eChapters

Introduction

The availability of food depends on the production and distribution while the access to food is determined by an individual’s purchasing power. Thus, the food security in the framework of economic welfare is the situation in which the lowest income strata has a near zero probability of being vulnerable to famine and in terms of calorie it requires a near zero probability of falling below the poverty line (Rentlinger and Selousky, 1978). Therefore, food security concerns every sovereign country, especially the developing and poor nations, owing to its profound implications for their socio-politico-economic stability and which co-exists with international diplomacy. According to 1998 annual report of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), about 73 million people would be added to the world’s population every year between 19952020 increasing it by 32 percent to reach at 7.5 billion. Much of the population growth is expected to occur in the developing countries mainly in India where the population is expected to increase by 36 percent to touch at 1.27 billion by 2020 and is likely to overtake China by 2035. Therefore, meeting the food and nutrition needs of growing and urbanized population with rising incomes will have profound implications for agricultural production and food security of the country and Himachal Pradesh is no exception.

Introduction

India is more an agrarian economy, wherein about 50 percent of people directly depend on agriculture for employment. Like other developing nations, however, this country is facing some of the challenges like food insecurity, agricultural backwardness and unsatisfied farming community. Though green revolution in 1970s had brought much relief in this direction, liberalized trade polices since mid 1990s created new and complex issues, especially for small and marginal farmers. Also, since recent years the contribution of agriculture to GDP is declining, indicating that there is growth is shifting away from agriculture to industrial and service sectors. The rural-urban migration, primarily due to the poor employment absorption capacity of our traditional agricultural system, lower productivity, changing life styles, etc. is increasing at alarming rate. In spite of all these, the disparity persists within the society and across the region. Such inequalities, as measured through income distribution, consumption pattern and spending of the income, pose a big challenge, as the gaps are widening with the passage of time. Inadequate purchasing power among the poorer communities leads to undernourishment, which in turn affects their productive capacity. Even though huge food grain stocks are distributed among the needy, considerable proportion of the population lack economic access to such food, and have to rely upon the cheap and insufficient food.

Introduction

Food security problem has multiple dimensions that range from ensuring the food supply at global, country and local levels to create its effective demand round the year. The ultimate goal of an effective food security policy is to provide individuals with adequate dietary requirements through availability and accessibility of food, which are necessary conditions for nutritional well being. The level of food security existing in a country, however is a complex interactions, operating at different levels from the macro to the micro level. The components of the system would include international trade and macro policies, the agricultural sector, the market economy, consumption pattern, the micro economy or household income, urban-rural differentiation and gender issues, etc.

Food insecurity is a complex issue having several dimensions such as, poverty, unemployment, famine, gender discrimination, inequity, starvation, food and nutritional practices, for human growth, natural calamities and so on. Poverty has been recognized globally both as a cause and consequence of food insecurity. In the mid 1980s, 72 per cent of the world’s poor and 66 per cent of the world’s extremely poor lived in the Asia-Pacific region. In this region, 272 million people would suffer from chronic malnutrition during the next decade i.e. in the year 2010. In Asia-Pacific region, India alone has 204 million undernourished people, which is quite alarming when compared with neighbouring countries like China, which has only 164 million undernourished people despite being much populous than India. World Health Organization (WHO) report (1998) points out that health expectancy is more important than life expectancy. The impact of poverty and malnutrition on health has widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

Introduction

Agriculture provides unique solution to various developmental issues including poverty and hunger. World Development Report (2008) reveals that the agricultural growth has significantly contributed to the decline in poverty world over (as in China and Latin America). Though the non-agriculture sector pays more dividend, and grows steeply, the capital generated, however benefits a few (mostly urban areas) thus leading to uneven distribution of income. Whereas, the development of agriculture, which employs most of the rural population, is expected to benefit a large section of the population simultaneously and uniformly. It is in this context that this report predicts agriculture as a vital development tool for achieving Millennium Development Goal that calls for halving by 2015 the share of people suffering from extreme poverty and hunger.

