• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books
• Gallery

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

G. Chandrashekhar

Among various States, Gujarat stands out as a beacon of hope. In agriculture production, it has logged an impressive compounded annual growth rate of over 12 per cent during 2002-2007. Several factors have contributed to the performance, not the least of which is augmented water availability.

Like many regions of the country, Gujarat too is endowed with natural resources - fertile soil, good river system, varied climatic conditions, enterprising farmers, well developed markets and so on. The enterprise of Gujarat farmers may be gauged from the fact that Bt cotton which has revolutionised the country’s cotton economy took firm roots here first way back in 2002.

Growers here have adopted modern farming practices to cultivate exotic crops such as Japanese watermelon, Taiwanese papaya, American maize and German gherkins which are largely intended for the export market.

With rising per capita incomes, especially in rural areas, Gujarat provides an attractive and growing market for a range of processed foods. Dairy and marine food processing, spices processing, poultry processing as well as agri/horticulture infrastructure projects such as food parks hold tremendous promise.

Investor-friendly policies, uninterrupted power supply, excellent road connectivity and availability of skilled workforce make the State an ideal destination for investment in the food processing sector, according to research reports. Gujarat has the longest coastline in the country (1600 kms), best maritime locations in the form of Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Cambay, the maximum number of ports and strategically located to the hinterland of central and north Indian states for export of a range of commodities and import of essentials farm inputs.

YES BANK believes that there is a need to develop a matching port infrastructure to handle these agri-products and commodities in larger volumes. Investment opportunities exist in Gujarat in the areas of mechanised foodgrain/oilseeds bulk handling systems and bulk storage silos, with the proposal for essential port based infrastructure development.

More Stories on : Insight | Agriculture | Gujarat

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line