Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the third-largest producer of flowers in India. Chittoor, Anantapur, and East Godavari districts are the major flower producers in India. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has confirmed that Andhra Pradesh produced 4.06 lakh tonnes of flowers during 2020-21. The total extent of land under floriculture in the State is more than 19,000 hectares.
Maximum yield
The Ministry has also said that Andhra Pradesh has the highest production per unit area (per hectare) among the major producers – Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh – in the country.
“The maximum yield per hectare is between 8 and 10 tonnes in Andhra Pradesh,” says Horticulture Department Deputy Director (East Godavari) S. Ramamohan. In Andhra Pradesh, flowers, including marigold and jasmine, are despatched to Odisha, West Bengal, and Telangana.
There are a few varieties that are being brought from other States for packing and export from Andhra Pradesh.
The Central government has promised financial assistance under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for wooden and bamboo structures, plastic tunnels, and walk-in tunnels to increase the area under the floriculture.
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