An Initiative to

Empower the Farmers

and Improving the

Agriculture Ecosystem

in India

EU India

Agriculture

Forum

INTRODUCTION

India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and is currently the focus of a

great deal of international attention. India has seen rapid growth in recent years, driven

by the growth in new-age industries. India is one of the world's fastest-growing

economies.

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and provides employment to a large

majority of the Indian workforce. India has the 10th-largest arable land resources in the

world. With 20 agro-climatic regions, all 15 major climates in the world exist in India.

The country also possesses 46 of the 60 soil types in the world. Agriculture and related

sectors such as forestry and fisheries account for 17 per cent of GDP through this have

been declining since 1991.

India is the largest producer of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew and jute; and the second

largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds.

Further, India is second in global production of fruits and vegetables and is the largest

producer of mango and banana. India ranked in the world's five largest producers of over

80% of agricultural produce items, including many cash crops such as coffee and cotton.

India is one of the world's five largest producers of livestock and poultry meat, with one

of the fastest growth rates.

The nation has a vast potential in contributing to international food trade on the account

of its cultural dependence on agriculture and the agro-climatic variety that gives rise to

a large food basket suitable for international trade and earning foreign exchange for

Indian economy. India has an edge in the production of a number of food commodities

such as cereals, milk, buffalo meat, fruits such as mango, banana, guava and papaya,

vegetables and fish. Despite a strong position in the production of agri commodities,

Indian contribution in the global food trade is limited to 1.5%2 which is drastically low

as compared to its respective share in the production. India is a big unknown in the global

agro-export market. India’s agri-export so far has been a story of untapped potential.

Despite large production volumes and huge potential in a strategic development role in

the Indian economy through processing, the majority of the production is consumed in

the domestic market with low levels of processing and export. Certain types of agriculture

such as horticulture, organic farming, floriculture, genetic engineering, packaging and

food processing have the potential to see a surge in revenues through exports. Over the

past few years, the government has stressed the development of horticulture and

floriculture by creating vital infrastructure for cold storage, refrigerated transportation,

packaging, processing and quality control. If India wishes to optimize the production and

export potential of these commodities, then it is essential to improve these facilities,

marketing and export networks much further.

Demand of agricultural products at the international level

For centuries countries have relied on trade in agricultural and food commodities to

supplement and complement their domestic production. The uneven distribution of land

resources and the influence of climatic zones on the ability to raise plants and animals

have led to trade between and within continents. Historical patterns of settlement and

colonization contributed to the definition of trade patterns and to the emergence of

infrastructure to support such trade. Changes in consumer taste have encouraged the

emergence of global markets and added to the significance of trade. Few countries could

survive the elimination of agricultural trade without a considerable drop in national

income, and none could do so without a considerable reduction in consumer choice and

well-being.

In 2013, the agriculture trade performance was a reflection of the global economic

context: many key players in agricultural trade displayed stagnant or lower exports and

imports and though the demand in developing economies continued to grow, it was at a

slower pace. China is trying to keep up the domestic demand and it has become a major

player both as an agricultural importer and exporter.

In 2013, the top 5 agricultural exporting nations were US, Brazil, China, European Union

and Canada. The major traded agriculture commodities around the world include fruits

and vegetables, cereals and cereals preparation, meat and meat products, fish and marine

products, coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and dairy products. The major agricultural products

importing nations in the world include US, China, Japan, Russia, European Union and

Canada.

EUROPE AGRO INDUSTRY

EU is the largest trading bloc in the world. The EU market is one of the world’s largest

markets for Fresh Horticultural and Floricultural Products. This market has been growing

steadily in quantity and quality for the past two decades. Although imports are only a

relatively small portion of this market (vegetable imports account for 2 per cent or 1

million tons of the 50 million ton market, and fruit imports account for 24 per cent or 7.5

million tons of the 31.5 million ton market), they represent a significant trade opportunity

for a number of developing countries, and more especially for African countries.

Over the last three decades, organic food and farming have continued to grow year-on-

year across Europe. The growth of the organic market varies between the EU Member

States. Indeed, while retail sales in 2014 increased by double digits in Sweden (45%) and

France (10%), in countries such as Belgium (3.8%) and the UK (4%) organic retail

growth rates were below average. Despite these differences, EU consumers have been

increasing their average spend on organic food considerably and the organic food market

is an important growth area in the EU grocery retail market.

