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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE |
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Farmers are willing, but where is the guidance?
Vast, yet untapped, potential
Varieties, infrastructure lacking
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Farmers are willing, but where is the guidance? PUNJAB The scope for agro-processing in Punjab is mind-boggling but not much can be achieved till development of agro industries becomes an integral part of the state’s industrial policy. Contract farming has shown encouraging response; however, so far it has been limited to crop diversification. Dairy, poultry, fruit and vegetable cultivation, which can prove to be the backbone of a successful agro industry, have yet to find priority. Several studies conducted by institutions like Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC) have made suggestions that are yet to be taken up seriously by the state government. Awareness among the farmers has evoked a desire for value addition. They are aware that value addition to their produce can be between 50 and 500 per cent. What they are not aware of is the means to achieve it. The state government has its own economic problems. However, experts unanimously opine that if the government announces a 10-year tax exemption to the agro-industry in the state, irrespective of its location, it would attract investment and entrepreneurs in agro-processing. “Diversification and value addition through post-harvest processing and preservation, using a mix of simple rural area-based state-of-the-art technologies, is the answer to the increasing woes of disappointed farmers,” says Dr G.S Padda, head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, PAU. In 1969, PAU became the first university in the country to start a department of food processing. Hundreds of people have benefited from the expertise available with it but the actual volume of agro-processing done by these people continues to remain low. Lack of infrastructure and government support is cited as a major reason for the slow growth of agro-processing in the state. Only 2 per cent of the 4.79 lakh tonne of fruit and 23.37 lakh tonne of vegetables produced in the state is processed while 30 to 50 per cent of the produce perishes in the market itself. The state draws solace from the fact that the national percentage of agricultural loss is not very different from it. The country, estimatedly, loses Rs 70,000 crore annually on account of poor post-harvest handling, storage, transportation, packaging and preservation infrastructure.
Exports & blending Kinnow comprises nearly 50 per cent of Punjab’s fruit produce. But it is not suitable for producing juice owing to its characteristic of turning bitter when stored. Other fruits such as pear, mango, grapes and peach are well-suited for value addition. However, the state can develop the technology of blending in which kinnow juice can be blended with other fruit juices. In the vegetable segment, there is a great potential of exporting carrot, cauliflower, ladyfinger, chillies, peas and cabbage. The only vegetables that are currently being processed are potatoes and tomatoes for chips and sauce. According to Dr Padda, rice and wheat offer tremendous scope in the form of extruded products such as breakfast cereals, noodles and pasta products. PAU has developed multi-grain flour in which gram, barley, soyabean, maize, etc, are added and is especially of great value for those who require high-protein diet, such as diabetics. He says that broken rice that is of little value can be converted into grain slices and oil can be extracted from rice barn. Besides value addition can be achieved by converting rice and wheat into low-cost foods that have low fat and sugar content but are high on fibre. A PHDCCI study has suggested a backward linkage through contract and captive farming techniques for crop diversification in which the help of cooperative bodies and private marketing companies should be sought. The study says that at present a large quantity of agricultural produce is being exported to other states for processing; the processed products are then brought back into the state. Several farmers say they are willing to experiment with agro-processing for value addition but all that experts, including the Johl committee, have been emphasising upon is crop diversification. The state has done little for developing agro-processing. Punjab produces nearly 8.4 million tonne of milk, which amounts to 10 per cent of the national produce. Despite the availability of a vast amount of raw material, 5 to 7 per cent is wasted due to improper handling. As compared to over 100 varieties of cheese in the West, India produces only a few. While the national milk production has reached the current level from 56 million tonne a decade ago, the country’s export of processed foods has actually gone down during the past five years. In poultry, Punjab ranks third after Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra, producing 36 million birds and 2,600 million eggs. But nearly 3 to 5 per cent of this is lost post harvest. Despite having nearly 80 per cent surplus black buffaloes, the export of meat products from Punjab touches merely Rs 100 crore.
