Recently, CSIR Floriculture Mission has been approved for implementation in 21 States and Union Territories of India.
Q. What is this mission?
Floriculture is a branch of horticulture that deals with the cultivation, processing and marketing of ornamental plant vis-à-vis landscaping of small or large areas, and maintenance of gardens so that the surroundings may appear aesthetically pleasant.
The mission will focus on commercial floral crops, seasonal/annual crops, wild ornaments and cultivation of flower crops for honey bee rearing.
Some of the popular crops include Gladiolus, Canna, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Gerbera, Lilium, Marigold, Rose, Tuberose etc.
In the mission, available knowledge base in Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Institutes will be utilized and leveraged to help Indian farmers and industry.
The Indian floriculture market was worth Rs. 15,700 crore in 2018. The market is projected to reach Rs. 47,200 crore by 2024 during 2019-24.
Q. Which all are the implementing agencies?
CSIR and
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC),
APEDA and TRIFED,
Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, and
Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Q What is its significance ?
Raising Income: Floriculture has the potential to provide employment to a large number of people through nursery raising, floriculture farming, entrepreneurship development for nursery trade, value addition and export.
Agro Climatic diversity: India has diverse agro-climatic and edaphic conditions (physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil), and rich plant diversity, still it shares only 0.6% of the global floriculture market.
Import Substitution: At least 1200 million USD worth of floriculture products are being imported by India every yearfrom different countries.
The convergence of Floriculture with Apiculture (beekeeping) as envisaged in the mission will yield even greater benefits.
