Constraints Faced by Hortipreneurs in Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand

In Uttarakhand, the horticulture sector contributes to nutrition security and serves as a reliable source of income generation. It has almost all major climatic zones, making it amenable to a variety of commercial opportunities in horticulture, floriculture, and agriculture. Despite the vast potential and opportunities in the field, established industries remain limited. Within the horticulture sector, enterprises suffer from oversupply, and direct marketing channels are yet to be well established. The present study therefore attempted to analyse various technical, infrastructure related, marketing and economic constraints faced by hortipreneurs in undertaking various horticultural enterprises in hills. A descriptive research design was used to meet the objectives of the study. The study was carried out in purposively selected districts Nainital and Almora of Uttarakhand. The study was carried out on a sample of 70 hortipreneurs who were selected through snowball sampling from various villages and blocks and were interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured schedule. Constraints were analysed using Friedman Analysis in SPSS. Lack of adequate information and technical support, High seasonality/ perishability of products, Inadequate facility of specialized transportation, Lack of sufficient integrated cold chain/storage facilities. High marketing margin by the middlemen and Prevalence of financial illiteracy among producers were the major constraints faced by the hortipreneurs in various horticultural enterprises.