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.
These initiatives have been acting as catalysts in attracting investments in the agricultural industry. While investments by the public sector is meagre compared to the large subsidies provided, it is investments by the private sector that dominates the agriculture landscape. Some of the major investments made by the private parties in the agriculture industry are:
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IVRCL Ltd.’s irrigation and water divisions have invested Rs 1,255.67 crore (US$ 201.58 million) in irrigation facilities. The company is based out of Hyderabad.
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The Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF), a joint venture between State Bank of India and State General Reserve Fund, has invested Rs 95 crore (US$ 15.25 million) in GSP Crop Science. It is a Gujarat-based agrochemicals company.
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Israel based ADAMA Agrochemicals plans to invest at least US$ 50 million in India over the next couple of years.
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Australian organisations such as Geraldton Fisheries Co-operative, Profitable Dairy Systems, Bundaberg Mobile Equipment & Engineering and Gale Pacific are exploring opportunities to invest in India.
Apart from this, there have been several bilateral tie-ups for the promotion of agriculture in India. Canada is keen to partner with India in the agriculture and processing sectors, particularly in pulses and canola. Fiji has proposed to enter into a MoU with India in the areas of rice, horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry. Israel has increased its cooperation with Indian agriculture, helping farmers multiply their income with better practices, yields and choosing the right crops or vegetables. The Republic of Poland also looks forward to partner strategically with Punjab and Haryana in the agriculture sector.
Apart from the big companies, small start-ups are also investing in the agriculture industry to improve the yield and help reduce waste. Some such noteworthy start-ups are:
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Ubio Biotechnology: Ubio uses the latest technology to develop accurate point of care diagnostic tools for the medical and veterinary areas of agribusiness. Ubio is the only company in India manufacturing animal health diagnostic equipment.
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I Say Organic: I Say Organic has ventured into connecting farmers who want to grow organic products with customers who want to buy organic.
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Skymet: Skymet uses a cloud-based service model to provide clients affordable access to real-time information so that farmers can understand and organize themselves around the ever-changing weather environments. Skymet is backed by Omnivore, a venture fund focused on early stage agriculture and food companies in India.
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Knids Green: Operating out of Bihar, the core product of Knids Green is providing a vegetable supply chain for more than 3,000 farmers and 500 vendors.
Looking at the immense potential of the agriculture industry in terms of investments, IMARC Group has released its new report titled, “Agriculture Industry in India: Market Segments, Key Drivers, Challenges, Market Trends and Regulations”. The report is by far the most comprehensive study of the Indian agriculture industry and its various segments. The study, which is based both on desk research and multiple waves of qualitative primary research, has delved deeply into the following segments of the Indian agriculture Industry. •
Farming
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Agriculture Equipments
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Fertilizers
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Pesticides
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Warehousing
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Cold Chains
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Food Processing
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Dairy Farming
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Floriculture
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Apiculture
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Sericulture
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Seeds
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Fisheries
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Poultry
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Animal Husbandry
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Animal Feed
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Bioagriculture
Focus of the Analysis for Each Segment and Sub-Segment •
Drivers and Challenges
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Historical, Current and Future Market Values
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Historical, Current and Future Market Volumes
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Analysis of Various Sub-Segments
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Areas of Opportunity
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Competitive Landscape
To buy the complete report and know more about the opportunities in the agriculture sector please visit: http://www.imarcgroup.com/agriculture-industry-in-india