Introduction

The diversifi cation and modernization of the present agricultural and other related activities supported by efficient on and off farm processing of the commodities for the purpose of value-addition is expected to increase food production and create employment and income generation. Adding value to food commodities after harvest is also aimed at minimizing the losses during storage and to maintain the quality of product. Efficient post-production practices, particularly the preservation and processing of agricultural and allied produces may bring a wide range of benefits to the people in this country, generating job opportunities by opening up village-level processing units. The goals of post-harvest and food processing technology are loss prevention as well as adding value to the harvested biomass, which result in more income to the farmers/processors and better quality produce provided to the consumers. Post-harvest and food processing technology are commodity-and location-specific and it is done at home, village and/or cottage levels at small and large industrial scale. On-farm post-harvest storage and primary processing integrated with production technology help to generate more employment opportunities and additional income for rural people. Minimization of the post-harvest losses is an important means to increase per capita food availability. It also helps to generate more employment and income. Investment in post-harvest measures is more economical and time saving than in productivity to obtain the same amount of a particular commodity. Furthermore, post-harvest measures automatically add value to the raw commodities as they pass on their marketing channels. Adoption of postharvest technologies and value additive measures are very strong tools for rural and social development through employment and income generation. Development and adoption of efficient value addition practices will enhance national food supply and sustain food security even at the household level. Fruits and vegetables processing industries have a good deal of potential in serving the rural economy. First, it helps in generating more employment for rural people. It will also check mobility of rural masses towards urban areas in search of employment. Employment opportunities offered by agroprocessing industries are plenty to the farm population and entrepreneur seeking self-employment. Cottage scale units particularly offer self-employment opportunities. Traditionally women handle food and are familiar with skills of food processing. In order to improve the status of living of woman and rural food processing, low cost appropriate fruit and vegetable processing technologies offer excellent opportunities for production of processed foods. The improvement of status of socially backward and landless labor classes will be possible only through providing non-farm employment at their doorsteps. This will generate a sense of security and confidence amongst rural people for overcoming uncertainty in agricultural income and providing self-employment to the land-less labor. The locally available untapped resources should be used effectively.

Introduction

The concept of food security having relevance at global, national, regional, state, household and individual level is well understood as a core issue over the last three decades in the world. The World Food Conference of 1974, organized in the wake of the world food crisis of 1972-74, was largely concerned with global food security. It was felt as the common responsibility of all nations that international approaches were needed to achieve the goal of improved world food security. The food security at national level means arrangements for providing physical supply of a minimum level of food during all periods including those having harvest failures. FAO (1983) had formulated that the basic concept of food security implied that all people at all times have physical and economic access to the basic food they need. The World Bank (1986) has modified this formulation to indicate that food security is access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life.

In this direction, the conference on Environment and Development held in Rio (1992), the Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Nutrition held in Rome (1992), the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna (1993), the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo (1994), the World Summit on Social Development held in Copenhagen (1995), the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing (1995), the Habitat II Conference held at Istanbul (1996), the World Food Summit held in Rome (1996), etc. deliberated on various facets of food security like food security and sustainable development, right for nutritionally fit and safe food, population growth and food production, global measures to satisfy the food needs, campaign against hunger, women in food production, rural-urban linkages and so on.

Introduction

Poverty has been described as a situation of “pronounced deprivation in well being” and being poor as “to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. Poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by institutions of the state and society and excluded from voice and power in those institutions.” Lack of access to resources is a unifying characteristic of poverty in all its manifestations. The poor lack ownership of or access to assets such as land, water, forest, dwelling units, credit, literacy, longevity, voice and capital-both physical and social. Those who are severely below the poverty line are largely involved in subsistence type activities for which they get exploitatively poor returns despite suffering extreme physical hardship and undertaking grave risks so as to earn a meager income. Since earnings are below even the margins of existence, expenditure and survival needs exceed income. This often results in the need to borrow small amounts of money at usurious interest rates of as much as 120 per cent per annum (Mehta, 1996) when borrowing is not possible, hunger is suffered. Their inability to change the power relationships results in scarcely available common resources (such as even drinking water) or public funds meant for poverty alleviation being misappropriated and diverted through manipulation by the locally powerful or corrupt. Since there are no mechanisms for grievance redressal this could result in social tension, despair or a combination thereof.

Introduction

Food security means access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life (Reuntlinger, 1985; World bank, 1986; FAO, 1989). But now-a-days, food security is used differently at national, regional and household level. At regional and national levels, it is related to regional and national balances between availability and need whereas at household level, it is related with food production resources, income available for purchases and assistance sufficient to meet the aggregate needs of all household members.

