| Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Redefine concept of commercial farming : VC
- Conservation of natural resources
- is essential
- Priority should be given to vertical integration
COIMBATORE: Anything produced for the market may not necessarily
qualify as commercial agriculture. High level of farm production
with plenty of marketable surplus should be the basis for commercial
agriculture. It has to be redefined in the light of recent developments,
Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)
C. Ramasamy said here recently.
Market forces
Inaugurating the 21-day training on “Commercial Agriculture”,
sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, at
the university, he said that the country had moved from subsistence
agriculture to sustainable, commercial and market-driven agriculture.
“Since conservation of natural resources is essential,
both sustainable agriculture and commercial agriculture have
to co-exist in a balanced manner.”
Labour scarcity
“Some of the important factors that are shaping today’s
agriculture are market forces, rising labour scarcity, shifting
cropping systems, micro irrigation, new inputs like liquid fertilizers,
biofuel crops, entry of multinationals in the agriculture retail
sector, growing water scarcity and rising demand for agricultural
land,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
Highlighting the strategies to be followed for commercialisation
of agriculture, he said priority should be given to vertical
integration.
“This requires integration of pre-production, production
and post-production for which new institutional arrangements
are needed. As market intelligence and insurance schemes will
play a vital role in vertical integration, these will help reduce
risk and uncertainty for farmers.”
The Vice-Chancellor appreciated the efforts of the State Government
in enhancing rapid agricultural development by providing good
rural infrastructure such as rural roads, transport and markets.
Credit support
He further suggested credit support, group marketing, consolidation
of land holdings, public-private partnerships, emergence and
growth of commodity exchanges and future markets as favourable
factors that would enhance commercialisation of farming.
B. Chandrasekaran, Director of Research, G. James Martin Professor
and Head, Department of Agronomy, and P. Muthukrishnan, Professor,
Department of Agronomy, all from TNAU, spoke.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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