The present study has identified the reasons for which diversification towards vegetables production is considered a pathway for increasing farmers’ income and employment. The study has reported the trends in area, production and productivity of vegetables in Punjab and India along with their compound annual growth rates. The study was undertaken on a macro framework based on the data collected from the secondary sources. The study has revealed that production of vegetables in total as well as the major cultivated vegetables viz. potato, tomato and peas, in Punjab and India had increased over the past 26 years (1990–91 to 2015–16) due to increase in area and yield of respective crops. Due to such increments the vegetables can be taken as a good option for diversification from the traditional crops and thereby is likely to increase in income of farmers. But factors like post-harvest losses, poor conditions of contract farming, lack of markets, etc. limit the actual availability of vegetables to the consumer. Hence, to increase the availability of these vegetables, there is a need to improvise several post-harvest practices, and spread contract farming across vegetable cultivators to help the farmers in increasing their income.
Crop diversification, vegetables, post-harvest losses, farmers’ income, Punjab
