India’s Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) has released a report detailing a lack of state intervention at the ground level for the slow uptake in horticulture cultivation.
United News of India reported that Haryana Congress Legislature Party leader, Kiran Choudhry, has asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government (currently the ruling party) to address the issues raised in the report.
Choudhry criticised the BJP government for talking about doubling the income of farmers but not providing the tools they need.
“Reading between the lines, one finds that report nailing the failure of higher allocation to make the farmers take to horticultural crops mainly on non-adoption of new technology, poor marketing mechanisms to dispose of produce at reasonable prices, inadequate irrigation facilities, initial high cost, lack of awareness, insufficient post-harvest infrastructure, price fluctuations and lack of operational skill and training to add value to the produce,” said Choudhry.
Crop yields and income levels in horticulture have not reached their expected performance levels due to several factors outlined in the report; farmers remain hesitant to divert to the sector.
