Himachal Pradesh has been endowed with a wide range of agro-climatic conditions due to which a large number of horticulture commodities like fruit crops, flowers, vegetables, mushrooms, hops, tea, medicinal & aromatic plants etc. are successfully grown here. Amongst the fruit crops, perhaps all kinds of fruits grown in the country, except those grown in the warm humid coastal regions, can be produced in the State. But the State is known worldwide for the quality apple produced by the progressive farmers of the State.
The State Government has taken several measures to strengthen the economy of the horticulturists of the state. Better marketing facilities are being created to facilitate the growers to sell their produce nearer to their homes at competitive rates and save them from the clutches of the middlemen. Market Yards and procurement centres are being established in different parts of the State.
The State Government is also conducting a legal study to implement universal cartons in order to make the apple growers of the state economically empowered. Efforts are being made to open Controlled Atmosphere (CA) stores in different parts of the State, so that the horticulturists could get remunerative prices of their produce.
Apart from this, the Government is actively considering setting up an apple-based distillery, which will provide an additional source of income to the horticulturists as they could sell under size and rotten apples for winery products. The Government has also asked the banks to work for the welfare of the farmers by providing generous loans to them for agriculture, fisheries and horticulture sectors, so that the rural economy of the state could also be strengthened.
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