SHIVA project to boost farmers’ income :

1. 20,000 hectares will be covered under the horticulture sector, on which high density orchards will be established . Mini food parks will be set up to help increasing farmers’ income. Project being implemented in 28 blocks of seven districts in phased manner

2. The HP SHIVA (Himachal Pradesh Subtropical-Horticultural Irrigation and Value Addition) project will play a crucial role to boost the income of farmers. Under this project, 20,000 hectares will be covered under the horticulture sector.

3. According to official sources, under this project, horticulture development will be done on the basis of concept from seed to market. High density new orchards will be established in about 20,000 hectares. It will benefit 50,000 orchardists of the lower areas directly.

4. Under this project, mini food parks would be set up which would increase the income of farmers and create employment opportunities.

5. The Asian Development Bank Mission has implemented the first phase in 5 years under the Department of Horticulture and Irrigation to implement both projects by including the HPSHIVA Project of Rs 1,688 crore and the Himachal Pradesh Irrigation Project of Rs 4,751 crore for the purpose.The  project was being implemented in 28 development blocks of seven districts in a phased manner.

Himachal - The Apple State :

Himachal is known for its apples not only in the country but worldwide as well. A very few know about how this fruit came to India and how it nurtured to win everyone’s heart. Samual Evan Stokes (also known as Satyananda Stokes)was the first person who started the cultivation of apple trees at a small village in Himachal named Thanedar in Shimal region.  Although, apples were grown before Stokes. The taste was sour sine the varieties were mainly Pippins and they were not much popular. Stokes went to America and found a hybrid named "Red Delicious" and he at once brought sample and grafted it. When they came up with the fruit it was extremely delicious and sixe was also good. He is known for starting the large-scale cultivation of apples in Himachal Pradesh. Some of the theories state that Captain R C Scot of the British Army had introduced apples to the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh much before Satyanand Stokes, but it is mainly due to the efforts of Satyanand Stokes today Himachal is widely known for delicious red coloured apples.

The hill state of Himachal Pradesh constitutes about 48 percent of the area under the production of apple. The average production is around 2.5 crore of boxes each year but may vary every year depending on the weather conditions. The production of apple is mainly done in the districts of Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi, Chamba and some areas of Sirmaur District. Nowadays the production of apples has stretched to some areas of Lahaul and Spiti district as well. The economy of these areas is mainly dependent on the production of apples. The apple season starts from June and is at its peak in the month of August when the fruits are being harvested from the higher and middle reaches of the state. The total duration of the apple season varies from June to November depending upon the altitude.