On October 29, 2021, the honorable Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar addressed a National Conference on “International Year of Fruits and Vegetables” organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoAFW) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The conference was organized as part of the celebration of the “International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, 2021” declared by the United Nations. The theme for this year is “Awareness about the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables for balanced and healthy diet and lifestyle.”

In his keynote address, the Union Minister said that “India is the second-largest producer of horticulture products, with approximately 12% of the global fruit and vegetable production. During the year 2019-20, India recorded the highest ever production of 320.77 million metric tonnes in horticulture, while the horticulture production for 2020-21 is estimated to be 329.86 million metric tonnes, which is also higher than the previous year.” The Union Minister expressed the hope that India can achieve the goal of bringing fruits and vegetables to the plate of the poorest of the poor, not as a special food but as a daily necessity. At the conference, the Union Minister also released operational guidelines for the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme.

Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare of MoAFW, Government of India said that horticulture has become the growth engine of Indian agriculture. He further stated, "the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables”, is an attempt of the UN to raise awareness on the importance of fruits and vegetables in our daily lives, as well as in doubling of farmers’ income. He said no one should be deprived of nutritional fulfilment.

Mr Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India, underlined the importance of looking at the fruit and vegetable sector holistically as an integral part of the food system and going beyond nutritional benefits. The social, economic, and environmental benefits derived from this sector should also be acknowledged. He added that, the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021 falls within the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025) and the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028). These observances reinforce each other while providing greater visibility to small-scale producers and raising awareness on food & nutrition security. The IYFV 2021 can act as a springboard towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.

Shri Rajbir Singh, Joint Secretary & Mission Director, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India presented an overview of the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, and Dr. S.K. Malhotra, Horticulture Commissioner, gave a presentation on Mainstreaming Indigenous Fruits & Vegetables for food & nutrition secure future during the conference.

The Conference was attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India; senior officers of Embassy of Israel and Embassy of the Netherlands; Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC), GIZ; the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes, officers from National Horticulture Board, Coconut Development Board, and all State Horticulture Missions along with leading growers /processors/farmers across the country.

News coverage:

• PIB press release

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