Availability of food alone may not guarantee access due to poor distribution or lack of purchasing power as co-existence of aggregate food self sufficiency and widespread malnutrition and hunger do exist. As per Chen and Kates, 1994, food security includes combination of criteria as:

Introduction

Food is the most important requirement of every section of the society. But, mere availability of food sometimes is not enough and it does not mean that everybody is having access to a fair share of it or that every one has an adequate diet (Oshaug et al., 1994). Therefore, affordable food prices and adequate purchasing power with the people are equally important.

The need of food security was felt due to the gaps in food production and availability of sufficient food from domestic resources. Large proportion of the underfed population starves not because of general food shortage but due to the insufficient access to food supplies or insufficient income to purchase food.FAO (1999) estimated that there were 20.4 million undernourished people in India only).

Importance of maintaining food security over the world has been abundantly recognized since long. However, during 1974, FAO was called by the World Food Conference to establish a Committee on World Food Security so as to keep the world food situation under constant review and to suggest the strategies for rectifying the problems in problematic areas. Later, an International Undertaking on World Food Security was set up wherein member nations committed themselves to maintain food stocks for ensuring uninterrupted supply of foodgrains and to cope up with the problems of shortage in case of crop failure due to the natural calamities etc. Since then, the Committee on World Food Security monitors the implementation of the undertaking.

Introduction

Food being the foremost basic need gets the priority in expenditure of people, especially poor class. Access to food demands affordability, which depends upon the twin factors namely, income of the people and prices prevailing in the country. Slower growth in income than prices would undermine the purchasing power, resulting in inadequate access to food and calorie consumption. Foodgrains account for about four-fifth of the calorie intake of the poor and an increase in cereal prices could significantly reduce the calorie intake of the poor, as it is sensitive to cereal prices.

Introduction

The importance of food security and its management world over has been recognized long back. The World Food Summit in 1974, called in response to the persistent and widespread under-nutrition and the future role of agriculture, stressed upon establishment of committee to review and recommend location specific action plan in sensitive areas. Asserting that every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties, an international undertaking on world food security was set up in which member nations committed to maintain food stocks to ensure routine and emergency food supplies (in case of crop failure, natural disaster, etc.). Monitoring the implementation of such undertaking has since then become the responsibility of the Committee on World Food Security.

Introduction

India has made impressive strides on the agricultural front during the past three decades. Much of the credit for this success should go to the several million small farming families that form the backbone of Indian agriculture and Indian economy. Policy support, production strategies, public investment in infrastructure, research and extension for crop, livestock and fisheries have significantly helped in increasing the agricultural productivity, food production and its availability. Notwithstanding these achievements, producing additional food with limited land, and providing economic access to food at the household level for ensuring food security would continue to be a major challenge for the nation. India has experienced considerable changes in the crop mix, yield and production since the inception of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution phase displayed a high yield growth per unit of input. The first post-Green Revolution phase (from late-1960s to mid-1980s) was marked by the continued growth in returns from land through the intensification in use of chemical inputs and machine labour. The second post-Green Revolution phase (beginning the mid-1980s) was characterized by high input-use and decelerating productivity growth. It calls for an examination of the issues related to the trends in agricultural productivity, particularly with reference to individual crops in recent years. In the present paper, the temporal and spatial variations in the productivity status of major crops in India have been analyzed using the TFPG estimates. Some policy measures have also been suggested for sustaining TFP of the crops.

Role of Agriculture in Livelihood Systems

For the developing countries like India, where a majority of families, in both the farm and non-farm sectors, derive their livelihoods from agriculture, sustainability of agriculture cannot be discussed or even defined in isolation of the issue of livelihoods. Livelihood is defined as adequate stock and flow of food and cash with an individual or a family to meet its basic needs. Livelihood security then means secured ownership of, or access to, resources and income-earning activities, including reserves and assets to offset risks, ease shocks and meet contingencies. There are four principal ways of acquiring livelihoods by the rural households. First is the production-based livelihood. A large proportion of the small and marginal farmers gain livelihoods through production on small pieces of land. For these households, availability or access to inputs and improved methods of production are quite critical for their livelihoods. Second is the labour-based livelihood. Most of the small landholders and landless rural households derive livelihoods by selling their labour. For their livelihoods, demand for labour, wage rates and prices of food are the critical factors. Third is the exchange- or market- based livelihood. Those rural households which produce surplus food and non-food agricultural products or non-farm goods earn their livelihoods by selling these surpluses in the market. The marketing system for these products and relative prices of what they sell and what they buy, affect their livelihoods. The fourth set of livelihoods is transfer-based entitlements. The households without any income-earning asset or able-bodied person to work depend for their livelihoods on transfers from the government or other social organizations. Government’s social security and food assistance programmes are relevant for this group of rural households in fulfilling their livelihood requirements. The rural livelihood systems in the developing countries thus encompass a broad range of factors and depend on several macro sub- systems of the economy.

