Over the Last Decade, The Area Under Horticulture grew by about 2.7 % Per Annum and Annual Production Increased by 7 %

Production of Horticulture Crops have Outpaced the Production of Food Grain Since 2012-13

The Economic Survey 2015-16 presented today in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley emphasizes that the scenario of horticulture crops in India has become very encouraging. The percentage share of horticulture output in agriculture is more than 33 per cent. Under the purview of agriculture and allied activities, the share of plan outlay for horticulture, which was 3.9 per cent during Ninth Plan, has increased to 4.6 per cent during the Twelfth Plan.

India has witnessed voluminous increase in horticulture production over the last few years. Significant progress has been made I area expansion resulting in higher production. Over the last decade, the area under horticulture grew by about 2.7 per cent per annum and annual production increased by 7.0 per cent. During 2013-14, the production of horticulture crops was about 283.5 million tones from an area of 24.2 million hectares. Out of the six categories e.g., Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, Aromatic plants, Spices and Plantation Crops, the highest annual growth of 9.5 per cent is seen in fruit production during 2013-14. The production of vegetables has increased from 58,532 thousand tones to 1,67,058 thousand tones since 1991-92 to 2014-15(3rd AE).

India witnessed sharper increase in acreage in horticulture crops compared to food grains over the last five years (from 2010-11 to 2014-15) the area under horticulture crops increased around 18 per cent compared to an expansion of area under food grains by 5 per cent during the stipulated period. The production of horticulture crops have outpaced the production of food grain since 2012-13.

Horticulture output share rising signals shift in agricultural priorities; production growth now outpaces food-grain growth. Percentage share of horticulture output in agriculture exceeds one-third and the share of plan outlay for horticulture rose between planning periods. Over the last decade area under horticulture expanded while annual production increased substantially, with fruits and vegetables showing the largest gains. Horticulture has grown faster than food grains in area and production in the recent five-year period and has outpaced food-grain production since 2012-13, affecting sectoral priorities and resource allocation within agricultural planning.