Processing and Value addition of Horticulture Crops

India's diverse agro-climatic condition ensures the availability of various horticulture crops viz., fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, plantation crops, beverage crops, medicinal and aromatic crops. No other country in the world is capable of producing such a diverse horticultural crop. India is the largest producer of horticulture crops which amounts to 355 million tonne. Horticulture plays a significant role in economic development of many states in India and contributes 30.40 per cent to the agriculture GDP. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. India is the largest producer of mango, banana, arecanut, coconut, spices, okra, peas, papaya, turmeric, ginger etc.

- C VASUDEVAPPA, Former Vice Chancellor KSNUAHS Shivamogga & NIFTEM, Kundli, Sonepat Haryana

Major thrust area in horticulture is maintenance of prolonged freshness of produce and the concerns are low value addition and processing. The total post-harvest loss of horticulture crops in India is 20-30 per cent in fruits and 30-35 per cent in vegetables. The total annual monetary loss from all food and horticulture produce is around Rs. 152790 crores. The contributing factors are: Poor infrastructure, Low rate of processing, Lack of proper storage facilities. Processing and value addition is only about 10 per cent of India's fruit-vegetable output which is far below the 40-80 per cent processing in many other nations. Within the broader agro-processing sector, the share of horticulture products that are processed is even lower, roughly 2 per cent. Value-addition hovers around 2.0 per cent of production, a stark contrast to the 30 per cent seen in high-income countries.

Processing and value addition of horticulture crops is essential to address issues related to

1) Extend shelf life

2) Maintain sensory properties

3) Maintain or improve nutritive properties

4) Ensure safety

5) Make more convenient to use

6) Ensure high income

7) Reduce the post-harvest losses

What are the Concerns?

High post-harvest losses: Inadequate cold-storage (only ≈ 30 per cent capacity utilisation) and fragmented logistics keep waste at ≈ 20-30 per cent.