Punjab has been famously considered the food bowl of India. With a contribution of more than 40% of the central pool of wheat and 26% of rice, Punjab has an essential stake in staple foods in India. Agriculture continues to be a major contributor to the economy with about 21 % of GSDP being contributed by Agriculture and allied sectors.

Agriculture and allied fields such as dairy, fisheries, and animal husbandry are major sources of employment in Punjab. These sectors play an important role in the economy of Punjab. Punjab is also known for high production as well as high productivity of the milk. Sahiwal, one of the best Indian indigenous breeds of a cow with the highest milk yielding capacity is from Punjab.

The key production statistics for the state (the year 2015-16) are presented below:

Production Cluster of the State:-

Punjab has the following marketing facilities in the state:

• 153 Agricultural Produce Market Committees in the State,
• Punjab has 33 mega agro-processing projects
• 20 mega projects in agro and allied sectors such as Ethanol manufacturing, grain-based distilleries, Baby food, Health foods, etc. are under commercial operations and few under implemented stage
• Agri-Export Zones: Agri Export Zones have been planned by the state Government for potato, rice, honey, and vegetables. The Govt. of India has notified Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, and Ropar districts as Agri Export Zone for vegetables.
• There are over 3100 purchase centers operated by Punjab State Agricultural MarketingBoard in the state.
• Punjab has 16 cold chain projects approved by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries under the Scheme for Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure. Out of these approved projects, the projects at Ropar, Sangrur, and Kapurthala have already been completed and started commercial operations.
• 162 warehouses across 22 districts

Agricultural markets in Punjab:

• 3110 purchase centers
• 62 cold storage units
• 5 Agri Export Zones
• 162 warehouses
• 20 Mega Agro-Processing Projects
• 153 Mandis

Some of the major processing clusters in the state include:

• Agriculture is one of the significant sectors for the growth of Punjab’s economy. It is providing livelihoods to more than 60% of the state’s population and is known as the ‘Bread Basket of India’ leading to the first Green Revolution in the country. Principal crops sown in Punjab are cotton, wheat, rice, maize, and sugarcane. The major fruits grown in Punjab include orange, kinnows, lemon, malta, pear, grapes, mango & guava. Potato is the only major vegetable produced in the state. The state accounts for the highest yield of rice, paddy, and wheat in India
• Food processing is considered to be a focus area in the state and the Government has made various efforts in aiding deserving investments for the food processing industry
• Three mega food parks and one food park in Punjab have been notified by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries out of which one mega food park is operational and the second is partially operational as of April 2019
• Punjab’s IT policy and the incentives offered to the IT industry are aimed at promoting Punjab as an attractive destination for the industry. Mohali has been developed as an IT and ITeS hub in the state