eChapters

Abstract

This paper studies the role and status of Indian Agricultural Market Intelligence System (IAMIS) in improving the economic returns of agri-sector in India. Marketing intelligence makes agricultural marketers, including agri-entrepreneurs, aware and updated and reduces risk in decision making. India produced 275.112 million tonnes of food grains in 2016-17 and the projected requirement is 311million tonnes in 2030. Income of farmers has increased at a CAGR of 10.61% and number of farmers has declined at a CAGR of -0.25% from 1993-94 to 2014-15. Acreage remains stagnant. Given this background, to exploit full potential of agricultural production, market intelligence has a great role. The DES and Department of Food with their 435 market information systems (MIS) units transmit daily information through public media. The essential prerequisite of ensuring farmers’income is that they need credible information about “likely price situation”. Agriculture Marketing Intelligence System (AMIS, 2011) has emerged with the aim to provide services in agriculture and allied sectors. ICAR (1991) took initiatives under World Bank to assist National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) and Export Market Intelligence Cell (EMIC) was set up in Tamil Nadu with ten State Agricultural Universities. This paper uses globally available price forecasting models (ARIMA, GARCH, etc.)on 20 crops to provide an idea of the existing status and policies in agricultural market intelligence.

Abstract

Agricultural development in India provides support to a large section of farmers who operate on small holdings and have very limited risk bearing capacity. Farmers are often exposed to natural vagaries, which adversely affect their agricultural production and farm income. Moreover, there is huge financial exclusion in rural sector of the nation. If there is a crop failure, farmers are crushed under the burden of debt. Farmers seek to avoid risk in terms of various managerial and institutional mechanisms. But it is widely believed that ‘Crop Insurance’ is the only institutional mechanism available against production risk in farming. Unfortunately, penetration of crop insurance schemes in India has been low in terms of the area of land insured and the number of farmers covered. There are the problems of low risk awareness and lack of insurance culture among the farmers. In this backdrop, the paper documents the findings of a survey of 140 farmers, which was taken up in some selected villages of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The study shows that likelihood of this awareness increases with increase in landholding size, education level, borrowing history and social participation of the farmers, whereas it decreases with the non-farm income and livestock of the farmers. The author proposes measures to promote and spread awareness of crop insurance among the farmers as a risk mitigation tool in farming, which will increase farm production and stabilize the fluctuation in farm income. The study provides valuable policy measures to the government in better designing of their crop insurance products and will also help the private agro-insurance business, which is recently taking off in the country.

Abstract

Entrepreneurs take responsibility of their ‘business’ tad differently than their counterpart, the traditional businessman. A businessman walks on the pre-defined route whereas the entrepreneur creates his own alley-way, which if successful, becomes the rulebook for that trade. Lately, ecological issues have taken centre-stage as climatic changes have endangered the sustainable growth of the business. A new breed of entrepreneurs, alias ecopreneurs, functions in this ‘new’ space and endeavour to frame an innovative business landscape. Ecopreneurs possess singular focus on the safe-keep of the ecology. But in order to sustain the efforts of businesses in ecology, it is imperative that they remain economically viable too. Thus, ecopreneurial process is not only about fulfilling the business’ responsibility towards ecology, but also about the marketability of the product or service. In order to evaluate the ecopreneurial process, organic farming is considered as a case. In this paper, selected organic farms are analysed in an environment - market continuum, developed particularly for this study which is in tandem with the works of Schaltegger (2002) and Blake and Mouton (1964).The study reveals inadequacy of market performance of the individual and farm level ecopreneurs in the state of West Bengal, in spite of their strong inclination towards care for the environment.

Grasshoppers are highly voracious herbivores having the world wide distribution. It is particularly found across — Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. In India it may be seen in abundance during monsoon season. This pest is of International importance and the following three species are commonly found in India of which desert grasshopper is predominant all over the country.

The integument is composed of the cuticle and under lying epidermal cells that secrete the cuticle. The integument is a complex vulnerable organ system of diverse function. The insect outer body covering is called integument. The integument is a central subject intimately related to a variety of applied - Problems such as the mode of action, insecticides, ecology, cuticle and endocrine glands present in the body of insects. The insect integument consists of 3 parts and plays crucial role in locomotion, breathing and respiration, feeding, excretion, protection from desication behaviour of insect.

1. Epidermis Layers
2. Basement Layers
3. Cuticle Membrane

ORIGIN OF INSECT

Entomology is a branch of zoology which deals with insects. In this branch we study the insect origin and evolution of insect and their diversity and classification and other parts of insect body. Insects belong to the class insecta in the phylum arthropoda, the largest group in the animal kingdom. All arthropods are characterised by having segmented body, claws, chitinous exoskeleton, ventral nervous system and dorsal heart. The class insecta is generally considered to have evolved from myriapod of some sort during the Devonian period. Based on different mandibles and mandibular movement concluded that insects are not direct insect group myriapods the mouth is located between the prostomium and the first body segment and the anus open in the periproct.
The first great step was the development of a pair of ventral appendage. Insect legs on each body segments and locomotion, parallel to this an improvement in the sense organs of the head occured eyes and Antenna were the ultimate result this level of organisation is met in onychophora. A series of diagramms is helpful in a very simplified way in visualising the hypothtical origin of insects.

The digestive system of insects comprises of two main sub-parts, one is the alimentary tract or also known as the digestive tract and the associated digestive glands. These digestive glands may be associated directly or indirectly such as, salivary glands, gastric, caeca (directly) and Malpighian tubules (indirect). If we have to describe an insect and its anatomy, or its histology, it is based on the orthopteroid plan, which is mostly shown by grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts, because their plan shows and describes the basic, primitive design from which other groups of insects have enolved and showed modifications and specialization. We can say that this orthoptera insect shows the general anatomical and histological features of a generalised insect.Today, we see that insects have invaded and adapted in almost all types of habitats and the major reason for their biological success is their ability to show digestion, utilization and their ability to eat an extremely vast diversity of food. It is due to this abilityof extremizm in food diversity that insects have undergone many specializations and modifications of the alimentary canal. What modifications a species of insects undergoes, depends upon the type of insects, depends upon the type of food it consumes. The diversity is also seen in the way of obtaining, storing, processing and absorbing the food. These differences may be structural or functional or both. It is not necessary that these differences must be present in different species only, those may be shown by different life stages of a single insect, by two sexes of a single species, etc. e.g., the difference between the mouths parts of mosquito species.

