Global Agri Connect – 2013 Evolving Skill Dimensions: The Lever to Agriculture Growth Indian Agriculture – Contribution to Indian Economy India is principally an agricultural country. The agriculture sector accounts for about 14.1% of the GDP (2011-12) and employs 52% of the total workforce (NSSO, 66th Round). There is a steady decline in its contribution towards the GDP and is losing its shine and central role in Indian economy. Though Indian agricultural scenario is ridden with challenges, its importance can in no way be undermined owing to its role in the economy and in the holistic and inclusive growth of the country and its vast majority. The agriculture sector has made significant strides in the last six decades and the country has transformed its position from the net importer to surpluses for the export. Productivity of various crops has grown since 1950 due to the priority agriculture has been given in the five-year plans of independent India. Steady investments in irrigation infrastructure, technology development, emphasis on modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidies, are the major factors that contributed to the agriculture growth during Green revolution. The production has increased in food grain by 4 times, horticultural crops and milk by 6 times, fish by 9 times and eggs by 27 times since 1950-51. India ranks second worldwide in farm output. This growth is the result of harnessing science & technology that has heralded the Green, White, Blue, and Yellow revolutions in the country. The visible indicators are: increase in per capita food and calorie intake, decline in vulnerability of the Indian agricultural sector to the vagaries of the monsoons, control of price fluctuations and changing profile of agriculture from subsistence to commercialization. Challenge – Indian Agriculture Despite its excellent performance, particularly during green revolution era (1965 – 2000), growth in agriculture sector is not able to match the growth of India economy in general and the manufacturing and service sectors in particular thus resulting in decreasing contribution to the GDP of the country. Further, the proportion of workforce depending on agriculture in Indian economy is falling. This is especially is a cause of concern since, even today, a majority of people depending on agriculture are small & marginal farmers and labourers. According to the National Sample Survey (59th Round of NSSO), 40 percent of the farmers want to opt out of their current profession. The GDP per agricultural worker is currently about 75% higher in real terms than in 1950 compared to a four-fold increase in overall real per capita GDP (www.planningcommission.nic.in). This widening disparity in per capita income between farm and non-farm sectors can be majorly ascribed to the slow rate of growth in agriculture, its declining profitability, lack of substantive employment opportunities in agriculture, extremely weak social security arrangements and weakening family and community based mechanism of social

protection. These are also the major factors responsible for lesser and lesser preference of youth for agriculture as a means of livelihood either through farming or as a destination for employment. The grim situation is reflected in the quote by an eminent agriculture scientist and the Chairman, National Commission on Farmers – Dr. M.S. Swaminathan “The farming sector is fast heading for total collapse if no rapid remedial measures are taken”. Skill Development: The Need of the Hour In the words of Prof Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India, “When we start looking at the growth process, there is a need of new knowledge, need people to do things differently and that's when the issue of skills comes in a big way”. Towards the end of 20th century, while the factors responsible for the green revolution were adding less and less to the agricultural growth, liberalization and globalization of the Indian Economy has thrown open several options for agriculture growth. A different set of technological and institutional factors are now the drivers of agriculture growth. Some of these trends / innovations in Indian Agriculture include Commercialization, Diversification, High Value Agriculture, Precision Farming, Organic Cultivation, Hi-Tech Horticulture, Micro-Propagation, Integrated Pest Disease & Nutrients Management, Post Harvest Management, Application of Biotechnology, Backward and Forward Linkages of crop production with markets, information and communication technologies (ICT) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Though many of these drivers hold a huge potential to place agriculture on the path of high growth, paucity in the capacities of various stakeholders (including farmers) appears to be the principal constraint to match the potentiality of these drivers. Lack of knowledge and skills of various stakeholders is acting as the major factor that is withholding the farming millions in adopting the development in the transforming Indian agriculture. In this context, it is imperative that agriculture sectors and its stakeholders lay emphasis on the skill development of the innumerable workforce to prepare them for the new age agriculture and thus facilitate higher agriculture growth that not only supports the higher growth rate of Indian economy but also in a synergistic and inclusive way. In the above back drop, the conference ‘Evolving Skill Dimensions: The Lever to Agriculture Growth’ of Global Agri Connect 2013 is slotted to bring together the Farmers, Academic & Research Institutions and Corporate Bodies to deliberate and strategise on various dimensions of agriculture capacity building in the country. Conference Focus: The conference focuses on potential opportunities in Skill Development in Agriculture through generating awareness about the crucial role of the same in sustaining lives and livelihood of farmers. The conference highlights the drivers of change and showcase new ideas, innovations and success stories happening in skill development not only in India but across the globe.