Concessions An IDC study, “Policy measures for agro-processing development,” points out that incentives and policy measures of the state should spread over the entire industry rather than being selective. To attract investment in agro-processing, the state has to extend concessions like a 10-year tax holiday, octroi exemption, etc. The existing units too must be encouraged to modernise and upgrade technology and machinery. The government should explore collaboration of local firms with big Indian and multinational companies for modern agro-processing plants. This can only be done if the information on agro-processing is prepared updated frequently. Several states have separate ministries for food processing that go a long way in helping the sector grow. Punjab has no such ministry. But there is some hope with the World Bank showing interest in setting up a Centre of Excellence in Food Processing Entrepreneurship and Agricultural Business Management at PAU in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. |
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Vast, yet untapped, potential HARYANA Despite being one of India’s largest food-producing states, Haryana is only just beginning to seriously promote food processing and value addition to its agricultural and horticultural produce. Till last year, when the Centre sanctioned grants for setting up two food parks in the state, Haryana’s record in this sector had been dismal. The state produces around 21 lakh tonne of paddy and 97 lakh tonne of wheat annually. Besides, it produces 2.12 lakh tonne fruit and 20.94 lakh tonne vegetables. However, it has just 750 food-processing units. Most of these are in the cottage or unorganised sector. Significantly, the food-processing industry has grown negligibly in the past decade — from 549 units in 1993-94 to around 750 at present, which employ just about 30,000 persons. The sorry state of affairs is also evident from the low sales tax collection from processed food and vegetables. These account for only Rs 2.1 crore out of a total sales tax collection of Rs 2,125 crore. According to experts of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), there is a good scope for value addition to horticultural produce in the state. In the eastern zone, the Shivalik region, comprising Naraingarh, Chhachhrauli, Jagadhri, Karnal, Panipat, Ladwa and Indri, has much scope for peach, plum, pear, mango, loquat, litchi, papaya, amla and guava processing. In the same zone, alluvial plains of Faridabad, Palwal, Ballabhgarh, Gurgaon, Nuh, Pataudi, Sonepat, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Pehowa and Guhla, citrus, grapes, date palm, phalsa and mulberry hold good promise. Similarly, the western zone—Hisar, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh—can benefit tremendously from citrus, grapes, guava, ber, amla and bael. The sandy areas in this zone have scope for karonda and pomegranate, besides other fruits. However, the main problem is the utter lack of basic infrastructure for preserving, grading and processing these fruits. According to experts, to make processed foods commercially viable, latest technology as well as machinery is required. Some of the technology will have to be developed indigenously and farmers will have to be trained for use at their level. In addition, Haryana has good scope for producing potato chips and fingers, corn flakes, milk products and fortified foods in cereal-cereal and cereal-pulse combinations. But the government needs to provide services and infrastructure for such value addition. The proximity of the state to the Capital offers one of the biggest markets of processed foods. Besides, Haryana can also export such foods from New Delhi itself, provided it produces food of international quality.