Insects, belonging to the phyllum-arthropoda, have an open circulatory system. An open circulatory system is that in which blood bathes the organs rather internal organs directly in the haemocoel, the coelom of the insects, which actually is not a true coelom. Almost entire haemocoel of insects is formed from the epineural sinus. The haemocoel is divided into the perineural sinus and perivisceral sinus by the dorsal and ventral diaphragm respectively. The characteristic of insects is the presence of dorsal vessel, which comprises of anterior aorta and a posterior heart and is the only conducting tube present in insects. The blood of insects mostly does not perform gaseous exchange, therefore it does not contain haemoglobin, and blood in insects is called the haemolymph, which is red-coloured. So in order to study the circulatory system of insects, the major focus must be on the dorsal vessel, which has been described as follows, along with its accessory structures.

Excretory system of an organism maintains its homeostasis i.e., a constant internal environment. Here in insects, the blood is haemolymph therefore it determines the excretion of an insect’s body. Excretion also eliminates the nitrogenous wastes and maintains the salt- water balance and also regulates the uniformily of haemolymph. The characteristic feature of insects is the presence of malpighian tubules to eliminate the metabolic wastes, whereas rectum walls carry out the function of reabsorption of salt and water. A minimum amount of water is excreted with nitrogen waste in order to conserve the water in body.

Insects show sexual Dimorphism i.e., the sexes are usually separate and are dioecious. Male reproductive system produces sperms, stores them and delivers them i.e., spermatozoa. It also produces the seminal fluid, which provides a suitable environment to the sperms and nourishes them. Male reproductive system also situmilates are the female for oviposition. The female reproductive system produces and stores eggs provide nutrition to them for embryonic development, recieves and stores the sperms, is a site of fertilization. Female reproductive system also deposite eggs and may provide additional protection to the embryos. The reproductive system of both male and female insect’s bearis a gononpore, which is an opening of a pair of gonads. Both the gonads open into the gonopore by a median duct. For the secondry sexual purposes, e.g., formation of spermatophore and egg-case or ootheca, some accessory glands are associated with the reproductive system.

The respiratory system or tracheal system is involved in gaseous exchange in the insect with the environment. In this system there is a system of internal tubes, the tracheae that directly transport the oxygen to the parts of the body. Therefore, it does not use the circulatory system as the vehicle for gaseous exchange. The trachae open outside through segmental pores called spiracles having some system of closing and opening. Except proturans and some collembolans all insects possess tracheal system for respiration. These insects live in moist habitats where gaseous exchange takes place directly with the environment via the integument.

In insects nervous system is highly developed and serves to coordinate the activities of its various systems. Units of this system are known as neurons. Which carry information in the form of electrical impulses from external and internal sensilla (Sensory cells) to appropriate effectors e.g., glands, muscles and glail cells. Nervous system of insects may be divided into three parts.

1. Central nervous system
2. Sympathetic or visceral nervous system
3. Peripheral nervous system.

Exocrine Glands Types: Exocrine glands are generally of ectodermal origin and are widely scattered over the insect. Exocrine glands release their secreations through ducts into the lumen of various internal organs. Example: Accessory reproductive glands, salivary gland, silk gland. Gland is mainly composed of secretory epithelial cells. These are simple unicellular, bicellular, multicellular, complex multicellular (compound glands). These glands are ectodermal in origin and are secreated over the insect body.

Examples. Wax glands, lac glands, cephalic glands, poison glands.

1. Glands pouring (secreting structural materials). Some insects secrete substances that are used in building their houses (beehive) as protecting them (lac or cocoon).

The term ecology was first of all proposed by zoologist H. Pietir in 1865. It was derived from the Greek word ecologic means oikos = living place and logos = study and some definitions of ecology presented below:

1. According to Ernst Haeckel, 1869 “The total relations of the animal to both its organic and inorganic environment is called as ecology”.
2. E. Warming 1895 “Ecology is the study of animals and plants in relation to their environment”.
3. According to Odum 1963 “Study of structures and functions of nature is defined as ecology”.
4. Krebs 1985 says that the “Ecology is the scientific study of interaction that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms”.

The life of insects is dependent on the adaptability of the environment, if the environment is unfavourable then the insect population ceases and vice-versa. This insect move one place to another to get the favourable environment so that they can pull on their life activities properly. There is a deep relationship between the living community and non-living environment. Both are affecting each other greatly. This inter-relationship between living community and non-living environment is called as ecosystem. The term ecosystem was first used by A.G. Tansley as early as 1935 and he defined, “Ecosystem is the system of resulting from the interaction of all the living and non-living factors of the environment”.

Many insect can be observed at any hour of the day. This is proper understanding of the taxonomy and biology. The insect collection, storage and preservation are useful technique of their culture. The best period for collection is from early spring to late rainfall and the best time of the collection of most of the species is during the daytime. The insect are polyphagous and therefore, plants provide one of the best collecting places. Insect can be picked, swept off the plant with the help of a net. Different species feed on different kinds of plant, one should therefore, examine all sorts of plant, flowers weed shrubs and trees. Few insect are only found in the stem, bark, wood, fruit or roots etc. Some species can be found in the leaf mud and litter on the surface of the soil, particularly in woods or areas where the vegetation is dense, others can be found under stones bark etc. other house hold insects may be observed feeding on clothing, furniture, grain, food and other parts of Plant and House and some are aquatic insects.

