FLORICULTURE: A Great Agribusiness

In India, floriculture is a traditional farming method with a significant capacity to create independent income for small farmers. The development of profitable agribusiness in recent years has improved lifestyles and increased demand for floriculture goods worldwide. In the past ten years, there has been an increase in the production of floricultural goods. It includes the trade-in of flowers, the manufacture of potted plants and nursery plants, the production of seeds and bulbs, micropropagation, and the extraction of essential oils.

What is Floriculture?

Floriculture, sometimes known as flower farming, is the science of raising and selling plants for their flowers and leaves. Floriculture is the practice of creating attractive, flowering plants for direct sale or use as a raw material in the manufacturing of cosmetics, fragrances, and pharmaceutical products. Seeds, cuttings, budding, and grafting are other sources of materials for gardening. In its simplest form, floriculture is the art and science of growing flowers to perfection. Horticulturists who operate in this area are called floriculturists.

In 2020–21, the nation exported 15,695.31 MT of floriculture goods to the rest of the world for a total of Rs. 575.98 Crores/77.84 USD Millions.

The floriculture industry has been designated by the Indian government as a sunrise sector with a status of 100% output. The most popular floriculture items include cut flowers, pot plants, cut foliage, seeds, bulbs, tubers, rooted cuttings, and dried flowers or leaves. Among the most significant floricultural crops in the global cut flower trade are roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, gerberas, gladiolus, orchids, anthuriums, tulips, and lilies. In greenhouses, floriculture crops like gerberas and carnations are grown. Other open-field crops include chrysanthemums, roses, gaillardia, lily marigold, aster, and tuberose.

With a total production of 253,24 thousand tons, Karnataka leads all other states in that category. In terms of area, Kerala is the leader in floriculture, with over 53.26 thousand hectares under cultivation. The other significant flower-growing states are Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana in the north, West Bengal in the east, Maharashtra in the west, and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the south.

Possibilities for Indian flower farming

Opportunities are expanding as a result of people's increasing spending power, urbanization, and aesthetic preferences, among other applications for flowers.
The demand for fresh flowers, flower-related goods like bouquets and garlands, and value-added goods like dried flowers, is rising significantly.
All types of flowers can be grown throughout the year due to the distinctive agro-climatic conditions of the nation.

Demand and Supply of Floricultural Crops:

In most nations, the demand for flowers varies seasonally. The demand for flowers consists of two parts: a year-round component and a seasonal component. The demand for both traditional and contemporary flowers is somewhat influenced by a variety of factors.

Classical Flowers: Due to their widespread use in garlands, wreaths, and religious rituals, classic flowers are in high demand. The usage of flowers for the aforementioned purposes is deeply rooted in the cultures of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and West Bengal, where demand is particularly high. Most seasonal demand is driven by celebrations like weddings and festivals. In general, people have a preference for certain flowers.

Trendy Flowers: The majority of the consistent demand for contemporary flowers is met by institutions like hotels, guest houses, and wedding gardens. The demand is greatest in urban areas. Individual consumer demand for contemporary flowers is anticipated to soar with growing industrialization and globalization, as the practice of "saying it with flowers" spreads and more occasions for flower-giving arise. Institutions continue to remain the market's top consumers despite rising private demand for contemporary flowers. Demand for these blooms has an impact on their price as well, which varies appropriately.

Marketing

India's cut flower industry is a disjointed mess. In the majority of Indian cities, flowers are delivered to wholesale marketplaces, which are typically set up in public yards. The flowers are then delivered to neighborhood retail establishments, many of which are situated by the side of the road, with various blooms arranged in sizable buckets. There are, however, some excellent floral show spaces in big cities, where flowers are kept fresh under regulated temperature settings and where value-added services are valued highly. To increase shelf life, the government is currently funding the development of auction systems and more efficiently run florist shops. Today, flowers are packaged and moved in a pretty haphazard way from fields to retail markets.

Depending on the type, the flowers are transported by road, train, or air to markets in gunny bags, bamboo baskets, simple boxes, or simply wrapped in old newspapers. On the other hand, the government has supported the acquisition of refrigerated containers and has set up a sizable number of export-oriented facilities with top-notch pre-cooling chambers, cold warehouses, and refrigerated vans.

Governmental Programs and Policies

The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, a division of the Ministry of Agriculture, is the nodal organization in charge of developing floriculture. It is responsible for creating and carrying out national policies and programs that aim to maximize the nation's resources for land, water, soil, and plants to achieve rapid agricultural expansion. The production of cut flowers for trade is a focus for assistance. A variety of projects have been implemented by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the nodal organization for promoting Agri exports, including flowers.

The "Integrated Development of Commercial Floriculture" program, which aims to increase productivity and traditionally and cut flower production by making high-quality planting material available, producing high-quality off-season flowers through protected cultivation, improving post-harvest handling of flowers, and training people for a scientific career, is one of many government initiatives to support and develop the floriculture industry. Different ministries have been established by numerous state governments to advance floriculture in respective areas.

Growing in prominence as an agribusiness, floriculture now offers career and economic prospects in both urban and rural areas. Anyone who wishes to launch a floral business can get assistance from the National Horticulture Board. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority provides cold storage facilities and freight reductions for the benefit of business owners. Commercial floriculture is a profitable industry since it has been discovered to have a higher potential per unit area than other field crops. The export of cut flowers has received a lot of attention in the last ten years.

Also Read: https://tractornews.in/articles/the-mission-for-integrated-development-of-horticulture-midh/