Agri-Business in India

India is a large country and our population is projected to reach 1.6 billion by as early as 2036. We have extensive areas of land that, combined with favorable climate conditions, are conductive to agriculture and the production of a variety of crops. Agriculture plays an important role in India and is the backbone of the economy. Almost 50 % of the total labor force is engaged in agriculture and it contributes approximately 16% of India’s GDP.

Agriculture has great potential and India is making constant efforts to improve the industry by extending adequate support to product strategy, public investment in infrastructure, research and development of crops, livestock, fisheries, with a view to enhance food production and its availability to the end consumers through proper food supply chains. Here are few sustainable and scalable opportunities which can grow your money –

1.       Commercial cultivation - 

 

The worldwide increasing demands of quality produce from India has created a perfect platform for investments in agri business in India. In few areas, where agriculture lands are very cheap to buy or lease the commercial cultivation of various horticulture crops can take place with even small investments. The crops like tomato, onion, drumstick, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, okra, mango, grapes, banana, coriander, spinach, curry leaves, papaya and much more are already being exported to more than 100 countries all around the world. But there are also few crops like dragon fruit which are being cultivated as pilot projects in many areas.

 

Mechanized agriculture practices, increased productivity due to hybrid seeds, innovations in fertilizers and processed based organizations are making handsome money in agribusiness these days. All you need is a great team to take your vision forward.

 

2.       Food processing –

 

A strong and dynamic food processing sector plays a vital role in reduction in the wastage of perishable agricultural produce, enhancing shelf life of food products, ensuring value addition to agricultural produce, diversification &commercialization of agriculture, generation of employment, enhancing income of farmers and creating surplus for the export of agro & processed foods. In the era of economic liberalization, all segments including; private, public and co-operative sectors have defined roles to play and the Ministry of food processing Industries promotes their active participation by providing various subsidies and grant schemes like operations green, cold chain schemes, agro processing cluster, mega food parks, PMKSY etc.

 

There domestic brands like Balaji wafers have created sensation by competing with multinational brands like PepsiCo and won the battle as well. The higher population and incomes are likely to come with not only increased demand for food but also higher demand for processed food. Here are few food processing project which best as per today’s scenario for the investments –

 

A.      Wafers manufacturing

B.      IQF (Individual quick freezing)

C.      Dehydration of vegetables and fruits

D.      Fruit pulps & Juices

E.       Spices manufacturing

F.       Fortified or conventional rice and flour manufacturing

G.     Tutty-Fruity manufacturing

H.      Biscuit manufacturing

I.        Pickle and Jam manufacturing

J.        Puree and Paste manufacturing

K.      Sauce production

 

3.       Organic & MRL (Maximum residue limit) free produce –

 

Foreign buyers from leading countries like China, South Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, and European Union, USA, Russia have shown keen interest in Indian organic food products to cater to increasing consumption levels in their own countries. Foreign buyers from several countries including 50 buyers invited by Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) visited the three-day Biofach 2018, the largest organic event of the country, were showing great interest in Indian organic products like - tea, spices, honey, basmati rice, coffee, cereals, dry fruits and vegetables etc.

Paban K Borthakur, Chairman, APEDA told that “Apart from showing interest in Indian organic products foreigner customers were also interacting with Indian companies and farmers and exchanging information, resources and knowledge about agricultural practices. They had suggested that in order to trade globally, the three factors that Indian farmers needed to consider were quality, quantity and price point”. India exported organic products worth USD 515 million (INR 3453 crore) in the year 2017-18, From USD 370 million (INR 2727 CRORE)  in the year  2016-17  thus  Registering an increase of 39 per cent . The total volume of export during 2017-18 was 4.58 lakh Metric Tonne. The organic food export realization was around INR 3453 crore (515 million USD). Organic products are exported to countries such as USA, European Union, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, New Zealand, and Japan.