Innovation and sustainability dynamics in the horticultural sector

Abstract

The paper focuses on the horticulture sector of India's Kashmir valley, analyzing its sustainable potential within the framework of the agricultural innovation system. The horticulture sector has been very productive in the Kashmir valley by providing economic pathways to most populations, either directly or indirectly. Engaging the science, technology and innovation application in the sector are believed to increase the growth based on production and productivity. However, such applications without limited measure may act detrimental to the environment on economic accounts' interests. Such applications must be productive, economically viable, and environmentally sound; they must conserve natural resources, make optional use of on-farm resources, and enhance the quality of life for farmers,  members of rural communities, and society. All such components remark the concept of sustainable development accounting all the three major factors like social, economic and environmental interrelations. In this study, applying the agricultural innovation system framework will help understand the positive and negative aspects of horticulture within sustainable development. This paper argues that the three domains of sustainable development (i.e., social, economic and environmental) in horticulture will not steady parallel until innovations implemented are projected in an appropriate mechanism.