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Banana production a success for India, which wants to increase exports
India
Wednesday 14 June 2023
FJ
India is the world's leading banana producer, but the volume exported is low, representing a very small share of world trade (Photo: mappr.co).
In Indian agriculture, horticulture is a success story, with production more than doubling between 2004-05 and 2021-22. Over the same period, banana production rose from 16.2 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes.
Local media report that horticultural crops produced 169.8 million tonnes in 2004-05, but 342.32 million tonnes in 2021-22. This success is due to the NHM (National Horticulture Mission) program launched by the Indian government.
For bananas, the area under cultivation was 530,000 hectares in 2004-05 but 960,000 hectares in 2021-22. Over the same period, production rose from 16.2 million tonnes to 35 million tonnes, and yield from 30.6 tonnes/hectare to 36.5 tonnes/hectare.
In 2021-2022, banana exports reached only 380,000 tonnes, representing a very small share of world trade. According to ICAR-National Banana Research Centre, India would aim to achieve a 10-15% share of world trade within the next 7-10 years.
The NHM program has provided integrated development and various aids such as the supply of high-quality planting material, the identification of favorable areas in 384 districts of the country and the creation of 2,239 nurseries.
source : theprint.in, fao.org
