Thaindian News

Chandigarh, April 18 (IANS) The Haryana government will give additional subsidy to farmers who set up centres of excellence in farming in the state, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Monday.

Hooda said the state government would give 15 percent subsidy, in addition to 75 percent subsidy by the central government, to set up centres of excellence on the pattern of Centre of Excellence for Vegetables established with the cooperation of Israel at Gharounda in district Karnal.

The chief minister, who returned from Israel Saturday after a visit, said that 12 more centres for vegetables and fruits would be set up in Haryana. Each centre costs Rs.25 lakh to set up.

“As a result of subsidy to be given by the central and state governments, the farmer would have to invest only 10 percent of the total cost,” Hooda said.

He said that one such centre for fruits was being set up at Sirsa and another for flowers would come up at Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.

“The 12 proposed centres would be set up by progressive farmers. Israeli technology would be replicated and these centres would motivate the individual farmers to adopt new technologies to increase production of fruits and vegetables by manifold,” Hooda told reporters here.

Hooda said that, following his visit to Israel, the Israeli minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Orit Noked, would shortly visit Haryana for a meeting.

He said that Israel’s experts would visit Haryana on continuous basis for transfer of technology and the state government has also decided to promote plantation of Olive, set up a Centre of Excellence for Organic Farming and work for utilizing brackish water for use of agriculture and horticulture as is being done in Israel.