The FICCI-Grant Thornton report -- ‘Vision 2030: Focusing on high-value horticulture for Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ -- has said that persistent upstream weaknesses, fragmented value chains, and weak market anchoring have limited the realisation of India’s high-value horticulture sector, though the sector has the scale, market demand, and policy momentum to become a central driver of farmer income growth and agri industrialisation.

The report highlighted that a mission-led, market-backed transformation anchored in clean planting material production, orchard rejuvenation, localised processing, export readiness, and productive partnerships is essential to unlock durable value. Sequenced correctly and executed through partnerships, these pillars can convert public investment into sustained private participation, improve asset utilisation, reduce import dependence, and position India as a trusted global supplier of premium horticulture products.

Stressing the need for coordinated action, the report said that with disciplined execution and alignment across government, industry, and producers, high-value horticulture can deliver structurally higher incomes, stronger exports, and lay a strong foundation for ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the next decade.

Surpassing foodgrains

India’s horticulture sector now accounts for a disproportionately large share of agricultural value-addition and has surpassed foodgrains in total output. Yet, premium segments continue to be constrained by bottlenecks in planting material, fragmented post-harvest systems, and uneven standards and traceability. As a result, India remains import-dependent in several high-value chains even though significant domestic processing capacity remains underutilised, it said.

“Vision 2030 seeks to turn this asymmetry into an advantage -- shifting the sector from volume to value, from import dependence to domestic value-addition, and from fragmented schemes to an integrated mission platform that simultaneously scales productivity, quality, exports and livelihoods,” the report said.

Addressing FICCI’s India Horticulture Summit 2026, Bhagirath Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said horticulture has emerged as a major engine of agricultural transformation, contributing nearly one-third of agricultural gross value added and many horticulture farmers have already experienced it as a transformative medium, while some are yet to grasp its full potential. Today, horticulture is shaping the future of Indian agriculture through value, opportunity and resilience, he said.

Leveraging quality output

The Government stands ready to support and facilitate all efforts that drive the next phase of horticulture transformation, and work with farmers, FPOs, industry and other stakeholders to build strong, competitive and sustainable horticulture sector, Choudhary said.

Naveen Patle, Additional Commissioner (Horticulture), Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India, stressed the need for leveraging quality production, strengthening processing capabilities, and enhancing import-export linkages to improve farmers’ incomes.

Syed Junaid Altaf, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Horticulture and Group ED, FIL Industries Pvt Ltd, said India should focus on self-sustainability in horticulture over the next five-seven years and further aim to emerge as an export-driven nation in next 10 to 15 years.

Saloni Goel, Co-Chair, FICCI Task Force on Horticulture and Senior Director - ESG Value Creation and Commercialization, Coca-Cola India Pvt Ltd, said horticulture is not just a sector but a powerful engine of growth, innovation and livelihood creation.

Chirag Jain, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, said that shifting from food to nutrition security through horticulture is key to raising farmer incomes. Investing in quality planting material, private-sector innovation, and sustainable cold-chain infrastructure, alongside strengthening FPOs, contract farming, and hyper-local production, will be critical to improving efficiency, price realisation, and access to nutrition, Jain said.

Published on April 10, 2026