Agriculture in India
India has the highest number of organic farmers in the world, producing certified organic food products and cotton.
Contact usThe World Bank calls India “one of the world’s agricultural powerhouses,” as it accounts for some 7.5% of global agricultural production. India is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second largest producer in rice, wheat, cotton, sugar cane, farmed fish, mutton and goat meat, fruits, vegetables and tea.
The agricultural sector is also one of the largest and most important sectors for India itself, contributing about 18% of GDP. The gross value added for the agricultural sector was about 330 billion dollars in 2023.
India is among the fastest growing markets for agricultural machinery sales. This is because farmers are increasingly adopting modern agricultural technologies to increase their productivity. The government has introduced a number of incentives to drive investment in the sector. These include creating hubs for high-tech agricultural equipment and making financial assistance available for farmers to purchase machinery.
In addition, the Indian government wants to make the country more agriculturally self-sufficient and increase farmers’ incomes. Farm mechanization provides a huge opportunity for foreign companies to sell their technological solutions. Demand is high in every segment of the agricultural industry. There is a need for agricultural machinery and equipment, as well as related product groups that can make the industry more efficient.
Snapshot of agriculture in India
- India is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world. The country has a variety of soil types suitable for growing a wide range of crops. Moreover, India is also the second largest fish-producing country in the world.
- India is the world’s second-largest agricultural producer, but in terms of grain, it is the absolute No. 1. Grain production reached a new high of 113 million tons in the 2023 crop year. Grain is one of India’s most important exports.
- Agricultural exports crossed the 50 billion dollars mark in 2023. The Indian government aims to increase agricultural exports to 60 billion dollars by 2024.
- The budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has been increased from 16.2 billion dollars in 2022-23 to 17.3 billion dollars in 2023-24.
- Demand for agricultural supplies and related services such as warehousing and cold storage is skyrocketing.
- Food processing infrastructure has an investment potential of 22 billion dollars.
Growth drivers of India's agricultural sector
- The rapidly growing population and rising incomes are driving the demand for food. In addition, rising foreign demand for agricultural products is driving agricultural exports from India.
- India has the highest number of organic farmers in the world, producing certified organic products from food products to organic cotton.
- The introduction of contract farming has led to lower taxes and more investment in the sector.
- Indian agriculture is increasingly innovating, which is encouraged by the government. This increases the demand for affordable, technological solutions that can make agriculture in India more efficient.
Interesting investment opportunities
- There is a great need for innovative solutions to make Indian agriculture robust to climate change and to proces crops more efficiently.
- There is great interest in fertigation (fertilization and irrigation), automation, substrate growth, semi-automatic climate control, modern cultivation techniques, data recording, etc.
- Agtech aimed at improving supply chains and agricultural efficiency in India has an estimated potential of 170 billion dollars.
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