Agripreneurship Development through Value Addition of Minor Fruits in Kandi Areas of Jammu; A Pathway to Self-Reliant Rural Women & Youth

Prof. Poonam Parihar

Agripreneurship refers to entrepreneurship in agriculture. Entrepreneurship is a concept that encompasses transforming an idea or vision into a “new business or new venture creation, or the expansion of an existing business by an individual, a team of individuals or an established business” (Reynolds et al.). A shift from agriculture to agribusiness is an essential pathway to revitalize Indian agriculture & to make more attractive & profitable venture. Agripreneurship has the potential to contribute to a range of social & economic development such as employment generation, income generation, poverty reduction & improvements in nutrition, health & overall food security in the National economy. Agripreneurship has potential to generate growth, diversifying income, providing widespread employment & entrepreneurial opportunities in rural areas. Nutritional security for the burgeoning Indian population cannot be met by focussing on the staple and major horticultural crops alone. There is a vast production of underutilized and underexploited minor horticultural crops which could be used as the “future crops” to supplement our nutritional needs. In the last decade there has been increasing recognition by the scientific community, policy makers and users at large, of the role played by minor crops for the well-being of people worldwide. Such a role is only now being acknowledged (in spite of the fact that these crops have been used by people ever since agriculture began) due to various factors. These factors include: a better understanding of the value of biodiversity as a whole; increasing attention being paid to conserving agro biodiversity through the enhancement of its use; increasing attention being paid to sustainability in agricultural production; the call for “innovative food” to diversify agricultural production; greater attention paid to the quality of our food; the possibility of using minor crops for cultivating marginal lands; and the availability of new technological tools (such as biotechnology) for crop improvement and food processing (Padulosi 1999). India has experienced a considerable degree of crop diversification in term of changes in the area under various crops since the Green Revolution, which was largely oriented towards increasing food grains production to meet the objective of self-sufficiency and resolve the country’s food security problem. In the past one decade, the change in cropping pattern is more towards the horticulture sector and commercial crops (Mittal, 2007).
Horticultural crops form a significant part of total agricultural produce in the country comprising of fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, flowers, ornamental plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, condiments, plantation crops and mushrooms have become key drivers of economic development in many of the states in the country. Horticulture contributes 30.4% of the Agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP) & about 33% to the Agriculture Gross Value added (GVA). The horticulture production in the country in 2023-2024 is estimated to be 352.23 Million Tonnes.At present, India is the second largest producer of fruits & vegetables in the world. (According to second advance estimate of horticulture production released by the Ministry of Agriculture). This calls for technology-led development. Horticultural crops play a unique role in India’s economy by improving the income of the rural people. Cultivation of these crops is labour intensive and as such they generate lot of employment opportunities for the rural population. Fruit plant genetic resources are the wealth of a country since they are sources of food, feed, cloth, house building materials, vitamins, minerals and medicine. It possesses a good number of minor fruits often growing in the homesteads, roadsides, hills and forests. They are hardy in nature, adapted to the local climate and productive even under adverse soil and climatic conditions and resistant to disease and pests. Producing minor fruits is a source of livelihood for many farmers and serves as safety net during the time of hardship and natural disaster. Those are considered as an important dietary source of fibre, bioactive compounds and phyto-chemicals and compared to other fruits, it possesses high antioxidant activity and are naturally rich in a variety of phyto-chemicals, particularly phenolic compounds. Apart from nutritive value, these are particularly more important for medicinal properties especially in Ayurvedic medicine. Many of these fruits have processing qualities like preparation of jam, jelly, candy, chutney, sauce, pickles, juice, syrup, squash, beverage, canned and cut fruits which help in building entrepreneurship.
These fruits also contribute to poverty reduction and livelihood enhancement as well as ensure household food and nutritional security adding women participation through employment and income generation. In India, the land holding pattern in hill tracts reveals that nearly 90% of the farmers are small and marginal; hence, the minor fruits are ideal for cultivation as they need low input requirement, less production cost comprising higher nutritive value and high yield. Apart from nutritive value most people are familiar with the medicinal properties of locally grown minor fruits. It lays emphasis on exploiting the versatile usefulness of these tremendous resources, in combating the challenges of nutritional security as well as exploiting medicinal attributes adding income generation for the better livelihood of the hills’ tribal and rural people. Rahman, 2003 revealed thatthe producers, sellers and workers involved in minor fruit production, packaging and selling may improve their livelihoods from this sector. Most of the rural houses possess a home garden which is a source of livelihood for many families and serves as safety net during the time of hardship and natural disaster. The loss of such species has serious implications on rural life and not only deprives people from essential vitamins and vital insurance against malnutrition but also medicinal attributes and employment opportunity. So, time has come when agriculture has to be run as agribusiness rather than subsistence agriculture. In view of the small and scattered farm holdings and a majority of farmers being resource poor, strengthening of local infrastructure is important. Minor horticulture crops have immense medicinal and nutritional values but the farmers of this area are ignorant about the benefits of these plants. Capacity building on scientific value addition of minor fruits for sustainable livelihood security, introduction of improved cultivars of minor fruits, establishing demonstration/training unit for exploitation of underutilized minor fruits by value addition for income generation & human resource development & developing linkages & Formulation of farmers Interest Groups for market-led-extension are the important science and technology interventions of the project.
