Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
loose flower and cut flower increased by 129.72% and 175.10%, respec-
tively in eastern India as compared to 53.11% and 117.03%, respectively,
at national level. With respect to spices, eastern India contributes 12.60%
of total spice production in the country with a total production of 0.48 mil-
lion tons. The major spices produced in the region are ginger, chili, garlic,
turmeric, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, cardamom (large). During the last
four years, the spice production in eastern India increased by 17.36% and
5.45% increase in area. At national level the increase in spice production
during the last five years was 8.4% with 4.1% increase in area under spic-
es. Among the eastern states, the maximum spice production was recorded
in Orissa. However, the increase in area and production during the last
four years can mainly be attributed to significant increases in the state of
West Bengal (21.35% increase in area and 64.82% increase in production).
In case of medicinal plants, the total area and production in eastern India
is 0.14 million ha and 0.08 million tons, respectively. Out of all the eastern
states, Chhattisgarh contributes 87.07% of total production whereas Ut-
tar Pradesh contributes towards 87.31% of total area under medicinal and
aromatic plants. With respect to aromatic plants, the last five years have
witnessed 97.8% increase in area and 554% increase in production in the
eastern region as compared to 93.6% and 170.5% increase in area and pro-
duction, respectively at national level. The large-scale increase in produc-
tion of aromatic plants can be attributed to 605.04% increase in area and
808.94% increase in production in the state of Chhattisgarh. With respect
to plantation crops, the total area in eastern region is 0.36 million ha with a
total production of 0.73 million tons. Eastern India contributes only 6.12%
of total production of plantation crops in India. The major plantation crops
of the region are Cashew nut, Coconut and areca nut. Average productivity
of eastern India is only 1.9927 t/ha as compared to 3.6538 t/ha at national
level. Among the eastern states, the maximum area under plantation crops
is in Odisha whereas West Bengal ranks first in terms of total production.
Last five years have witnessed 2.1% reduction in production of plantation
crops in the eastern region although 14.8% increase in area was recorded.
At national level, there has been 2.0% and 5.9% increase in area and pro-
duction of plantation crops during the last five years, respectively. Declin-
ing productivity in all the eastern states and 24.8% reduction in production
in the state of Assam can be attributed to reduction in the production level
of plantation crops in the eastern region. With respect to infrastructure
for processing, a total of 620 number of units for processing of fruits and
