Agri-business in North East India: Current Status, Potential Ventures and Strategies

Abstract

The Northeast region (NER) of India comprises of 8 sister states namely Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Manipur. The region has an agrarian economy composing of rich agricultural resources which needs strategic exploration for inclusive growth of the region. This can be achieved through the realization of the immense scope and potential for agribusiness in the region. The study aims to explore the agribusiness scenario in the region and to throw light on the constraints in the sector prevailing in the region. Several agribusiness ventures have also been discussed which have potential in the region’s unique business ecosystem. Finally several strategies were provided which may have policy implications on future entrepreneurial development strategies in the region. The descriptive policy paper was formulated based on data collected and experienced gained from over four years (2016-2020) of entrepreneurial development activities by the Agri Business Incubation Centre under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Research Centre for North Eastern Hill region (ICAR RC for NEH) and its 5 regional centers across the NER. Further, references from other researchers have been included to substantiate the topics discussed here and improve validity of the observations. Agribusiness sector in the region may be promoted through intensified entrepreneurial initiatives by adequately exploiting the resource potential, particularly in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and fishery sector. This creation of market driven products to suffice the demands of growing middle-class consumers will lead to improve rural employment generation, augment farm income and raise revenue through intensified participation in export trade. However several infrastructural, technical and policy improvement have to be made in order to unlock the potential of these ventures. Only planned structural and strategic changes which include increased exports, impactful research and development, institutional support, etc., can be catalytic for entrepreneurial development in the region.