India is eyeing the world and how. Growing food security concerns have forced the government to encourage Indian corporates to till foreign farmlands and bring the produce back home.
Indian embassies in South America and Africa have apprised the government of the huge opportunities that await the Indian farm groups there.
“There is pressure on Indian farms as land holdings are becoming smaller. Our agriculturists need to diversify. Many of them have shown interest in farming abroad,” minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur told this newspaper.
Preneet Kaur, who is pushing the envelope together with the commerce and agriculture ministries, has just returned from Brazil and Argentina after exploring farming options in South America.
According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which is coordinating the plan, availability of huge tracts of farmland on lease ranging from 3 to 20 years, lower cost of operations ($1 to 10 per acre per year) and flexible laws present huge opportunities for the Indian corporates in South America and Africa.
“This can help reduce the pressure on pulses and oil seeds, which we have been importing for the past decade to meet the demand supply gap,” said a FICCI official.
Prices of pulses and oil seeds shot up tremendously during the past one year leading to over 17 per cent food inflation, which hit the common man and the middle classes alike. High food inflation at 16 per cent in week ending May 22 continues to be a challenge for the government struggling to control price rise. While India produces around 14 million tonnes of pulses annually, the demand is 16 mt, leaving a shortfall of 2 mt. Experts said large farm sizes abroad would allow economies of scale to operate and leave enough profit margins for the corporates to either trade the food grains in the local markets or ship part of the produce back to India.
“This will supplement our efforts to ensure food security in the long run. We actively support it and are playing the role of a facilitator,” said agriculture secretary Pradip Kumar Basu.
Excited over the response from countries in Africa, the government is now focusing on South America. “The interested parties need to prepare detailed project reports and submit it to the embassies concerned to get a go ahead,” added MoS external affairs Preneet Kaur.