Stories
MGNREGA horticulture scheme becomes a boon for farmers, offering plants, manure, and wages
- •Under the MGNREGA horticulture scheme, the government provides fruit-bearing plants, manure, and irrigation facilities like handpumps to farmers.
- •Assistance includes land fencing to protect plants from animals and provisions for paying wages to farmers for plant maintenance over three years.
- •The scheme offers 497 days of wages at the rate of 245 rupees per day, which is transferred directly into the farmers bank accounts.
- •Planting 150 to 200 trees on about 8 to 8.5 katha of land is considered one unit, and subsidies are provided for purchasing plants from nurseries.
- •Farmers can utilize their vacant land for horticulture, and after 2 to 3 years, they can earn a regular income by selling fruits in the market.
Key Questions Answered
Under the MGNREGA horticulture scheme, the government provides fruit-bearing plants, manure, land fencing for animal protection, and irrigation facilities like handpumps to lower initial setup costs for farmers. Farmers can also receive government help totaling around 200,000 to 250,000 rupees over three years.
The scheme includes a provision to pay daily wages to farmers for maintaining their orchards over a period of three years. Specifically, there is an allocation of 497 days of wages at a rate of 245 rupees per day, with payments deposited directly into the farmer's bank accounts.
Under the scheme, units are determined by the number of plants, where 150 to 200 trees are counted as a single unit. For instance, planting 160 to 200 trees on roughly 8 to 8.5 katha of land can make a farmer eligible to receive benefits under one unit.
