Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Gujarat

Fruits and vegetables at risk of washout in six Indian states

Horticultural crops such as fruits and vegetables are at risk of a washout in the wake of locusts’ attack in six states of India. Fruits and vegetables account for nearly 90% of total horticulture production in the country.

Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, cumulatively contribute 38% to India’s 310 million tonnes of horticulture production in 2018-19. Vegetables, on the other hand, constitute 59% of the horticulture and these five states together had a share of 39% in the production.

However, as per the Ministry of Agriculture’s second advance estimates released on Tuesday, horticulture production in 2019-20 is still expected to be 3.13 percent higher than 2018-19.

Horticulture has a number of advantages compared with agriculture crops. For one, it’s more remunerative. Unlike large-scale cereal crops, horticulture farms can be much smaller, allowing marginal farmers to boost their earnings from their small landholdings. While horticulture crops require more inputs in the form of fertilisers and so on, farmers often plant two or three crops simultaneously to maximise yield from each acre.

The Total Horticulture Production of the country is estimated to be 320.48 million tonnes as compared to 310.74 Million Tonne in 2018-19.

Increase in Vegetables, Fruits, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants and Flowers, while decrease in Plantation Crops and Spices, over previous year, has been observed. Onion, Tomato and Potato’s production is also expected to increase this year. This will help to keep prices under control across India.

As per the estimates, the total fruits production is estimated to be 99.07 million tonne compared to 97.97 million tonnes  production in 2018-19. It is mainly due to increase in production of Banana, Apple, Citrus and Watermelon.

Source: dailypioneer.com