The participants will be made awareabout thescientific information regarding value addition, packaging, grading, branding & marketing. The entrepreneurial competencies of the farmers will be enhanced by providing them the scientific trainings on value addition of minor fruits & they will take interest in setting up their own ventures. The farmers can become the agripreneurs, start their own agri-enterprises. They will get good profits for their products. In this way their living standard will be improved & socio-economic status will be enhanced & migration from rural to urban areas will be stopped. The project is likely to bring larger impact on the non-target population also by way of diffusion of innovation and awareness about the value addition of minor fruits. Besides more Farmer/ Farm women groups can be created which can take lead in establishing their own agri-enterprises for additional income in the villages.
Since the rural Kandi Area in Jammu is dominated by traditional and minor fruits like Desi mango, Gal gal, Chakotra, Jhamiri, Khatta, Kimb, Ber, Aonla, Jamun, Karonda, Phalsa & Bael etc. The target group (Women and youth) could be exposed to different training interventions for increasing their knowledge & Skill up gradation. The demonstrations/training on post-harvest operations like grading, Packaging Branding & Marketing would encourage self-employment to rural people and value addition of locally available minor fruits. It will improve the productive efficiency of the natural resources and provide better and more livelihoods options to farmers and agriculture workers. Exposure visit of farmers to practical aspect of new technology will enable farmers to mold the scientific technology into their own technology. The main consumption markets of the districts are far away from production centers. Lack of modern and efficient infrastructure like fast means of connectivity aggravates the problem of transporting the fruit especially of perishable nature to the main markets of the district. It is expected that there will be Capacity building on scientific value addition of minor fruits for sustainable livelihood security, income generation & human resource development & developing linkages & stopping of migration from rural areas to urban. Formulation of farmers Interest Groups for market-led-extension can uplift the socioeconomic conditions of the target group.
Traditional and minor fruits contribute to poverty reduction and livelihood enhancement as well as ensure household food and nutritional security adding women and youth participation through employment and income generation. The producers, sellers and workers involved in minor fruit production, packaging and selling may improve their livelihoods from this sector. Most of the rural houses possess a home garden which is a source of livelihood for many families and serves as safety net during the time of hardship and natural disaster.
The loss of such species has serious implications on rural life and not only deprives people from essential vitamins and vital insurance against malnutrition but also medicinal attributes and employment opportunity (Rahman, 2003). More than 60 per cent women In India, are engaged in agriculture and allied activities. The land holding pattern in hill tracts reveals that nearly 90% of the farmers are small and marginal; hence, the minor fruits are ideal for cultivation causes low drudgery as they need low input requirement, less production cost comprising higher nutritive value and high yield. Apart from nutritive value most people are familiar with the medicinal properties of locally grown minor fruits.
It lays emphasis on exploiting the versatile usefulness of these tremendous resources, in combating the challenges of nutritional security as well as exploiting medicinal attributes adding income generation for the better livelihood of women and youth/farmer groups in the rural areas.
The value addition allows the farmers to fucus on the consumer while producing & through meeting expectations, he/she can create a loyal market around product. Value addition to food has assumed vital importance in our country due to diversity in socio-economic conditions, industrial growth, urbanization & globalization. The target group (Women and youth) would be exposed to different training interventions for increasing their knowledge. The awareness & demonstrations would be given to the target groups on processing, preservation, value addition, grading, branding & marketing of the traditional and minor fruits to enhance their socio-economic status which can improve their living standard by establishing the agri-ventures/stat ups. The formulated FIGs would also act as role model for other women & youth of the local areas & the other people get boosted, motivated & convinced to start up their agri-ventures & moreover this would be a positive & right kind of approach to make the rural masses self-reliant which can reduce poverty, create employment, improve the living standard & enhance the socio-economic status of the rural women & youth of Kandi areas of Jammu.
(The writer is Professor, SKUAST-Jammu)