Introduction

India accounts for 16.7 per cent of the world’s food consumers. India’s size in terms of food consumers is many times larger than the average size of the rest of the countries, except China. At the time of independence in 1947, India was in the grip of a serious food crisis, which was accentuated by the partition of the country. The demand for food far exceeded supply, food prices were ruling at high levels and more than half of the populations were living below the poverty line with inadequate purchasing power. With high rates of population growth, the dependence on imported food increased further. However, the situation improved considerably after the mid-1960s, when new agricultural development strategy and food policies were adopted in the country. The production of staple cereals increased substantially, mainly contributed by productivity improvements. The dependence on food imports reduced and the country became a marginal net exporter of cereals. There was also an improvement in physical and economic access of households to cereals and other nutritive food products. The proportion of households reporting hunger went down and the incidence of economic poverty was reduced. The objective of this paper is to review the Indian approach to tackling the severe problem of food insecurity, which it faced immediately after independence. It reviews the evolution of food policy, the major policy instruments deployed, intervention in food marketing system, and the current status of food security/insecurity. The paper also identifies the lessons emerging from the experience of India. The paper has been divided into eight sections. The second section briefly presents the evolution of the food policy in India and the approaches to food security. The current status of food security and insecurity is analyzed in section 3. The next three sections detail the three major instruments of the food security policy. Price support policies pursued in the country are described in section 4. Section 5 examines the magnitude of input subsidies in Indian agriculture. Direct food and other assistance programs for improving household food and nutrition security and magnitude of food subsidy are presented in section 6, while some salient features of food marketing system that affect food security are given in section 7. Lessons emerging from the Indian experience are presented in the last section.

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.

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

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

India is the second largest food producing country in the world. Food processing is one of the key industries in the country and a sector that has direct linkage between agriculture and industry. Being the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables along with its strategic geographic location and proximity to food importing nations, India is in an advantageous position in terms of exporting processed food. As per estimates, Indian food processing sector stood at USD258 billion in the financial year 2015. The growth and development of this industry have direct impact on the Indian economy. The aim of the present study is to discuss about the growth of the food processing industry, analyse its strengths and weaknesses and generate possibilities of entrepreneurial development towards the expansion of the sector. This study has been a secondary data analysis based on data collected from journals, magazines, web searches and reports from various government and private agencies.

The study has identified the main drivers aiding to the growth of the sector. It includes strong domestic demand, rising export opportunities; supply side advantages for exporters due to rising global demand and strong policy support from the Government. On the other hand, fragmented market, infrastructure support, namely cold chain, innovation and skill development are the major hurdles that have to be overcome. This article makes an attempt to explore entrepreneurial opportunities and few areas where new business could be initiated. The entrepreneurial opportunities highlighted in this paper are based on Drucker’s opportunity construct that entrepreneurs have an eye more for possibilities created by change than the problems.

Abstract

Out of 1.37 billion populationof India 67 % lives in rural areas whose major source of income is agriculture and allied activities (World Population Review, 2019). In simple words, the livelihood of this vast majority is closely related to rural enterprises. Fostering rural entrepreneurship may be affected by several issues, infrastructure being one of them. This paper attempts to examine the relationship between infrastructure investment by the state and rural entrepreneurship in India, with ‘Gross Fixed Capital Formation’ and ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added’ considered as proxy variables. Time series econometrics is compiled with the data collected from World Bank Database for the period of 1961-2017. The study has established evidence in support of greater investment in infrastructure enhancing rural entrepreneurial opportunities in India.

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of India’s economic development and has experienced immense growth in the past few decades. Agriculture not only involves the participation of male workers but also experiences active participation of all family members, as well. Women, as part of the family, take up agricultural activities as an extension to their household chores. The Government and voluntary agencies have also recognised the need for women in the farming community to become self-reliant and active participants in the agricultural sector. Increasing awareness and educating themselves with the passage of time, farmers have made themselves aware of new techniques of farming and growing and established themselves as agricultural entrepreneurs in the long run. Many initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs and creating a supportive ecosystem for women to become agricultural entrepreneurs have been initiated by the state. The case of Anita Devi popularly known as the Mushroom Lady of Bihar has been taken up in this paper to substantiate with evidence how government initiatives have helped her gain success and grow as an agricultural entrepreneur. This study aims at disseminating how such initiatives help in creating an ecosystem that motivates agricultural entrepreneurs in general and women in particular.

