Why in News?

• Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar chairs 32nd meeting of Board of Directors of NHB.
• He stresses on easing digital process for farmers.

Key points of Meeting:

• The government has decided to make a digital process for horticulture projects and provide approval in just 45 days. It will ease farmers in getting projects without delay across the country.
• The decision was taken in the 32nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Horticulture Board (NHB)held in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Chairman of the Board, Narendra Singh Tomar. The new simple design will come into effect from first January next year.
• The Minister expressed the hope that this process will make the system more transparent and efficient, promote ease of doing business for the benefit of the farming community and generate more hi-tech commercial projects for NHB funding.
• The meeting also discussed a new initiative of NHB- Swachh Plant Programme, under which problem of availability of planting material to the farmers will be solved by spending 21 hundred crore rupees with the assistance of Asian Development Bank.
• This programme will go a long way in providing a major contribution to the much-needed quality planting material for horticulture crops in the country.

About NHB

• The National Horticulture Board (NHB) was set up by the Government of India in 1984 as an Autonomous organization under the administrative control of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and registered as a society under Societies Registration Act with its headquarters at Gurugram.
• Presently, NHB has 29 field offices located all over the country.

Aims and Objectives of NHB

• The main objectives of the NHB are to improve integrated development of Horticulture industry and to help in coordinating, sustaining the production and processing of fruits and vegetables. Some of the Detailed objectives of the Board are as under:-

1. Development of hi-tech commercial horticulture in identified belts and make such areas vibrant with horticultural activity, which in turn will act as hubs for development of horticulture.
2. Development of modern post-harvest management infrastructure as an integral part of area expansion projects or as common facility for cluster of projects.
3. Development of integrated, energy efficient cold chain infrastructure for fresh horticulture produce.
4. Popularization of identified new technologies / tools / techniques for commercialization / adoption, after carrying out technology and need assessment.