UPSC Mains 2018 GS3 Q13 — Horticulture and Agriculture
Assess the role of National Horticulture Mission (NHM) in boosting the production, productivity and income of horticulture farms. How far has it succeeded in increasing the income of farmers? (Answer in 250 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- AssessHow far
- Scope keywords
- National Horticulture Mission (NHM)productionproductivityincome of horticulture farmsincreasing the income of farmers
- Implicit sub-parts
- Impact of NHM on physical output (Production) and efficiency (Productivity).
- Role of post-harvest infrastructure and market linkages provided by NHM in value realization.
- A critical evaluation of the 'income' gap: Why high production hasn't always translated to high farmer profits.
- Structural and regional constraints that limited the mission's success (e.g., cold chain gaps, price volatility).
- Common pitfalls
- Writing a generic essay on the importance of fruits and vegetables without specific reference to NHM components like MIDH.
- Focusing only on 'production' while ignoring the 'income' aspect which is the second half of the question.
- Failing to mention specific data points or trends regarding horticulture vs. food grain production in India.
- Neglecting the shift from NHM to the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in 2014-15.
- Dimensions required
- Technological (High-yielding varieties, poly-houses)Economic (Market linkages, price discovery, value addition)Infrastructural (Cold storage, supply chain logistics)Regional (Success in specific clusters versus laggard states)
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate roughly 100 words to assess the impact on production and productivity with data-backed success stories. Use the remaining 150 words for the critical 'How far' component, focusing on income bottlenecks, price crashes, and the lack of processing facilities to meet the 15-mark depth requirement.
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