Horticulture is one of the main agricultural practices in a nation. It is basically the science of cultivating gardens or orchards, that is, it refers to the process of cultivation of fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants. It involves increasing the area and productivity of farming lands, bringing technological aspect in agriculture, raising the farmers' incomes and their standard of living, being a source of employment opportunities, etc.
India is bestowed with a varied agro-climate, which is highly favourable for growing a large number of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, root tuber, aromatic and medicinal plants, spices and plantation crops like coconut, arecanut, cashew and cocoa. It is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables, fruits, plantation crops and spices contributed to 59.8 per cent, 30.9 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent of total horticulture production, respectively, in 2006-07.
In India, the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, is the nodal agency for promoting entrepreneurial activities in horticulture sector of the country. Its focus is on unleashing the advantages of various horticultural crops through its schemes like, 'National Horticulture Mission' and 'Technology Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture in North Eastern States, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand'. National Horticulture Board (NHB) has also been set up to promote integrated development in horticulture as well as for coordinating, stimulating and sustaining the production and processing of fruits and vegetables.
Initiative has also been taken up to promote modern 'terminal markets' for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres of the country to provide the state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities for electronic auction, cold chain and logistics, etc. Such market seeks to allow easy access to farmers for the marketing of their produce.
Hence, there exists innumerable business opportunities in the horticulture sector of India. Investors and entrepreneurs, from all over the world, are making greater investments into the sector and are actively involved in trading of India's horticulture crops. The Government, both at the Centre and the State level, is making all efforts to commercialize the horticultural activities in the country.
