Concerns in Horticulture Promotion Policies

Why in news?

Official estimates indicate that the output of horticulture has outstripped that of foodgrains for the sixth year in a row.

What is the horticulture production status in India?

• The agriculture ministry’s latest crop estimates for 2017-18, which indicate that the output of horticulture has outstripped that of foodgrains for the sixth year in a row.
• While the food grain harvest has been oscillating, dipping markedly during the back-to-back drought years of 2014 and 2015, horticulture production has maintained a steady uptrend, regardless of the monsoon’s performance.
• The area under vegetables, fruit and other horticultural products, such as spices, herbs, flowers and plantation crops, has also been expanding.

What is the significance of increased horticulture production?

• Agriculture has begun to diversify with farmers and farm land shifting gradually to relatively lucrative and quick cash-yielding fruit and vegetable farming.
• Horticulture, together with livestock husbandry and fisheries, comprises the high-value segment of agriculture, which, if prompted to grow to its potential, can mitigate farm distress.
• This trend assumes significance also because it has come about without much official backing.

What are few concerns which needs to be addressed?

• At present, India’s share in the global bazaar of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables is meagre though even today the country is the world’s second-largest producer of these items.
• Admittedly, priority to foodgrains was justified in the past to combat widespread hunger, this goal has, more or less, been achieved.
• In 2017-18, too, the output of Tomato, Onion and Potato registered a decline, bucking the overall uptrend in horticulture production.
• The absence of stable import-export policies concerning these rapidly decaying products is partly to blame for their price volatility.
• Though a price stabilisation fund for perishable farm produce exists for years, it serves little purpose because of its meagre corpus and shoddy administration.
• Unfortunately, none of the fruit or vegetables figures in the present list of over 20 farm commodities for which the minimum support prices are routinely announced by the government.

What measures needs to be taken?

• Emphasis should now shift to augmenting the availability of relatively nutritious fruit and vegetables to alleviate malnutrition, which still persists.
• Assured marketing at remunerative prices for horticultural produce needs to be provided in the way it is proposed for many other crops.
• Equally important is to facilitate the development of post-harvest value chain of cold stores, refrigerated transportation and processing of perishable horticultural products.
• Promoting organised retail with backward linkages with growers can also help provide assured marketing at reasonable prices.
• It is imperative to include in MSP list some key fruit and vegetables, notably the three main mass-consumed kitchen staples tomato, onion and potato.
• Government need to realise the need to create a prudent and longer-lasting policy environment to let the output of key vegetables and fruit move in tandem with their demand in the domestic and export markets.

Source: Business Standard