Floriculture in India

• 10 Oct 2024

For Prelims: Floriculture, Paddy, National Botanical Research Institute, APEDA, National Horticulture Board, Per Drop More Crop 

For Mains: Floriculture Sector, Agricultural Marketing, Economic Transformation through Crop Diversification 

Source: TH

Why in News?

The Jujumara region in Odisha's Sambalpur district is home to one of the first Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) in the state dedicated exclusively to floriculture, transitioning from traditional paddy farming.  

• With support from the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), local farmers are adopting flower cultivation, resulting in significant economic improvements. 

How is Floriculture Transforming Jujumara's Economy? 

• Diversification of Income Sources: Farmers are transitioning from traditional paddy farming to flower cultivation, reducing dependence on a single crop and enhancing income stability. 
• Economic Benefits: Profits from flower cultivation can exceed Rs 1 lakh per acre, compared to around Rs 40,000 per acre from paddy farming, significantly boosting farmers’ incomes. 
• Market Adaptation: Through platforms like WhatsApp groups, farmers receive updates on market trends, enabling them to make informed decisions about production and sales. 
• Sustainable Practices: The integration of beekeeping alongside floriculture promotes biodiversity and provides an additional income stream for farmers.

What is Floriculture?

• About: Floriculture involves the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for various purposes, such as direct sale, cosmetics, perfume, and pharmaceutical industries. 
  • It includes seed and plant material production through techniques like cutting, grafting, and budding. 
  • The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the nodal organisation for promotion of agri-exports including flowers. 
• Market of Floriculture in India:  The government of India has identified floriculture as a “sunrise industry”. 
  • About 297 thousand hectares of the area were under Cultivation for floriculture in 2023-24 (2nd Advance Estimate). 
  • India exported around 20,000 metric tonnes of floriculture products worth Rs 717.83 crores in 2023-24, with major importers including the United States of America (USA), the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Malaysia. 
  • Due to the exceptional performance of the sector, it is expected to grow to USD 5.9 billion by 2030 with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.4% (2021-2030). 
• Varieties: India's floriculture industry covers cut flowers, pot plants, bulbs, tubers, and dried flowers.  
  • The important floricultural crops in the international cut flower trade are Rose, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Gargera, Gladiolus, Gypsophila, Liatris, Nerine, Orchids, Archilea, Anthurium, Tulip, and Lilies.  
  • Floriculture crops like Gerberas, Carnation, etc. are grown in greenhouses. The open field crops are Chrysanthemum, Roses, Gaillardia, Lily Marigold, Aster, Tuberose, etc. 
    • Greenhouses are inflated structures covered with transparent material, where crops are grown under controlled environmental conditions. 
• Leading Floriculture Regions: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra have emerged as major floriculture centres. 

What are the Key Challenges in India's Floriculture Industry? 

• Low Knowledge Base: Floriculture being a relatively new concept, scientific and commercial floriculture is not well-understood, leading to inefficiencies in production and marketing. 
• Small Land Holdings: Most floriculture farmers have small land holdings, limiting their ability to invest in large-scale, modern cultivation practices. 
• Unorganised Marketing: The marketing system is fragmented and lacks organised platforms like auction yards and controlled condition storage facilities, making it difficult for farmers to get fair prices. 
  • Although India has a large domestic market, it lacks modernised marketing systems to handle surplus production and meet increasing quality demands. 
• Inadequate Infrastructure: Poor post-harvest management and lack of cold storage lead to quality degradation, especially in flowers grown for domestic markets. 
• Biotic and Abiotic Stresses: Flower production in open fields exposes crops to various stresses, making the produce less suitable for high-quality export markets. 
• High Initial Costs: Commercial floriculture requires heavy investments in infrastructure, and farmers struggle to access affordable finance options. More schemes like the soft loan initiative by the National Horticulture Board are needed. 
• Export Barriers: High air freight rates, low cargo capacity, reduce the global competitiveness of Indian floriculture products. 

What are India's Initiatives for Floriculture? 

• APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority):  Supports floriculture exporters with cold storage, freight subsidies, and infrastructure development. 
• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Floriculture Mission:  It is a nation-wide mission being implemented in 22 states with an aim to enhance the income of farmers and develop entrepreneurship through high value floriculture utilising CSIR technologies. 
• FDI in Floriculture:  100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route is allowed in the Floriculture sector making the investment process much easier for the foreign investor. 
• Integrated Development of Commercial Floriculture Scheme: Provides access to quality planting material, promotes off-season cultivation, and enhances post-harvest management. 

Way Forward

• Essential Service and Market Modernization: Flowers should be classified as essential services, like fruits and vegetables, to ensure uninterrupted supply and sales during crises such as lockdowns.  
  • Floriculture markets need modernization through solar-powered air-cooled pushcarts, and improved packaging with foldable crates. 
• Micro-Irrigation and Mulching: Extend the "Per Drop More Crop" initiative to floriculture by bringing all flower cultivation under micro-irrigation.  
  • Mulching (covering the topsoil) techniques should be promoted to reduce labour, improve water use efficiency, and minimise weed. 
• Skilling: Train tribal women and unemployed youth in dry flower production under "Skilling India" and "Standup India."  
• Support for Quality Planting Materials: Promote certified nurseries and tissue culture labs to ensure virus-free planting materials. Strengthen biosecurity standards and ensure the availability of quality planting stock for commercial floriculture. 
• Flori-Malls and Value Addition: Create integrated "Flori-Malls" with cold chains, essential oil extraction, pigment extraction, and vermicompost units.  
  • This will help farmers turn excess flowers into products like dyes, gulkand (the sweet preserve of rose petals), and dry flowers, adding value and reducing wastage.

Drishti Mains Question:

Discuss the significance of floriculture and its role in transforming the rural economy.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Mains: 

Q. What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification? (2021)