In 2004 EU ‘upgraded’ its relations to make India a strategic partner and do a free trade

agreement (FTA) with India. In a new trade strategy for EU 2020, the European

Commission intends to further focus on India to remove for itself obstacles to better-

functioning markets. As Agricultural products are the small portion of the India-EU trade

relations and the complex structure of the exports to Europe that’s why the Indian small-

farm business is not seeing Europe as a trade market.

Opportunities in Europe

Fruits

India has varied climate, in some areas fruits are growing very well. Bananas, Kiwis,

coconuts, pineapples, citrus are growing well and also because of the low labour costs,

those fruits are very cheap. India can export those products to European countries as the

demand is very huge!

Most of the European Union countries don’t have enough sun for the tropical fruits, only

the south European Countries, as Spain has. But South European Countries has also high

labour costs which make growing the fruits expensive. This is a great export business

opportunity for Indians. Growing the fruits and creation of the plantation doesn’t need

very high capital, so it’s very well suited for people from India.

Tea and coffee

India is famous for Indian Black tea and also for the coffee. Indian climate is especially

suitable for growing this kind of plants. India has natural sunlight and enough rain which

will make growing the tea and coffee very lucrative exporting business in India. There is

a very big demand for coffee by the central and Northern European countries. Also,

Germany, USA, Canada and even China has a high demand for coffee. Scandinavian

countries are famous for the high consumption of coffee per person. So, tea and coffee

are good import-export business opportunities for Indians.

Rice

India is historically famous for the production of rice. The European Union doesn’t have

a suitable climate for growing rice. But the EU is consuming a lot of rice, so this product

can be exported to the European Union Easily. The European Union is importing different

types of rice, like brown rice, long rice, India can grow all those types of rice and export

to the European Union.

Biggest profit can be made if you are going to pack the rice into suitable packages. Rice

is being sold in the European supermarkets in small and handy packages, differently than

in India.

Spices and herbs

India is well known for its spices around the world. In fact, already the first exporters

and importers in the 15 century where exporting Indian spices to the current European

territory. India’s climate is favourable for the spices, there aren’t good climate in any

European country for producing this type of products.

Nowadays Indian spices have their places in the European kitchen and restaurants. Also,

many spices are being used to produce different sauces and condiments. Very often Indian

spices are being used in premium restaurants and inexpensive foods. Indian spices have

a premium price in the European Union, which makes this a very lucrative export

business for Indians. Different Indian herbs have also the export potential to Europe.

Herbs are expensive and are mainly used by European Pharmacy companies, health-care

companies. Also, a lot of the herbs are being used in tea industries.

Mustard and mustard oil

India is one of the biggest producers of mustard seeds. The biggest producers are Indian

neighbour countries like Nepal and also Myanmar. India has the big potential of

expanding its mustard production and processing it to the mustard oil. Mustard oil is in

the big demand in Eu and USA for various purposes. So, this product also presents good

export business opportunities in India.

Peanuts and nuts

Indian peanut the “Nakar” is famous in Europe and all around the world. India is also the

producer of peanut oil and this oil has also potential in the EU and in other Asian

countries. Roasted and salted Indian peanuts are good for export to the western markets

and you are able to get a higher price, compare with the price what you can get on the

local market. Salted and packaged peanuts can be also sold in online stores if packaged

nicely, so it is attractive for the people overseas.

Selling your products online is one of the easiest ways to start an export business from

Home. Exporting your products to overseas trough getting customers online, with your

e-shop. This is really one of the greatest export opportunities in India now. It is also

affordable because it allows starting your export business with minimal costs and

investment.

Vegetables

Some vegetables can be exported to Europe union market. It is still hard to export Indian

food to Europe, but there are still some vegetables what have “green light” in Europe.

The following vegetables can be exported to the European market with low restrictions:

taro, bitter gourd, snake gourd, and eggplant. If you are considering exporting vegetable

from in India, then you should be considering exporting more to other countries near to

India.

INDIAN AGRO INDUSTRY

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and provides employment to a large

majority of the Indian workforce. The nation has a vast potential in contributing to

international food trade on the account of its cultural dependence on agriculture and the

agro-climatic variety that gives rise to a large food basket suitable for international trade

and earning foreign exchange for Indian economy.

