National Horticulture Board has issued Horticulture Cluster Development Program – operational guidelines October, 2021. A horticulture cluster is defined as a regional/geographical concentration of targeted horticulture crops,
offering scope for specialization in production, post-harvest management, marketing and exports. These
clusters provide growth and development opportunities to stakeholders. The main objectives of the CDP are to:
- Address the concerns of the horticulture value chain, from pre-production, production, post-harvest
management and value addition to logistics, marketing and branding, in an integrated manner for accelerating
competitiveness in the domestic and export market. - Reduce harvest and post-harvest losses by developing/expanding/upgrading the infrastructure for postharvest handling of produce, value addition and market linkages.
- Facilitate the introduction of innovative technologies and practices to help enhance the global
competitiveness of focus cluster crops. - Facilitate in dovetailing of resources, including convergence of various government schemes in order to
entrench stakeholders in the global value chains. - Build the capacity of stakeholders and enhance farmers’ income through cluster specific interventions,
including brand promotion