The production of horticulture crops in India has increased from 169.8 million tons in 2004-2005 to 342.32 million tons in 2021-22. This transformation was initiated in 2005-06 when the National Horticulture Mission was launched by the federal government.
The governmental NHM program was set up to provide an integrated development by ensuring that forward and backward linkages were provided. Clusters were identified in 384 districts. The emphasis was on the supply of high-quality planting material.
Banana is one of the success stories of NHM. Due to the efforts of successive governments, bananas are affordable, and they are available around the year across India. Its price has stayed around Rs 50 to 60 per dozen for several years. In 2004-2005, 530,000 ha was under banana cultivation. By 2021-22 the area had increased to 960,000 ha. In this period, the production of bananas increased from 16.2 to 35 million tons. The productivity increased from 30.6 mt per ha to 36.5 mt per ha.
Source: theprint.in