Central help The state is being offered help in creating such an infrastructure on a platter by the Union Ministry of Food Processing. However, it has been rather tardy in accepting the offer. Despite the Centre’s efforts, it could only assist eight food processing projects in the state during the entire Nineth Plan period, involving financial assistance of Rs 4 crore. Significantly, this includes two food parks at Saha (Ambala district) and Rai (Sonepat district). It is notable that of the 20 food parks approved for the whole country, four have been sanctioned for Haryana alone. Besides, a Centre of Food Science and Technology was set up at HAU last year to produce trained manpower for food-processing industries in the future and also developing new food technology specific to the needs of Haryana. This centre presently admits 24 students at post-graduation level. It also offers two diplomas — Food Analysis and Quality Control and Post-Harvest Technology of Fruits and Vegetables. Dr S. S. Dhawan, head of the Department of Food Science Technology, HAU, says Haryana will only benefit from this industry when it develops highly sophisticated infrastructure for the transformation of primary raw materials and all byproducts under the commodity system. There has to be a high degree of transformation, right from cleaning and grading of raw material to milling, cooking, processing, mixing and chemical alterations that will result in instant and ready-to-eat stuff. However, at present the state is beset with problems that hinder the growth of food processing. Power shortages, lack of good-quality ground water in most parts of the state and a high rate of taxation are considered the main barriers. The Centre has requested states, including Haryana, to abolish sales tax on processed foods so that the cost can be kept under check. Nevertheless, a good beginning has been made and the state’s financial institutions too are assisting food-processing industries in a big way. |
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Varieties, infrastructure lacking HIMACHAL PRADESH The food-processing industry is yet to come of age in the hill state where agriculture is largely an uneconomical proposition. While the agricultural produce is barely sufficient to meet the domestic requirement, the state has done rather well on the horticultural front. The area under fruit crops has been steadily increasing over the past three decades. On the other hand, the area under agricultural crops has, of late, started declining. It has much to do with the hill topography where agriculture is not a rewarding proposition because of lack of irrigation, small land holdings and low productivity. Growing fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and other cash crops is the only alternative for the farmers, particularly in the mid and high hill areas, as they fetch better returns as compared to agricultural crops. While the foodgrain output has been hovering around 14 lakh tonne for the past more than a decade, fruit production has shot up from 3.24 lakh tonne in 1992-93 to 4.60 lakh tonne last year. With the apple crop touching 4.50 lakh tonne in the current season, the production is likely to touch 5.50 lakh tonne next season. However, not even 5 per cent of the produce is processed. Idle capacity In developed countries, like the USA, almost 60 to 70 per cent of the fruit crop is processed. This industry has not made much headway in the state even though fruits like apple, mango and various citrus varieties are available in abundance. The total fruit processing capacity of the state is only about 28,000 tonne, out of which the state-owned HPMC alone accounts for 20,000 tonne. This public-sector undertaking came into existence more than two decades ago. There are nine small canning units and a few other tiny processing units, but so far only one major unit has come up in the private sector. In fact, two plants of the HPMC at Parwanoo and Jarol have been functioning at about 40 per cent of the capacity. Even most of the processing-grade apple, which is procured under the market-intervention scheme, is sold in the market. Apple and galgal (a citrus variety) are fruits that are produced in plenty, creating marketing problems for want of processing. This year itself, over 37,000 tonne of apple was procured under the market-intervention scheme but only 7,525 tonne was processed. According to Dr V.K. Joshi, a scientist in Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, who specialises in the post-harvest technology, “at least 25 to 30 per cent of the produce should be processed for ensuring proper returns.” This would require processing capacity of about 1.25 lakh tonne. There is a vast scope for processing, as apart from juice, a wide variety of other products could be made from apple and citrus varieties. Apple could be processed to produce cider, vinegar and varmouth (wine fortified with spices and herbs), which have a good market potential. The university has also developed technology for canning apple halves. Similarly, acidulate could be produced from galgal and kinnow could be processed for juice for de-bittering using adsorbant technology, developed by the university. Hindrance The processing culture has not gained ground for a number of reasons, like high price of inferior grades of fruit owing to the support price mechanism, lack of varieties suitable for processing and absence of the requisite infrastructure. For instance, most of the apple crop that is produced is of table variety (red delicious, royal delicious and rich-a-red) that lacks the acid content required for juices. In fact, the HPMC has been procuring golden and other varieties of apple with higher acid content from the adjoining states of Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir for making juices. The support price of Rs 4 per kg for apple is no doubt benefiting the growers, but it is discouraging the processing industry. Fruit is not available for processing at reasonable rates, as a result of which the private sector is not coming forward to set up units and the state sector units are incurring heavy losses. The cost of apple juice concentrate produced by the HPMC is over Rs 47 per kg, whereas the Chinese variety is available for Rs 35. There is not much need for processing vegetables as they have a ready market. The production of mushroom is also picking up; but there is a good market for fresh produce. A mushroom canning unit has also come up at Paonta Sahib. The only crop in the agriculture sector for which the state requires processing facilities is maize. The production is far more than the consumption. Farmers of Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur have been demanding that a maize-based unit should be established. |
PUNJAB
