India’s agri-business will play an important role in propelling the economy forward
The Indian economy is characterised by its heavy dependence on the agriculture sector. Since 1991, the economy has maintained steady growth, supported largely by the agriculture sector. It is also the biggest source of employment in the country. However, despite being an agro-based economy, the country is yet to achieve the status of a prominent agro economy in the world.
A number of factors, including a complex regulatory system, unavailability of modern technology and poor logistics facilities, are responsible for the low ranking of the Indian agriculture sector. It has been seen that while western economies have ensured continuous technology upgradation to promote the farming industry, the Indian government has done very little to support this segment.
Considering that the Indian agriculture segment is dominated by small farmers, it is imperative to take the commercial aspect into consideration while drafting policies. Although private investments in agriculture have increased at a steady pace, public investments have declined at an equally swift pace.
 After the 1980s, public investment in agriculture has shown a consistent downtrend. This has been a major cause for concern and the government should address this matter by allocating funds for the sector.
Each year, farmers in the country incur heavy losses due to crop failure and adverse weather conditions. Although policy-makers have recognised the problem and have drafted regulations to prevent severe losses, farmers across the country are still suffering due to these problems.
The government should therefore implement the Weather Insurance and National Agricultural Insurance Scheme that will protect cultivators from crop failures. Furthermore, fiscal incentives should be extended to boost the agri value chain throughout India. The government should also allow commercial banks to partner with the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Society (PACS) to facilitate greater credit availability.
In recent years, India has become a major exporter of agri products in the world. As a result, international market trends have influenced production to a large extent. The current market turmoil, in particular, has had an adverse impact on Indian agri exports.
According to industry experts, Indian agri exporters and food products manufacturers have suffered mainly due to their lack of understanding of foreign market dynamics. In order to prevent such losses in future, the government should set up a central body that will closely monitor trends in the global markets and take measures accordingly.
One of the key impediments to the Indian agri sector’s growth is poor infrastructural facilities. The government should therefore allocate funds for setting up state-of-the-art warehouses, modern wholesale markets, agro logistics hubs and cold-chain facilities across the country. In addition, there is a growing need for modern incubation centres, quality testing laboratories and storage facilities to increase production.
Considering the geographic vastness of our country, it will be beneficial to promote public-private partnerships (PPP) to boost the agriculture sector. The PPP business model is best suited to carry out extensive R&D activities and ensure adherence to international standards such as Global Gap and Codex.
Apart from developing the rural infrastructure, it is also important to disseminate adequate information on modern methods of farming to crop growers. NGOs can play a pivotal role in this direction.
Manju R is the proprietor of Super Chips, a small-scale biscuit manufacturing company in Coimbatore |
