CII to support agricultural sector's growth

Stating that India's productivity in foodgrains per hectare was much lower than other countries, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Friday said that it would support the agriculture sector's surge towards growth.

"At present, India lags behind other countries in productivity very badly. In 2012, our paddy productivity was only 3,514 kg per hectare in comparison to a global average of 4,397 kg per hectare whereas China stands at 6,661 kg per hectare," the CII said here ahead of its agriculture related fair, Agro-Tech, starting Saturday.

"For wheat, we stand at 3,000 kg per hectare in comparison to Britain's output of 7,360 kg hectare. In cotton, India stands at 517 kg per hectare in comparison to a global average of 729 kg per hectare and Australia's average of 1,920 kg per hectare," it said.

"The CII would try to convince the government in various policy initiatives, such as strengthening food supply chain and reforms and also to increase spending in R&D from a meagre 0.6 percent. Our food processing industry stands at even lesser than 10 percent while the global average is around 20-25 percent with the same being even 90 percent in some countries. The same model needs to be applied in India too," the CII release said.

It also pointed out that Punjab was trailing in agricultural growth compared with the national level of growth.

Over 50,000 farmers from states including Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, and participants from countries like Bangladesh, China, Canada, Pakistan, Nepal and New Zealand are also expected to join in the mega fair.