Lok Sabha Question No. 1708 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-10
Subject: Banana Production in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Mani A

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1708

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## BANANA PRODUCTION IN TAMIL NADU

1708.  SHRI MANI A:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी

be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has reviewed the current status of banana production in Tamil Nadu particularly in major producing districts such as Dharmapuri and the trends in area, yield and output during the last three years; (b)  the  details  of  the  Central  schemes  and  interventions  including  improved  planting material distribution, disease-resistant varieties and integrated pest management support, extended to address these issues in the State; (c)  the  amount  of  funds  allocated,  released  and  utilised  for  banana  value  chain  support, cold  storage and  market  linkage  infrastructure  in  Tamil Nadu  during  the  last  three  years; and (d)  the  corrective  steps  being  taken  to  stabilise  prices,  enhance  productivity,  expand processing  and  export  opportunities  and  provide  direct  relief  or  insurance  support  to

- affected banana growers in Dharmapuri and other vulnerable districts?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

- (a):  The production of Banana in Tamil Nadu as per the Third Advance Estimates of 202425 for area and production of horticulture crops stands at 49.02 lakh tonnes. The area and production of banana in Tamil Nadu State as well as in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu has increased from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

The area, yield/productivity and output (production) of banana in Tamil Nadu and its major producing districts along with Dharmapuri district over the last three years 2022-23 to 2024-25, are given below:

Area, Production and  Yield /Productivity of Banana Crop in Tamil Nadu State and its Major Producing Districts along with Dharmapuri District

| Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   | Area (A) in Hectare (Ha); Production (P) in Metric Tonnes (MT); Productivity (Y) in MT/Ha   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| District name                                                                               | 2022-23                                                                                     | 2022-23                                                                                     | 2022-23                                                                                     | 2023-24                                                                                     | 2023-24                                                                                     | 2023-24                                                                                     | 2024-25                                                                                     | 2024-25                                                                                     | 2024-25                                                                                     |
|                                                                                             | A                                                                                           | P                                                                                           | Y                                                                                           | A                                                                                           | P                                                                                           | Y                                                                                           | A                                                                                           | P                                                                                           | Y                                                                                           |
| Erode                                                                                       | 20075                                                                                       | 737133                                                                                      | 36.7                                                                                        | 22053                                                                                       | 954669                                                                                      | 43.3                                                                                        | 22140                                                                                       | 774892                                                                                      | 35.0                                                                                        |
| Thoothukudi                                                                                 | 8648                                                                                        | 370982                                                                                      | 42.9                                                                                        | 9227                                                                                        | 469945                                                                                      | 50.9                                                                                        | 8777                                                                                        | 447605                                                                                      | 51.0                                                                                        |
| Theni                                                                                       | 6732                                                                                        | 463093                                                                                      | 68.8                                                                                        | 6921                                                                                        | 317691                                                                                      | 45.9                                                                                        | 6698                                                                                        | 435396                                                                                      | 65.0                                                                                        |
| Coimbatore                                                                                  | 9123                                                                                        | 370907                                                                                      | 40.7                                                                                        | 9784                                                                                        | 316904                                                                                      | 32.4                                                                                        | 9397                                                                                        | 406880                                                                                      | 43.3                                                                                        |
| Trichy                                                                                      | 5991                                                                                        | 219595                                                                                      | 36.7                                                                                        | 5919                                                                                        | 290782                                                                                      | 49.1                                                                                        | 5769                                                                                        | 282693                                                                                      | 49.0                                                                                        |
| Thirunelveli                                                                                | 6326                                                                                        | 182172                                                                                      | 28.8                                                                                        | 5064                                                                                        | 209782                                                                                      | 41.4                                                                                        | 5887                                                                                        | 241380                                                                                      | 41.0                                                                                        |
| Dharmapuri                                                                                  | 1165                                                                                        | 46479                                                                                       | 39.9                                                                                        | 1392                                                                                        | 53239                                                                                       | 38.3                                                                                        | 1726                                                                                        | 65588                                                                                       | 38.0                                                                                        |
| Tamil Nadu State                                                                            | 109366                                                                                      | 4522616                                                                                     | 41.4                                                                                        | 113861                                                                                      | 4719951                                                                                     | 41.5                                                                                        | 114715*                                                                                     | 4901653*                                                                                    | 42.7*                                                                                       |

Source: Horticulture Statistics Unit, D/o Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, D/o Horticulture & Plantation Crops of Tamil Nadu State;

Note: '*': Area, production and yield/productivity of Tamil Nadu State for Banana crop is as per Third Advance Estimates of 2024-25 of horticulture crops.

(b) to (d): Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH),  a  Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  is  being  implemented  for  holistic  growth  of  the  horticulture  sector covering fruits (including banana), vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic & medicinal plants, coconut, cashew and cocoa. All States and UTs are covered under MIDH scheme.

Under MIDH, assistance is provided for area expansion of Banana (both sucker and tissue culture) without integration @ 40% of the maximum permissible cost for meeting the expenditure on planting material and cost of INM/IPM.

