Agribusiness promises to be the next sunrise sector for India. Agribusiness sector consists of businesses that either supply farm inputs or are involved in the marketing of farm products through warehousing, processing, wholesaling and retailing. It can hence be thought of as consisting of economic activities relating to the supply chain of agricultural inputs and the supply chain of agricultural products. The sector can play a major role in linking farmers to global supply chains in agriculture. Though the concept of agribusiness is not new to India, there were hardly any takers for it until recently. However, thanks to the retail revolution and entry of big corporate houses like Reliance, Bharti, ITC, and PepsiCo, it has galvanized the agribusiness landscape in the country, literally. This vindicates the huge untapped potential of the country’s farm sector. But on the other side the sector also faces several challenges. For instance, the cultivable land for foodgrains has remained stagnant at 120 million hectares and there has been no improvement of this land either in terms of profitability or size of land holdings. Also, it is estimated that a third of perishable produce like fruits and vegetables is lost in the absence of food-processing facilities, storage and transportation. Against this backdrop, the book attempts to provide insights into agribusiness in India, its prospects and major challenges. Besides, the book covers some major trends such as contract farming, food retailing, e-agribusiness, agri-clinics, role of technology in agribusiness and glocalization and the measures needed to boost agribusiness in the country.
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