Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.

Components of MIDH:

1. National Horticulture Mission for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector through area based regionally differentiated strategies.
2. Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States to addresses the entire spectrum of horticulture from production to consumption through backward and forward linkages in all NE States and three Himalayan states.
3. National Bamboo Mission to promote the aerial coverage and growth of the bamboo sector as an area based regionally differentiated strategy.
4. National Horticulture Board seeks to improve integrated development of Horticulture industry and to help in coordinating, sustaining the production and processing of fruits and vegetables.
5. Coconut Development Board seeks the integrated development of coconut cultivation and industry in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification.

MIDH promotes the holistic growth of the horticulture sector through-

• Area based regionally differentiated strategies to increase cultivation, quality of crop in each sector and marketing
• Technological extension and advancement through new research
• Post-harvest management strategies, processing and marketing strategies to prevent wastage and better remuneration for farmers
• Encouraging aggregation of farmers into farmers groups to bring economy of scale and scope
• Strengthening nutritional security and improves productivity by way of quality germ plasm, planting material and water use efficiency through Micro Irrigation
• Supporting skill development, creates employment generation opportunities for rural youth in horticulture

Issues which hinder the growth of effective supply chain in fruit and vegetable sector:

• Lack of cold chain facilities and network & their inadequate capacity.
• Fragmentation issues because of a large number of intermediaries eating out the farmer?s benefits.
• Lack of backward-forward integration between partners involved ( eg.- government, farmers, markets, processing units, costumers )
• Lack of storage/warehouses, poor loading/ unloading facilities, poor road connectivity, inadequate market infrastructure
• Unavailability and high cost of packaging material
• Inefficient technology, obsolete techniques, and old machineries
• Farmer?s lack of awareness w.r.t. post-harvest management and technologies

There is a need to develop proper supply chain models which increase the shelf life and reduce the losses and wastages, increase farmer income, generate employments opportunities and improve the livelihood of the farmers leading to the development of Indian economy as a whole.