The original divisions of the class insecta are a matter of dispute and it is not easy to decide which division to use many, different original order and groups are recognised by different experts and which one is best will no doubt remain problem. The words taxonomy, systematics and classification have been used alternatively for the same subject by various scientists. However Simpson 1964 has attempted to segregate these. According to him classification is the order of animals into groups on the basis of their relationship that is association of contiguity similarity or both. Systematic is the scientific study of the kinds and diversity of organism and of any and all relationships among them, while taxonomy is the theoretical study of classification including its bases, principal procedures and rule. All animal species are segregated into small and large groups on the basis of their comparative similarities and dissimilarities. The largest group is called phyllum as followed by class, order, family, genus-species and sub-species respectively. The Phylum, class, order, genus, species etc. The division of class insecta into primitive wingless insects, the apterygota and the secondary winged-insects the pterygota and included some orders. The class insecta may be divided into two subclasses.

Efficiency of pest control by insecticides is dependent on the correct type of pesticide formulation applied at the proper time and correct dosage, besides the good equipment. Equipment used to apply insecticides must be suited to the crop (or other situation in which the pest is to be controlled), to the scale of operation, and to the formulation of chemical to be applied. In the long run, it is good economy to buy the best equipment available.

Application equipment of high quality means not only good, durable construction but also good design that gives it a professional appearance. Because it is desirable and often necessary to utilize pesticides in a variety of ways, various types of dispensing equipment have been developed. This equipment is placed in the following categories: (1) Sprayers, (2) Dusters, and (3) Granule Applicators. In addition, specialised equipment of various sorts (such as mist machines and fog generators) are available for particular purposes. Since detailed consideration of pesticide application equipment is out of the scope of this book, only a brief consideration is given here to some important features of the main types of equipment.

The insect larva after the complete development emerges out from the egg by rupturing the egg shell chorion. It passes through several stages called as instars. Each instar is separated by a moult; the growth from larva to adult involves some degree of morphological changes or metamorphosis. The egg hatches into 1st instar larva which later moults to the second instar larva and so on until at a final moult the adult imago stage. The insect moult takes place after attaining adult except in the insect apterygote insect. In family pantatomide full insect moulting occurs. Many insects especially those with a small number of instars (mosquitoes) and (chrysocoris stolli) insect moulting occurs as Ist, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th imago instar and then after sometime adults insect emerges.

Metamorphosis of Insect: The development process by which first instar immature stage is transformed into the adult is called metamorphosis, which means literally change in the form. The developing stage is morphologically different from the adult. The degree of difference varies from slight to extreme with many intermediates stage. E.g., Cockroaches, Butterfly, Chrysocoris stolli Wolf. The insect may be grouped on dependance of degree of metamorphosis as:

Locusts are injurious to man as it destroys several human commodities. Locusts are phytophagous and feed on several plants cultivated by man. The locusts are insects belonging to the order orthoptera. The most popular insect is grasshopper. The only difference between the two types of insects is that locust can exist in two different behavioural states whereas grasshoppers do not. When the population density is low locusts behave as individuals, much like grasshopper. As the population density is high locusts gregariously behave as band of nymphs or swarms of adults. The changes in body shape and colour and in fertility, survial and migratory behaviour are accompanied by phase change. The most important locust species is the desert locust (Schistocerca-gregaria). The international pest influences various parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. Other locust species are highly injurious to mainkind like Bombay locust and Indian migratory locust (Locusta- migratoria) found all over India in its solitary phase. The monsoon months in July and August suitable are for locust multiplication conditions. The new generation produced migrate eastward into the Indian desert areas in May and June.

DEFINITION

Pheromones are chemical produced as messengers that affect the behavior of other individuals of insects. The term pheromone was introduced by Peter Karlson and Martin Liischer (1959) and is based on the Greek pherein (to transport) and hormon (to stimulate) is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioural response in another member of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones. And many are others that affect behaviour or physiology. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented, although many vertebrates and plants also communicate using pheromones. Pheromones are chemicals released by an organism into its environment enabling it to communicate with other members of its own species.

COMMON INSECT PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL

Since, insects are the most successful and one among the strongest rivals of man in the competition of existence. Due to their immense tendency of producing numerous viable propagules (eggs) i.e., their high fecundity, their population graph takes a sharp peak in a very short span of time.

A time reaches when the population of an insect type reaches to the level where from it starts causing inconvenience or injury to man, plants, domesticated animals and other human belongings, at such a juncture they are termed as insect pests.

Many, workers are of the view that “insects capable of causing 5 or more than 5% of damage to the crops, stored products, domesticated animals and other human dependences will be termed as pests”. Thus, if an insect causes a loss of less than 5% will not be considered as a pest. Moreover insect pests which cause a damage of 5-10% are said to be minor pests and those which cause a loss of more than 10% of yield are said to be major pests.

Silk is a way of life in India. Over thousands of years, it has become an inseparable part of Indian culture and tradition. No ritual is complete without silk being used as a wear in some form or the other. Sericulture and Silk Textiles Industry is one of the major sub-sectors comprising the textiles sector. Sericulture is an agro-based cottage industry. Sericulture refers to the mass-scale rearing of silk producing organisms in order to obtain silk. Sericulture is an agro-based labour intensive industry. The major activities involved in a sericulture industry are:

1. Cultivation of silkworm food plants
2. Rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk
3. Reeling the cocoons for unwinding the silk filament and
4. Other post-cocoon processes such as twisting, dyeing, weaving, printing and finishing.

