National Horticulture Board and its schemes on the wing of farmer's welfare

The Indian horticulture sector bestows a booming 33% share in the agriculture Gross Value Added (GVA), portraying its significant contribution to Indian economy. As per the third advance estimates, the overall horticultural production was projected to be 353.19 million tons for the year 2023-24 (Source: Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare). However, there is a slight decline of 0.65% in the production which could be associated with the climate change, lack of irrigation, degrading soil fertility, post-harvest losses, insufficient storage and logistic facilities. The National Horticulture Board (NHB) - with the headquarters at Gurugram and 29 field offices across the country - operating under the administrative control of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare provide financial assistance to farmers and help them overcome the production related constraints. Presently, Sh. Priya Ranjan, IFS is the Managing Director of the board.