The Challenges and Opportunities of Diversification of Agriculture towards High-Value Crops in Maharashtra
Keywords:
Crop Diversification, High Value Crops (HVCs)Abstract
The Government of India had set an ambitious goal to double farmers' income by 2022. One of the key strategies suggested by the committee appointed by the GOI for achieving this was diversification of agriculture towards high-value crops. which will also help to meet the rising demand of fruits and vegetables in urban areas and better earning opportunities for the farmers also. Maharashtra, with its significant and diverse agro-climatic conditions, advancement in technology and application of modern farming practices in agriculture, offers significant potential for this diversification. In this paper researchers have tried to review the agricultural profile of state in respect of high value crops and analysed the opportunities and challenges involved in diversification of agriculture toward high value crops like, fruits and vegetables in Maharashtra, using secondary data, literature review, and policy analysis. The findings suggest that diversification offers scope for enhancing farmers’ income but for this multiple structural, infrastructural, and market-related barriers must be addressed.
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References
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