Introduction

Indian agriculture is in a phase of transition from subsistence to high-tech agribusiness. This has ushered in an era where entrepreneurship is viewed as a strategic intervention in rural development. As a result, promotion of rural enterprises has gained great significance as an instrument for improved farm earnings, employment and women empowerment. It implies development of agriculture through farm diversification, value addition and development of agro-processing industries that provides autonomy, independence and reduced need for social support to the farmers. Improved farm-industry linkages along with great export potential will be added advantages. In this development scenario, agriculture, specifically high value horticultural crops like fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers, plantation crops, medicinal and aromatic plants among others that ensure maximum returns to the growers with multiple scopes for value addition hold great promise. In fact, horticultural crops become a necessary condition for improving the living standards of farmers and ensuring nutritional security of the nation. The concept of nutritional security goes beyond food security to include adequate availability of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals in addition to calorie and protein needs of the people supplied through food grains. Therefore, the spectacular increase in food grain production and a reasonable overall agricultural performance has failed to eradicate malnutrition as can be inferred from Table 1. It indicates that the Global Hunger Index (GHI), a more comprehensive tool used to measure and track hunger, ranks India (97 out of 118 developing countries) in the category of serious hunger behind Bangladesh (90/118). More disturbing are the rates of growing malnutrition among Indian households. As such, nutritional security becomes a more relevant indicator of food security as we move up the development ladder

Introduction

Entrepreneurship is regarded as one of the most important factors that contribute to economic development of a country. The current epoch of development is marked by structural changes in developing economies to create new opportunities of entrepreneurship. This is largely made possible by liberal policy interventions that foster enhancement of enterprises of all hues. Unlike previously, in every country, an entrepreneur is looked upon as an invaluable contributor to economic growth and development. This is more important in developing economies, as ‘entrepreneurship development’ has multiplier effects as it invariably fulfils other important pre requisites of development, viz. innovation, technological development, new institutions and human resource development. To put it in other words, without enterprise and entrepreneurs, there would be little innovation, little productivity growth, and few new jobs. This is more relevant in the agricultural sector since the emphasis has now shifted from mere enhancement of productivity to value chain management, through a process of extensive entrepreneurship development. More so, this has been identified as a strategy for sustaining the livelihood options of small farmers who have found it difficult to thrive the perils of price fluctuations, increasing cost of production and several other uncertainties that have plagued the farm sector.

Introduction

The establishment and nurturing of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) is a vital input in creating dynamic market economies in the economic and social development of transition countries. Globalization has created a new world order in which entrepreneurship and systematic innovation play important roles by offering competitive advantage for much needed sustainability of SME’s. To keep up the momentum, the development process of innovative ideas into products require alignment with the changing business paradigms, market dynamics and prevailing economic scenario.

The concept of business incubation dates back to 1950s and was more of providing a real estate facility to the small scale units to tide over the early years’ resource deficiencies. These are called the first generation incubators, which were first established in United States. Later on, the idea of business incubation diffused over different countries, and by the mid of 80s the incubators started providing services like business supports, accelerating the learning curve, including knowledge based services. These are termed as second generation incubators. The third generation of incubators provides the additional facility of networking also to the incubated companies. The importance of networking led to the establishment of virtual incubators or networked incubators, where physical infrastructure has less sanctity. Business accelerators appeared in the mid 2000s, and by now the concept of business incubation is spread all over the world. There exist almost 9000 business incubators in the world.

Introduction

Fruits and vegetables are very important in a balanced diet. India has become the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Though, the production of fruits and vegetables make us believe in our strength for self-sufficiency, a significant qualitative and quantitative loss occurs in the produce from harvest till consumption. For self sufficiency and also for processing, export and to meet additional requirements, a lot of emphasis need to be given to reduce post harvest losses besides increasing production and productivity of fruits and vegetables. Though, processing plays an important role in conservation and effective utilisation of these perishable commodities, only less than three per cent of total production of fruits and vegetables are processed in India. The new industrial policy has placed this sector in the list of high priority areas.

Fruit and vegetable processing industry in the country is in a nascent and primitive stage. Number of establishments in the organized sector is less compared with several developed and developing nations. The technologies adopted for processing, preservation and value addition in medium, small and tiny industries are primitive and outdated. Processing of fruits and vegetables into various products using proper cost effective technology is a viable tool for improving economic status of farmers as well as our country. Fruit and vegetable preservation methods are broadly classified as (i) Physical methods: This includes removal of heat, addition of heat, removal of water and irradiation, (ii) Chemical methods: like salting or brining, addition of sugar and heating and by addition of chemical preservatives, (iii) Fermentation and (iv) Judicious combination of one or more of the above methods for synergistic effect.

Introduction

Banana plants are monocotyledonous, perennial and important crop in the tropical and sub tropical world regions. Traded plantain (Musa paradisiaca AAB) and other cooking bananas (Musa ABB) are almost entirely derived from AA-BB hybridization of M. acuminata (AA) and M. balbisiana (BB). Plantain and cooking bananas are very similar to unripe dessert bananas (M. cavendish AAA) in exterior appearance, although often larger. Main difference in the former is the starchy flesh rather than sweet and they are used unripe and require cooking. Dessert bananas are consumed usually as ripe fruits; whereas ripe and unripe plantain fruits are usually consumed boiled or fried. Large numbers of cultivars totalling about 70 are grown in different parts of the country. Some of the popular cultivars are Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Poovan, Nyali Poovan (Elakki Bale or Ney Poovan) Rasthali, Virupakshi, Monthan, Karpooravallli, Nendran or Rajeli. (www.pnbkrishi.com)

Commercial cultivation of Nendran has picked up rapidly in Tamil Nadu in the recent past. Nendran bunch has 5-6 hands weighing about 12-15 kg. Fruits have a distinct neck with thick green skin turning buff yellow on ripening. Fruits remain as starchy even on ripening. Keeping banana as a whole fruit for long time is not feasible due to its poor shelf life. The processed products from banana are also very limited at present and there is a good market potential for banana products such as banana figs, banana powder, banana jam, banana jelly and beverage (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry).

