India has the same potential for agricultural development as China, but at the moment there are many artificial barriers preventing Indian farmers from developing.
First of all, we are talking about a number of laws in force in India.
If they were abolished or mitigated, this would greatly help attract investment and increase the overall level of agricultural production in the country.
— One of the main restrictions that should be lifted is the ban on the export of agricultural products for farmers.
Such a ban prevents them from receiving income from high world prices for agricultural products; as a result, farmers cannot develop their production. Moreover, the attractiveness of agribusiness is also decreasing.
What if the children of today’s farmers no longer want to continue their activities, and the production itself will gradually decline due to unprofitability?
— In addition, the government should bring order to the pesticide market, says Chairman of Dhanuka Agritech Group R.G. Agarwal.
For now, a dual situation is emerging.
On the one hand, Indian companies that produce pesticides in the country are subject to very high requirements and strict controls, which makes their work very difficult and expensive.
On the other hand, there is practically no control over the quality of pesticides that come into the country from abroad, including through illegal schemes. Among such products there are many fakes; as a result, farmers who bought such pesticides often lose their harvest.
Currently, there are about 1,200 registered pesticides in the world, while India has only 330 so far, which reduces its capabilities in this area.
— A big problem is the very high tax on pesticides in the amount of 18% — one might think that this is a luxury item.
Eliminating such a pointlessly high rate would result in India becoming an attractive market for companies leaving other countries such as China.
But these days, Chinese manufacturers are paying little attention to India and are instead venturing into Indonesia and Vietnam.
Experts warn that if the situation does not change, then Indian companies may follow them.
In general, the size of the Indian agricultural complex does not yet exceed 30% of the Chinese one, with comparable potentials.
If we put things in order in the legislation, then India has every chance to multiply the production of agricultural products and take its place in the world market, experts are sure.
We can only hope that the government will address these issues in the near future.
