Lok Sabha Question No. 3128 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-22
Subject: Increase in Horticultural Production
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Manoj Rajoria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3128

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 22 nd  MARCH, 2022

## INCREASE IN HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTION

## 3128. DR. MANOJ RAJORIA:

Will  the  Minister  of  AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ष और कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a)  the increase in production of horticulture crops in the country during the last five years, year-wise; and
- (b) the efforts being made by the Government to provide remunerative prices to farmers at the time of bumper crops?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष और कसान कयाण मंी ( SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): The production of horticulture crops in the country has increased by about 10% over the last five years from 2016-17 to 2020-21. The year-wise annual production of horticulture crops for the last five years is as under: -

| Year                             |   Production of Horticulture Crops (in '000 Tonnes) |
|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| 2016-17                          |                                              300643 |
| 2017-18                          |                                              310675 |
| 2018-19                          |                                              311052 |
| 2019-20                          |                                              320471 |
| 2020-21 (3 rd Advance Estimates) |                                              331048 |

(b):  Government  implements  the  Market  Intervention  Scheme  (MIS)  for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities which are perishable in nature and are not covered under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). The condition is that  there  should  be  either  at  least  a  10  percent increase in production or a 10 percent decrease in the ruling market prices over the previous normal year. This scheme is implemented at the request of a State/UT government which is ready to bear 50 percent of the loss (25 percent in case of North-Eastern States), if any, incurred on its implementation. The extent of total amount of loss to be shared on a 50:50 basis  between  the  Central  Government  and  the  State  Government  is restricted to 25 percent of the total procurement value which includes cost of  the commodity procured plus permitted overhead expenses. Under the scheme, in accordance with MIS guidelines, a pre- determined quantity at the  fixed  Market  Intervention  Price  (MIP)  is  procured  by  the  agencies designated by the State Government for a fixed period or till the prices are stabilized above the MIP whichever is earlier.

Under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  implemented  since  2014-15  for  holistic growth  of  the  Horticulture  sector,  farmers  are  mobilised  into  Farmer Producer  Organisations  (FPOs)  for  aggregation  and  economies  of  scale. Efforts are being made to link FPOs to market by way of direct marketing farmer consumer markets/ Apni  Mand i  and  e-markets.  Assistance  is  also provided  for  post  harvest  management  and  marketing  infrastructure  such as  cold  storage,  cold  room,  packing  and  grading  house,  reefer  vehicles, primary and wholesale markets, Kisan Mandis , etc. Farmers are also made aware of the processing facilities/ mega food parks rearby and processable varieties of horticulture crops.

In  order  to  ensure  farmers  remunerative  prices  for  their  produce, including  horticulture  produce,  the  Government  has  taken  several  other steps as under:

- (i) The  Government  has  implemented  National  Agriculture  Market  (eNAM) scheme, an online virtual trading platform, to provide farmers and  Farmer  Producer  Organizations  (FPOs)  with  opportunity  for transparent price discovery for remunerative prices for their produce through competitive online bidding system.
- (ii) The  Agriculture  Marketing  Infrastructure  (AMI),  a  sub-  scheme  of Integrated  Scheme  for  Agricultural  Marketing  (ISAM),  is  meant  for the holistic development of agricultural value chain critically focussing each linkage of post-harvest value chain including promotion of value addition and processing at farmers level so as to enhance  their  income  by  selling  more  marketable  and  processed produce in the market. Under this scheme, assistance is provided for construction/ renovation of godowns/warehouses in the rural areas in the States and for developing Gramin Haats into Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs)
- (iii) The  Government  is  implementing  a  central  Sector  scheme  namely 'Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)' to enhance cost effective production and higher net incomes to the member farmer producers through better liquidity and market linkages for their produce and become sustainable through collective action.

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