§1How big it is
Horticulture production 367.72 million tonnes in 2024-25 (2nd advance estimates), up from 280.70 MT in 2013-14: fruits 114.51 MT, vegetables 219.67 MT, others 33.54 MT
PIB backgrounder (MoA&FW): Horticulture - Strengthening India's Agri-Economy (Aug 2025)India is the world's second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables
PIB backgrounder (MoA&FW): Horticulture - Strengthening India's Agri-Economy (Aug 2025)55,748 post-harvest management facilities and 11,140 marketing infrastructures set up under MIDH in five years
PIB backgrounder (MoA&FW): Horticulture - Strengthening India's Agri-Economy (Aug 2025)58 Centres of Excellence approved under MIDH; 55 clusters identified under the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme
PIB backgrounder (MoA&FW): Horticulture - Strengthening India's Agri-Economy (Aug 2025)
§2Ways to get started
- Polyhouse vegetables or cut flowers (MIDH / NHB subsidy)
- Fruit and vegetable pack-house and grading
- Ripening chamber (banana, mango)
- Plant nursery / tissue-culture plantlets
- Farm-gate aggregation for retail chains
§3Hubs and clusters
§4Licences and registration
- Nursery registration / accreditation (state; NHB accreditation optional)
- APMC trader / commission agent licence where applicable
- FSSAI registration for packed produce
- APEDA RCMC and phytosanitary certificate for export
- Udyam Registration (MSME) - free, online, PAN + Aadhaar based
- GST registration (mandatory above turnover threshold or for inter-state supply)
- Shops & Establishments registration or Factory Licence (Factories Act) depending on set-up
- State Pollution Control Board Consent to Establish / Operate per CPCB 2025 Red/Orange/Green/White/Blue category (White exempt)
- IEC - Importer Exporter Code from DGFT (only if importing or exporting)
§5Regulators
- Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare - Department of Agriculture (MIDH)
- National Horticulture Board
- State Horticulture Department
- APEDA (export)
- Plant quarantine (DPPQS) for import/export of planting material
§6Government help
- MIDH - Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (polyhouse, pack-house, cold storage, nursery subsidy)
- NHB capital-investment subsidy for commercial horticulture and cold storage
- Clean Plant Programme (9 centres) and 4 Post-Entry Quarantine facilities
- Agriculture Infrastructure Fund - interest subvention
- Horticulture Cluster Development Programme
- Cross-sector schemes: Udyam-linked MSME benefits, PMEGP, CGTMSE credit guarantee, Stand-Up India, Startup India (DPIIT recognition), RoDTEP / duty drawback and Export Promotion Mission for exporters
§7For exports
- APEDA
- Spices Board
- Coconut Development Board
§8Pros and cons
Merits
- Higher return per acre than field crops [PIB Horticulture 2025]
- Mature subsidy routes for infrastructure (MIDH, NHB, AIF)
- Large domestic demand plus export pull
Demerits
- Perishability - losses if cold chain is missing
- Price crashes in glut seasons
- Weather and pest risk
- Subsidy release can lag; projects must be bankable first