Abstract

This paper is rooted in the issue of the failure of Green Revolution which was intended to achieve self-sufficiency in the agriculturally dominant country of India, following its independence. However five decades later, the current focus of the country is on engaging in a sustainable and economically feasible agricultural practice using principles of agro ecology. This paper tries to explore the potential of application of organic farming in a vast country like India. The author posits that organic farming can help India reverse the damage caused by Green Revolution by allowing for natural methods of agriculture rather than a severely mechanical form. This paper focuses on the modern concept of organic farming combining tradition, science and innovation, and the debatable issues surrounding organic farming particularly dealing with its economic feasibility and sustainability prospects. It is acknowledged that for the successful implementation of organic farming there has to be appropriate matching of the supply and demands the organic products. However, there is a need to address the challenge of adoption of organic farming in a diverse country like India because of its huge variance in education, income, living standards and health of the existing and potential consumers. The prospect of organic farming is discussed from the perspective of consumer awareness and state initiatives, in this paper.

Abstract

The agriculture and allied sector provide livelihood for 58% of India’s population. A large population and rising disposable incomes are key growth drivers. Growing external demand has increased its contribution to exports. The demand for processed food has also led to increasing requirements for agricultural inputs, hybrid seeds, machinery and fertilizers. Investment opportunities in storage infrastructure and agrochemicals also present immense opportunities. Organised retail has made India attractive for multinationals. The industry has a combination of multiple organisational forms, like associations, co-operatives, government (departmental) undertakings, foreign entities, trusts and companies, private and public. Unlisted companies encompass a vast range (private limited companies, family business, group-owned firms, and joint ventures are major actors.) The form and complexity of business ownership highlights Corporate Governance (CG) debate. Given this background, our objective is to understand the CG characteristics of unlisted agricultural and allied companies operating in India, the driving forces for improving CG practices, and the need for a policy framework in supporting good CG. We propose to examine the extent of control in the various types of entities and explore the mechanisms that contribute to the development of an efficient CG framework. Using data from the Prowess database, on 2,879 firms, from 2012-2013 to 2016-17, we analysed how CG problems are caused and how it can be alleviated. The results provide stakeholders and agri entrepreneurs with an overview of the policy and managerial issues that arise in the debate on CG of companies in this key sector. Finally, we conclude how the unlisted companies are likely to stimulate growth and development if CG mechanisms are enhanced.

Abstract

Trade Related Agreements on Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) widely affects the agricultural sector which is largely unorganised in India. At the same time this sector remains the bread winner for majority of the population of the country. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) affect the extensive and intensive margins in agricultural trade. This paper draws attention of enterprises in the field of agricultural biotechnology which has genetic modification (GM) as one of its core activity. GM is of benefit in terms of value additive features but also of great concern for the community in conservation of biodiversity. Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO), being aware of the pitfalls of implementing IPRs in agriculture, constituted an expert panel to study the issues pertaining to the sector. They came up with very clear directives to the FAO on the course of action. This paper aims to focus on this area to identify the micro-level dynamics of IPRs in agriculture and its effects on the rural enterprises in India. The impact of IPRs and its ramifications, the issues of agricultural productivity and its future trajectory, are to be understood from the perspective of an entrepreneur’s policy decisions. This will lead to identification of policies that would help in harnessing IPRs for the growth of Indian agriculture.

Abstract

Among the 29 Indian states, 14 are linked with 585 regulated mandis with electronic national agricultural market. Across the states, 7.35 million farmers with 53,163 commission agents are registered in these regulated mandis. Every year Government of India announces modified agricultural policies to safeguard the interest of the farming community. Amongst the policies, one of the mechanisms to protect the producers from price fluctuations is Minimum Support Price (MSP). While determining MSP, government takes into account cost of production, cost of living, as well as economic and socio-political factors. For the past two decades, it has been observed that one MSP graph is moving upward but still the farming community seems dissatisfied. The reasons behind MSP variation among states include offering bonus prices additionally with MSP by some states, due to variation in government procurement procedures and policies. As a result, MSP is playing an important role in manoeuvring of prices amongst the various state markets. MSP deviation provides chances for the private sector to take undue advantage and the farmers are adversely affected. The study analyses existence of deviation in mandi prices of staple food between two states from year 2007 to 2018. It will disclose whether centralized price system reduce the cost of government and aid the farmer to get fair valuation.

