Agro-Industries to increase Farmer’s income-

Published: 9th Jan, 2020

Ways to increase farmer’s income:

As per the 68^th Round of NSSO survey on employment, 48.9% workers’ major livelihood support comes from agriculture.
While price led growth of agriculture, the major rural employer, as a means of enhancing income is not sustainable; the only way is to infuse agro-industrialization in the urban-rural continuum following the cluster approach.
Development of agro processing industries should be viewed as industrialization of agriculture and a joint process leading to a new industrial sector.
The Economic Survey has recommended to bring a new paradigm in the approach towards agriculture for getting from less.
One of the critical areas that can enhance the income of the rural households is to provide higher opportunity in agro-based food and non-food activities.
Agro-food processing industries have the potential to generate directly significant employment in production activities and also indirect employment through its forward and backward linkages. This employment will be in rural areas where these industries have to be located near the source of raw materials, especially perishable agricultural products.
These industries would help in reducing post-harvest losses and wastes as well as in using by-products more efficiently. This can increase rural income by fetching better prices to producers and also consumer welfare by increasing the availability of agricultural consumer goods.

The available vast potential of India could be potentially exploited through:

1) Selection of appropriate scale and technology of production

2) Up gradation of technology of existing units

3) Establishment of suitable linkages between products and consumers at home and abroad

4) Establishment of suitable institutional arrangements.