Sanjeeb Mukherjee Banana: New Delhi, 13 April

Five farm products that can change
India’s agriculture landscape

SANJEEB MUKHERJEE exports, the report said. potato used in processing from the cur- But, India’s soy industry is crippled by
New Delhi, 13 April rent seven per cent to 14 per cent or low yield, limited domestic demand
Banana more. In addition, India could also for soymeal and inadequate irrigation
Mango, banana, potato, soybean and Though India is the world’s largest pro- aspire to export 1.5 million tonnes to facilities for crops.
poultry are the five main farm prod- ducer of bananas, its exports are min- two million tonnes of potato from the The country can overcome these
ucts which could form the bedrock of imal. It exported only 0.37 per cent of current 1.2 million tonnes, to become bottlenecks by doubling yields through
rejuvenation in India’s agriculture and its produce in 2010, but produces one of the top five potato exporters in mechanised sowing and harvesting,
allied activities landscape in the next almost 30 per cent of the world out- the world, especially catering to the improving market access for high
two decades. put, the report said. In 2010, India did Asian countries. yielding seed varieties, and using drip
This can be created by building a not export any banana to Japan and To achieve this, the report said the irrigation in farms. The government
strong brand for these products in the Russia and exported just one tonne to scientific use of fertilisers, use of sprin- on its part can boost consumption by
international markets, reducing China in 2010. However, it has kler or drip irrigation and adequate promoting soya as an integral part of a
wastage by almost half and doubling immense potential. mechanisation to cut costs be adopted. high protein diet, branding soy oil for
the per hectare yields, according to the The real potential for bananas in “For example, costs can be reduced exports.
third Food and Agriculture Integrated India is through branding both in the by using prophylactic pesticides which “Guaranteeing traceability and non-
Development Action Report titled: domestic and export market. India prevent late blight disease in areas with GM usage will ensure that India sus-
‘India as an agriculture and high value could increase total produc- low infestation rates, and tains 20 per cent premium over the GM
food powerhouse: A new vision for tion by 75 per cent to about The five products cost just ~200 a kg, while soyaoils supplied by other countries,”
2030, prepared jointly by CII and 50 million tonnes in 2030 to have been treatment pesticides are the report said.
McKinsey and Company. meet rising domestic selected based on more than 20 times more
The five products have been select- demand and tap the export their crop size and expensive. Sprinkler irriga- Poultry
ed based on their crop size and rele- opportunity. The report also relevance for tion increases yield by 15 to India is currently the third largest pro-
vance for consumers, growers and crop highlighted that India consumers, 25 per cent, and drip irriga- ducer of eggs (by weight) and the sixth
diversity. should aspire to have an effi- growers and crop tion increases yield by 30 largest producer of chicken meat in the
cient, globally competitive diversity to 40 per cent, while saving world. India’s broiler meat production
Mango supply chain and aspire to up to 40 per cent of water,” has grown by a brisk 10 per cent and egg
The report said mango production has export 1.5 million tonnes by 2030, which the report said. It also suggested that production by five per cent over the past
grown consistently at four per cent per is 25 times the current export figure. industry could identify, test and pro- 10 years. By 2030, over 40 per cent of
annum since the past two decades only For farmers, the report said exten- mote new high yielding processing India’s population will be urbanised and
because of increase in area as yields sive tissue culture should be promoted varieties from the available interna- the number of working women is likely
have remained stagnant. To achieve a through private participation, drip irri- tional basket. to double. This could significantly boost
target of 37 per cent increase in per gation should be augmented and impe- A successful example of branding the market for frozen foods, including
hectare yield, reducing wastage by 50 tus provided for export of fresh potatoes is that of Greenvale’s Farm poultry products.
per cent in the next 20 years and bananas. Fresh potatoes in the UK. Launched But, the potential is constrained by
increasing exports 10 times, the report with the USP of better and consistent recurring incidents of disease in poul-
said farmers should be trained to incul- Potato taste and freshness, the effort was a suc- try products, no awareness on frozen
cate best practices to improve yield, India’s domestic consumption of pota- cess, and Greenvale’s potatoes are now foods and rising feed costs. Giving an
enhance farm-gate infrastructure and to increased five per cent per annum available across the UK, the report said. example, the report said that in India,
also build clusters in major growing for the past five years, though the per the frozen meat market is just five per
states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar capita consumption is still about half of Soybean cent of the total poultry market, while
Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Gujarat. that of China and lags far behind most This is one of the fastest growing crops the world over this is much more. To
The clusters can be built with the western countries. in India with exceptional price reali- achieve its full potential, the report
help of cooperatives. To enhance the India produced more than 40 mil- sations. India currently exports 55 per suggested that government should
image of Indian mangoes worldwide a lion tonnes of potato in 2011, with more cent of its soya meal and Indian prices invest in mega processing hubs,
special brand should be built and than 1.8 million hectares of area under are linked to global prices. increase profitability of poor poultry
export of packaged mango juice should cultivation and yields reaching 20 “India’s soya farmers and industry farmers through back-end feed manu-
be encouraged. A special impetus tonnes per hectare. There is also abun- are ready to unlock an ~45,000 crore facturing technologies and boost mar-
should be provided to fresh mango dant opportunity to double the share of opportunity by 2030,” the report said. ket for frozen foods.

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Five farm products that can change

India’s agriculture landscape

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