The agriculture sector needs to be re-mandated as an economic activity that has to generate jobs and incomes while meeting the food and nutrition security of the country. Explain (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
The processing sector in India still veers around food processing, and there is minuscule production of high-value products like chemicals from ethanol. The country imports most such products including proteins, starch, enzymes, adhesives, agar, biochemical, etc. India’s food processing industry (FPI) is relatively at a nascent stage, and currently processes less than 10% of its agri-produce
Growing from primary to secondary agriculture—options
· The way forward to secondary agriculture is to strengthen food processing and then graduate to non-food processing for bio-materials, biochemical and fuel.
· The country needs to drive three alternate entrepreneurial modes so as to harvest the potential, and not necessarily in a sequence. These include (1) cottage & village-level industries with low level of capital & technology, to meet near-market demand of processed food & non-food items; (2) micro, small & medium scale enterprises (MSME) that are fed raw materials after aggregation from the fragmented fields; and (3) high-end processing that deploys intensive technology and capital, and manufacture specialised products like bio-based industrial enzymes, chemicals, fuel, etc.
· Infrastructure includes the generic needs of road, transport, electricity and digital facilities. Hereunder, stable supply of electricity remains a concern in rural areas, where industry is best placed in close proximity to the production hinterlands, from the perspective of cost efficiency.
· The Ministry of Food Processing Industries may, therefore, be authorised to cover even non-food processing industries in addition to food processing. It, in a way, becomes the Ministry of Agro-Processing as exists in some states, and drives the country’s bio-economy.
· Cottage and village level: In synch with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of rural industrialisation, India has promoted khadi and village industries. The agriculture sector, with diverse raw materials, provides ample scope for this. The Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income has laid great stress on secondary agriculture and defines it as a productive activity that (1) utilises both primary & by-products raised on the farms and in the neighbourhood; and (2) deploys locally-available manpower after skilling them to operate and manage the production of goods & services.
· The National Commission on Agriculture, in its 1976 report, estimated the requirement of beehive colonies at 155 million, and the count in existence is around 4.6 million.
In sum
· The agriculture sector needs to be re-mandated as an economic activity that has to generate jobs and incomes, while meeting the food and nutrition security of the country. This can be realised by adopting secondary agriculture as it can create value, deliver value and capture value, which describe the basic tenets of any business.
PRASHANT KUMAR 4 years
Pls Review Sir
IAS Parliament 4 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
K. V. A 4 years
Pls review
IAS Parliament 4 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
Pavankalyan 4 years
Please review
IAS Parliament 4 years
Good attempt. Keep Writing.
