Seminar on Modern Agricultural Practices and its Impact
Towards Global Competitiveness in the Food Processing Sector
Sunday, 8th October 2005,State Institute for Public Administration and Rural Development, Agartala

Conference report

The seminar was held on October 8, 2005 at State Institute for Public Administration and Rural Development, Agartala. The conference aimed at addressing the issues involved in food processing industry in Tripura and a build capacity among the industry to face these issues. The seminar started with a welcome address by Mr. Kanak Jain, Director, Basanta Cables and Conductors Pvt. Ltd and an office-bearer of CII, Tripura. Welcoming the speakers and participants, he hoped that this platform will be great benefits for the local industry. He also thanked. Dr. G.S.G. Ayyangar, Commissioner (Agriculture), Governemnt of Tripura; Mr. R.K. Mathur, Chief Secretary of Tripura; Mrs. Radha Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operation, Government of India; Mr. Tapan Chakraborti, honorable Minister for Agriculture, Government of Tripura for gracing the occasion.

Dr. Amir Ullah Khan, giving the introductory speech, thanked the government officials present for making it clear that agriculture and food processing is a priority with the government. He said that the focus in India is no longer on food availability and production. Bumper crops and increased production in the last few decades has ensured that India has the capacity for providing food to its residents. The focus now is more on value addition, in terms of more processing and better quality food products. He reiterated the fact that his organization, India Development Foundation, for working towards the development of the industry. He informed the gathering about the study that his organization has done to address the issues concerning the industry.

This was followed by the release of two studies done by India Development Foundation. Dr. Khan informed the gathering that IDF has done such capacity building exercises in different parts of the country. Moreover these exercises are done in local languages so that it can reach even small farmers and processors. The Bengali and English versions of the study were released by Mr. Tapan Chakraborti.

"Agriculture is a way of life in India". Dr. G.S.G. Ayyangar so emphasized upon the fact that it will continue to be. He showed concern for the fact that green revolution is limited to rice and wheat. There is a strong need to develop better varieties of other crops like pulses, fruits and vegetables and other crops. This holds true specially for Tripura and other north-eastern states as they have the potential to grow. The focus should be on increasing the income levels of the farmers in this region. He also emphasized the need of more processing units and promised governments support for it.

Mr. R.K. Mathur reiterated the fact that both the state and central governments recognize the importance of agriculture. He said that growth has occurred in the sector. More than ninety percent of the area is under high yielding varieties, agricultural incomes have gone up, there is a shift towards better quality products and more compilation of sanitary standards. He said that this growth, but only at modest levels. So it is important that efforts should be towards adopting higher quality standards, providing training to small processors and addressing other issues related to credit and environment quality.

Next to address the audience was Mrs. Radha Singh. She thanked India Development Foundation and CII for bringing together different stakeholders on a common platform. She lay emphasis on the fact that the need of the hour was to bridge the gaps of agriculture and agri-business. Farmers have done their bit, and onus is now on the industry and government to attain a situation that is beneficial for farmer, industrialist and consumer. She also emphasized the need to develop modern technology at farm level, encouragement of organic farming and supply of better quality products both for domestic and international markets. Mrs. Singh also said Indian agricultural produce fails to compete internationally due to two major factors. Firstly the subsidy given by developed countries to their farmers that results in lower prices of their products. Secondly the unreasonably high SPS standards imposed by these countries that our output does not satisfy.

Honorable minister, Mr. Tapan Chakraborti, applauded the initiative taken by IDF and CII to organize this conference. He informed the gathering regarding the government perspective in this regard and the policy initiatives taken by it for its growth. The state government has introduced a ten-year programme, 2000-2010, for the growth of agriculture and economic development of farmers. A similar programme has been introduced for development of horticulture sector, starting from year 2002. Efforts are also being made to providing market access to the farmers in the state. The session came to an end with a vote of thanks by Mrs. Indrani Kar, Senior Director CII. She restated CII's commitment to the development of the sector. She also thanked their partners IDF for their support.

The second session for the day was a technical session that focused on some specific issues for the sector. First speaker of the session was Dr. Shubhashis Gangopadhyay, Director IDF and he made his presentation in Bengali for the benefit of the local audience. He spoke on the sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures that food exports must comply with. He acquainted the audience with the agreement, its aims and problems associated with it and how it effects India's food processing industry.

Mr. Bidyut Baruah, regional manager, APEDA , Guwahati spoke of modern storage and marketing practices with a focus on horticulture sector.

Ms. Kajli Bakhshi from India Development Foundation spoke on the possibilities that food-processing industry has in Tripura. She spoke on what are the challenges that are facing the industry and what is the way out. She informed the audience about the study IDF has done for the industry and how they are making information available for the industry by way of their website and a CD-ROM. Presentation

Dr. Amir Ullah Khan, Fellow with India Development Foundation, focused on emerging trends in agri-service practices. He emphasized the need of infrastructure and marketing in the development of the sector. Presentation

The post-lunch session featured two presentations. Mr. N.P. Singh, joint director ICAR spoke on the experiences and achievements of his organization in Tripura. Mr. Mohan Das, office-in-charge with NABARD spoke on role of development of agricultural sector.