Punjab Registers 68 Percent Increase In Area Under Horticulture During Last Decade

Chandigarh, December 5, 2015:  Diversification has shown quantitative change in Punjab as the area under Horticultural crops has increased by 68 percent during 2004-05 to 2014-15.

        The 10-year-long success story of horticulture has also led to an increase in GDP share of horticultural produce to agricultural produce from 6.44 per cent in 2004-05 to 10.15 per cent in 2014-15. While the total area under horticultural crops went up from 2.1 lakh hectares in 2004-05 to 3.11 lakh hectares in 2014-15, the percentage of Horticultural area to total cropped area increased from 2.78 to 3.95 during this period.

Giving this information, an official spokesperson of the Horticulture Department said that production of horticulture crops has gone up from 33.84 lakh metric tonnes (MT) in 2004-0

5 to 59 lakh MT in 2014-15. This has pushed horticultural productivity from 16 lakh MT per hectare to 18.97 lakh MT per hectare in the last decade.

       He further added that Punjab’s crop diversification programme has produced spectacular results and the agrarian state is leading the country in horticulture. Breaking the vicious circle of paddy-wheat production farmers of the state has yielded 74 per cent increase in production, 48 per cent increase in area and 18 per cent more productivity of horticultural crops for the food bowl of the country.

         Occupying only 1.53 per cent of the total geographical area of the country, Punjab accounts for about 25 per cent of India’s total cropped area under horticulture. Out of total 241.98 lakh hectares (12.39 per cent of total cropped area) of horticulture cropped area in the country, Punjab accounts for 3.11 lakh hectares (3.95 per cent) under horticulture.

            With this upswing, the horticultural wealth of the state reached Rs 7,896.34 crore by registering a production of 59.1 lakh MT at the rate of Rs 13.36 per kg in 2014-15, whereas, 52.22 lakh MT horticulture production at the rate of Rs 11.96 per kg had yielded Rs 6,246.5 crore in 2011-12. To provide world-class facilities in natural growing areas to make Horticulture profitable, five citrus estates have been established in Punjab (two each at Hoshiarpur and Fazilka and one at Sri Mukatsar Sahib.