A new report from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has claimed that India could become one of the top five agricultural exporters in the world in a post COVID scenario. India is currently ranked at eight with a total export value of over $39 billion.
The move would further boost the image of India in terms of agriculture. The sector has already shown tremendous growth even in the wake of the pandemic with the government estimating a positive growth of 5.9% when many of the sectors have shown negative growth.
Though the report is positive news India still has a long way to go if she wants to r3claim top spot which is acquired by the European Union with an estimated export of $181 billion followed by the United States of America at $172 billion.
The Indian government has taken several steps to bolster agriculture’s image like amending the Essential Commodities Act that now allows for a producer to stock large quantities of crops or passing of the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020’ to ensure barrier-free trade for Agri products and the “The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020” which will allow farmers to directly sell his/her produce to the wholesalers, large exporters, and retailers, all these measures have been taken with making India an agricultural powerhouse.
However, one must not jump with joy on a report and actual changes on the ground are still an arduous task. India has never lacked capability but the execution has always remained a challenge. The changes can only occur when all the stakeholders from farmers to retailers to wholesaler and the government are on the same page and policies and changes are drafted to benefit all of these rather than a specific target group.
