India is the second largest producer of floriculture crops after China, yet our export potential is below 6%, said Manjunath Angadi, deputy director of the Department of Horticulture.
Speaking after inaugurating a one-day industry meeting for the floriculture mission on the theme 'Advancing Floriculture, Opportunities and Sustainability', which was held at CFTRI, he encouraged exploring the different agro climates across India, which are well-suited for various floriculture crops. He also said state govt is considering applying artificial intelligence and automation in floriculture to address farmers' challenges.
He spoke about the importance of floriculture in Karnataka and suggested that scientists connect with farmers to inform them about new developments. This knowledge can help farmers adopt better flower varieties and improve their profitability. Various stakeholders of the floriculture business participated.
CFTRI director Sridevi A Singh highlighted the potential benefits of floral pigments as food colors, value addition to used flowers (conversion of waste to wealth), a purple revolution in J&K through lavender cultivation, and the development of high-quality flower varieties by various CSIR laboratories.
Read more at Times of India