If a resource crunch holds back state governments from diversifying agriculture into more lucrative areas like horticulture, they have only themselves to blame. |
The Centre has allocated a whopping Rs 20,000 crore for the development of horticulture but most states cannot access these funds because they have not amended their marketing laws to lend legal validity to direct marketing, contract farming and other ways of marketing agricultural produce. |
An additional Rs 10,000 crore has been earmarked for the promotion of micro-irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler irrigation. Most of this money can also be channelled to horticultural orchards, which are best suited for the deployment of this water-saving and yield-enhancing technology. |
However, though the Centre circulated a model law on agricultural marketing a long time ago and even secured the states' commitment to amend their laws by convening a chief ministers' conference on this issue, only a handful of states have taken action. |
These include Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala. But many of the states that urgently need to liberalise farm marketing to harness their untapped production and export potential have done nothing. |
Significantly, the broad objective of the model marketing statute, drafted on the basis of the recommendations of an expert committee, is to facilitate the development of competitive marketing in the country. |
As such, it allows the private and cooperative sectors to establish and run agricultural markets and bulk purchase centres for direct transactions between producers and actual users of the products. |
The horticulture sector's potential for generating employment and income in rural areas had prompted the finance minister to announce the setting up of a national horticulture mission in his last Budget speech. |
Loaded with substantial funds, this mission is meant to facilitate linkages between producers (read farmers) and exporters and processors of horticultural produce. |
Besides, it would ensure the generation and induction of fresh technology into this sector to improve productivity and product quality. |
It is a pity that India, despite being the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, has hardly any presence in the rapidly growing global market for these items. |
This is because no more than 1.5 per cent of the produce is processed and packed to meet global standards. What is worse, between 30 and 40 per cent of the total produce goes waste due to spoilage in the absence of a processing industry. |
It is time state governments shed their inhibitions about agricultural reforms and create an environment conducive for the faster development of horticulture and horticulture-based commerce and industry. |
Otherwise, the vast agro-product diversity the country possesses to cater to virtually every niche market will continue to go waste, while investible funds lie idle. |