Each session is vital in reshaping the debate around a skill development- led -growth strategy. The first session focuses on the current scenario of Agriculture Skill Development in India. Likewise, each and every session comprises of need of the hour topics be it issues pertaining to skill development in agriculture and related sectors Sessions Design: This is proposed to be a one day conference with 6 Sessions and interactive discussions for high participation of audience (including Inaugural and Valedictory sessions). Each session is supposed to have a maximum of 4-5 speakers, Chair and Co-Chair. We propose a 70 minute session with each presenter getting 7 minutes to complete his/her presentation and the rest 20 minutes reserved for queries and discussion.

Evolving Skill Dimensions: The Lever to Agriculture Growth DAY 1: 9:15 –10:00 10.00 –10.45

Registration Inaugural Session Welcome Address Address by Address by Address by Release of Knowledge Report

Inaugural Address by Chief Guest

10.45-11.00

Shri Sanjeev Asthana, NSFI Dr S Ayyappan, Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR Mr Dilip Chenoy, MD, NSDC Dr H S Gupta, Director, IARI Mr Tariq Anwar, Hon’bleMinister of State for Agriculture & Food Processing Industries GoI Mr Tariq Anwar

Vote of Thanks & Presentation of Mementos Dr Satender Arya, CEO, NSFI TEA BREAK

TECHNICAL SESSIONS 11:00-12:15 Session I: Skill Development in Public Sector and the Private – Connecting the Dots The skills to improve productivity, increase adaptability to deal with change and crisis, and facilitate the diversification of livelihoods to manage risks are in wanting in rural areas. In many cases, these skills form the way to survival. Providing these skills effectively is one of the key challenges of agriculture vis-à-vis rural development, but it has not always been well met, usually because the contextual factors that prevent small farmers from accessing stand still to be addressed. In this light the present session would try to understand and identify the status of agriculture skill development in India taken up by various players such as Government, Private Sector Role and Non Government Organisations. Chair: Shri Sanjeev Gupta IAS, Joint Secretary (Extension), MoA Suggested Topics Suggested Speakers Challenges of Agriculture Extension and need for skill Dr Vijayaraghavan, Jt Director development in India (Extension), IARI Skill Development by Private Sector – The Industry Mr Satish Nadiger, John Deere Need Experiences from the Developing World: Criticality of From Multilateral Funding Agency Skills in Various Development Interventions Client Orientation in Skill Development initiatives of From Vocational Training Provider the Country: Inputs from Field Agriculture Skill Council of India: On the Road to ASCI Representative Agriculture Growth with a Dynamic Agenda Effectiveness of capacity building initiatives for Mr Gokul Patnaik, Chariman, Global Agri incremental agriculture revenues: Present and Future Systems Synergy in the skill development – Role of different Mr Dilip Chenoy, MD , NSDC players in Agriculture Industry

12:15–13:15

Session II : Segments of Agri Supply Chain – Status of Built Capacities and Gap to be filled

By 2016-17 India growing at the rate of 7 % is expected to reach the workforce demand of about 232 million from 229 million (in 2011-12) in agriculture sector which constitutes 44% of the total workforce of the economy. However, 95 % of the workforce requirement is expected to be generated in informal sector more so in agriculture. While many of the occupations and vocations in agriculture remained restricted to informal sector over many years, there is a dire need to not only identify systematically the contribution of occupations and vocations to the value chain of agriculture but also to recognise and formalise & organise them through their skill development. The current session through its series of lectures from eminent speakers attempts to bring forward the tapped and untapped occupational and vocational opportunities in various segments of agri value chain. Chair: Mr B B Patnaik, MD, CWC Co Chair: Shri J N L Shrivastava, Managing Trustee (IFFCO Foundn) and Former Secretary, Mo Agri & Coop Suggested Topics Suggested Speakers Changing Seed / Planting Material Use in Indian Mr Prabhakar Rao , President National Agriculture: Skills status and gaps to produce quality Seed Association of India & MD , seed / planting material Nuziveedu Seeds Climatic Risks and Labour Shortages: Role of Farm Dr Pitam Chandra, Director (CIAE) Mechanisation in Emerging Farm Tillage Necessities Technological Developments in Crop Production: Dr Gyanendra Shukla, CEO (Monsanto Whither Farmers’ Skills updation and upgradation? Holdings Pvt Ltd) Post Harvest Commodity Handling and Storage: Status Mr B B Pattanaik, Managing Director, and need for Skilled Manpower CWC Role and Status of Skill Development in meeting Mr R K Boyal, Director , APEDA quality standards and export norms Skilling needs in Agri Food Processing Desai Foods / ITC / Ken Agro 13:15 -13:45 13:45-14:55

