Floriculture in Himachal Pradesh is suffering because of the lack of post-marketing facilities and the scattered manner of its practice.
Although floriculture has caught the fancy of farmers in Himachal as more and more farmers are diversifying into it, floriculture officials in the state say a lot needs to be done to promote it.
Floriculture in Himachal has taken strides, seen from the fact that the area under floriculture in the state has increased from 30 hectares in 1993-94 to 588 hectares in 2008. And the export market for cut-and-loose flowers outside the state has also gone up.
As against the export of flowers worth Rs 19.90 crore in 2006, flowers worth Rs 22 crore were exported in 2007, with the main marketing centres for Himachal flowers being Chandigarh and Delhi.
Foriculture officials maintain that a few stumbling block need to be taken care of to help the state flourish in the area of floriculture. They say despite floriculture being practised by around 2,200 farmers in the state, flower cultivation in the state has remained scattered.
Also with 96 per cent small and marginal farmers in the state, floriculture is still considered a risky proposition and the farmers are not willing to invest huge amounts.
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The officials reveal that although 70 hectares of the floriculture area in Himachal is under poly houses, the houses cannot be classified as scientifically modified. Mostly the green houses in Himachal are with basic facilities, but if farmers need better result for their produce, good facilities should be provided.
The officials maintain that the creation of post-harvesting facilities and a flower auction centre could be a boon for the farmers as proper infrastructure would help the state attract companies from outside who could purchase flowers directly from the farmers.