The Next Big Thing: The Indian Agriculture Industry as an Investment The agriculture industry in India provides employment to millions and is the backbone of the rural economy. The sector is currently undergoing a transformation and is evolving from just a traditional way of life to a professionally managed Industry.
The growth of the Indian economy is agriculture-oriented and is a dominant sector in terms of contribution to GDP as well as a source of employment to millions across the country. More than 70% of the rural households depend on agriculture as their main means of livelihood. The Indian agriculture industry offers plenty of areas to choose from for investment purposes, such as food grains, dairy products, processed food, poultry, animal husbandry, fertilisers, sericulture, cold chain logistics, pesticides, etc.
The Indian government has provided several initiatives to attract investments in the agriculture industry from the public sector, private parties and foreign conglomerates. Some of the initiatives that the government provided to promote investments are: •
Enhanced institutional credit to farmers
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Promotion of scientific warehousing infrastructure including cold chains
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Improved access to irrigation through Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayee Yojana
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Provision of Price Stabilisation Fund to mitigate price volatility in agricultural produce
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Providing institutional finance to joint farming groups of "Bhoomi Heen Kisan" through NABARD, etc.
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100% foreign direct investment in certain sectors of the agriculture industry technology, machinery, equipments, seeds/planting material, warehousing, cold storages and other infrastructure logistics.