The Hindu Business Line : Farm product exports will empower farmers: Kamal Nath

Mr Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, underlined the need to empower the Indian farmer. He said that the export thrust in various agricultural products designed to improve the standard of living of the farmer was a step in this direction, which was also complementing the objective of self-sufficiency.

Delivering the valedictory address at the Agriculture Summit 2006 on Thursday, he said, "We in the Ministry are working towards unshackling controls and creating an atmosphere of trust and transparency. Our export of agro and allied products including plantations are of the order of Rs 3,600 crore (about $8 billion)."

Export of these products, he said, witnessed an annual growth of 12.22 per cent in the first four years of the Tenth Five Year Plan. During 2005-06, the export of these products accounted for nine per cent of the total exports from the country.

This in itself has been a big leap forward in the background of shrinking size of holding, imperfections in the product and factor markets, increased cash component in the cost of cultivation and the absence of safety nets. Regardless of the extent to which the international agricultural markets will be reformed as a result of the negotiations in the WTO, it is expected that the next phase will be dominated by prices that have a greater market orientation, commercial crop sector, international trade and agro-processing. In all this it would remain central that the conditions facing the Indian farmer should be made favourable and allow him to overtake any remaining constraints.

"We are working on the rejuvenation of our plantations - tobacco, rubber, spices, tea and coffee. We have recently set up a very ambitious special purpose tea fund to completely revamp the sector. We are working on a similar project for coffee.," the Minister said.

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