Horticulture Production in India reaches record high at 355.35 million tonnes in 2022-23

By: Team India Tracker

Fruit production is estimated to increase 109.53 million tonnes in the year 2022-23 from 107.51 million tonnes in the year 2021-22.

The total production of horticulture crops in the year 2022-23 is 355.35 million tonnes, 8.07 million tonnes more (an increase of 2.32 percent) as compared to 2021-22, according to the third advance estimates of area and production of various horticultural crops for the year 2022-23. Fruit production is estimated to increase 109.53 million tonnes in the year 2022-23 from 107.51 million tonnes in the year 2021-22.

Similarly, the production of vegetables is estimated to be 213.88 million tonnes in the year 2022-23 while Production in the year 2021-22 was 209.14 million tonnes. Production of plantation crops is estimated to increase 16.84 million tonnes in the year 2022-23 as compared to 15.76 million tonnes in the year 2021-22 i.e. an increase of about 6.80 percent. Potato production is expected to be 60.22 million tonnes while the production in the year 2021-22 was 56.18 million tonnes. Tomato production will be 20.37 million tonnes in the year 2022-23 as compared to 20.69 million tonnes in the year 2021-22.

At present, India is the second largest producer of vegetables and fruits in the world. Country ranks first in the production of number of crops like Banana, Lime & Lemon, Papaya, and Okra.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare

The Government is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in the States/UTs since 2014-15 for the holistic development of horticulture, for increasing area, production and creation of post-harvest infrastructure. In all states, except the North East and the Himalayas, the Government of India (GOI) provides 60 percent of the overall funding for development activities under MIDH, with the State Governments providing the remaining 40 percent. In the case of North Eastern States and Himalayan States, GOI contributes 90 percent. MIDH is one of the 11 schemes implemented under the Green Revolution Krishonnati Yojana. In contrast to the objective of 3800, around 6899 water sources have been established throughout 2018–19 under MIDH. In addition, 40,554 ha of the intended 20,400 ha has been brought under horticulture cultivation, thanks to the development of water supplies.

The Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture includes following sub schemes- i) National Horticulture Mission (NHM); ii) National Horticulture Board (NHB); iii) Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH); iv) Coconut Development Board (CDB) and v) Central Institute for Horticulture (CIH).

Horticulture is a key contributor to India’s agricultural growth because it uses only 13.1 percent of the gross cropped land while making up about 30.4 percent of the agricultural GDP. In recent years, India’s overall production of horticulture has even surpassed that of food grains, demonstrating the industry’s potential. Horticulture not only helps to meet the nation’s nutritional demands, but it also widens the spectrum of agricultural operations, adds jobs to rural areas, and increases farmer revenue.

This industry, which makes up 18 percent of the total land under cultivation, contributes roughly 33 percent of the gross value to the agricultural GDP. The industry is viewed as a key contributor to economic expansion and is evolving into a structured sector with ties to seed trading, value addition, and exports. Horticulture has a significant contribution in the export of agricultural products worth more than Rs. Four lakh crore

According to a 2017 study by the Institute for Social and Economic Change, since the National Horticulture Mission programme was introduced, the average family income of horticulture farmers increased from 0.73 lakh to 1.30 lakh per year (an average increase of 78 percent).

One thing which must be noticed that though there has been no significant increase in the area under cultivation of horticultural crops from 27.74 million hectares to 28.08 million hectares, the production of the crops has been increased from 334.60 million tons in 2020-21 to 342.33 million tons in 2021-22.

Horticultural crops have brought a good fortune for the farmers but there are a few challenges which are still present. Horticulture is far more labor-intensive than the production of food grains because each plant on the farm needs to be cared for by the farmer. Because horticulture's input costs are so much greater than those of agriculture, many farmers find it challenging to switch from agriculture to horticulture. The lack of infrastructure, such as cold-storage facilities, right from the village level makes it challenging for those already engaged in horticulture farming to protect the high-value fruits and vegetables from the weather conditions. These challenges need to be overcome by the use of well-crafted government measures and technologically intensive farming methods.