Contract farming to cost more as govt mulls tradeoff
In the process, retail chains will have to adopt ITIs and polytechnic colleges in the rural areas. Apart from technical skills, companies will also have to impart training on communication skills and basic accounting.
By Rajat Guha & Mayur Shekhar Jha, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Companies will have to shell out more money to avail of the benefits of contract farming. It will be made mandatory for retail chains to invest in training farmers as well as other people involved in the supply chain.
In the process, retail chains will have to adopt ITIs and polytechnic colleges in the rural areas. Apart from technical skills, companies will also have to impart training on communication skills and basic accounting.
The likely policy move has been proposed by the food processing ministry. “The idea is to ensure an inclusive growth of organised retail, the food processing sector and the Indian farmers,” food processing industries minister Subodh Kant Sahay told ET.
Some important areas on which the farmers will be trained include third party intervention, technical input and long-term water management. “There is no reason why companies should mind investing in the area. Apart from quality agricultural produce, this will create a new pool of trained manpower for them,” Mr Sahay said.
In the past, while there have been many proposals for training of farmers, there have not been any concrete efforts to train the people involved in the supply chain. It is this section that stands to lose the most with the advent of organised retail and direct agricultural sourcing. This has led to many political debates.
“There is quite a paradox in this. On one side, companies are cribbing that they don’t have the right manpower. On the other, there are fears that millions of people, dependent on supply chain, will be rendered unemployed. The companies should take the onus of making this lot employable and subsequently employ them in their scheme of things,” said Mr Sahay.
At present, the agricultural supply chain is the source of sustenance for almost 2 crore families in rural India. It is estimated that by 2010, organised retail and food processing industries will have to directly recruit over 5 crore people. Clearly, there is a synergy waiting to be exploited.
In the process, retail chains will have to adopt ITIs and polytechnic colleges in the rural areas. Apart from technical skills, companies will also have to impart training on communication skills and basic accounting.
The likely policy move has been proposed by the food processing ministry. “The idea is to ensure an inclusive growth of organised retail, the food processing sector and the Indian farmers,” food processing industries minister Subodh Kant Sahay told ET.
Some important areas on which the farmers will be trained include third party intervention, technical input and long-term water management. “There is no reason why companies should mind investing in the area. Apart from quality agricultural produce, this will create a new pool of trained manpower for them,” Mr Sahay said.
In the past, while there have been many proposals for training of farmers, there have not been any concrete efforts to train the people involved in the supply chain. It is this section that stands to lose the most with the advent of organised retail and direct agricultural sourcing. This has led to many political debates.
“There is quite a paradox in this. On one side, companies are cribbing that they don’t have the right manpower. On the other, there are fears that millions of people, dependent on supply chain, will be rendered unemployed. The companies should take the onus of making this lot employable and subsequently employ them in their scheme of things,” said Mr Sahay.
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At present, the agricultural supply chain is the source of sustenance for almost 2 crore families in rural India. It is estimated that by 2010, organised retail and food processing industries will have to directly recruit over 5 crore people. Clearly, there is a synergy waiting to be exploited.
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