Abstract

Entrepreneurship essentially involves economic and dynamic activities, risk- assuming and idea generation that help in developing, organising and managing a business opportunity for profits. Entrepreneurship in agriculture is not merely confined to farm activities but also involves activities interlinked and interdependent with core and peripheral agricultural activities. Impediments in the pathway of agricultural entrepreneurship in West Bengal are characterised by fragmented landholding, low financial resources and thereby debt stickiness & dependence on short-term agricultural loan. Though disbursements of short-term credit have increased substantially, the rate of increase is low. For most farmers, insurance for financial or crop crisis is unheard or have hardly any implication. The paper tries to explain the performance of various agricultural insurance schemes in terms of coverage and the benefits being delivered in India and in West Bengal. The paper analyses whether the recipients consider the schemes as an effective risk mitigation tool or merely a habit of credit-dependence in West Bengal through a diffusion model. The paper concludes with the focus on possible entrepreneurial opportunities that may offer more customised agri-insurance policies, where regional disparities could be considered and individual interests be given little more importance.

Abstract

Packaging industry is considered to be one of the world’s largest industrial sectors. In the past few years, food processing has undergone several paradigm changes with respect to production, distribution, storage, processing and retailing. This increasing dynamism in the food industry, while on one hand placing a lot of challenges on the packaging industries, is on the other hand opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs to foray into food processing and also packaging industries and develop appropriate solutions in response to the needs of the market and environment. This study aims at exploring the state of packaging industry and packaging technologies in developing countries, with special emphasis on India, against the backdrop of increasing concern for prevention of food losses and therefore highlighting the need for new innovative ideas for food packaging. The authors posit that customer awareness about safety of processed food has given rise to tremendous possibilities of entrepreneurship opportunities in the area of safe and hygiene packaging. However market preferences, state reputations and cost benefit analysis play major roles in packaging of processed food products.

Abstract

More than one-third of food is lost or wasted in post-harvest operations in India. Decreasing the post-harvest losses (PHL) may be a sustainable solution to increasing food availability and improving farmers’livelihoods. As per Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, India loses approximately US$ 14.33 billion annually on account of PHL (ASSOCHAM, 2017). The objective of this study is to analyse the agricultural wastes that are produced in the value chain for a modern trade retailer, identify their causes, and discuss methods for minimising field wastages. A case study approach has been used to depict the agricultural value chain (vegetable segment). A field visit was conducted to a farmland and a privately operated Collection Center in Barasat area of West Bengal. The author discusses solutions towards minimising harvest wastages in the farm by focusing on waste reduction. Post-harvest wastages beyond the farm can be reduced by undertaking measures that focus on waste management. Going forward, adoption of technologies by farmers may lessen inefficiencies such as wastages and improve their income. Further scope for research lies in exploring joint interventions by private players, government agencies, non-profit organisations and entrepreneurs through public-private partnership models or through development of clusters for creating sustainable value chains and achieving greater profitability.

Abstract

Access to reliable and affordable irrigation is one of the most important enablers to increase agricultural productivity and income for farmers. An innovative Manual Axis Tracking Solar Pump model and its utility in providing affordable irrigation has been discussed in this paper. The proposed Manual Axis Tracking Solar Pump can increase output on an average 8%-12% more than fixed panel and is much cheaper than automated tracking. This paper deliberates upon the technical features that make the Manual Axis Tracking Solar Pump an advantage over its nearest competitor, the diesel pump. Government of India has already introduced various subsidy-based solar pump schemes and most of them are not popular because of low discharge issue. The low discharge issue can be solved by this proposed optimum tilt-based Manual Tracking Solar Pump, whose sustainable market penetration is suggested through various strategies in the paper, supported by case studies. The proposed entrepreneurship model not only opens a new era of agricultural business but also helps to reduce the GHG emissions.