Introduction

Mango (Mangifera indica Linn.) is one of the most nutritious tropical fruits, native to Southern Asia and especially Eastern India. Mango belongs to Anacardiaceae family and it was disseminated all over the world in the beginning of sixteenth century, and there are currently around thousand known varieties of mango. It is the dominant tropical fruit variety produced worldwide, followed by pineapple, papaya and avocado, all of which are considered as major tropical fruits. Global production of mango in 2015-16 was estimated to be about 44 million tons, accounting for nearly 50% of world tropical fruit production.

Mango is the most important fruit of India and is known as “King of fruits”. Mango is cultivated in 2,312 thousand ha and the production is around 15.03 million tons, contributing 40.48% of the total world production. Main mango producing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Total export of mangoes from India is 59.22 thousand tons, valuing Rs. 162.92 crores during 2015-16. India exports mango to over 40 countries worldwide. Major importing countries during 2015-16 were UAE, Bangladesh, UK, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. Important mango varieties are Dashehari, Langra, Mallika, Amrapali, Bombay Green, Banganapalli, Totapuri, Neelam etc.

Introduction

Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is cultivated commercially in the tropics and parts of the subtropics of the world. It is greatly appreciated by consumers due to its pleasant sweet taste and flavour in addition to its nutritional and health promoting properties. Varieties differ greatly in both taste and shape. Each variety also has local types. Kew/Giant Kew variety is a leading commercial variety. Fruits are big sized (1.5-2.0 kg), oblong and tapering slightly towards the crown. Fruits with broad and shallow eyes become yellow when fully ripe. Flesh is light yellow, almost fibreless and very juicy. Queen fruits are rich yellow in colour, weighing 0.9-1.3 kg each. Flesh is deep golden yellow, less juicy than Kew, crisp textured, sweet with pleasant aroma and flavour. Baby-pineapples are mostly less than 500 g (Singh, 2016).

Pineapple fruits are consumed fresh. However, because of the unique structure of the fruit and the presence of very active protease, fruit does not find extensive use as a table fruit and hence is mostly processed into a number of products. Many types of value added products are obtained from pineapples which have got good domestic and international market. Proper processing and value addition will not only help to provide wide varieties of products to the market, but also help to reduce the losses of pineapple and will provide additional income to farmers.

Introduction

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is valued as one of the most important commercial horticultural crops in India, belonging to the family Anacardiaceae and widely grown in tropical areas. The name Anacardium refers to the shape of the fruit, which looks like an inverted heart (ana means “upwards” and - cardium means “heart”). It is native to Brazil, introduced to India by Portuguese for afforestation and soil conservation and now grown widely in the traditional and non-traditional regions of our country. Cashew is well adapted to warm humid climatic conditions. It is restricted to altitudes below 700 m, where temperature does not fall below 20°C for prolonged periods.

India is the second largest producer, processor as well as consumer of cashew. Yet, nearly 50% of the requirement of cashew processing industries is met through import. As against the processing requirement of approximately 20 lakh MT per annum, the domestic production of raw cashew nut is only about 9 lakh MT per annum. Major cashew producing states in India are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, West Bengal and interior tracts of Chasttisgarh, A & N islands, Gujarat, Jharkand and North Eastern regions. Though, there is limited scope for expansion of cashew producing area there is scope to increase income through cashew based commercial enterprises.

Introduction

Modern agricultural systems that promote cultivation of a very limited number of crop species have relegated indigenous crops to the status of neglected and underutilised crop species. This has caused a decline in crop diversity in agricultural systems across the world and current research efforts have identified these underutilised crops as having potential to reduce food and nutrition insecurity. This is because of their adaptability to low input agricultural systems and better nutritional composition. Underutilised crops are otherwise known as undervalued or neglected or development opportunity crops (DOCs) (Kahane et al., 2013). They are already cultivated, but underutilised regionally or globally giving relatively low global production and market value. These underutilised crop species have also been described as “minor”, “orphan”, “promising” and “little-used”. Many of these traditional crops grown for food, fiber, fodder, oil and as sources of traditional medicine play a major role in the subsistence of local communities. With good adaptation to often marginal lands, they constitute an important part of the local diet of communities providing valuable nutritional components, which are often lacking in staple crops. Global Facilitation Unit (GFU) for Underutilised species define underutilised crops as, those plant species with under-exploited potential for contributing to food security, health (nutritional/ medicinal), income generation and environmental services.

Introduction
Cocoa, Theobroma cacao L. popularly known as ‘Food of Gods’, the original source of chocolate, is indigenous to tropical humid forests on the lower eastern equatorial slopes of the Andes in South America. Cocoa spread to all over the tropical regions of the world from 18^th century onwards and is now grown in 58 countries covering 6.9 million ha worldwide, producing 4 million tons of cocoa. Cocoa is an important agricultural commodity and the key raw material in chocolate manufacture. Unlike large, industrialized crops, 80 to 90% of cocoa comes from small, family-run farms, with approximately five to six million cocoa farmers worldwide. Total production has increased by 13% from 4.3 million metric tons in 2008 to 4.8 million metric tons in 2012. This represents an average year-over-year production increase of 3.1%. This rate of increase may slow in the coming years, as cocoa trees are sensitive to changing weather patterns. Periods of drought and of excessive rain or wind can negatively impact the yield, and will continue to fluctuate as climate change intensifies. Most of the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa (70%) followed by Asia and Oceania (15.6%) and Latin America (14.1%). World leaders in cocoa bean production are Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador, The Dominican Republic, and Malaysia, supplying 90% of the world production.