Under  MIDH,  support  is  also  provided  for  creation  of  post-harvest  management (PHM) and Marketing infrastructure, which includes pack houses, cold rooms, pre-cooling units,  controlled-atmosphere  (CA)  storages,  ripening  chambers,  reefer  transport,  rural markets, retail markets, vending cart, retail reefer van etc. These facilities are available to all horticulture crops, including bananas.

The details of funds allocated, released and utilized to Government of Tamil Nadu under MIDH during the last three years for implementation of various interventions including banana value chain support, cold storage and market linkage infrastructure is as under:

(Rs. In Crore)

| Year    |   Allocation (GoI Share) |   Release (GoI Share) |   Utilized (GoI Share) |
|---------|--------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------|
| 2022-23 |                    102.5 |                 102.4 |                 103.73 |
| 2023-24 |                    120   |                 120   |                 101.92 |
| 2024-25 |                     80   |                  80   |                  58.41 |

Note: Fund utilized reported includes unspent balance of previous years.

For  promotion  of  Banana  cultivation  in  Tamil  Nadu,  back  ended  subsidy  is  also provided for  Banana  suckers  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Rashtriya  Krishi  Vikas  Yojana (PMRKVY). Under the said scheme, during the year, 2024-25 an area of 115 hectares was covered with the financial allocation of Rs. 30.19 lakhs at the rate of Rs. 26,250 per hectare and in the current year 370 hectares covered with an expenditure of Rs. 97.68 lakhs at the rate of Rs. 26,400 per hectare under this scheme.

Apart  from  the  above,  the  ICAR-National  Research  Centre  for  Banana  (NRCB), Tiruchirappalli has transferred improved production technologies to enhance the production and productivity  of  quality  bananas  through  supply  of  quality  planting  materials  (Certified Tissue  Culture  plants)  to  SC/ST  under  SC-SP  and  TSP  Schemes,  high  density  planting (HDP) techniques, drip and fertigation techniques, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) practices  including  application  of  organic  manures  and  micronutrients  (Banana  Shakti-a banana micro-nutrient mixture developed by ICAR-NRCB or Banana Special, a technology of  ICAR-Indian Institute  of  Horticulture  Research  (IIHR),  Bengaluru),  bunch  spraying  and bunch covering technologies, Integrated Pests and Diseases Management (IPDM) through supply  of  bio-formulations  developed  by  the  ICAR-NRCB,  pre  and  post  harvest  handling techniques  to  minimize  the  post  harvest  losses  etc.,  through  Central  Sector  Schemes quality  (disease-free)  TCP  of  Ney  Poovan  variety  is  distributed  to  the  beneficiaries  to enhance the area. Improved hi-tech production technologies are being adopted to enhance the  production  involving  drip/fertigation,  Micro-nutrient  (Banana  Shakti  of  ICAR-NRCB) spray, IPM/IDM strategies.

The prices of horticulture commodities including banana are influenced by factors of demand and supply, perishability, timely marketability etc. Government implements Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), a component under PM-AASHA, for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities including banana, which are perishable in nature and are not covered  under  the  Price  Support  Scheme  (PSS).  The  objective  of  the  intervention  is  to protect  the  growers  of  these  commodities  from  making  distress  sale  in  the  event  of  a bumper crop during  the  peak  arrival  period  when  the  prices  tend  to  fall  below  economic levels and the cost of production. The Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) of MIS provides for making Price Deficiency Payment for horticulture crops whenever the market prices  falls  below  the  Market  Intervention  Price,  where  the  State  Government  does  not have to do any physical procurement.

M/o  Food  Processing  Industries  implements  Central  Sector  Umbrella  Scheme Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Sampada  Yojana  (PMKSY),  since  2016-17,  Production  Linked Incentive  Scheme  for  Food  Processing  Industry  (PLISFPI),  since  2021-22  and  Centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, since 2020-21.The objective of these schematic interventions is to increase the level of processing and preservation of agri-produce including that of fruits and vegetables thereby reducing the wastage/rotting of the fruits and vegetables.

The  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY),  introduced  in  the  country from  2016-17,  is  voluntary  for  the  States  as  well  as  farmers.  The  scheme  provides  for comprehensive  risk  insurance  against  crop  damage  due  to  non-preventable  natural  risks from  pre-sowing  to  post-harvest  for  the  crops/areas  notified  by  the  concerned  State Government.  In  Tamil  Nadu,  banana  has  been  notified  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for both Kharif and Rabi seasons from 2016 Rabi season onwards.

The export  of  bananas  from  India,  particularly  from  Tamil  Nadu,  faces  issues  and challenges such as smaller size of Indian Banana and long transit time due to geographic distance to key developed markets makes it difficult to maintain quality. These issues and challenges  are  being  resolved  through  development  of  sea  protocols  for  Bananas, sensitization of stakeholders to promote production of globally accepted Cavendish variety of Bananas, training and capacity building of farmers in quality requirements and adoption of good agricultural practices.

*****