Agri mahakumbh seeks insulating farmers from climate, market vagaries

AHMEDABAD: The three-day agriculture convention to be held in Gandhinagar will focus on insulating farmers from the vagaries of climate and market. The focus of the event will be on strengthening the decentralised storage and supply network as well as promote farming techniques that reduce the dependence on climate.

The national convention, 'The Next Frontier of Agri-Business and Technology' beginning September 3 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, will showcase best practices in agriculture from across Indian states, recent technologies in agriculture and agri-business sector, a case study on Israeli agriculture, interaction with agri-business players in India, interaction with the faculty members from the top agricultural universities in Gujarat and other states and more than 6,000 progressive farmers, across the country.

"We want to enable agriculture and agri business reach the next level by improving agricultural productivity and improving agri-business infrastructure. Only about 10% of agricultural produce of Gujarat is covered under organised supply chain. Facilities for storage and transportation are needed at villages, where production takes place," said N K Singh, MD of Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation (GAIC), which along with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Industrial Extension Bureau ( iNDEXTb) has organised the convention.

Gujarat's agriculture production is estimated at Rs 80,000 crore, backed principally by the adaptation of Bt Cotton by the farmers. Cotton is cultivated in close to 27 lakh hectare, followed by groundnut in close to 16 lakh hectare. Two crops put together constitute about 50% of the average kharif acreage of 88 lakh hectare. The total annual acreage, including the Rabi and Summer acreage, stands at around 135 lakh hectare. However, about 38% of the arable land is under irrigation, while the rest is rain fed.

Experts feel interventions like providing improved seeds, organic farming, increased mechanisation and promotion of techniques like drip irrigation and green houses are needed to improve the status of agriculture and farmers. "Efforts are needed to improve the post harvest ecosystem and promote farm mechanisation to improve the productivity and financial status of the farmers. The investment in agriculture and agri business is likely to multiply in coming years," said Sanyal Desai, CEO of Radeecal Communications, one of the co-organisers of the event. The company has been involved in facilitating interaction of companies in agriculture sector from India and Israel. Close to 115 companies from India, Israel, US, China, Taiwan, Cyprus and Italy will showcase their offerings in the exhibition to be organised along with the convention.