Introduction

Spices are high value export oriented crops extensively used for flavouring food and beverages, medicines, cosmetics, perfumery etc. Spices constitute a significant and indispensable segment of culinary art and essentially add flavour, colour and taste to food preparations. Farm level processing operations are important for value addition and product diversification of spices. It is essential that various operations like washing, threshing, blanching, drying, cleaning, grading, storing and packaging ensure proper conservation of the basic qualities like aroma, flavour, pungency, colour etc. Each of these operations enhances the quality of the produce and the value of the spice.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the world. India produces more than 65 spices in different varieties out of the 109 spices listed by International Standards Organisation (ISO). India produces around 5.8 million tons of spices annually (2012-13), of this about 10% of the total produce is exported to over 150 countries. The USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, the Middle East and Oceanic countries are the major importers of Indian spices. Estimated world trade in spices is 1.05 million tons valued at 2750 million US $, out of which India has a significant share of 48% in quantity and 43% in value.

Introduction

Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.), a perennial horticultural crop, is a symbol of national and international integration involving more than 93 producing countries and more than 140 consuming countries. It is eulogised as ‘Kalpavriksha’- the ‘tree of heaven’ as each and every part of the palm is useful to mankind in one way or other. There are countless uses of this coconut palm. It is bestowed with multiple benefits like health, wealth and shelter to mankind. It is also denoted as “heavenly tree”, “tree of abundance” and “nature’s supermarket”. India is the largest producer of coconut followed by Indonesia and Philippines. In India, Tamil Nadu ranks first in production followed by Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. These states account for more than 90 per cent of the area and production of coconut in India. However, it is also cultivated with varying success in other states like Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Orissa, Tripura, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

Introduction

Coconut is a versatile crop with several uses to mankind. Apart from the main product, the by-products obtained from the coconut crop have many alternative uses, thus, adding to the total value of the crop (Popenoe, 1969). A tremendous scope exists for use of coconut in a variety of non-food products. The development of cottage industries to produce such products is recommended to increase income of coconut growers. For historical reasons, cultivation of coconut and value addition of non-food products from coconut have taken deep roots in the state of Kerala. The rapid expansion of coconut cultivation in non-traditional areas increased the production of coconut and the industry has also developed gradually in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Among the non-food products of coconut, charcoal, activated carbon, and shell powder and coir or coconut fibre assume commercial importance. Other parts of the palm especially coconut wood and leaves are recently gaining attention.

Introduction

In an era of liberalization of world trade where there is a continuous inflow and outflow of goods into and from a country, the need for developing competitiveness to sustain in global markets is extremely important. Technological progress and scientific advancements go hand in hand for the economic growth of a country and the Global Competitiveness index (GCI) which was revised in 2006 includes several factors such as institutions, infrastructure, health, primary and higher education, business sophistication, innovation, training etc. of nations to categorize them on the basis of competitiveness (Baig, 2006). Successful entrepreneurship development is a primary driver for the sustainable economic progress of any nation. The term ‘entrepreneurship’ has been defined by Cole (1968) as ‘“Entrepreneurship is the purposeful activities of an individual or a group of associated individuals undertaken to initiate, maintain or organize a profit oriented business unit for the production or distribution of economic goods and services”. An entrepreneur is an enthusiastic individual committed to bring change in the society through the successful implementation of innovative ideas. However, bringing together a package of resources by an entrepreneur for effective transformation into a profitable venture may require inputs from several institutions such as research and development sectors, financing organizations, and training and education providers. The role of R & D institutions in providing innovative technologies having commercial value and the requisite capacity building for prospective entrepreneurs is of prime significance. In this context, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi is a premier research organization dedicated to the research and development of tropical tuber crops and has developed a plethora of technologies for the processing and value addition of tuber crops.

Introduction

India is one of the major producers and exporters of honey. Diversity of bee flora and varied agro-climatic conditions in the country offers enormous potential for the development and growth of apiculture. Honey is a supersaturated sugary material produced mainly by honey bees from the sweet substances of plants (floral or extra-floral nectaries) or insect. Honey bee forager (field bee/worker honey bee) collects the nectar and converts the same into honey by a process of regurgitation and evaporation and stores in the honey comb. The sweetness of the honey is largely by monosaccharide viz., fructose and glucose. Honey is either monofloral or polyfloral as it is collected by the bees. The physical properties of the harvested honey depend upon the source from it is derived, water content, temperature, proportion of the simple sugars present and the method of processing. At low temperature (below 17°C), honey gets crystallized. Honey is also hygroscopic, capable of absorbing water from the atmosphere. India produces approx. 65,000 mt of honey per year (Kejariwal, 2015).

Introduction

Mushrooms are fleshy spore-bearing fruiting bodies of fungi, produced above ground on soil or on their food sources. Total number of useful fungi having edible and medicinal values is over 2,300 species. Like green plants, they do not contain chlorophyll and as a result cannot manufacture their own food. In this respect, they are like animals because; they feed themselves by digesting other organic matter. They are a large heterogeneous group having various shapes, size, appearance and edibility.

The use of mushrooms as food is very old. People harvested mushrooms from the wild for thousands of years for food and medicine. The Egyptians regarded mushrooms as food for pharaohs. The Greeks and Romans described them as food for God and served only on festive occasions. The first professional growers of mushrooms were the Chinese. China is the major producer and consumer of both edible and medicinal mushrooms. As early as 1313, a document was published which described the cultivation method for Shiitake on wood logs. Even older is the cultivation of the wood ear mushroom (Auricularia spp) of which sources indicates that it was cultivated from the year 600 A.D. onwards. The white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, was domesticated in France.

Introduction

Food safety and quality is the most important issue in the global food supply chain. Quality and safety of fresh as well as processed foods have an important role in the export of these commodities. Increasingly stringent food safety and agricultural health standards in industrialized countries pose major challenges for developing countries to establish in the international markets for high-value food products, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and spices. Yet, in many cases, such standards have played a positive role, providing the catalyst and incentives for the modernization of export supply and regulatory systems and the adoption of safer and more sustainable production and processing practices. This has created an increased need for updated research and development to demonstrate and provide adequate evidences for their ability to identify and control food safety hazards, and deal specifically with food quality and safety.

