 "'Lack of trust hinders partnership between farmer and industry'")
A significant lack of trust between farmers and industry, abated by the strong influence of intermediaries and restrictive legal policies, has made both sides view each other with suspicion and not as natural partners in prosperity, the third Food and Agriculture Integrated Development Action Report (FAIDA) jointly prepared by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and McKinsey and Company said.
The report which outlines the current state of India’s agriculture and food processing sectors and lays down a roadmap for the next 20 years said that interviews with farmers revealed they did not believe their income could be augmented by partnering with industry as there was no strong evidence of that, while industry did not view the farmers as a reliable source of procurement.
“Farmers perceive themselves to be at the receiving end of the system that is trying to take up their land… while the industry feels cheated if farmers do not honour the contracts and sell their produce in the mandi for a better price,” the report said, adding that the biggest role played by influential intermediaries further aggravates the mistrust.
However, it says that despite this there have been instances of excellent farmer-industry partnerships that has been a win-win situation for both. The Reliance Retail initiative of providing farmers with ‘best-in-class’ banana kit in some parts of Maharashtra, which increased their profits by 80 per cent, McCain’s example of procuring high-grade potatoes from Gujarat and ITC’s consortia route to interact with farmers are some instances of excellent farmer-industry partnerships.
To enhance such partnerships across the country, the report advocated long-term leases on land and an open public-private partnership model for agriculture.
He said if allowed by the government, the industry is willing to participate in even procurement, distribution and storage of foodgrains for the Public Distribution System (PDS), leave alone other things. “Steps should be taken to make it attractive for private players to work with small land holders and measures like tax rebates could be given to companies which would encourage them to be inclusive in the choice of farmers they work with,” the report said.
On sustainable agriculture, the report, which has been released after a gap of almost 10 years said that there has been many models of sustainable agriculture in states like ‘Apni Mitti Pehchan Abhiyan’ in Uttar Pradesh, which allows farmers to choose the right kind of nutrients for their soil and could also be used in the national level.
“The Centre could adopt some of the best practices adopted by the states on sustainable agriculture and ensure mass roll-out through national level funding,” the report said.
The report which outlines the current state of India’s agriculture and food processing sectors and lays down a roadmap for the next 20 years said that interviews with farmers revealed they did not believe their income could be augmented by partnering with industry as there was no strong evidence of that, while industry did not view the farmers as a reliable source of procurement.
“Farmers perceive themselves to be at the receiving end of the system that is trying to take up their land… while the industry feels cheated if farmers do not honour the contracts and sell their produce in the mandi for a better price,” the report said, adding that the biggest role played by influential intermediaries further aggravates the mistrust.
However, it says that despite this there have been instances of excellent farmer-industry partnerships that has been a win-win situation for both. The Reliance Retail initiative of providing farmers with ‘best-in-class’ banana kit in some parts of Maharashtra, which increased their profits by 80 per cent, McCain’s example of procuring high-grade potatoes from Gujarat and ITC’s consortia route to interact with farmers are some instances of excellent farmer-industry partnerships.
To enhance such partnerships across the country, the report advocated long-term leases on land and an open public-private partnership model for agriculture.
He said if allowed by the government, the industry is willing to participate in even procurement, distribution and storage of foodgrains for the Public Distribution System (PDS), leave alone other things. “Steps should be taken to make it attractive for private players to work with small land holders and measures like tax rebates could be given to companies which would encourage them to be inclusive in the choice of farmers they work with,” the report said.
On sustainable agriculture, the report, which has been released after a gap of almost 10 years said that there has been many models of sustainable agriculture in states like ‘Apni Mitti Pehchan Abhiyan’ in Uttar Pradesh, which allows farmers to choose the right kind of nutrients for their soil and could also be used in the national level.
“The Centre could adopt some of the best practices adopted by the states on sustainable agriculture and ensure mass roll-out through national level funding,” the report said.