ISSN 2360-798X
Abstract: Strategic transformation, from agricultural production to agribusiness, from supply push to demand pull, is the need of the day for India and specifically for the north-eastern region of India. The next level of growth trajectory in the agricultural sector needs to be supported by secondary agriculture through value addition and product diversification. At the all-India level, the average size of land holdings is barely 1.08 ha, which in Bihar is a paltry 0.39 ha; in W.B., it is 0.49 ha; and in the north-eastern hilly region, it is around 0.52 ha. The small and marginal land holdings that are operating less than a hectare (0.77 ha) are unable to produce any substantial surplus from agriculture for reinvestment. The facts show that small and marginal farmers are producing agricultural crops with reasonable production efficiency but are severely constrained by poor marketing efficiency, which is the major impediment to increasing the farmers’ income. Moreover, in the present situation, it is further aggravated due to weather, pandemics, war, and export controls. Business as usual is no longer an option as there are major supply-side shock drivers towards global food inflation from around October 2020. No one knows with precision how to set and guarantee universal access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food over time. Mere pushing up of the agricultural sector may not suffice to achieve the targeted income enhancement from agriculture. A complementary relationship between agriculture and agrobusiness is well known; therefore, to increase income, it needs support from other sectors, such as industry and services. Our paper from the northeastern states may be the guiding force or example to explore the possible avenues towards accelerating the income of farmers and helping to achieve the SDGs in various sectors, including agriculture. Our findings try to provide pathways to enhance household levels of income, employment, and welfare of the local people through certain policy measures, such as developing value chains, agricultural diversifications, developing agrobusinesses and tourism, introducing community-based management, etc. The measure could lead the north-eastern economy towards a sustainable, inclusive development goal, as proposed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
Keywords: agriculture, agrobusiness, COVID-19, food policy, North East Region (NER), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).