Food quality is an increasingly important factor in the production and marketing of biological products. Consumers are becoming more discerning as their affluence increases, and hence the food industry/suppliers of products must meet these demands if they are to maintain or increase market share. The term ‘quality’ is one of the most defined terms used in food industry today. Quality may be defined as ‘the totality of features and characteristics of a product that bear on its ability to satisfy a given need’. The first part, ‘the totality of features and characteristics of a product…..’ concerns objective factors related to the product. The second part, ‘…… to satisfy a given need’, concerns subjective factors related to user or consumer of goods.

Introduction

Traditionally, Indian economy was characterised as an agrarian economy for the reasons that majority of the population were dependant on agriculture and allied activities and more than fifty per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was derived from agricultural sector. However, paradoxically, despite a drastic decline in the share of agricultural sector to GDP wherein it declined from 56.5 per cent in 1950-51 to 15.11 per cent in 2016-17 (Statisticstimes.com) Indian economy is still characterised as an agrarian economy. But, it would not be inappropriate to state that Indian agricultural sector is at crossroads, or it would be rather safe to comment that for any further advancement of the agricultural sector, value addition is imperative. During the post independence period, the sector had witnessed commendable progress attributing to a shift from an undesirable situation of ‘ship to mouth’ to ‘farm to mouth’. It is obvious that as a result of various programmes, projects and schemes tailored for development of agricultural sector, India had attained self sufficiency in food crops and other agricultural/horticultural products. However, the darker side is that the Indian peasants are still deprived of a remunerative price for their products as well as a respected status in the society which in turn is arresting further advancement and progress of the sector. Thus, it could be concluded that future of agricultural sector in India vests on the adoption of appropriate marketing strategies, supply chain management and value addition initiatives for the prosperity of our farming community in specific and agricultural sector in general. It is in this backdrop, the NITI Aayog has proposed various reforms in India’s agriculture sector, including liberal contract farming, direct purchase from farmers by private players, direct sale by farmers to consumers, and single trader license, among other measures, in order to double rural income in the next five years. Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, has been conducting various consultations and seeking suggestions from numerous stakeholders in agriculture sector, in order to devise a strategy to double the income of farmers by 2022.

Introduction

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is the largest edible fruit in the world. It is a seasonal fruit found in almost all the humid tropical regions of the world. It is very popular all over India and is believed to be of Indian origin. Flesh of jackfruit is starchy and fibrous and is a source of dietary fiber. Varieties are distinguished according to characteristics of the fruit’s flesh. In Kerala, two varieties of jackfruit predominate: varikka and koozha. Varikka has a slightly hard inner flesh when ripe, while the inner flesh of ripe koozha fruit is very soft and almost dissolving. Strong aroma of the fruit accounts popularity of its processed products. Each year, approximately 30-50% of the total harvested fruit is spoiled because of lack of post-harvest processing in India

Jackfruit has more protein, calcium, thiamine, riboflavin and carotene than banana. Edible bulbs of ripe jackfruit are consumed for their fine taste and pleasant aroma. The fibre content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon. Fresh fruit has small amounts of carotenoid and flavonoid pigments such as ß carotene, xanthin, lutein and cryptoxanthin-ß. Together, these compounds play vital roles in antioxidant and vision functions.

Introduction

World’s population is continuously on the rise, triggering the demand for food. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2011) observed that 70% increase in food production will be needed to sustain the globe’s population by 2050. Though, increase in agricultural production and productivity is said to be the panacea to solve food security issues, the greatest challenge that need to be addressed is the inefficiencies in the supply chain; instigated by insufficient storage capacities and perishability of food products. Food preservation and processing is highlighted in this context, as it serves to conserve/improve the quality and reduce food loss due to wastage as well as add nutritional security.

Introduction

It is common that after a rocket start, entrepreneur’s lack the motivation to scale up business and eventually fails to succeed in the market. There are many factors that may lead to such failures or even success stories, the most important being the entrepreneurial skills and traits that enable business to sustain in the competitive world.

What makes an entrepreneur competent in running a business? According to Fisher and Koch (2008), ‘Entrepreneurs are born; the advantage that they derive by birth being the natural advantage. However, we have changed our mindset now-a-days, that it is possible to nurture (make) an entrepreneur; the connotation points out that, right kind of education and training can inspire people with capacities to become motivated to be an entrepreneur.

In this chapter, our focus will be on identifying the entrepreneurial capacities in oneself, after reviewing the essential characteristics and traits that an entrepreneur should possess. Also we try to put forward a framework for entrepreneurship, fitting into the canvas of a food based entrepreneur.

Introduction

Compared to the previous decades, the scope and power of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in agriculture and biotechnology has grown substantially and their international reach has expanded. The IP regime has set up the stage for healthy competition among research centres and industries for developing and seeking novel technologies. However, compared to developed countries, once the technology is created, not much attention is paid in the developing nations on their commercial, policy, environmental, ethical and societal implications. Hence, better techniques are needed for their management, to create policy and educate professionals to commercialize and govern them. Due to the critical role of technology in a competitive environment, strategic technology management is important for farmers and agri-enterprises too. The translation of nascent technologies into new products/ services and their commercialization requires some amount of hand-holding, mentoring and incubation support.

Introduction

The food processing industry is a sunrise sector and contributes around 14% of Gross Domestic Product, 13% of India’s exports and 6% of total industrial investment. The Indian food retail market is expected to reach Rs 61 lakh crore by 2020 and the food processing industry accounts for 32% of the country’s total food market. This is considered as one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth.

