By IANS
Lucknow : The boost to agribusiness with the entry of large business houses would eventually benefit the Indian farmer in a major way, participants at an international conference say.
The three-day conference on Agribusiness and Food Industry in Developing Countries that concluded Sunday was hosted by the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) in collaboration with Tennessee State University and South Carolina University of the US.
The conference drew representation from nearly two-dozen organisations based in the US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
A number of leading Indian experts also participated in the meet that was described by IIM-L director Devi Singh as the first of its kind in the country.
Expressing deep concern over the poor focus so far on agriculture, Singh pointed out that “other than IIMs at Lucknow and Ahmedabad, none of the leading business schools in the country had given the desired focus to this sector.
“There are only just about 30 students in each of the two institutes who pass out as full-fledged agribusiness managers. That is why there is the need to do much more to tap the huge potential of this sector,” he pointed out.
Singh was of the view that the entry of big business houses in the agri-food business would do wonders to the rural economy.
“Agribusiness is going to add a substantial amount of exports from India now that big private investments are being made in this sector,” he contended.
Citing the example of India’s top private sector firm Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Singh added: “Farmers will definitely gain out of initiative like (retail chain) Reliance Fresh being taken in different parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh.”
Speaking at the valedictory function, K.S. Mani, chairman of the Agriculture Produce Export Development Agency (APEDA) of the commerce ministry, said: “It is time for entrepreneurial talent to tap this opportunity and invest generously in this hitherto neglected area.”
He, however, also sounded a warning.
“Let us not follow the models created by the West. Let us develop our own models to suit the Indian ethos.”
Like most other experts, National Commission on Farmers member R.B. Singh too hailed the decision taken by several states to promote contract farming.
“Contract farming will be the key to success for farmers in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, while adding a word of caution: “However, what needs to be ensured is that the contract is transparent and is farmer-friendly so as to be intelligible to the innocent farmer.”
Among other key issues discussed at the conference was the need for developing suitable agribusiness management education systems, development of appropriate institutional mechanisms for evolving concepts like organic farming, contract farming, rural retailing, bio-fuel, micro-finance and agriculture risk management, beside strategies in the light of an impending WTO regime.