17 Good Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in the Indian Agriculture Industry

Driven by factors such as a huge consumer base, rising incomes, easier availability of credit, emergence of contract farming, growth of organized food retail and a shift in the Indian government policies in favour of a greater support for agriculture; the Indian agriculture industry has tremendous scope for entrepreneur.

Agriculture represents an important segment of the Indian economy both in terms of contribution to the gross domestic product as well as a source of employment to millions of people across the country. A new report released by IMARC Group provides a comprehensive insight into the Indian agriculture industry and its various segments and subsegments. The following is the list of the segments evaluated by the report:

Farming: The farming sector constitutes of plantation crops, cereals, vegetables, fruits, pulses and spices. It currently constitutes the biggest segment of the Indian agriculture industry.

Agriculture Equipment: Despite a strong growth in recent years, the penetration of tractors and a number of related equipment still remain relatively low in India. This is expected to leave a lot of room for future growth.

Fertilizers: A number of government and non-government awareness campaigns to educate farmers on the benefits of fertilizers. Promotion of fertilizers through television, radio and customized rural workshops are expected to increase the consumption of fertilizers in the coming years.

Pesticides: According to estimates, crop losses due to the non-usage of pesticides in India are currently around 20%-30% of the total yield. With the demand of agricultural products expected to continue increasing in the coming years, we expect a number of initiatives to increase the average crop yields per hectare. Pesticides are expected to play a key role in increasing crop yields.

Warehousing: Agricultural warehousing (excluding cold chains) currently represents a much smaller segment compared to industrial warehousing.  This segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 10% in the next five years.

Cold Chains: Despite a strong growth in cold chain establishments, India’s cold chain infrastructure significantly lags behind the developed countries. A significant share of the total agricultural produce is wasted each year due to a lack of adequate cold chain facilities.

Food Processing:  Growth in the urban population and increasing employment are driving the Indian consumer to live a fast-paced life. Processed foods like ready-to-eat and snacks are becoming quite popular; particularly in cities and towns. We expect urbanization levels to increase in the coming years creating a positive impact on the food processing industry.

Dairy: Rising incomes and increasing trends of health and wellness is expected to push the demand of dairy products in the country. Dairy products such as milk and curd have historically been associated with health and wellness. We expect value added products such as low fat and fortified dairy products to enjoy strong growth in the coming years.

Floriculture: As a result of a strong growth in both exports and domestic demand, the area under flower cultivation has witnessed a robust growth over the last few years. The metros and the larger Indian cities currently represent major consumers of flowers in the country. As a result of increasing urbanization and influence of western cultures, “saying it with flowers” is becoming quite popular on a number of occasions such as Valentine’s Day, birthdays, festivals, anniversaries, marriages, farewell parties, religious ceremonies, etc.

Apiculture:  The per capita consumption of honey still remains low in India compared to a number of developed countries due to the lack of awareness regarding the benefits of honey in diets and the fact that Indian food habits do not call for the use of honey in a big way. Beeswax, the other major product obtained from bee colonies is mainly used in the production of cosmetics, soaps, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Sericulture: Sericulture refers to the art of rearing silkworms for the production of silk. India is currently the world’s second largest producer of raw silk and the largest consumer of raw silk and silk fabrics.

Seeds: India is one of the largest producers and consumer of seeds in the world. The growth of the Indian seed industry has occurred parallel to the growth of the agricultural industry. This sector was earlier dominated by a number of public sector seed companies, however, following the easing of government regulations and the implementation of a new seed policy, private participation and R&D in this sector has significantly increased.

Fisheries: The fisheries sector is composed of inland fishes, marine fishes, shrimps and scampi. Increasing per capita consumption, growth of organized food retail and increasing awareness on the health benefits of fishes are some of the factors that are expected to drive this market in the coming years.

Poultry Sector: The poultry industry in India has undergone a major shift in structure and operation during the last few decades transforming from a mere backyard activity into a major industry with the presence of a large number of integrated players with successful implementation of contract poultry farming on a large scale.

Animal Husbandry: Animal husbandry refers to the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. Similar to other agricultural sectors, the market for animal husbandry products is highly unorganized. Live animals such as buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, etc. are generally sold in livestock markets which are weekly markets. The animals are either sold individually (cattle, buffaloes), or are grouped in lots of 10-20 (buffalo, sheep and goats).

Animal Feed: The animal feed market can be segmented into poultry feed, cattle feed and aqua feed. Some of the factors which are currently driving this market include - rising livestock population, growth of the dairy and animal husbandry sectors, rising export demand, etc.

Bioagriculture: The bioagriculture market can be segmented into transgenic crops, biopesticides and biofertilizers. Biofertilizers currently account for most the total market demand.

To gain a deeper understanding of the Indian agriculture industry you can read the complete report titled “Agriculture Industry in India: Market Segments, Key Drivers, Challenges, Market Trends and Regulations”. This report is an outcome of an intensive research on the Indian agriculture industry and draws upon a comprehensive analysis of every major agriculture segment in India. The study, which is based both on desk research and four waves of qualitative primary research has delved deeply into the Indian agriculture market:

What We Have Achieved in this Report 

·  Comprehensive situation analysis of the Indian agriculture market and its dynamics.

·  Identifying all application segments/sub-segments and quantifying their current and future market potential.

·  Providing robust long range value and volume forecasts for all segments and sub-segments.

·  Providing an understanding of the key drivers and restraints and their impact on current and future market scenario.

To buy the complete report or to get a free sample, please contact:

IMARC Group Asia:

Email: apac@imarcgroup.com

Phone: +91-120-415-5099

IMARC Group North America:

Email:  america@imarcgroup.com

Phone: +1-631-791-1145

IMARC Group Europe, Middle East & Africa:

Email:ema@imarcgroup.com

Phone: +44-702-409-7331

To know more please visit: http://www.imarcgroup.com/agriculture-industry-in-india