Agriculture occupies a prominent position in Indian policy-making not only because of its

contribution to GDP but also because of the large proportion of the population that is

dependent on the sector for its livelihood. The growth in population and wealth has

stimulated demand to the extent that domestic production has not always been able to

keep up and there is increasing speculation that the Indian economy may be overheating

leading to inflation. The downside of the increased import demand and the current

commodity boom is that India’s food import bill will rise sharply.

However, it is clear that India’s agricultural sector has made huge strides in developing

its potential. The green revolution massively increased the production of vital food grains

and introduced technological innovations into agriculture. This progress is manifested in

India’s net trade position. Where once India had to depend on imports to feed its people

since 1990 it is a net exporter of agri-food products.

India has an edge in the production of a number of food commodities. Despite large

production volumes and huge potential in a strategic development role in the Indian

economy through processing, the majority of the production is consumed in the domestic

market with low levels of processing and export. Its agriculture is large and diverse and

its sheer size means that even slight changes in its trade have significant effects on world

agricultural markets.

How India will develop is still a big unknown, with the picture changing rapidly.

Questions have arisen about India’s capacity to compete in global markets under the

current farm structure and farm policy. As the service economy grows, the share of

agriculture will diminish, which may also have implications for India’s stance on trade

and agriculture policy in the future.

Major commodities exported from India

As per APEDA, in 2013-14 Indian agricultural export valued at around USD 39 bn 3 (INR

2,35,988.86 crores) which shows a growth of around 16%. Rice leads the list of exported

commodities with oil meals in the second place in terms of quantity exported. Other top

commodities constituting the largest section of export from India are wheat, other

cereals, basmati rice, sugar, fresh vegetables, buffalo meat, marine products and spices.

Share of processed fruits and vegetables has been drastically low in terms of share in

total exports. As per the data available from APEDA till November 2014, the share of

processed fruits, juices and processed vegetables was 2.3% of the total value of exports

in the year 2014-15. The low share of processed agricultural products and perishable

products such as fruits and vegetables simply states the need for upgrading the existing

processing infrastructure in the country. The following graph gives a comparative

snapshot of key commodities exported by India:

Major implications in export from India to Europe

Indian agro exports also face prohibitive import duties in overseas markets. For

example, dairy products attract peak import duties of 511 per cent in the EU, 93 per

cent in the US, and 692 per cent in Japan. Fruit and vegetables, and oilseeds attract

equally high import duties in the EU, Japan and the US, with Japan being the most

protective.

Indian agro exports also have to compete with highly subsidized farm products

supplied by other countries. Although India has been accused of being overly

protectionist about agricultural and food products, it is China, Japan and the US

which are the top farm subsidies. According to the OECD, China spent over $165

billion in direct and indirect farm subsidies, followed by Japan at $65 billion.

Indian agro exports also have to face a series of non-tariff barriers in top consuming

markets – for example, a ban on import of mangoes by EU that was lifted in January

2015. Other examples of market denials are a ban on rice imports by Iran and green

pepper by Saudi Arabia. Besides, Vietnam refuses to allow Indian peanuts. China

does not buy non-basmati rice from India but sources the same from Pakistan as

well as Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand.

Indian agro exports also have to face a series of technical barriers in the EU

countries. EU-prescribed SPS standards would disallow Indian food products on the

European market due to India’s supposedly insufficient food producer traceability

and market surveillance systems.

The EU is also seeking accelerated access in the Indian dairy sector. The European

Dairy Association considers India’s import taxes ‘unrealistically high’. Though dairy

products are on India’s sensitive list, EU is putting pressure on the Indian side to

open up its market particularly for European cheeses.

Indian agro exports also have to face a serious lack of training & Skill development.

Several countries are pointing out to deficiencies in the quality of the agriculture

products exported and the quality certificates.

Horticulture items for exports are facing serious challenges due to the imposition

of stringent conditions of the importing countries. Two kinds of difficulties are

being faced for export of horticulture items, one is related to pests and diseases and

second with regard to the higher amount of pesticide residues. Many horticulture

products like mangoes and vegetables have faced bans from countries like the EU,

Saudi Arabia, and UAE in the last 3-4 years.

