Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission (CACP) Chairman Prof. Vijay Pal Sharma has stressed on promoting industrial use of agriculture.
Addressing the BusinessLine Agri and Commodity Summit in New Delhi, the CACP chairman said the agriculture sector should go beyond catering to food needs and be seen as an industrial use.
Giving the example of ethanol, Sharma said that the possibilities of industrial use of agriculture should be explored. The sugar industry is playing an important role in ethanol production. Similarly, ethanol production from maize can be significantly boosted.
He said since India has a lot of potential to increase agricultural exports, these potentials should be exploited.
Sharma has stressed the need for land reforms in view of the challenges of small farming.
Recently, the government banned the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice in view of the decline in sugar production. Meanwhile, the use of food as fuel has been debated. While there are concerns about food safety on the one hand, industrial use is being advocated to make farming a profitable deal. It is believed that the government may soon come up with a plan to encourage ethanol production from maize.
Concerns over imports of edible oil
The CACP Chairman expressed concern over the import of edible oils into the country and said, “Edible oil is a segment on which we are dependent on imports. We should think about it.
Emphasis on self-sufficiency in pulses
Prof Sharma said that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to focus on doubling farmers’ income, there has been a major shift in agricultural policy. The income and welfare of farmers is the focus of agricultural policy. He said the government was trying to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses.
Stress is being given on procurement of pulses to encourage farmers to increase pulse production. The government's MSP policy has encouraged various crops including coarse grains, he noted.