"HORTICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA": FORWARD WAY AHEAD

The horticulture sector encompasses a wide range of crops e.g., fruit crops, vegetables crops, potato and tuber crops, ornamental crops, medicinal and aromatic crops, spices and plantation crops. While the first few Five-Year Plans assigned priority to achieving self sufficiency in food grain production, over the years, horticulture has emerged as an indispensable part of agriculture, offering a wide range of choices to the farmers for crop diversification. It also provides ample opportunities for sustaining large number of agro industries which generate substantial employment opportunities.