APPLE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING FACILITIES PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

Abstract

The economy of Himachal Pradesh is totally agrarian. The majority of people living in Himachal Pradesh are dependent on agriculture or horticulture and allied sector. The government of Himachal Pradesh is striving to improve the economic and social condition of its inhabitants through the development of horticulture in the state. For that purpose, government has launched various schemes and providing various subsidies to the farmers. These include, most importantly, diversity in agro-climatic conditions, possibilities to produce for ‘off-season’ markets, relative high education of producers, and a location relatively close to terminal consumer markets. The state’s agriculture is dominated by high value horticulture commodities, which account for about 44 percent of the cropped area and contribute about 48 percent of agricultural gross state domestic product. The state has emerged as a leading producer of fruits and off season vegetables. The Horticulture sector annually contributes INR 63,000 million (US$ 1051 million) to the state economy, which is about 7 percent of the GSDP. The Horticulture in HP has been responsible for many of the positive outcomes in employment, wages, and in turn, poverty reduction. Notwithstanding, the significant potential of horticulture production in HP, state faces a number of sectoral, institutional, marketing challenges in domestic markets and it is  opened to international trade also. The focus of present research paper is to analyse the marketing facilities provided by Himachal Government.