Chandigarh:(IANS) As many as 585 ‘mandis’ across the country would be connected with e-trading facility, union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday.

The scheme would be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in big mandis on April 14, the minister said after inaugurating the Indo-Israel Centre for Sub-tropical Fruits in Ladwa town in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district.

“The government is also preparing a scheme for commercialisation of centres of excellence for fruits and vegetables to improve the economic condition of farmers,” the minister said.

The horticulture centre of excellence at Ladwa has been set up with help from experts from Israel.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the centre for sub-tropical fruits had been set up over an area of 28 acres at a cost of Rs.9.10 crore.

“Work would be carried out to connect farmers through modern technology for trial of new varieties, dense plantation and renovation of old orchards. Farmers would be provided planting material of high-quality fruit plants and information regarding methods of management, apart from training and on-site demonstrations,” Khattar said.

Israel’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Uri Ariel said projects to establish centres of excellence in Haryana were started to help farmers and ensure that good crops could be produced using new and efficient techniques.