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Production in horticulture vis-à-vis agriculture

2012-15: horticulture output beats grain

The Times of India Jan 01 2016

(i)Production of horticulture vis-a-vis food grains in 2012-15 (ii)Leading fruit producing states in 2013-14; The Times of India Jan 01 2016

Vishwa Mohan

India's horticulture output has outpaced the production of foodgrains third year in a row in 2014-15 despite deficit monsoon, unseasonal rains and hailstorms. Besides, horticulture production also showed continuous increase unlike foodgrain output which reported a decline in 2014-15 as compared to 2013-14.

The figures are part of the horticultural statistics, released by the Union agriculture ministry on Thursday .

The report `Horticultural Statistics at a Glance 2015' shows that while Maharashtra tops the list of states in terms of leading fruit-producing states, West Bengal is at top in terms of vegetable production in 2013-14. Similarly, Tamil Nadu is the top flower producing state while Gujarat is the leading spices producing state.

Horticultural crops comprise of fruits, vegetables, plantation crops, flowers, spices and aromatics, while the foodgrains basket contains wheat, rice, coarse cereals, oil seeds and pulses.

Noting the consumption pattern, the publication said that the nutritional intake from fruits and vegetables is higher among urban population than that of rural population. Releasing the first is sue of such detailed compilation agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said, “The data would help policy planners, farmers and other stakeholders“.

The publication notes that India has witnessed volumi nous increase in horticulture production over the last few years. Data show that fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90% of the total horticulture production in India.

2016-17 production 4.8% higher than 2015-16

Vishwa Mohan, Horticulture yield up 5% over 2015-16, September 1, 2017: The Times of India

Horticulture vs foodgrain production, 2012-17; Vishwa Mohan, Horticulture yield up 5% over 2015-16, September 1, 2017: The Times of India

Despite Higher Output, Farmers Have To Sell Their Produce At Throwaway Prices

India's horticulture production in 2016-17 is estimated at a record 300 million tonnes, which is 4.8% higher than the previous year. The agriculture ministry released its third advance estimate for production of horticulture crops, giving record estimates for fruits, vegetables, spices and plantation crops like arecanut, cashewnut, cocoa and coconut.

Figures show that horticulture production will beat foodgrain yield fifth year in a row, continuing the rising trend since 2012-13.

The increased horticultural production is, however, not an indicator of rise in income of cultivators. This was reflected again this year when farmers had to sell their produce, mainly onion, potato and tomato, at throwaway prices in many part of the country due to multiple reasons, including absence of cold chain.

“Being perishable items, horticultural produce needs extra attention during storage and transportation. We don't have enough storage facilities in many parts of the country , leaving the farmers to struggle to get remunerative prices“, said an official. He said the continuous increase in horticultural production also indicated growing demand of consumers for these items. “It led to increase in the area under horticulture crops“, he said.

The area under horticulture crops increased from 24.5 million hectares in 2015-16 to 25.1 million hectares in 2016-17 crop year (Ju ly-June), recording an increase of 2.6%. The ministry's estimates show record production of fruits at 93.7 million tonnes (MT) during 2016-17, which is about 3.9% higher than the previous year. Similarly , production of vegetables is estimated to be a record 176MT, which is 4.2% higher than the previous year.

Among vegetables, all three major crops -onion, potato and tomato -saw higher production in 2016-17 as compared to 2015-16.Potato production, however, hit a new high, increasing from 43.4MT in 2015-16 to 48.2MT in 2016-17, which is 11.1% higher than the previous year. Spices recorded the maximum jump. Its production is estimated to be around 8.2MT, which is 17.4% higher than the previous year.

2016> 2018, 4.5% higher horticultural production vis-à-vis agricultural production

Vishwa Mohan, Fruits topple TOP to head growth chart, August 30, 2018: The Times of India

Horticulture production in India, 2016-2018
Share of TOP (tomato, onion and potato), and fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers and plantation crops 
Horticulture production vs. foodgrains, 2012-18
From: Vishwa Mohan, Fruits topple TOP to head growth chart, August 30, 2018: The Times of India

Horticulture Production Beats Agri

There has been a decline in production of popular kitchen staples like tomato, onion and potato (TOP) in 2017-18 crop year as compared to 2016-17, but overall horticulture production in the country still touched a new high — thanks to 4.5% higher fruits production during the year.

Past output data also showed farmers’ gradual shift towards horticulture crops whose production has consistently been outstripping that of foodgrains for the last six years.

Latest production figures, released by the agriculture ministry on Wednesday, show that the total horticulture production was estimated to be 306.8 million tonnes (MT) during 2017-18 which is 2% higher than the previous year.

Though the overall production of vegetables too was higher by 1% in 2017-18 as compared to the previous year, the increase was mainly attributed to non-TOP crops like beans, brinjal, carrots, cabbage, cucumber, radish and others.

The shift towards horticultural crops (fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers, plantation crops and others) was noticed in marginal increase in acreage as well. Figures show that the area under horticultural crops increased from 24.5 million hectares in 2015-16 to 24.8 million hectares in 2016-17 and to 25.6 million hectares in 2017-18.

The shift can be attributed to the growing market and quicker cash flow as horticulture crops (vegetables and fruits) require lesser time from sowing to marketing as compared to foodgrains. Besides, they also get higher returns to farmers.

“It is a fact that farmers are shifting towards horticulture crops because of high profitability. But, it is not translated into adequate profits because of inefficient supply chains,” said Sudhir Panwar, farm expert and former member of the UP planning commission.

See also

Agriculture: India