The Hindu Business Line : Double-digit agri growth `unrealistic', says CII

THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), while maintaining that Indian agriculture can lift its growth rate above the last 10 years' average of two per cent, has cautioned that it is unrealistic to expect a repeat of last year's double-digit growth despite the forecast of a normal monsoon.

However, the chamber says in the coming years, Indian agriculture will grow faster than earlier. In a statement, the chamber has said that the optimism stems from the fact that across the country, agri-business companies are developing new models to reach out to farmers and consumers, providing new technologies, investing more in modern supply chains and in organised food retailing that sells more and more processed food.

The chamber has noted that Indian agriculture still suffers due to a variety of issues, including poor productivity, falling water levels, expensive credit, a distorted market, many intermediaries who increase cost but do not add much value, laws that stifle private investment, controlled prices and poor infrastructure, among others.

The chamber plans to highlight some of the success stories at the Agriculture Summit 2004, a three-day conference which opens in Jaipur on May 11. The summit is expected to see participation by the industry, farmers, policy-makers, financial institutions and commodity exchanges.

The summit, to be inaugurated by the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ms Vasundhara Raje, will be addressed by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant.

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