Diversification towards High Value Agriculture Role of Urbanisation and Infrastructure

During the last several years diversification of agriculture in India towards high value commodities, i e, fruits, vegetables and livestock products, has been proceeding at a fast pace and is reflected in the high share of HVCs in agricultural production in a number of districts. This paper builds on the hypothesis that access to markets, defined in terms of demand for HVCs and the factors facilitating their transport from production sites to consumption centres, is critical to their growth. The analysis thus brings out regional variations in HVCs across the country that have implications for regional agricultural planning and consequently for public and private sector investment strategies