Global Horticulture Hub in the making

Foundation stone laid at Madanapalle 

Metro India News | MADANAPALLE : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Reliance Industries Executive Director Anant Ambani jointly laid the foundation stone for the Global Horticulture Hub and Indian School of Agriculture at Madanapalle on Friday, marking the launch of a major horticulture and agriculture development initiative for Rayalaseema. The Global Horticulture Hub is proposed with an estimated investment of Rs 1 lakh crore. Under the project, around 5,860 villages will be organized into 201 clusters, while horticulture cultivation will be expanded across an additional six lakh acres.

The initiative is intended to provide farmers with support across the agricultural value chain, covering production, marketing, processing and exports. The CM said the government would focus on stabilizing both agricultural production and prices. Depending on regional suitability, crops such as apples, strawberries, bananas, avocados, kiwis and dates would be promoted alongside existing horticultural crops.

He mentioned that Rayalaseema had significant agricultural potential if adequate irrigation was ensured and marketing systems were strengthened. He said the government was working to complete major irrigation projects, including Handri-Neeva and Galeru-Nagari. The Handri-Neeva canal had been completed at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, taking water up to Kuppam, he said. The government plans to complete 36 priority irrigation projects at a cost of Rs 35,000 crore over the next three years, he added.

Referring to water management and climate-related challenges, he said that around 1,600 TMC of Godavari water had flowed into the sea this year. He highlighted the role of Pattiseema in diverting water to the Krishna Delta and said river interlinking could help conserve and redistribute water to drought-prone Rayalaseema. He said he had raised the proposal for linking the Godavari and Cauvery rivers with the Union Finance Minister, arguing that such a project could help address water shortages in Rayalaseema and water-sharing challenges among southern States.

The proposed Indian School of Agriculture, being established with support from Reliance Industries, will focus on agriculture, horticulture, modern farming technologies, research and artificial intelligence. The institution is expected to develop practical technological solutions to address farmers’ requirements. Anant Ambani, speaking at the event, referred to his association with Andhra Pradesh and sought Naidu’s guidance on contributing further to the State’s development. Naidu responded by describing him as a son of Andhra Pradesh and expressed hope that Reliance Industries would deepen its partnership with the State.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, meanwhile, invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Swadeshi and Swaraj and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” slogan while underlining the importance of farmer welfare. She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had continued this focus through initiatives including PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi and measures aimed at ensuring fertilizer availability despite global disruptions.