New Delhi, 26 June (IANS). According to other advance estimates issued by the Union Ministry of Agriculture, due to over-production of fruits and vegetables, the production of horticulture crops in the crop year 2024-25 (July-June) in India is expected to increase by 3.66 percent to 367.72 million tonnes (MT).
Production of horticulture crops in 2023-24 stood at 354.74 million tonnes. In 2024-25, the area under horticulture crops increased from 290.86 lakh hectares to 292.67 lakh hectares.
The data shows that the production of fruits in 2024-25 is estimated to increase by 1.36 percent to 1,145.10 lakh tonnes, while the production of vegetables is estimated to increase by 6 percent to 2,196.74 lakh tonnes.
The production of spices in 2024-25 is estimated to be 123.70 lakh tonnes, compared to 124.84 lakh tonnes last year.
Onion production in the category of vegetables is estimated to increase from 242.67 lakh tonnes to 307.73 lakh tonnes.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that this increase in production has come due to the efforts of farmers and agricultural scientists as well as the initiatives made by the government.
The Indian Horticulture sector contributes about 33 percent to the Agricultural Gros Value Added (GVA), which makes a very significant contribution to the Indian economy.
In addition to ensuring nurturing security of the nation, it provides alternative rural employment opportunities, diversity in agricultural activities and increased income to farmers.
India is currently producing around 320.48 million tonnes of horticulture products, which has surpassed food production. 2.23 tonnes/hectares of gardening crops are much higher than the productivity of food grains.
India has emerged as a leader in the world in the production of various fruits like mangoes, banana, guava, papaya, chiku, pomegranate, lemon and amla and is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables.
In addition, India has dominated the production of spices, coconut and cashews. In new crops, kiwi, cucumber, kinnu, dates and oil palm have been successfully introduced for commercial cultivation in the country.
The inauguration of the National Horticulture Mission has accelerated the production and productivity of horticulture crops.
The productivity of horticulture crops has increased by about 38.5 percent between 2004-05 and 2021-22 (third advance estimate).
-IANS
SKT/
