![Horticulture: Sector where planned approach can yield multiple benefits](http://media.assettype.com/english-sentinelassam%2Fimport%2Fh-upload%2F2023%2F08%2F15%2F474652-p4-photo-bk-copy.webp?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
It is well
known a fact today that India has been bestowed with wide range of climate and physio-geographical conditions and as
such is most suitable for growing various kinds of horticultural crops such as
fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts, spices as well as plantation crops (coconut, cashew nut and
cocoa).
India has reasons to be proud of
Let us have a look at what the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare stated: ‘Indian horticulture sector contributes about 33% to the agriculture Gross Value Added (GVA) making very significant contribution to the Indian economy. Apart from ensuring nutritional security of the nation, it provides alternate rural employment opportunities, diversification in farm activities, and enhanced income to farmers. India is currently producing about 320.48 million tones of horticulture produce which has surpassed the food grain production, that too from much less area (25.66 million Ha. for horticulture against 127.6 M. ha. for food grains). Productivity of horticulture crops is much higher compared to productivity of food grains (12.49 tones/ha against 2.23 tones/ha.). India has emerged as world leader in the production of a variety of fruits like mango, banana, guava, papaya, sapota, pomegranate, lime and aonla and is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Besides, India has maintained its dominance in the production of spices, coconut and cashewnut. Among the new crops, kiwi, gherkins, kinnow, date palm and oil palm have been successfully introduced for commercial cultivation in the country. Launch of National Horticulture Mission has spurred the production and productivity of horticultural crops. Productivity of horticulture crops has increased by about 38.5% between 2004-05 and 2021-22(3rd Advance Estimate). Increase in demand for horticultural produce due to greater health awareness, rising income, export demands and increasing population poses the challenge for further increasing the production and productivity of horticultural crops. The issue of climate change has thrown up greater uncertainties and risks, further imposing constraints on production systems’.
Latest trends indicate that shipment of fresh fruits have been witnessing an increase at a time when India’s overall exports have not been that good. No doubt, grape exports increased due to development of new markets in Canada, Australia and Russia along with a rise in production due to adoption of international certification like the Thompson and Global GAR which are among the key requirements for exporting grapes to European markets. The uptrend to timely rains led to a better crop of fruit backed by India’s adherence to the technical standards lay down by developed countries.
The fruit exporters get motivated with the growing market demand for Indian mangoes, grapes, bananas. India expect to export more to Japan, the US and Europe. Incidentally, it may be mentioned here that Mauritius opened its market for Indian mangoes, while grape exports to Europe registers an upward trend.
Problems galore
Though the latest trends indicate increasing demand pattern in the agriculture sector major problems loom large: lack of a broad raw material base in terms of the kinds and varieties of fruits and vegetables suitable in all respects for processing and their availability in commercial quantities at prices economical to the processing industry. Invariably, the cost of the raw material is high; low productivity and poor quality of the produce as compared to the very high levels obtained in the advanced countries affect processing and none of the processing units work to full capacity utilization. What is more of the produce taken up for processing is devoid of the quality attributes or characteristics required for processing. Lack of a proper marketing strategy to meet the raw material requirement of processing units and ensuring a sustainable export market for the processed products has been keenly experienced.
Due to poor infrastructure in handling, transport, marketing and processing, horticulture as an industry has failed to register commendable growth in economies like India. Infrastructure stands tall to block the prospects – particularly transportation, road networks and freight and cargo facilities (the freight rates in India are reported to be higher than those prevalent in some other countries, the very fact that does very little to improve our competitiveness), cold storage facilities, etc coupled with inadequate post-harvest management which affect the produce and products. Poor and inconsistent quality of processed products and inadequate export promotion are also hindering the growth prospects. It is the residual rather than the fresh produce that is often taken up for processing, which has a bearing on quality.
It is a fact that fruits and vegetables are generally constrained by poor price support, credit support and delivery system. Inadequate supply of power, water and research and development support exist as no less constraints. The quality of packaging also leaves much to be desired – simply not market-oriented – as importing countries demand specific packaging for each produce and the use of biodegradable materials resulting in high cost of packaging.
Looking forward
The global market for these products is a tremendous one and it goes without saying that if systematically tapped there lies immense scope ahead, especially for the least developing economies as the latter virtually depend on a handful of agri-commodities to earn foreign exchange. Of course the absolute advantages as well as comparative advantages must be fully reaped. For example, India produces grapes twice a year – a rare advantage and gift of nature which other leading producers do not have.
Especially, trade in fruit and vegetable products has been among the most dynamic areas of international agricultural trade, stimulated by rising incomes and growing consumer interest in product variety, freshness, convenience, plus year-round availability. Undoubtedly, advances in production, postharvest handling, processing and logistical technologies — coupled with increased levels of international investment — have played a facilitating role. Specifically, for developing countries, trade in these products has been attractive in the face of highly volatile or declining long-term trends in the prices for many traditional export products. This is also a fact simultaneously that in spite of the fact that many developing country suppliers have entered the field (process is on: Venezuela, Bangladesh in mango market), relatively few have achieved significant, sustained success, which, in turn, adequately reflects the fact that the industry is intensely competitive plus rapidly changing.
What is more, these commodity markets de facto exhibit a complex political economy – domestically and internationally. Undoubtedly, the arcane nature of many policy interventions in these commodity markets and the many heterogeneous interests exacerbate this complexity. It must be agreed upon that identifying superior policy options is not difficult, but what is pertinent on this score is the fact that the feasibility of reform depends on the power of vested interests and the ability of governments to identify tradeoffs and possible linkages that will allow them to pursue multiple goals (food security, income transfers, expansion of domestic value addition etc) more efficiently.
No question of complacency is there. It is better to keep in view the prevailing situation - the horticulture sector in India is characterized by small, segregated farms with low per-hectare yields and huge post-harvest losses, owing to outdated practices. A recent study by YES Bank showed India stored only two per cent of its horticulture products in temperature-controlled conditions, while China stored 15 per cent and Europe and North America stored 85 per cent of their products in such conditions. 9.16 Adequate cold storage facilities are available for just about 10 per cent of India’
So, huge tasks are left for creating a rosy picture. India is not the only player in the international arena and it is sure that the competition will be turning to be intense in the days to come. Dominanat players are well equipped with latest technologies.
Better we explore the latent huge potentialities and the Horticultural Mission is a good starter. More results will definitely be there in the coming days. Just to remind - NER holds a very promising future, among others. More attention is required on this score.