Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has emphasised the need for extending the concept of “ease of doing business” to agriculture in order to encourage more people into the agri sector.

Speaking after inaugurating VAIGA (Value Addition for Income Generation in Agriculture) 2020 in Thrissur, he said agricultural enterprises should get privileges at par with any other modern industry.

“We need to ensure that ordinary farmers get modern knowledge on value addition and its technologies. What we need is a committed army of agripreneurs, who would use the available technologies to start business ventures that would fruitfully utilize the opportunities for value addition in agriculture,” he said.

He noted that value addition requires more capital investments, infrastructure, marketing efforts, proper guidelines, training etc.

According to Khan, people are moving away from agriculture due to unstable income and risks relating to production, markets, and prices. However, the Kerala Government’s efforts to convince people on the importance of farming is quite encouraging as is evident from the recent surge in the cultivation of paddy, vegetables, and other crops.

He also called upon policymakers to give top priority in enhancing farmers’ income.

The aim of VAIGA workshops is to ensure at least 30 per cent of value-added product growth and to bring products under the brand Kerala Organic, by making farmers agri-preneurs. The agri-startups are being encouraged as part of VAIGA.

He also emphasised the need for skill up-gradation in the farm sector. Value addition and agri-businesses can succeed only through regular exposure and training. The State also needs a mechanism to help entrepreneurs to withstand the pressures of the unfavourable trends in agri-business. The element of risk should no longer deter people from remaining firmly in agriculture and agri-business.

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