Historically, there have been plenty of initiatives from various governments of India when it comes to economic development. These programmes and initiatives have seen varying degrees of success and have focussed on or encompassed sectors like:

• Dairy

• Manufacturing

• Railways

• Arts and crafts

• Agriculture

When it comes to agriculture, missions and programmes for areas like food security, crop insurance, irrigation, and natural farming have been playing a role in Indian agriculture in a big way.

Agriculture Policy
From time to time, India also sees a few changes taking place in the policy framework and this yields a mixed bag of results too. It is always important to look at the events unfolding in the agriculture and allied sector because it affects virtually all of us in multiple ways. Take the latest initiative called ‘Make in India’. Launched in 2014, this initiative focuses on the manufacturing sector and getting it to develop, produce and launch more products that are made in India.

This has included the agriculture side of the economy as well. Couple of the sectors that Make in India has impacted are:

• Food processing

• Exports of products such as organic foods

If achieving self-dependence is one of the aims of Make In India, then it must focus on agriculture too.

Exports and Food processing

In 2022, exports of agricultural produce like rice, wheat, cereals, sugar etc. allowed India to touch a figure of USD 50 billion in agri-exports. This is a remarkable number because it was a historic high. It is a result of various initiatives and policy changes. For instance, the Green Revolution of the 1960s helped India become a food-surplus nation.

Under the Make in India ‘banner’, food processing has also seen growth. Considering that India is on the list of the largest global producers of fruit, rice, milk, and vegetables – it does make sense to look at the food processing sector too. India contributes to 12% of the global production of fruit and vegetables. As of December 2023, India saw more than INR 70 billion investments in food processing sector. The following states are the biggest contributors in this domain:

• Maharashtra

• Uttar Pradesh

• Andhra Pradesh

• Tamil Nadu

• Gujarat

Why is this sector growing?

There are quite a few key factors contributing to the progress of food processing in India. Cutting-edge technology is one such reason. Growth of use of drones, changes in agricultural practices, and other digital tools has seen the agricultural sector developing in different, and interesting ways.

Creation of an Investor Facilitation Cell (IFC) and various partnerships with the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), World Bank for Business Reforms Action Plan, various State government bodies have also helped.

Experts also say that it is important for agriculture to see need-based research, increased investment in infrastructure, and perhaps an allied initiative like ‘Grow in India’ or ‘Farm in India’. Considering that agriculture is a huge sector in India that contributes to employment, GDP, and the health of the nation in a big way – this sounds rather good too!