With a growth rate of over 8% over the last five years, horticulture crops now cover an area of 20 million hectare acres, and contribute over 230 MT to the food basket of the country. The NHM and HMNEH have encouraged the formation of nearly one thousand clusters spread across 400 districts in the country. The Missions have ensured that even as population continued to grow at 1.2 %, the per capita availability of fruits and vegetables grew at nearly 1.75% during this period.
That the horticulture sector has grown is established: the point to note is that its potential is still greater. Horticulture should be the Lead Growth Driver in the Agriculture sector because it has the potential to address the following ‘core’ issues:
Livelihoods and Incomes in Rural Areas
The introduction of NHM and HMNEH has led to a rapid expansion of livelihood opportunities in the rural areas through activities like area expansion, rejuvenation of orchards, better management practices including canopy management, integrated weed and pest management, primary level grading and sorting at the farmer’s field, aggregation centres, packaging and transport services. It is estimated that with each new hectare under High Density Plantation, man days are added, and many of these are in the semi-skilled or skilled category, which means higher wages. Horticulture farm management practices are also labour and skill intensive. Together with grading, sorting, primary level value addition, the employment intensity works out to be …. % higher than in the conventional crop cycle. In areas like Punjab, Haryana and UP the rice wheat cycle can easily be changed to ‘vegetable – wheat –vegetable’ cycle if the support.
Changing Food Consumption Pattern
Food consumption patterns are changing rapidly. Over the last decade, the shift to horticulture produce has been marked. Horticulture is now contributing nearly 15% to the ‘food platter’, as against 24% of cereal crops. Over the next five years, the share of horticulture, dairy and poultry products on the food platter are likely to grow, with horticulture and milk products share showing the steepest increase. The biggest contributors to food inflation over the next five years will be fruits, vegetables and milk, and there is an urgent need to address issues relating to production and marketing of these commodities – both to address consumer demand, as well as raise farm incomes.
Optimal Use of Land in Rain fed Areas
The next major thrust of horticulture should be in rained areas which are currently growing single crops on account of lack of assured water. Rather than investing in major irrigation projects, it makes more sense to develop water sources, and use micro irrigation intensively for horticulture crops which need lesser water. Development of horticulture clusters will also enable economies of scale and scope. This has already been tried out successfully in Maharashtra and West Bengal, and can be scaled up sustainably in other states. This will call for major investments in micro irrigation and protected cultivation. Within the NHM, a special thrust on MI and PC in Rain fed districts can be provided.
Water Stressed Areas: Restoring Ecological Balance
Areas which are facing acute water stress on account of past cultivation practices are most amenable to horticulture crops. The very wide diversity of horticulture crops makes it possible to leverage different water levels and soil types – from date palms to coconut to melons and cantaloupes. This means that districts which have not been conventionally covered under horticulture need to be include for restoring ecological balance.
What can be done?
Having stated that it is important to make interventions in this sector, the next step is to identify the interventions to make horticulture the Growth Driver in the TFYP.
Planting Materials and Nursery Accreditation
Interventions on the scale that are planned will not be possible without making planting material available through accredited nurseries. The private sector can, and must be encouraged to play an important role. Support for Tissue Culture Labs, modern nurseries and accreditation will ensure that the requirements under NHM, NREGA programme, state, PRI, NGO, CBO, FPO programmes can be met.
Financial Inclusion, including Weather Based Insurance
The KCC for farmers which are primarily into horticulture production will have to be recast, and credit limits decided as per the recommendations of the SHM. Naturally credit requirements for a HDP of pomegranates are different from that of Boro rice or jute. NHM will also have to extend support to weather based insurance scheme to ensure that risk mitigation from weather is available for horticulture farmers.
Farm Equipment and Technical Support Services
As most horticulture farms do not have holding sizes which are amenable to individual farm mechanization, it is imperative that horti instrument hubs are established in major clusters. These could be given to an agriculture graduate keen on establishing an AgriService Centre, or to farmer’s co-operative/SHG/JLG/Panchayat or a Framers Club. While the capital costs can be shared, the revenue costs can come from the hiring of equipment and services. These hubs cab also become the nodal centres for agri graduates to extend their professional services to horticulture farmers in the area on a prescribed fee.
Logistics and Infrastructure for Value Addition and Price Discovery
Without logistics and infrastructure for value addition at different levels – from farmer’s field to village/block level aggregation, the production and productivity gains will not yield better incomes for farmers. Thus support for farm level storage structures, aggregation points and a chain of cold storages and ripening chambers, including those working with solar power become imperative. Electronic auction platforms at wholesale mandis, and support to terminal and wholesale markets will have to be strengthened. Cold Storages will be encouraged and facilitated to introduce WRs, third party certification and verification, and electronic auctions with pan India deliveries will ensure price discovery and an All India market for horticulture produce.
Support to FPOs
The horticulture sector will to strengthen the ‘institutional arrangements’ for leveraging the above interventions. Just as the NDDB spent considerable resources to strengthen the milk co-operatives through a Co-op Development Programme, the horticulture sector will require institutional strengthening of its farmers groups in the different production clusters. These groups will have to be supported in the initial years to establish a producers company which will ensure both forward and backward integration.
In case these interventions are made, the rainbow revolution will see the light of the day.