Almoraअल्मोड़ा
6.23 lakh people. Larger than Malta, the Maldives, or Brunei. Governed as one cell of one state.
- Population
- 6,22,506 (6.23 lakh)
- Area
- 3,082 km²
- Headquarters
- Almora
₹785 cr
of bankable business potential identified by the government in Almora.
Source: NABARD PLP 2023-24
Opportunities
What you can build here
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NABARD's plan for Almora · PLP 2023-24
₹785 crof bankable credit potential identified by the government
MSME
₹237 cr
Crop production, maintenance & marketing
₹212 cr
Housing
₹95 cr
Term loans for agriculture & allied activities
₹73 cr
Almora's NABARD credit plan for 2023-24 sizes up about 785 crore of lending potential. Farming and its allied lines make up roughly 363 crore (46%), and small businesses (MSME) another 237 crore — a reminder that this hill district still runs on land, livestock and tiny enterprises rather than factories (only about 3,800 industrial units employing under 13,000 people).
The biggest single opportunity is everyday crop farming (212 crore) — rain-fed paddy, wheat, pulses and the nutri-cereals ragi, ramdana and jhangora that the plan wants pushed in 2023-24. Dairy is the standout allied bet (61 crore); improved milch cattle already feed Almora's famous baal mithai, and there is room for milk chilling, processing and marketing units. Fruit and horticulture (11 crore) — malta, orange, apple, walnut, peach — plus niche crops like lemongrass, ashwagandha and Salt block's prized Lakhori chilli round out the farm story. Poultry (18 crore) and goat/sheep/pig rearing (14 crore) suit small hill farmers, and tourism around Binsar, Jageshwar and Chaubatia is a large under-tapped earner (nearly 2.9 lakh visitors a year).
The plan is blunt about what holds Almora back: tiny scattered plots, wild-animal damage, weak irrigation and markets, heavy out-migration, and a very low credit-deposit ratio (26%). It flags no cold-chain, grading or processing network, most farmers still outside the Kisan Credit Card net, and a shortage of vets and fodder for the dairy push — gaps the 15 sanctioned FPOs and schemes like AIF and PMFME are meant to close.
What the plan promotes
- Millets thrust for 2023-24: promote ragi, ramdana and jhangora (nutri-cereals) grown under rain-fed hill farming — low input, low labour and rising medicinal-value demand, marking the International Year of Millets.
- Dairy is the biggest allied opportunity at 61.22 cr term-credit potential; farmers are buying improved-breed milch cattle and milk feeds the world-famous Almora 'baal mithai', but the district needs milk chilling, processing, transport and marketing infrastructure.
- Horticulture and citrus fruits (malta, orange, lemon, apple, pear, walnut, peach, apricot) in mid-hill belts; mango, lychee and guava in warmer valleys — plantation & horticulture including sericulture carries 11.45 cr potential.
- High-value niche crops: lemongrass, ashwagandha, tulsi and saffron (kesar) trials in cold pockets; Salt block's GI-famous 'Lakhori' chilli prized for its distinctive colour and taste.
- Vegetables — potato, cabbage, capsicum, okra, radish plus ginger, chilli and turmeric grown across blocks, offering agro-processing and collective marketing scope.
- FPO promotion: 15 FPOs already sanctioned in the district under the Centre's 10,000-FPO scheme, to aggregate produce, add value and build cold-chain/grading/processing networks.
Gaps the plan names
- Farming in the hills is hard and low-margin: tiny scattered holdings (95.61% under 2 hectares), attacks by wild animals, poor irrigation, shortage of quality inputs (seed, fertiliser, pesticide), and lack of capital and markets have driven heavy out-migration and pushed farmers to subsistence.
- No network of godowns, grading and processing facilities or cold-chain; the PLP calls for building this basic infrastructure to make FPO-led aggregation and value addition viable.
- Low credit-deposit ratio (26.22%, far below the RBI-suggested 47%) driven by youth out-migration, weak credit culture, traders borrowing from outside districts and almost no commercial-agriculture enterprise units.
- Most farmers are still not covered under the Kisan Credit Card scheme; all banks must extend KCC and connect small/marginal farmers, sharecroppers and farm labourers via SHGs and JLGs.
- Dairy value chain gaps — shortage of veterinary hospitals and vets, insufficient quality fodder, no artificial-insemination coverage in many areas, and weak milk collection/processing/transport infrastructure.
See the plan's recommendations
What the plan promotes
- Millets thrust for 2023-24: promote ragi, ramdana and jhangora (nutri-cereals) grown under rain-fed hill farming — low input, low labour and rising medicinal-value demand, marking the International Year of Millets.
- Dairy is the biggest allied opportunity at 61.22 cr term-credit potential; farmers are buying improved-breed milch cattle and milk feeds the world-famous Almora 'baal mithai', but the district needs milk chilling, processing, transport and marketing infrastructure.
- Horticulture and citrus fruits (malta, orange, lemon, apple, pear, walnut, peach, apricot) in mid-hill belts; mango, lychee and guava in warmer valleys — plantation & horticulture including sericulture carries 11.45 cr potential.
- High-value niche crops: lemongrass, ashwagandha, tulsi and saffron (kesar) trials in cold pockets; Salt block's GI-famous 'Lakhori' chilli prized for its distinctive colour and taste.
- Vegetables — potato, cabbage, capsicum, okra, radish plus ginger, chilli and turmeric grown across blocks, offering agro-processing and collective marketing scope.
- FPO promotion: 15 FPOs already sanctioned in the district under the Centre's 10,000-FPO scheme, to aggregate produce, add value and build cold-chain/grading/processing networks.
Gaps the plan names
- Farming in the hills is hard and low-margin: tiny scattered holdings (95.61% under 2 hectares), attacks by wild animals, poor irrigation, shortage of quality inputs (seed, fertiliser, pesticide), and lack of capital and markets have driven heavy out-migration and pushed farmers to subsistence.
- No network of godowns, grading and processing facilities or cold-chain; the PLP calls for building this basic infrastructure to make FPO-led aggregation and value addition viable.
- Low credit-deposit ratio (26.22%, far below the RBI-suggested 47%) driven by youth out-migration, weak credit culture, traders borrowing from outside districts and almost no commercial-agriculture enterprise units.
- Most farmers are still not covered under the Kisan Credit Card scheme; all banks must extend KCC and connect small/marginal farmers, sharecroppers and farm labourers via SHGs and JLGs.
- Dairy value chain gaps — shortage of veterinary hospitals and vets, insufficient quality fodder, no artificial-insemination coverage in many areas, and weak milk collection/processing/transport infrastructure.
Value-chain gaps
Money this district loses today
Raw output sold cheap, value added elsewhere — each gap below is an opening for a local business.
Resources
What this district has
Tap a category to see the facts and figures underneath. Numbers marked unverified are AI-extracted and need a sourcing pass.
About Almora
Almora district is a district in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora. It is 1,638 meters above sea level. The neighbouring regions are Pithoragarh district to the east, Chamoli district to the west, Bageshwar district to the north and Nainital district to the south.
Source: Wikipedia — Almora district
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