Doubling farm income possible with processed exports, hitch is in quality

Dual challenge of a reluctant buyer of high-priced products in domestic markets, while global markets have stringent quality norms farm goods often aren't able to meet

As the country debates on whether or not the government's promise to double farmers’ income by 2022 is realistically achievable, given fall in farm-gate realisations during the past few years, experts say boosting exports of  processed farm commodities could be one way of achieving this end.

However, poor on-farm quality of Indian produce, along with frequent and sudden changes in regulations limits the scope of getting reasonable returns from exports, they caution.

Big food processing in India is constrained by a fragmented market and the absence of economies of scale, but even basic processing such grading, sorting and