Development of infrastructure and empowerment of farmers are essential for increasing India’s share in global food trade, according to Walter D’Souza, Chairman (Southern Region) of FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations).
He said this at an awareness and education seminar on agribusiness and commodity markets here on Thursday.
The event was part of an ongoing initiative by
Stating that India’s share in global food trade is at 1.5 per cent, he said there is a thought process going on in the ministry to double it to 3 per cent. This would mean huge amount of investments in infrastructure and in building of supply chain and cold storages
“We have to primarily empower our farmers. By doing so, we will be able to get a remunerative price for the commodity,” he said, adding that it is imperative to empower the skills of farmers to improve their productivity and by strengthening of their value chain.
Stating that issues such as infrastructure development and empowerment of farmers have not yet got the attention they require, D’Souza said the governments should focus on these areas. This will help prevent the wastage of food commodities.
“The amount of wastage of agri commodities in India is estimated at $ 13 billion. We have to some how arrest this colossal waste which can be made possible by having proper infrastructure,” he said.
Welcoming the gathering, Mohammad Ameen, president of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that programmes like the one organised by Business Line will help educate people in various sectors of society.
Role of banks
Speaking on ‘Role of banks in agriculture’, N.V.L. Ratan, Deputy General Manager (Agriculture), State Bank of Mysore, said that the Governments have come out with different schemes for the welfare of farmers. The proper implementation of some of these schemes would help improve the condition of agriculture in the country.
However, he cautioned that farmers should not fall pray to ‘fancy schemes’ for agriculture introduced by some private companies.
Stressing the need for mechanisation in agriculture, he said the agri machineries should meet the requirements of majority of farmers with small holdings. He also highlighted some of the agriculture-related schemes of SBM on the occasion.
Pepper warehouse
Davey Cherimulla, Assistant Manager of NCDEX, said that NCDEX is planning to open a warehouse at Hassan for the delivery of pepper in the coming months.
He said the price discovery of commodities like pepper in the Indian exchanges is tracked by commodity exchanges in other countries.
He said the NCDEX has stakeholders having expertise in different fields. As many as 31 commodities are traded in NCDEX, and it handles deliveries through 800 accredited warehouses.
He said futures market is standardised and exchange traded one. It offers common platform for all, and price transparency is there.
G. Chandrashekhar of The Hindu Business Line said that the coming decades of the Indian economy will be driven by commodities.
The commodity intensive growth will be led by sectors such as agriculture, textile and clothing, housing and infrastructure and energy.
The trade in commodities will increase and expand. India will be a major producer, processor, consumer and importer of commodities.
He said price risk management is like taking insurance for the profit margin.
Terming commodity futures market as an investment option, Chandrashekhar said that it has emerged as a new asset class in the last decade.
Pat for Business Line
The role of Business Line in covering agriculture and commodities sectors came in for praise on Thursday. Walter D’Souza, who was the chief guest at the seminar on agribusiness and commodity markets in Mangalore on Thursday, said that Business Line is one media outlet that assesses the crops and markets objectively, and gives a dispassionate view on commodities and agri business. It covers all commodities and all areas of agri business, he added.