Food and Agro

Out of the total geographical area of 196 lakh hectares in Gujarat, total cropped area is aroung128 lakh hectares (65%). Wheat, Bajra, Rice, Maize, Groundnut, Mustard, Sesame, Pigeon pea, Green Gram, Gram, Cotton, Sugarcane are the major crops Gujarat has highest productivity in custard, castor, guava, potato, onion, cumin, fennel and cotton, second highest productivity in groundnut and bajra, third highest productivity in gram, guar, banana and isabgul in the country. Predominance of non-food, high value crops i.e. cotton, castor, tobacco, onion, potato, isabgul, cumin, fennel, mango groundnut, banana Gujarat has the third highest productivity in banana in the country Large quantities (more than 2000 MT) of Marigold is produced in the districts of Baroda, Gandhinagar, Navsari, Bharuch, Kheda, Anand, Ahmedabad, Surat and Valsad The production of total foodgrains during the year 2008-09 is estimated at 63.45 lakh tonne against the all India production of 2339 lakh tonne in 2008-09.

Government Initiatives

Central initiatives Schemes for Agri Infrastructure like Mega Food Parks, Cold Chains, modernization of Abattoirs Scheme for technology upgradation and establishment and modernization of food processing industries.

Scheme for quality assurance, codex standards, R&D and other promotional activities. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (introduced in 2007, valid till 2012) District wise State plan scheme to incentivize the States that increase their investment in Agriculture and allied sectors. Keen implementation of other GoI initiatives: NFSM, ATMA The public sector banks have been formulating Special Agricultural Credit Plans (SACP) since 1994-95 to improve credit flow to the agriculture sector. State initiatives Swarnim Krushi Mahotsav - An extension initiative for enlightened agriculture, which strategizes immensely improve the yield, and it also opens up bright avenues of progress and prosperity. National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS/Rastriya Krishi Bima Yojana) - Gujarat State ranks first with respect to risk covered (Sum Insured), premium income, subsidy paid, farmers covered and claims paid under NAIS among the implementing States. Gujarat Green Revolution - GGRC is aimed to provide professional services on Micro Irrigation System coupled with required equipments and essential agro inputs to the farmers of Gujarat. Krushi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) Support Gujarat Comprehensive Community Accidental Insurance Scheme. Soil and water testing laboratories

Educational Infrastructure

Junagadh Agriculture University Has colleges offering courses in agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Technology and fisheries, Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. Offers MBA in Agri Business Management Anand Agriculture University It was set up to provide education support to the farming community in areas such as Agriculture, Horticulture, Engineering, Information technology and Business Studies.

It aims to promote development in rural areas through education, research and support services. Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University Offers courses in faculties such as agriculture, horticulture, veterinary science and animal husbandry, home science and nutrition, diary science and food technology. Offers a course in Agri Business Management. Navsari Agricultural University Has faculties of agriculture, horticulture, veterinary science and forestry.

Investment Opportunities

Agri / horticulture infrastructure projects: cold storage, fresh fruits and vegetables pack house, mechanized grain handling and storage at port, Food Parks, terminal markets, irradiation centers. Export-oriented processing Value added processing based on local resources Investments worth about 500 million USD have been grounded in this sector in Gujarat during 1991-2009 Natural resources based opportunities: natural food colors, medicinal herbs extraction, tree oil based bio-pesticides, Food Processing enzymes and so on. Newer technology based projects / opportunities