2024-04-15
- The government has come up with a new platform to disburse subsidies to horticulture farmers under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP), the Centre’s initiative to promote horticulture crops.
- SURAKSHA – System for Unified Resource Allocation, Knowledge, and Secure Horticulture Assistance.
- The platform will allow an instant disbursal of subsidies to farmers in their bank account by utilising the e-RUPI voucher from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- The platform allows access to farmers, vendors, implementing agencies (IA), and cluster development agencies (CDAs), and officials of the National Horticulture Board (NHB).
- A farmer can login using their mobile number and place an order for planting material such as seeds, seedlings and plants based on their requirement. Once the demand has been raised by the farmer, the system will ask them to contribute their share of the cost of planting material. The subsidy amount paid by the government will appear on the screen automatically. After the farmer pays their contribution, an e-RUPI voucher will be generated.
- This voucher will then be received by a vendor, who will provide the required planting material to the farmer.
- Once the ordered planting material is delivered to the farmer, they have to verify the delivery through geo-tagged photos and videos of their field.
- It is only after the verification that the IA will release the money to the vendor for the e-RUPI voucher.
