Retail marketing in agriculture may still be out of bounds in West Bengal but try bio-fertiliser, bio-seeds and organic fertiliser for investment ? that was the message sent out by state finance minister Asim Dasgupta at a chamber interaction recently.
Last week, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had exhorted investors to tap Bengal?s agricultural sector after meeting industry heads for the first time after the Singur debacle.
?Investors can tap areas like bio-fertiliser, bio-seed and organic fertiliser and can help convert Bengal into a bio-technology-based agricultural state,? Dasgupta said.
In fact, at the recently held CII national council meet, Bhattacharjee pitched for investment in the agri-retail sector, though ITC chairman YC Deveshwar noted that it wouldn?t be feasible with the state yet to adopt the model APMC Act.
Bhattacharjee spoke for a gradual change in policy advising investors not to be in a hurry. Later, Dasgupta at a chamber?s meet said investment could begin and if not in the farm-to-table segment immediately, it could be in other means of production.
West Bengal has 134 bio-villages which are under the supervision of a team of experts comprising scientists, environmentalists and food management personnel. These villages are self-sufficient in producing bio-manure and neem and cow urine-based pesticides, required for farming their agricultural land. These villages also follow the principle of crop diversification.
Dasgupta said the government was trying to increase the number of bio-villages to 341 by the end of the year. But corporate investment could have facilitated it in a better way and those looking for fresh investment avenues in the state could tap it, he said.
Small and marginal farmers hold 84% of the agricultural land in West Bengal against the national average of 43. Of this, 72% of such holding has irrigation coverage in West Bengal against the national average of 44%, Dasgupta said.
?Now farmers require improved seeds, support in terms of organic manure and bio-fertiliser and investors can put their money for making such things,? Dasgupta said, adding West Bengal has the second highest crop intensity after Punjab, which creates a high demand for seed and manure.