Participants at the seminar discussed opportunities and the export potential of the Indian agriculture sector
The India Pavilion at Dubai’s Expo 2020 hosted a seminar “Indian Organic and Horticulture Sector–Moving Up the Value Chain’. The seminar saw the participation of representatives from the government and private sector. Participants at the seminar discussed opportunities and the export potential of the Indian agriculture sector.
P K Swain, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, said in his opening remarks that, “In ‘Rising India’, agriculture is a dominant sector which contributes significantly to the Indian economy. With 15 agro-climatic zones, rich soil, mineral-rich water, and is driving the volume, variety, and quality. India is on its way to becoming the food basket of the world and is offering both food and nutritional security with good agricultural practices to the world.”
He went on to say that “India is scripting history with the enchanting growth trajectory of organic horticulture.” He also urged global investors to invest in the agriculture supply chain and take advantage of FDI policies introduced by the government in the sector.
Dr. B Rajendra, Minister (Agriculture), Embassy of India, Rome & Italy & Representative, FAO said, “We need to put a lot of effort in ensuring the quality of our organic horticulture produce and take advantage of such global platforms to expand our export avenues.”
“This platform is helping us initiate conversation around awareness and capacity building with investors to make prominence of India in horticulture space. Adoption of good agriculture practices, enhanced farm gate infrastructure, higher investment in R&D, and digital integration are some of the strategies that will play important role in promoting India’s horticulture exports.”
— K Srinivas, Partner, Food & Agribusiness, KPMG
Talking about the export potential of organic and horticulture produce in India, Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare said, “To ensure the quality of our organic produce, we need to have a robust system of Certification and Government of India has anchored two systems of certification for Organic products”. He further emphasized that appropriate phytosanitary protocols need to be ensured for better acceptability of Indian Organic and Horticultural products. “We envisage targeting 10% export share in global fruits and vegetable market by 2030”, he added.
It is pertinent to point that despite the pandemic, India’s organic exports grew 51% over 2019-20 levels. India’s organic exports stood at 8,88,180 MT in 2020-21. Highlighting the impressive trajectory of India’s agriculture ecosystem, K. Srinivas, Partner, Food & Agribusiness, KPMG, said, “India is ranked amongst the top ten exporting countries in agriculture and the overall exports have been growing at an extremely significant rate. Despite the pandemic challenges, we were able to achieve this feat and it strengthens India’s positioning as an exporter globally.”
Emphasizing on the export-focused strategy for the promotion of organic and horticulture produce, Srinivas said, “This platform is helping us initiate conversation around awareness and capacity building with investors to make prominence of India in horticulture space. Adoption of good agriculture practices, enhanced farm gate infrastructure, higher investment in R&D, and digital integration are some of the strategies that will play important role in promoting India’s horticulture exports.”
************************************************************************
Readers
