State GDP gets 28% from Horticulture.

PNS | Bhubaneswar

The horticulture sector has got a tremendous boost in the State and it contributes around 28 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from about 13.08 percent of the area and 37 per cent of the total exports of agricultural commodities, said Governor MC Bhandare, while inaugurating the four-day-long Third Indian Horticulture Congress at the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) on Thursday, in a galaxy of eminent horticulture scientists.

Though horticulture is a sustainable and viable sector for small and marginal farmers in the State, poor harvest management often affects the farmers, he said, adding that diversification of crops through horticulture is very much necessary.

He, however, expressed his pleasure over Union Government for increasing over Rs 25 crore in the 7th Plan to over Rs 15,000 crore in the 10th plan for horticulture sector.Recollecting the havoc wrought by the recent flood, which has affected around 16 districts in the State, he said the agriculture scientists are required to develop appropriate technologies for post-flood farming so as to meet the loss of crops in flood.
The horticulture scientists should show the path to the future generation. But this is not enough.Each of them should go to villages, stay there for two years, and give practical training and guidelines to the farmers about the modern technologies and scientific methods of horticulture, which can be adopted for a better output, viewed Madhya Pradesh Governor Balaram Jakhar in his presidential address.