ASPEE AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE NAVSARI AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, NAVSARI-396450 P. G.

SEMINAR SERIES: 2012-13

Speaker Major Guide Reg. No. : : : Mr. Yazad Minocheherhomji Dr. Swati Sharma 04-1165-2012 Course No Date Time : ABM-591(0+1) : 09th May, 2013 : 03:15 to 04:15 pm

Title: Agribusiness Sector in Gujarat

Introduction: Agri-business as a concept was born in Harvard University in 1957 with the publication of a book A concept of Agri-business, written by John David and A. Gold Berg. It was introduced in Philippines in early 1966, when the University of the Philippines offered an Agri-business Management (ABM) programme at the under-graduate level.

Definition: Agri-business is the sum total of all operations involved in the manufacture and distribution of farm supplies, production activities on the farm, storage, processing and distribution of farm commodities and items made from them (John David and Gold Berg)

Brief review: Agriculture is locomotive of our economy and a prosperous rural economy based on agriculture will ultimately make the nation prosperous. Agri-business sector provides crucial backward and forward linkages. It involves two important sectors- Farm Input sector and Farm Product sector. The global Agribusiness is estimated to be valued around EUR 2.5 trillion and accounts for three-fourth of the global agriculture sales. Global Processed Food Industry is in high demand in Europe 39% and 31% in Asia Pacific while only 21% in United States. (Anonymous 2011) The Food Processing Industry is estimated to be worth around USD 67 billion and expected to increase to USD 175 billion by 2025. The processed food sector has a potential of attracting USD 33 billion investments. There are over 25,000 registered units in the sector with investments of Rs.840 billion. (Anonymous 2011) There is growing demand for agricultural inputs like feed and fodder, inorganic fertilizers, bio-fertilizers. Biotechnology applications in agriculture have vast scope in production of seed, bio-control agents, industrial harnessing of microbes for bakery products. Export can be harnessed as a source of economic growth. (Atul Bansal 2011) Leading as Second in Green Revolution Gujarat has achieved Agricultural Growth table at 9.6% and have carved a niche in the field of Agricultural Development in India. As of 2009, Gujarats agriculture growth rate has been three times more than the national growth rate. The goal for Gujarat agriculture is to become a world-class producer and supplier in the crops where it enjoys competitive advantage. Per capita income of Gujarat is Rs. 63,961 crore while industrial growth has increased at 12.5% growth rate from 2002-07. Gujarat is home to 800 large industries and over 3,70,000 micro, small and medium industries. (Socio Economic Review 2010-11) Gujarat, total cropped area is around 124.05 lakh hectares (66%). Major Crops: Wheat, Bajra, Rice, Maize, Groundnut, Mustard, Sesame, Pigeon pea, Green Gram, Gram, Cotton, Sugarcane, Castor, Tobacco, Isabgul. (Vibrant Gujarat 2013). The production of total food grains during 2010-11 is at 10.1 MMT as against

5.6 MMT in 2009-10. GoI and GoG have spent Rs. 8530 million during 2005-11 under Micro Irrigation System (MIS) Scheme. The average productivity of vegetables is estimated at 18.95 MT/Hectare. (SP Kashyap and Niti Mehta 2007)

Many Initiatives from Central as well as State Government are taken in developing Mega Food Parks, Cold Storages and Public sector banks under Special Agricultural Credit Plans. In order to boost agribusiness growth the state government initiated several programmes like Krushi Mahotsav, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme, Krushi Vigyan Kendra and Soil and water testing laboratories. Various entrepreneurial opportunites also exists in Gujarat like dairy/poultry farming to Wholesale, Retail and Export marketing. The State government has a comprehensive Agri-Business Policy to facilitate projects of value addition in center value chain from farm to market, develop Agri Infrastructure, encourage research and development and promote food safety management system at the farm level and processing units. As Gujarat is an upcoming Agro business destination, there are several investment opportunities in fisheries, fruit and vegetables, animal husbandry, infrastructure and innovative technologies sectors. (www.gujaratindia.com) Conclusion: The Gujarat economy is a robust economy with a substantial growth potential that is driven by the significant domestic demand in various sub-sectors. A shift from Agriculture to Agribusiness is being viewed as an essential pathway to revitalize Indian agriculture. While the share of pure agriculture in GDP may decline, the share of agribusiness will not and is bound to go up with the demand for value addition products continuously increasing. Agricultural Cooperatives in Gujarat are the backbone of the cooperative system and involved in variety of function and serving the rural masses by providing Credit, Fertilisers, Seeds, Agro-Chemicals and Agriculture Implements etc. Gujarat is becoming Indias most favored Investment destination as many Agro-processors, exporters and several other domestic agro units have come up to boost up the States and Indian economy.

References: Anonymous (2011) Processed Food and Agribusiness Opportunities for Investment in India A Knowledge Paper FICCI, pp 4-15 Anonymous (2011-12) Ministry of Food Processing Industries Annual Report, pp 8-22 Anonymous (2013) Agribusiness and Food processing sector profile Vibrant Gujarat 2013, pp 3-30 Anonymous (2010) Bottlenecks In Indian Food Processing Industry FICCI Survey, pp 1-32 Atul Bansal (2011) AGRI-BUSINESS IN INDIA VISION 2020 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol.1 Issue 2, pp 62-72 SP Kashyap and Niti Mehta (2007) Gujarat 2020: Viewpoints and Vision Gujarat Economic Association (Annual Conference Issue), pp 1-20 Web Portals: http://www.gujaratindia.com/initiatives/initiatives.htm http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/food-agro.htm

 http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/images/pdf/Food-n-Agro-Sector-Profile.pdf