INDIA: Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council takes over from KHDP

Indian agriculture minister, Krishnan Kaniyamparambil, has revealed that the government will set up a Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council, on which he will act as chairman. The council is intended to continue the work of the Kerala Horticulture Development Project (KHDP), whose activities begun in 1992, and while it will be registered as a company, the government share will not fall below 30%. Self-help farmers groups will be able to hold a further 50%, while the remaining stock will become available to banks and research institutions.