Market Prospects for Upland Crops in India

摘要

Agriculture occupies an important place in India as it contributes nearly one-third of the gross domestic product. Two-thirds of the population are still engaged in it. The diverse agro-climatic conditions in India are conducive to growing tropical, subtropical and temperate crops. Upland crops comprising coarse grains, pulses, root and tuber (CGPRT) crops dominated the Indian agriculture in terms of both area and production till the mid-sixties. With the introduction of new seed-fertilizer based technology favoring wheat and rice in the mid-sixties, the production of upland crops underwent a continuous decline as all the research and development efforts were directed towards tapping the potential of this new technology. The ongoing economic reformsin India, international trade reforms and attempts to integrate the Indian economy with the global economy are likely to result in structural changes in India's farm economy. Upland crops and their products are likely to become important in increasing farm income and in attaining balanced regional development. The specific objectives of the study are (i) to analyze changes in the domestic demand for major upland crop products; (ii) to arrive at the medium term demand projections for the major upland crop products; and (iii) to review/analyze domestic marketing systems, policies, export promotion efforts and suggest strategies for improving domestic market prospects and exports of upland crop products. The study covers the major UCPs (soybean, maize and cassava), the major staple foodgrain crop (rice), fresh fruits (mango, grape and apple), a fresh tuber crop (onion), processed fruit (mango pulp) and a vegetable (mushrooms) and cut flowers.