The
Department
of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, is the main
authority responsible for the integrated development of horticulture in
India. It is formulating national policies, schemes and programmes for
achieving rapid growth in horticulture sector, through the optimum utilisation
of India’s land, water, soil and plant resources. It supplements
and complements the efforts being made by the State Governments to promote
production and productivity of varied horticultural crops. It is involved
in providing adequate and timely supply of inputs and services such as
agricultural credit, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and implements to
the farmers. It seeks to bring about the proper development of marketing
of agricultural produce (mainly horticultural produce) to safeguard the
economic interests of the farming community.
The Government of India has also set up National
Horticulture Board (NHB) as an autonomous society under the Societies
Registration Act 1860, with a mandate to promote sound development in
horticulture sector as well as to help in coordinating, stimulating and
sustaining the production and processing of fruits and vegetables. It
seeks to establish a sound infrastructure in the field of production,
processing and marketing with a focus on post harvest management to reduce
losses. The main objectives of the Board are to:-
- develop high quality horticultural farms in identified
belts and make such areas vibrant with horticultural activity which
in turn will act as hubs for developing commercial horticulture;
- develop post-harvest management infrastructure;
- strengthen Market Information System and horticulture
database;
- assist R&D programmes to develop products suited
for specific varieties with improved methods and horticulture technology;
- provide training and education to farmers and processing
industry personnel for improving agronomic practices and new technologies;
- promote consumption of fruits/vegetables in fresh and
processed form; etc.
Besides, the Indian
Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) was established by the
Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR) to conduct research on various aspects of horticultural
crops in order to improve their productivity, quality and utility. It
is the premier Institute in India devoted entirely to enhancing horticultural
productivity in the country. The broad objectives with which the Institute
has been set up are as follows:-
- Undertaking basic and applied research for developing
strategies to enhance productivity and utilization of tropical and sub-tropical
horticultural crops, like, fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, medicinal
and aromatic and mushrooms;
- Acting as a repository of scientific information relevant
to horticulture;
- Acting as a center for training for upgradation of scientific
manpower in modern technologies for horticultural production;
- Collaborating with relevant national and international
agencies in achieving targets and objectives.
In the last nearly four decades, the Institute has pioneered
several mega projects that have borne rich dividends in terms of scaling
up and extending the frontiers of fruits, vegetables and flower productions.
Parallely, IIHR has been fine-tuning and creating newer technologies to
meet with its overall mandate. As a result, several technologies, besides
package of practices, have emerged that have potential as commercial enterprises
to small scale entrepreneurs and horticulturists.
At the State/ Union Territory (UT) level,
there are several Horticulture Departments/ Divisions, which deals with
varied aspects of horticultural activities in the States/ UTs and are
actively involved in the progress of horticulture sector in India. Some
of these are:-
