To project India’s strength in the organic agriculture and horticulture products in the global market, India Pavilion at EXPO2020 Dubai facilitated a seminar called ‘Indian Organic and Horticulture Sector-Moving Up the Value Chain’ as a part of the ongoing ‘Food, Agriculture and Livelihood’ fortnight.
The seminar witnessed participation from the representatives of the Government and the Private sector, to consider the opportunities and immense export possibilities that the Indian agriculture sector offers.
PK Swain, the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture (Internal) and Farmers Welfare, said, that in the ‘Rising India’, agriculture is the leading sector that has a substantial contribution to the Indian economy. The Indian agriculture sector has fifteen agricultural climatic zones, that have rich soil, mineral-rich water, and is driving the volume, variety, and quality of the produce. India is ensuring food security and nutrition through good agricultural practices in the world, is getting ever stronger and is marching on its way to becoming the global food basket.
Praising the amplification of the agricultural sector in the country, Swain said that India is writing history with the captivating growth trajectory of organic horticulture. He urged the global investors to invest in the agriculture supply chain and take advantage of Foreign Direct Investment policies introduced by the central government in the sector.
Dr B Rajendra, Minister (Agriculture), Embassy of India, Rome and Italy and Representative, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that we need to put a lot of endeavour in ensuring the quality of our organic horticulture produce and take advantage of such global platforms to expand our export avenues.
Priya Ranjan, the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare said while talking about the export potential of organic and horticulture Produce in India, that to assure the quality of the organic produce, the nation needs to have a sturdy system of Certification. To see this through, the Government of India has embedded two systems of certification for Organic products. He further stressed that the proper and relevant phytosanitary protocols need to be assured for the better acceptability of the Indian Organic and Horticultural products. The government considers targeting the ten per cent export share in the global fruits and vegetable market by the year 2030.
It is appropriate to point out that despite the setbacks due to the pandemic, India’s organic exports have grown 51 per cent over the 2019-20 levels. India’s total organic exports in the period 2020-21 stood at 8,88,180 Metric Tonnes. Shedding light on the splendid growth trajectory of India’s agriculture ecosystem, K Srinivas, Partner, Food and Agribusiness, KPMG, said that India is ranked amongst the top ten exporting countries in the agriculture sector and the overall exports have been growing at an extremely significant rate. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the country was able to achieve this feat and it strengthens India’s positioning as an exporter globally.
Highlighting the export-focused strategy for the promotion of organic and horticulture products, Srinivas said that the platform is helping the nation to initiate conversation around awareness and capacity building with investors to make distinct stature of India in the horticulture space. Adoption of good agriculture practices, enhanced farm gate infrastructure, higher investment in Research and Development, and digital amalgamation are some of the strategies that is bound to play an important role in promoting India’s horticulture exports.
Multiple start-ups and food processing businesses from India communicated their success journeys at the session, all the while keeping a focus on key-value chain and export opportunities that are available in India. The ‘Food, Agriculture and Livelihood’ fortnight will conclude on the 2nd of March.