Lunch Session III: Innovations & Trends in Modern Agriculture – Need of Skilling

Indian agriculture is undergoing rapid transformation in the last two decades. The policy of liberalisation and globalisation has opened up new avenues for agricultural modernisation. This has not only lead to commercialisation and diversification, but also triggered various technological and institutional innovations owing to investments from corporate entities. In back drop of the country’s recent trends in agriculture, there is great need to meet the skill development requirements of the sector. Lectures from eminent speakers of the session are expected to scope the innovations and trends in agriculture and the specific needs for skill upgradation which not only is expected to generate additional employment / entrepreneurship in the sector but also provide value addition for accelerated growth in agriculture. Chair: Mr Pravesh Sharma, MD, SFAC Co Chair: DG, NIRD Suggested Topics: Suggested Speakers: High Value Agriculture and Small & Marginal Farmers: D Narendranath, PRADAN Skills needs for sustainable livelihoods

Producer Companies: On the Road to Market Dr V Tagat, Chief General Manager, Integration NABARD Farmer the Entrepreneur: Services for Farm Level G M, ICICI Bank Financial Management Role of Precision Farming in Agriculture Sustainability: Mr Surender Makhija, Strategic Advisor, Need for Skill Development Jain Irrigation Systems Access to Farm Mechanization in Rural Hinterlands: T R Kesavan, Sr VP (TAFE) and President, Scope for Rural Entrepreneurship (Tractor Associations of India) Farmer at the centre of Arbitration: Future Markets Mr Samir Shah, MD Incharge, NCDEX Information Communication Technologies and the Mr Amit Mehra, CEO, Reuters Market Farmers: Influence of Information Literacy Quotient. Light 14:55–15:10 TEA BREAK 15: 10-16: 30 Session IV: Learnings in Skill Development Initiatives in India & Abroad and the Way Forward While the dimension of human resource development in agriculture has remained on the back burner for quite a long time when compared to industrial and service sectors, benefits from various efforts of vocational education in agriculture domain are far from matching with the demand. In a scenario where Indian Agriculture is poised to grow at a pace to match with the growth of Indian economy, targets of skill development in agriculture sector of the country appear herculean. In this scenario, understanding the past experiences, their successes and challenges faced, is imperative. The speakers of the session would be sharing initiatives taken by various stakeholders of skill development in India and abroad for the benefit skill development initiatives envisioned in the country in the future near and far. Chair: Mr A Santhosh Mathew, Jt Secretary, Aajeevika Skill Development Programme Suggested Topics: Suggested Speakers: Learning from Experiences of Skill Councils of From Australian Skill Council Australia Corporate Social Responsibility through Skill Ms Neelima Khetan, GM (CSR and Development: Key for Sustainability Sustainability), Coca Cola Skilling for Sustainability: Role of External Funding Ms Prema Gera, Asst Country Director, UNDP Private Investments in Emerging Business Models: Mr Anil Sinha, IFC / Prof Vijay Paul Emerging Skilling Needs and Opportunities Sharma, IIMA Skill Development initiatives of Govt Departments and Mr A Santhosh Mathew, Jt Secretary, other Players: Need and Scope for Convergence Aajeevika Skill Development Programme

16:30 - 17:30

Award and Valedictory Session Welcome by Address by

Mr Sanjeev Asthana, Chairman, Organizing CommitteeGAC 2013 Dr H S Gupta, Director, IARI

Address by Guest of Honour

Valedictory Address by Chief Guest Mementos & Vote of Thanks

Mr. Sompal Singh Shastri, Former Chairman of National Commission of Farmers; Former Minister of State for Agriculture & Water Resources Dr Charan Das Mahant, Minister of State for Agriculture; and Minister of State for Food Processing Industries. Dr Satender Arya, CEO, NSFI