Chhattisgarh government implements Community Fencing Scheme to boost horticulture crops

Raipur: In a bid to boost horticultural crops and improve farmers’ earnings, Chhattisgarh Government is implementing a community fencing scheme through its horticulture department. The scheme provides a 50 per cent subsidy to farmer groups for installing fencing in their fields, encouraging them to cultivate horticultural crops in the fields left barren after the kharif season.

Generally, after the cultivation of kharif crops (paddy), farmers leave their cattle open for grazing. Farmers face difficulty in cultivating crops such as vegetables during the rabi season due to the absence of adequate protection. To address this problem, a state-sponsored Community Fencing Scheme (Samudayik Fencing Yojana) is being implemented across the state. 

Officials of the horticulture department have said that two or more small and marginal farmers of every farmer’s group who have land in a single block will be eligible for this scheme. The scheme provides assistance for installing fencing on land ranging from a minimum of 0.5 hectares to a maximum of 2 hectares. Farmers are given a 50 per cent subsidy of Rs 1, 08, 970 per hectare for the cost of fencing, while the remaining 50 per cent is borne by the farmers themselves. Officials have said that the scheme is being implemented on a ‘first-come, first-served basis’. For more detailed information about the scheme, interested parties can contact development block level horticulture department’s officials.