Nutri Garden Scheme

What is the Nutri Garden Scheme?

Nutri Garden Scheme is a farm input programme of the Department of Agriculture, U.T. Administration of Lakshadweep, which the department records as having started in 2021-22. According to the department's own page on lakshadweep.gov.in, terrace and backyard cultivation of vegetables and fruits is encouraged by providing farm inputs such as high yielding varieties of vegetable and fruit seeds and seedlings, tomato, brinjal, chilli, sapota, mango and guava are the varieties the department names, and the stated aim is to address the nutritional requirement of the local population.

The scheme is often written locally as the "Nutri Garden Project" or "nutrition garden" scheme, and both refer to the same programme.

The reason a small territory needs such a scheme is specific to Lakshadweep. The Department of Agriculture, established in 1956 and one of the oldest departments under the Lakshadweep Administration, works under severe geographical constraints: coral islands with thin sandy soil, no rivers, a freshwater lens that is easily made brackish, and total land area measured in a few square kilometres per island. Coconut dominates cultivation almost completely. Nearly all vegetables reach the islands by ship from the Kerala mainland, so rough seas or a break in sailings immediately cuts the supply of fresh produce. Growing vegetables in the space beside and above the house is the most practical way to close that gap.

What does a household actually receive?

Nutri Garden Scheme is an in-kind scheme. No money is credited to a bank account. What is distributed, based on the department's description and the publicly documented 2022 round, is:

• Vegetable seeds of high yielding varieties: tomato, brinjal and chilli are named by the department, and okra and amaranthus were also part of the 2022 distribution.
• Fruit seedlings; sapota, mango and guava are named by the department; papaya, banana, lemon and amla saplings were part of the 2022 round, along with spice saplings.
• Grow bags, which matter on islands where planting directly into thin coral sand gives poor results and where many houses have more terrace than yard.
• Organic manure, in line with the department's stated focus on organic cultivation of vegetables in households and backyards.

In the round documented in 2022, about 1,000 farmers selected from the various islands received vegetable seeds, grow bags and organic fertiliser, and more than 8,000 fruit saplings were distributed. The Prime Minister publicly appreciated the results of the project in June 2023, noting that the supply of fresh vegetables in Lakshadweep had increased.

The exact contents of a kit vary between islands and between rounds. The Department of Agriculture has not published a fixed unit cost or a fixed kit composition, so treat the list above as what has actually been distributed rather than as a guaranteed entitlement.

Who is eligible for the Nutri Garden Scheme?

You can be enrolled if:

• You are a resident of an inhabited island of Lakshadweep; Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Andrott, Bitra, Chetlat, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kiltan or Minicoy.
• You have some space to grow — a backyard, a homestead plot, a courtyard or a terrace. Land ownership records are not the basis of selection.
• You are willing to maintain the garden, since the department's field staff follow up on how the inputs were used before the next round.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You do not live on an inhabited island of Lakshadweep. The scheme is funded by the UT Administration for island residents.
• You have no backyard, terrace or homestead space at all, since the inputs cannot be used.
• You are seeking a second kit in the same round for the same household. One household is counted once, not each adult separately.
• You want a cash subsidy. There is none under this scheme, and any demand for money in exchange for enrolment should be reported to the Directorate.

Selection in past rounds has been made island-wise by the Department of Agriculture, which is why the figure quoted for the 2022 round is a fixed number of farmers "selected from the various islands" rather than an open enrolment.

How to apply for the Nutri Garden Scheme

1. Go to the Agriculture Demonstration Unit or Krishi Bhavan on your island. The Department of Agriculture works through island-level units, and this is where beneficiary lists for input distribution are drawn up.
2. Ask to be entered in the nutri garden beneficiary register, giving your name, ward number, contact number and the extent of backyard or terrace space you have available.
3. Carry identity and residence proof, Aadhaar card and a ration card, voter ID or panchayat certificate showing you live on that island.
4. Watch for the distribution announcement. Rounds are announced island-wise through the department's field staff and the village panchayat rather than on a fixed calendar date.
5. Collect the kit in person on the announced day and sign the distribution register. Seeds and seedlings are perishable, so collection is time-bound.
6. Sow promptly and keep the garden going. Field staff record how the inputs performed, and households that used the previous kit well are the ones taken forward into later rounds.

There is no online application portal for the Nutri Garden Scheme, and no application fee.

How do I check whether I have been selected?

The Department of Agriculture does not publish a searchable beneficiary list for this scheme. Selection is communicated locally, through the island Agriculture Demonstration Unit and the village panchayat. To check your status, contact the island unit where you registered, or the Directorate of Agriculture at Kavaratti on 04896-262276, 04896-262097 or 04896-262390, quoting the island and the round you registered for.

Common reasons a household misses out

• Registering after the island list was closed for that round.
• Not collecting the kit on the announced distribution day; seeds and seedlings are not held back.
• A previous kit that was not used, which weighs against a household when the next island list is prepared.
• Duplicate registration by two members of the same household.
• No usable growing space recorded against the household.

What else does the Department of Agriculture run?

Nutri Garden Scheme sits alongside four other lines of work at the department, useful to know if your need is different:

• Coconut Development Programme: copra driers at subsidised rates, dwarf coconut varieties, comprehensive insurance for coconut climbers, and cutting and removal of diseased and senile palms.
• Integrated Pest and Disease Management, control of white fly, rodents in coconut and hairy caterpillar in Terminalia catappa, the wild almond.
• Human Resource Development Programme; regular training for the farming community and technical staff.
• Central sector schemes: PM-KISAN, the Kisan Credit Card and the Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture are all implemented in Lakshadweep through this department.

If your household grows vegetables in the backyard and holds coconut palms, you can be a beneficiary under both the Nutri Garden Scheme and the Coconut Development Programme; they are separate schemes with separate registers.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Agriculture, Lakshadweep, Kavaratti – 682555
• Phone: 04896-262276, 04896-262097, 04896-262390
• Email: dagrikvt[at]gmail[dot]com
• Department page: lakshadweep.gov.in/departments/agriculture/

Note on what is not published: the Department of Agriculture has not put out a scheme guideline PDF, a unit cost, a fixed annual application window or a prescribed application form for the Nutri Garden Scheme. Anything you read stating a rupee figure for a nutri garden kit in Lakshadweep is not sourced from the department, and you should confirm it on the numbers above before acting on it.