Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir’s horticulture sector has been growing at a rapid speed for the last three years; major crop areas have increased by 10,000 hectares (3%), and yield has boosted by 18.50%. As per a report unveiled by the Economic Survey Report 2024, highlighting the adoption of modern techniques in farming and infrastructure development. The total area under horticulture cultivation has gone up from 3.35 lakh hectares in 2020-21 to 3.45 lakh hectares in 2023-24.
The fruit production boosted from 22.30 lakh metric tons to 26.43 lakh metric tons, making satisfactory progress across the sector. Speedy growth of high/medium- density plantations is one of the biggest achievements, covering only 880.89 hectares in 2020-21, but by March 2024, the area expanded to 18,054 hectares, an increase of twenty-fold.
A senior official from the Department of Horticulture described this shift as a “game-changer”, stating that high-density farming allows better land use, higher yields, and improved fruit quality, ensuring more income for farmers.
For better growth, the high-density plant distribution has increased by the government. 32.49 lakh plants were distributed in 2023-24, compared to just 6.41 lakh in 2021-22—a five-fold rise. This success comes due to the Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP), which has invested Rs 1,028.21 crore in various horticulture projects.
According to the Economic Survey, the goal is set to expand the fruit production to 50,000 hectares by 2047. This shows the government’s full-fledged effort to boom J&K’s horticulture sector and make it more competitive and sustainable as well. Expansion of modern storage facilities is another factor of growth; currently, J&K has 2.70 lakh metric tons of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage capacity, helping farmers to store their products and sell as per the demand in the market.
The adequate government support, adoption of modern farming, and better market access have helped J&K a lot in the rapid growth of the horticulture sector.
