A Rs 135-Cr market, fading funds & Assam's unfinished flower story

Assam imports flowers worth nearly Rs 135 crore annually while producing only around Rs 15 crore worth locally. It’s a glaring gap that reflects both the state's untapped potential and its persistent failure to act on it.

Known for its lush landscape, fertile plains and extraordinary biodiversity, Assam has long possessed the natural conditions to sustain a thriving floriculture economy. From orchids blooming in its forest belts to marigolds brightening village courtyards, flowers are deeply embedded in the state's culture, rituals and daily commerce.

Yet, the bulk of flowers sold across its markets travel hundreds of kilometres from Pune, Kolkata and Bengaluru before reaching a buyer in Guwahati.

It was this stark paradox that the Floriculture Mission, approved by Assam Government in 2023, sought to address, channelling the state's natural advantage into employment, self-reliance and economic growth.

Months on, however, the initiative appears to have lost steam, raising uncomfortable questions about whether Assam's floriculture ambitions are wilting even before they have had a chance to flower.

A flower shop in Fancy Bazar

A market already waiting

On the ground in Guwahati's Fancy Bazar, traders paint a picture of steady demand and strained margins.

Jitul, a flower shop owner, said almost everything he sells arrives from Bengaluru, adding cost and uncertainty to every transaction. "If the government brings some initiative, it will be a huge relief because we have to procure flowers from outside at a very high cost," he said.

Fellow trader Vivek Malakar spends between Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000 daily sourcing flowers from Pune. For him, it’s a recurring overhead that eats into margins even as business remains brisk. Demand, he notes, is consistent and year-round, fuelled by weddings, religious ceremonies, festivals and daily devotional needs.

Yet despite the volume, traders often find themselves squeezed, with many buyers purchasing on credit.

Local supply, Malakar believes, would fundamentally change the economics of his trade. "This is a sector where we do not need to search for a market. Our home market itself is enough, where traders from outside are already selling flowers worth Rs 120 crore. There is demand every day," he said.

Potential recognised, momentum lost

Nripen Das, Director of Horticulture and Food Processing, Assam, is candid about both the promise and the problem. With flowers worth Rs 120 crore pouring in from outside while local production hovers at a fraction of that figure, the demand is clearly there.

What is missing, Das argues, is the sustained institutional and financial support needed to organise the sector and scale it up meaningfully.

He traces the slowdown directly to the closure of the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART), which had provided the initial financial scaffolding for floriculture activities across the state.

Once the project concluded, the momentum it had generated gradually faded. Efforts continued under State Owned Priority Development (SOPD) and centrally-sponsored schemes such as the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), covering orchids, gerbera, tuberose and marigold, but only on a limited scale.

"After APART, some work continued under SOPD, but due to lack of funds it could not expand much. To implement it as a full-fledged mission, separate funding is necessary," Das said, making clear that without dedicated financial backing, floriculture in Assam risks remaining a patchwork of scattered initiatives rather than a structured, scalable industry.

A believer in the sector's possibilities, he, however, pushes back against the common perception that Assam's climate is unsuitable for commercial flower cultivation.

"Assam has immense potential. People say that some flowers do not grow here, but I am growing gerbera. A state with such huge prospects can do much more," he said.

A vibrant arrangement of roses in various colours

Blueprint for revival

Das has outlined a cluster-based approach as the most viable and immediate path forward, targeting districts with strong market connectivity such as Sivasagar, Kamrup (Rural), Kamrup Metro, Morigaon, Nalbari and Goalpara, all situated within the Guwahati market periphery.

Concentrating resources in these districts, he argues, would generate visible results quickly and build confidence in the model before expanding further.

He also points to climate-resilient technologies already gaining ground among local growers, including bamboo polyhouses, as ready tools for scaling production without prohibitive investment.

The technology exists. The market exists. What the sector needs now, he insists, is focused government attention.

"If the government focuses on the floriculture sector, youths who go outside the state for work can find ways of earning here itself," Das said, framing floriculture not merely as an agricultural opportunity but as a credible answer to Assam's persistent youth unemployment challenge.

The vision is one of a self-sustaining ecosystem - local growers supplying local traders, reducing dependence on distant markets, creating livelihoods and keeping money within the state's economy.

For those tracking the sector closely, the question is no longer whether Assam can build a floriculture economy.

With favourable climate, ready markets, available technology and backing from the highest levels of government, the bigger question now is whether sustained political will and dedicated funding will arrive before the mission fades into yet another promising idea that never truly took root.