Assam being encompassed under one of the 14 global biodiversity hotspots has enough options for farming as well as investment in the horticulture sector.

Agriculture and allied activities play a very important role in the socio-economic development of the state, as its economy is largely both rural and agrarian. The state contributes almost 11.45% GSDP growth rate (2014-15) at current prices.

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

An agrarian economy since time immemorial, agriculture is the major contributor to the state economy. It also provides livelihood to a significant proportion of the population of the state. The agro-climatic conditions support the cultivation of a wide range of horticultural crops, including plantation crops and various fruits and vegetables, flowers, spices, medicinal and aromatic plants, nut crops, and tuber crops.

Pineapple, banana, cauliflower, Broccoli, rose; rice, papaya, sugarcane, turmeric, jute, potato, and Bougainvillea are among high yielding varieties of horticulture crops in Assam. It also includes traditional fruits like Carambola, Leteku, Paniyal Thekera, Au Tenga, etc.

Production Cluster of the State:-

As per the Economic Survey of Assam, 2016-17, at present, there are 24 regulated market committees, 20 primary market yards, 143 trader’s shops, 532 Auction Platforms/ Retailers Sheds, 806 rural primary markets, 405 wholesale markets, 735 rural primary markets, one organic market, 18 packaging room, 42 drying platforms & 15 processing units in the state. As per the Annual Survey of Industries- 2014-15, there are 1,317 registered food processing units in the state.

Agricultural markets in Assam:

• 43 rural primary markets
• 33 Drying platforms
• 11 sale counters
• 4 cold storages
• 3 wholesale markets
• 1 organic market

Assam is a house of natural and precious mineral resources. Assam finds its place in the industrially developed map of the world. The crude oil was explored and India’s first oil well was drilled, established the first oil refinery, and explored the first coalfield. The introduction of tea cultivation during the period and the beginning of global export of finished tea brought an economic boom to Assam. 

Geographical Indication of Agricultural Processing in Assam:

• Tea occupies an important place among the agriculture-based industries in Assam. About 17% of the workers of Assam are engaged in the tea industry. There are more than 765 tea gardens in the state of Assam. Between April 2020 and July 2020, production of tea in the state stood at 210.13 million kgs, contributing 48% to the total tea production in India
• Tea is grown in the Brahmaputra & Barak plains. Tea gardens are mostly found in the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon & Sonitpur. A Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) for rejuvenation of the tea bushes is created by the Government. This would benefit 700-800 tea gardens of the state. The Government has secured a Geographical Indication (GI) for the tea produced in the state. As a result, ‘Assam Tea’ is known as ‘Assam Orthodox Tea’
• Total production of horticulture crops in the state in 2018-19* stood at 7.18 million tonnes with 712.19 thousand hectares area under production
• During 2019-20, a total of 25,27,830 soil health cards have been issued to the farmers and another 3.5 lakh health card is planned to be issued in 2020-21