Abstract

Sustainable development and success in any field, agriculture being one of them, goes hand in hand with Innovation. To tackle the current growing problems in the agricultural sector, and long-term sustainability of the agri-ecosystem, agricultural innovations are needed that might bring new products or processes or open up new markets, thereby optimising the use of the limited resources to attain maximum benefits. The authors discuss innovation from the perspective of two dimensions: Technology and Market to illustrate four different kinds of innovation - incremental, architectural, radial and descriptive. This paper deals with the concept of innovation in agricultural field [referred to as agri-innovation] using illustrations of two innovative products namely Dragon Fruit and Water Hyacinth, both of which have significant role in the agri-ecosystem of India. The introduction of Dragon Fruit in a new market is illustrated as an agri-innovation. Efforts by state and private sector of introducing Dragon Fruit, a popular production in South & South East Asia to Indian markets are an example of Architectural Innovation. Also the most common weed Water Hyacinth is considered to be used in news forms so that it can be modified as a new product for a new market. The paper thus documents the suitability of these innovative agri-products in the current Indian market scenario.

Abstract

The upsurge in global population rates has triggered a significant escalation in food demand across the world. This is accompanied by urbanisation and a pressing need for sustainable agriculture. In this context vertical cultivation of plants as well as breeding of livestock on vertically inclined surfaces, such as in skyscrapers and other high-rise buildings in urban regions has gained prominence. The dynamics of urban agriculture is captured through the case study of Urbagrow Aquaponics, an urban, aquaponic, soil-free, food garden based in Kolkata. The garden exhibits an assortment of aquaponic systems for growing a variety of vegetables as well as the tilapia and catfish. The systems make use of less water, require less work in man-hours and can grow vegetables in greater density than a traditional soil based food growing endeavour. A feasibility study has been conducted to explore the potential of scaling such a venture across myriad other high-rise buildings across Indian cities.

Abstract

This chapter will look at the major reasons why farmers in India are unable to take advantage of Agricultural profession as a mode of generating income and suggest ways to change this by employing new technologies. Agriculture has basic processes which require identifying the season for planting the seeds at the right time, watering the plants to the required level, undertaking maintenance for the different plants and then finally harvesting at the right time to ensure that the effort that has been put into the agricultural process results in useful output. In business terms the output when it is valued in terms of money, should enable the farming business to sell their output at a certain price that will enable them to pay off the money that has been used for setting up the crop for that cycle. This chapter will underscore the valuable contribution of remote sensing data in farming to enhance operational decisions. We will look at how low-cost technologies can be implemented into the existing agricultural extension activities and help farmers make better decisions that will enable them to be more business oriented. It is envisaged that incorporating high technology-based data into simple to understand terminology willhelp reduce the burden on farmers. This is due to the lack of knowledge but also due to the low volume of information that is possible to be fed to the farmers through the agriculture extension network in the country. However, due to the varied nature of farming in India it is difficult for extension officers to specialise but concentrate their efforts on widely utilised crops in an area. The following figure below explains in simple terms how the cycle of activities occur in a farmer’s world and where business decisions are taken that will have an impact on the profitability.

The transition from conventional to organic farming requires numerous changes. One of the biggest changes is in the mindset of the farmer. Conventional approaches often involve the use of quick-fix remedies that, unfortunately, rarely address the cause of the problem. Transitioning farmers generally spend too much time worrying about replacing synthetic input with allowable organic product instead of considering management practices based on preventative strategies. Here are a few steps new entrants should follow when making the transition to organic farming:

20.1. Understand the Basics of Organic Agriculture and the Organic Farming Standards

Since organic production systems are knowledge based, new entrants and transitional producers must become familiar with sound and sustainable agricultural practices. Transitional producers should be prepared to read appropriate information, conduct their own trials and participate in formal and informal training events. As mentioned, switching from conventional to organic farming is more than substituting synthetic materials to organic allowed materials. Organic farming is a holistic system that relies on sound practices focused on preventative strategies. Since there are often few organic remedies available to organic producers for certain problems, prevention is the key element in organic production.

In food production remarkable progress has been made in the last fifty years in agricultural production and self – sufficiency (Food security) has been reached. Yet nutritional security seems to be a distant goal. With depleting natural resources and increasing threat to the environment, sustainable crop production is attracting the attention of the scientists, farmers and administrators. Due to over exploitation of natural resources and indiscriminate use of agro chemicals, green revolution also brought in quite a lot of miseries which focus the urgent need to have EVERGREEN REVOLUTION that is sustainable, leading to food and nutritional security to the rural poor. At this juncture it will be more appropriate to practicing organic agriculrure through the integration of traditional wisdom and modern scientific knowledge in synergy with nature.

