52 lakh crore as against the total agriculture sector GSDP of Rs 5.19 lakh crore, contributing 29 percent to the agriculture sector.

The state government has developed 590 infrastructure facilities like pack houses, ripening chambers, collection centers, cold storages, and processing units to keep the fruits fresh. The work took place under the integrated development of horticulture.

Farming of horticulture crops has been taking place in 45.57 lakh acres in the state, and the production is expected to reach 365.92 lakh metric tonnes. The government has sanctioned input subsidies in case of damaged crops and natural disasters to strengthen the farmers economically. Overall, a Rs 43.7 crore input subsidy was sanctioned for 27,436 farmers because their crops were ruined amid some natural calamities in 2024.