Role of national horticulture mission in horticultural development in Rajasthan

Rajasthan with diverse agro-climatic conditions growing large number of horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers and medicinal & aromatic plants throughout the year. The paper analyses the nature and pattern of growth in horticultural crops in Rajasthan. The paper analyses the performance of National Horticulture Mission (NHM) Scheme in Rajasthan in terms of increase in area, production and productivity of identified horticultural crops and income of the farmers cultivating these crops. The study finds that the growth in horticulture sector has been much better in Rajasthan when compared to many other states. However, there has been persistent level of instability in growth rate of yield and area under horticulture crops over the years since a large part of cultivable area is not covered under assured irrigation and still depends on the rainfall. Though the overall impacts of the NHM scheme was good on some grounds like expansion of area under horticultural crops and disbursement of input subsidies, the poor performance in the case of our sample farmers was observed in terms of promotion of processing activities, rejuvenation, development of post harvest management and marketing infrastructures, protected cultivation and organic farming. Thus it is suggested to step up these neglected activities under NHM so as to facilitate a healthy and balanced growth of horticulture sector in Rajasthan.