The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), an agency under the commerce ministry, will aggressively push for contract farming as a “contemporary structural solution” to get around the “major problem” of small-holder farming.
Speaking to reporters here, Apeda chairman Asit Tripathy said there was no opposition now to the idea from any mainstream political party, and it was already happening on thousands of acres.
He said: “Most of the agricultural export is happening because of contract farming. Small farmers cannot produce surpluses because of their small holdings and low investments. To get a surplus, exporters are working with many farmers.”
Small holdings, i.e., those less than two hectares, account for 88 per cent of all operational holdings at the national level, and for 44 per cent of the area under cultivation, according to NSSO-2006. There are at least 25 private companies involved in contract farming, according to the Agricultural Marketing Information Network, an agency under the Union Agriculture ministry. Tripathy said, agriculture was on the cusp of a strong growth with the expected opening up of organised retail and the existing export potential. The agri exports this year had seen a negative growth in the first six months due to a lack of demand, but have since picked up, especially in groundnut, he said.
Last year, agri exports were worth Rs 73,000 crore, and West Asia and South East Asian markets continuing to represent big opportunities, especially after the free-trade agreement with Malaysia coming into effect. He said, processed food exports, unlike commodities do not face any policy sensitivities, and would work for domestic markets too, given that 40-45 per cent of income is expected to be spent on food.
Tripathy was here to participate in a workshop aimed at charting a roadmap for increasing agri exports from Andhra Pradesh, organised by Apeda and the Confederation of Indian Industry. Anil Kumar V Epur, who chairs CII taskforce on agriculture, said there was scope for more agri export zones in the state, in addition to the five already in place (two in Hyderabad covering several neighbouring districts, one each in Krishna, Chittoor and Nellore districts).
With suitable incentives, the private sector would sponsor such zones and also partner in creating efficient supply chain from farm to market, he said.