In order to achieve the objectives of Agriculture Export Policy, clusters have been identified across the country for development of exports.
In Maharashtra, six clusters have been identified for grapes, mango, pomegranate, banana, oranges and onion.
For successful implementation, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and co-operatives should be linked with the farmers and exporters. Required infrastructure needs to be provided in these clusters and use of latest technology in agriculture has to be adopted.
The Indian Institute of Packaging has been roped in for working on packaging standards for international markets in order to increase the demand for the identified products, officials said.
The Ministry is making all out efforts to implement the first ever Agriculture Export Policy announced in December, 2018 and meetings of stakeholders and workshops with farmers are being held.
Recently, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, addressed a workshop with farmers in Pune.
Many countries in the Middle East region are ready to invest in facilities like cold chain and warehousing in India for import of agro and processed food products by them.
State Governments have a very important role in implementation of the agri export policy. The main aim of the policy is to reach farmers at grass-root level and double their income for achieving the overall objective of the policy.
”In India, agriculture and horticulture production is around 600 million tonnes per year. About 30 per cent of fresh horticulture produce goes waste and there is an urgent need to strengthen the supply chain to avoid the losses. India’s agri produce should not be confined to the country and for that, international markets need to be explored. Adherence to quality standards and health standards at the production level itself have to be followed,” they said.
As part of the Policy, shrimps, meat, basmati and non-basmati rice, grapes, bananas, pomegranate, vegetables including potatoes, processed / value added products, cashew, plant parts/medicinal herbs in value added form, including herbal medicines, food based nutraceuticals, aromatics, spices (cumin, turmeric, pepper), ethnic & organic food have been identified as potential winning sectors. Most of the products / clusters are already aligned with this objective.
Emphasis has been given on processing, and value addition in the policy through workshops synergy amongst all relevant stakeholders is expected to provide necessary boost in achieving higher exports of India’s high quality agri products.(UNI)
