AGRIBUSINESS SCENARIO IN INDIA

Agribusiness in India

John H. Davis of Harvard University first used the term agribusiness in 1955.  In 1980s it was given three connotations: (1) synonymous with term agriculture, (2) synonymous with agricultural economics and (3) a modified concept of agriculture, excluding farming, or the off-farm aspects of agriculture.
At present, agribusiness is defined as all business enterprises or sells to farmers / traders / consumers. The transaction may involve either an input or a produce or service and encompasses items such as:

1. Productive resources (feed, seed, fertilizer, equipment, energy, pesticides, machinery, etc.)
2. Agricultural commodities – (raw and processed commodities of food and fiber)
3. Facilitative services (credit, insurance, marketing, storage, processing, transportation, packing, distribution, consultancy, soil testing etc.).

Scope for Agribusiness in India

• India is endowed with varied ago-climate, which facilitates production of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical agricultural commodities.
• There is growing demand for agricultural inputs like feed and fodder, inorganic fertilizers, bio-fertilizers.
• Biotechnology applications in agriculture have vast scope in production of seed, bio-control agents, industrial harnessing of microbes for bakery products.
• Export can be harnessed as a source of economic growth. As a signatory of World Trade Organization, India has vast potential to improve it present position in the World trade of agricultural commodities both raw and processed form. The products line include cereals, pulses, oilseeds and oils, oil meal, spices and condiments, fruits and vegetables, flowers, medicinal plants and essential oils, agricultural advisory services, agricultural tools and implements, meat, milk and milk products, fish and fish products, ornamental fish, forest by products etc.
• At present processing is done at primary level only and the rising standard of living expands opportunities for secondary and tertiary processing of agricultural commodities.
• The vast coastal line and internal water courses provides enormous opportunity for production of marine and inland fish and  ornamental fish culture gaining popularity with increase in aesthetic value among the citizens of India..
• The livestock wealth gives enormous scope for production of meat, milk and milk products, poultry products etc
• The forest resources can be utilized for production of by products of forestry.
• Beekeeping and apiary can be taken up on large scale in India.
• Mushroom production for domestic consumption and export can be enhanced with improvement in the state of art of their production.
• Organic farming has highest potential in India as the pesticide and inorganic fertilizer application are less in India compared to industrial nations of the world. The farmers can be encouraged and educated to switch over for organic farming.
• There is wide scope for production and promotion of bio-pesticides and bio-control agents for protection of crops.
• Seeds, hybrid and genetically modified crops, have the highest potential in India in the future, since the productivity of high yielding varieties have reached a plateau.
• Micro-irrigation systems and labor saving farm equipments have good potential for the years to come due to declining groundwater level and labor scarcity for agricultural operations like weeding, transplanting and harvesting.
• Production of vegetables and flowers under green house conditions can be taken up to harness the export market.
• Trained human resources in agriculture and allied sciences will take on agricultural extension system due to dwindling resources of state finance and down sizing the present government agricultural extension staff as consulting services.
• The enhanced agricultural production throws open opportunities for employment in marketing, transport, cold storage and warehousing facilities, credit, insurance and logistic support services.

Entrepreneurial opportunities in Modern Agriculture

Farming(on farm)	Product Marketing	Inputs Marketing	Processing	Facilitative
Crop	Wholesale	Ferilizer	Milk	Research & Developement
Dairy/Poutry/Goat	Retail	Agrl. Chemicals	Fruits	Marketing Information
Fish	Commission Agent	Seeds	Vegetables	Quality control
Rabbit	Transport	Machineries	Paddy	Insurance
vegetables	Export	Animal feed	Sugarcane	Energy
Flowers	Finance	Poultry hatchery	Cashew
Ornamental plants	Storage	Vetmedicines	Coir
Palmrosa	Consultancy	Landscaping	Poutry
Fodder		Agrl.credit	Cattle
Sericultue		Custom service	Tannery
Agro-forestry		Bio-control units	Brewery
Beekeeping		Bio-tech units	P. board
Mushroom