The drift towards urbanisation and busier way of life, pave path to tremendous bounce in the food market. Nowadays consumer’s approach to being fit is not about going to gym, but also consulting dietitians and adopting an adjusted eating routine. Consumer’s behaviour concerning food consumption has undergone significant changes as a result of the increased awareness about different value added food products, brands, and cuisines, and also their greater willingness to experiment and ability to pay. It leads to the concept of food security in to nutritional security. Companies are offering a wider range of products to the consumers as a result of their investments into product innovation, research and development. At present, various value added products with versatile colour, shape, ingredients etc are available in worldwide market. Among this, some food items like processed fruits and vegetables and dairy products have witnessed a momentous growth in export also. Recent surveys indicated that for companies manufacturing processed foods and beverages, rise in the obesity rate is a great challenge. Hence, efforts were made to develop commercially viable, new process protocols to design healthy products from underutilised food commodities.

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food of over half the world’s people and is grown on approximately 146 million hectares, more than 10 per cent of total available land. Ninety seven per cent of the world’s rice is grown by less developed countries, mostly in Asia. Post harvest losses are considered to be contributed by storage alone, and not much attention was paid to losses occurring during harvesting, transport, threshing, drying, milling and pre-milling treatments. Quantitative loss of food grains was the main concern of the producers and the consumers. Qualitative losses at various stages were not fully recognized, but systematic studies by different organizations revealed that these losses are enormous and should be prevented. These losses cumulatively could be as high as 40 per cent and are normally accompanied by loss of quality also. Quality loss of products can take place at all stages but more particularly during drying or curing of harvested crops, storage, and milling and pre-milling treatments. Post-harvest attention is essential if the grains of higher production are to be fully exploited. Also the quality loss occurring in food grains can be extremely serious if the farming community is not aware of them.

Introduction

Rice is the major staple food for more than 70 percent of the Indian population. India cultivates more than 4,000 varieties and hybrids of rice to cater to varied consumer preferences. A portion of the total cultivated rice is also used for processed products like snacks, savouries and bakery items. India was the largest exporter of rice in 2015-16 followed by Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan. Rice production forecast is higher at 105 MMT in 2016/17 compared to 2015/16 production of 103 MMT (India Grain and Feed Annual, 2016). Rice milling is the oldest and the leading agro processing industry of the country. Paddy grain is milled either in raw condition or after parboiling, mostly by single hullers of which over 82,000 are registered in the country. Further, over the years, there has been a steady growth of improved rice mills in the country. Most of these have capacities ranging from 2 tons /hr to 10 tons/ hour. At present, it has a turnover of more than 25,500 crore per annum. It processes about 85 million tons of paddy per year and provides staple food grain and other valuable products required by over 60% of the population. Though, rice milling is a wide spread business undertaken in India, commercializing value added products is now gaining customer attraction paving way to merge milling and value addition under a single roof. The desirability of the working population to get foods, particularly rice based products in RTE and RTC forms has thrown a positive approach to new and emerging entrepreneurs to take up a venture in commencing rice based food processing industry.

Introduction

21^st century challenges like climate change, water scarcity, increasing world population, rising food prices, and other socio-economic impacts are expected to generate a great threat to agriculture and food security worldwide, especially for the poorest people who live in arid and sub-arid regions. Millet is one of the oldest foods known to humans and possibly the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes. Millet has been used in Africa and India as a staple food for thousands of years. Typical grain texture and hard seed coat of millets increase their keeping quality but make them difficult to process as well as to cook in convenient form. Absence of appropriate primary processing technologies to prepare ready-to-use or ready-to-cook (RTC) products and also the secondary as well as tertiary processing technologies to prepare ready-to-eat value added products from millets are the major limiting factors for their diversified food uses.

Millets have relatively poor digestibility and low bio-availability of minerals due to the presence of inherent anti-nutritional factors. The difficulties in millet grain processing present a challenge but nutritional as well as health benefits and consumer demand for health foods provide opportunities in processing, develop suitable technology for newer products and process mechanization. This change in technology and consumer food preference would help in increasing the area under millets, maintaining ecological balance, ensuring food security, prevent malnutrition and increase the scope for utilization of millet grains on industrial scale.

Introduction

Pulses are major and cheap sources of protein in Indian vegetarian diet, providing most of the essential amino acids. Pulses are mainly consumed in the form of dehusked split pulses (Dal); and have 15-24% proteins. Various types of pulses grown are pigeon pea, chickpea, black gram, green gram, lentil, etc. Pulses are consumed because of body building properties due to the presence of various amino acids. By-products of pulses like leaves, pod coats and bran are fed to animals in the form of dry fodder. Some pulse crops like gram, lobia, urd bean & moong bean are fed to animals as green fodder.

Introduction

Soybean (Glycine max) is also known as the wonder bean or miracle bean or “golden grain” due to its diversified applicability. Soybean has an important place in world’s oilseed cultivation scenario, due to its high productivity, profitability and vital contribution towards maintaining soil fertility. The crop also has a prominent place as the world’s most important seed legume, which contributes 25% to the global vegetable oil production, about two thirds of the world’s protein concentrate for livestock feeding and is a valuable ingredient in formulated feeds for poultry and fish. The major soybean producing nations are United States, Brazil and Argentina. These three countries dominate in global production, accounting for 80% of the world’s soybean supply. Global production of soybean has grown at a CAGR of 2.78% from 215.69 million metric tons in 2004-05 to 283.79 million metric tons in 2013-14.

India stands 5^th in global production of soybean. In India, soybean cultivation started in early 1970s, but it has emerged as number one among oilseed crops covering around 11 m ha area with total production of around 11.5 m tons. At present, the average productivity of soybean is about 1.3 tons/ha and it can be easily doubled in near future. Production of soybean in India is dominated by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh which contribute 89% of the total production. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat contribute the remaining 11% production.

About 85% of world’s soybeans are processed annually into soybean meal and oil. Approximately 98% of soybean meal is crushed and further processed into animal feed with the balance used to make soy flour and proteins. Of the oil fraction, 95% is consumed as edible oil; the rest is used for industrial products such as fatty acids, soaps and biodiesel.