All set for launch of Rs 1 lakh-cr horticulture hub today

VIJAYAWADA: Madanapalle is all set for the launch of the ambitious Rs 1-trillion ‘Global Horticulture Hub – Rayalaseema Rising’ project on Friday, where Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan will jointly lay the foundation stone.

District administration and police authorities in Annamayya district have completed extensive security, venue and logistical arrangements for the high-profile ceremony, which marks the commencement of one of the largest agrarian transformation programs in southern India.

Agriculture and Horticulture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, alongside senior officials from the State agriculture, irrigation, and revenue departments, reviewed the final venue preparations in Madanapalle on Thursday.

The event will see the participation of key Union and State ministers, local legislators, progressive farmers, and representatives from leading food-processing and export entities. The project represents a landmark convergence of Central and State resources aimed at permanently ending Rayalaseema’s legacy of drought and transforming the region into a global horticultural power centre.

The mega-initiative, designed as a comprehensive Integrated Horticulture Development Plan (IHDP), carries a total outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) to be executed in three distinct phases between August 2026 and July 2029.

To finance the public infrastructure component, the state government is mobilising Rs 40,352 crore under the Central government’s ‘Purvoday’ scheme for eastern region development, while simultaneously leveraging Rs 60,000 crore in private sector investments for post-harvest processing, cold chain logistics, and international marketing channels.

The project spans 201 dedicated clusters across 303 mandals and 5,869 villages in 10 districts—Anantapur, Annamayya, Chittoor, Kurnool, Nandyal, Sri Sathya Sai, Tirupati, YSR Kadapa, Prakasam, and Markapuram.

Under the roadmap, the government plans to expand the region’s horticultural cultivation area from the existing 8.41 lakh hectares to 14.41 lakh hectares. Annual production is targeted to nearly double, rising from 222 lakh metric tonnes to 435 lakh metric tonnes, providing direct economic benefits to over 9.6 lakh farm households.

Addressing the critical constraint of water scarcity, the public investment allocation includes Rs 20,884 crore specifically for irrigation infrastructure and micro-irrigation networks. Furthermore, Rs 4,562 crore has been earmarked to upgrade and construct 5,721 km of rural roads to ensure seamless movement of fresh produce from farm gates to processing centres.

The initiative places special emphasis on commercial crops such as mango, banana, tomato, pomegranate, dragon fruit, avocado, and high-value berries. The government is establishing cold storage chains, pack-houses and secondary processing units.

Building on AP’s successful banana export corridor from Anantapur to Middle East markets, the hub seeks to directly connect FPOs with global retailers.

Projections indicate that the project will generate an additional Rs 81,000 crore in Gross Value Added (GVA) annually from its third year of implementation.

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