19.1. Eco-friendly Technologies for Rice Cultivation

A sound package of eco-friendly technologies to grow rice is being successfully adopted by a few progressive farmers in Puliangudi village in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. “The technologies work well with indigenous rice varieties such as Kitchili Samba. The cost of cultivation is substantially reduced and the organic rice fetches a premium price in the market,” says Mr. P. Gomathinayagam, a pioneer in organic farming in Puliangudi.

In India, there are two accreditation systems for authorizing Certification and Inspection agencies for organic certification. National Programme on organic Production (NPOP) promoted by Ministry of Commerce is the core programme which governs and defines the standards and implementing procedures. National Accreditation Body (NAB) is the apex decision making body. Certification and Inspection agencies accredited by NAB are authorized to undertake certification process. The NPOP notified under FTDR act and controlled by Agricultural Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) looks after the requirement of export while NPOP notified under APGMC act and controlled by Agriculture Marketing Advisor, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection looks after domestic certification. Currently 20 certification agencies have been authorized to undertake certification process.

National Programme on Organic Production

National Program on Organic Production (NPOP) was launched during 2001 under the Foreign Trade & Development Act (FTDR Act). The document provides information on standards for organic production, systems criteria, and procedures for accreditation of Inspection and Certification bodies, the national organic logo and the regulations governing its use.

Realizing that nematodes cannot be eliminated, and that we must live with them, the overall goal is to keep the population density as low as possible. The economic threshold is the density of nematodes where the losses incurred exceed the cost of nematode management. It is not advisable to depend on a single method to control nematodes. Efficient management requires judicious and careful integration of several which will result in reduction of nematode populations. Important components of non chemical methods of nematode management program are considered in this chapter.

17.1. Organic Amendments

Manure and fertilizer applications are essential part of growing any crop. Besides supplying required essential nutrients theyhelp in many ways directly or indirectly by suppressing harmful organisms including phytonematodes. The use of organic amendments against nematodes was demonstrated by Linford et al., in as early as 1938. FYM and cattle urine have found to reduce nematode population. Biogas plant waste slurry was found to be effective for nematode management. Compost of water hyacinth, oilcakes, cellulose amendments like sawdust, wheat straw, rice husk, rice hull ash, green manuring with legumes, green leaf incorporation are useful to keep nematode populations low. Non - edible oilcakes like those of neem, karanj, mahua, caster, cotton as well as edible oilcakes groundnut, mustard sesame, coconut have been recommended at 2 - 2.5 t/ha for reduction of root knot and other nematode population in soil. Miscellaneous substances like decaffeinated tea waste, rice hull ash, chicken manure, tannery and food and fruit processing waste, market and domestic organic refuse, dead vegetation and crop stalks, wood shaving, etc. have been recommended for root knot nematode management. Castor leaves (40g/kg) along with NPK at 75:25:37.5 kg/ha achieved reduction of M. javanica population on tomato.

Paddy is cultivated about 45 m ha in India, less than 1% is under organic cultivation.

16.1. Varieties

Good quality fine varieties like Ponni, Super ponni, insect and disease resistant varities must be selected for getting higher yield and returns.

16.2. Seeds

Organically produced seeds only must be used.

16.3. Seed Treatment

For 1 kg of seeds 20 g Azospirillum, Pseudomonas and 10 g Phospobacteria must be used with rice gruel.

Panchagavya spray @ 1% for treating the seeds.

15.1. IFS Components Tested for Wetlands

Area Allocation;

In 1 ha of land

75 % - Cropping

10 % - Fodder cultivation

3 % - Goat shed

12 % - Fish pond

Possible Integrations:

14.1. Water Source Identification

• In places where Ficus religiosa tree is found, underground water will be more.
• Underground water will be more in places where the neem tree with more knots is found.
• In places where termite hills are found, underground water will be more.
• Farmers are practicing traditional method of using neem stick, metals etc. for finding the water resource in underground for digging wells. While they are walking with this stick on hand it will be rottate automatically at the place where underground water is surplus.
• Some farmers are using the magnetic stones for identifying water sources. Magnet is tied with a thread and held like a pendulum while walking over the fields. The magnet will rotate automatically at the place where underground water is more and this is taken as the indication for digging wells.