Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has laid the foundation stone of the University of Horticultural Sciences here and said the varsity will help boost fruits and vegetable production and double income of farmers in the State.
“This (University) shall also demonstrate significant improvement in production and productivity of horticultural crops to double the income of the farmers, and help in achieving self-sufficiency,” Mr Singh said.
The Minister said the Centre would provide financial assistance of Rs 200 crore for setting up of the University and the first instalment of Rs 50 crore would be released to the State this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and State Agriculture Minister among others were present.
Mr Singh said that a full-fledged horticultural university will cater to the needs to support the gap between teaching, research and extension activities in the state and will establish the convergence and synergy to disseminate latest technology and horticulture education to young generation.
The varsity would also act as a skill development centre to cater to the demand for trained manpower in the production, post harvest and processing industries, he said in a statement issued by the Union Agriculture Ministry.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr Singh further said that Haryana holds tremendous potential for horticulture development as it has fertile land, favourable climate and water resources.
The State is focusing on horticultural crops and has planned to increase the total area to 9 lakh hectare with production to 27 million tonnes in the next decade. Currently, the horticulture crops are grown in 4.5 lakh hectare, while production is around 2.51 million tonnes.