Horticulture crop output seen up 5%

NEW DELHI: Area and production under horticulture crops have increased over the previous year, government data shows.

For the 2016-17 crop year ending in June, horticulture production (of fruits, vegetables, spice, etc.) is estimated to touch 300.6 million tonnes, up 5% from the previous year, according to the final advance estimates released by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday.

Acreage under horticulture crops has increased by 1.5%, it shows.


Further, according to the ministry’s first advance estimate for 2017-18, output of horticulture crops is estimated to be 305.4 million tonnes, which is 1.6% higher than in the previous crop year and 8% higher than the average production of the last five years.

“Farmers are realising that they are now able to earn more by diversifying into horticulture from the traditional cereal crops they were into. Hence, we see the rise in acreage and production,” said former agriculture secretary Siraj Hussain, who is now fellow at Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. “It’s now time that the government provides processing and storage facilities at farm gates to ensure farmers get remunerative prices.”

Total Horticulture	2015-16	2016-17 (Final)	2017-18 (First Adv. Est.)	% change of 2016-17(Final) w.r.t. 2015-16	% change of 2017-18(First Advance Est) w.r.t. 2016-17 (Final)
Area (Million Ha)	24.5	24.85	24.92	1.55	0.26
Production (MillionTonnes)	286.2	300.6	305.4	5.05	1.59
Productivity (Tonnes/Ha)	11.7	12.1	12.3	3.45	1.32

According to the ministry’s final estimates, production of fruits in 2016-17 is expected to touch 93 million tonnes, which is 3% higher than in 2015-16. Vegetable production in 2016-17 has been pegged at 178 million tonnes, up 5% from the previous year.

Onion production in 2016-17 is seen up 7% from a year ago at 22.4 million tonnes. Similarly, potato output is expected to be 12% higher at 48.6 million tonnes while that of tomatoes is likely to be higher by 10.5% at 20.7 million tonnes.

In its first advance estimate for 2017-18, the ministry said it expects production of fruits to be about 95 million tonnes, which is 2% higher than in the previous year, while vegetable production is estimated to be about 181 million tonnes-- about 1% higher than a year ago.

Onion production in the 2017-18 is likely to touch 21.4 million tonnes, which is about 4.5% lower than in 2016-17. Output of potatoes is estimated at 49.3 million tonnes, which is about 1% higher than in 2016-17, and tomato production is likely to be about 22.3 million tonnes, which is about 7.7% higher than in the previous year, according to the ministry data.