Outlook for Indian agriculture and trade

OECD and FAPRI (Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute) both expect India to

play a bigger role in world markets in future. It is likely to remain a small net exporter

overall. India is forecast to consolidate its position among the world’s leading exporters

of rice (its top export), though the volume of exports has been erratic since the mid-

nineties (depending on the size of the crop and on domestic consumption). Currently, it

is the second largest rice producer after China and the third largest net-exporter after

Thailand and Vietnam.

India is projected to remain a leading vegetable oils importer, absorbing one-quarter of

world soybean oil imports and 14% of palm oil imports. Although the share does not

increase much over the projection period, this masks an increase in imports from 5

million tonnes to 6-8 million tonnes by 2016/17, given the expansion in world trade in

vegetable oils.

Turning to imports, in 2006/07 India became a net importer of wheat having been a net

exporter for the 5 years previously. However, it is not expected to be a big net exporter

in the coming decade. For dairy, there may be opportunities for the EU in the future. If

an EU-Indian FTA is agreed, then, given changing consumer habits, India is a potential

market for EU exports of high quality processed milk products.

Last but not least, Indian consumption of vegetable oils has grown faster than production

since the mid-nineties and the trend is expected to continue. Combined with the recent

hike in prices, this could lead to a doubling of India’s vegetable oil import bill in 10 years.

The need for Agriculture Forum

In India, agriculture production is generally below the world average because our

agricultural production for food staples is monsoon dependent. A small farmer invests all

of his money in the hope that this season he would have enough grain to go through the

year but when the crops go bad, he loses everything and committed suicides every year.

According to the recent report, the major reasons for farmer suicides is poor income &

high debt burdens. No one thinks agriculture as a respectful profession anymore, even

farmers don't want their kids to become a farmer. Many farmers are not in farming by

choice but because it's the only way they can earn their bread.

The problems of Indian farmers are even bigger than what government anticipates and

recently the Indian Prime Minister proposes his vision of doubling farmer’s income by

2022 it’s a worth serious attention and paradigm shift. There has been considerable

expansion and change in the research and extension system but the key questions remain:

‘Is this sufficient to Double Farmers’ Incomes by 2022? Or is there a need for a different

mindset to ensure agriculture science empowers farmers to reach their full economic

potential? Can such be achieved while delivering nutrition to the nation as well as within

the ecological boundaries of India’s natural resources?’. It is also important to have a

debate on what are the causes of farm distress in India and how best to achieve the

objective of doubling the farmer’s income by 2022.

And to achieve this objective, the focus must shift from increasing per acre productivity

to gainfully employing farm households in other farm-related activities. Most of the

research indicates that the India farmers are not having the proper knowledge of farming

both technical & non-technical for example the quality of seeds; soil quality; usage of

pesticides; what to grow & when to grow; lack of mechanization; storage; market

demand; demand/market analysis; certification for export; packaging; pricing & so on.

All this has led to depletion productivity and impact the pocket of the farmers. Hence, it’s

essential that the farmer will get the proper knowledge of the farming & market by which

they can use modern & scientific methods of farming and sales their product in the market

at better pricing. It is also very much essential to identify the International export market

to export our product at a better price.

Hence on the call of Indian Prime Minister, The Europe India Foundation along with

their European Partners Media India Group, Guna Enterprises and Europe India Chamber

of Commerce comes up with the idea to create a platform for India Framer and created

“EU India Agriculture Forum – EIAF” to achieve the objective of doubling the income of

farmers by 2022 by shifting the focus on increasing per acre productivity and essential

to increase the income of the farmers by identify the potential export market. And we

believe that Europe has a lot to offer to India, in the precise sectors of Agriculture & Food

Processing where India faces multiple issues and challenges. And, we at EIFE, are here to

support the vision of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 of Government of India.

EU INDIA AGRICULTURE FORUM - EIAF

The Forum is working towards ensuring that the income of our hardworking farmers

doubles by 2022. To do so, we are primarily focusing on four fronts.

The first is to lower the input cost for agriculture.

The second is to ensure that agrarian produce gets appropriately priced.

The third is to reduce wastage and

The fourth is to provide alternate means of income to farmers

The Forum will act as a platform between India & Europe which aims to promote the

agriculture exports from India to Europe and bring the best farming practices from

Europe to India. In particular, The Forum will create sustainable linkages between India

farmers and European Importers, technology providers, research agencies, training

institutions and processing players, both in the public and private sectors from Europe.

In India, Agricultural transformation is very slow in India. Therefore, the process of

generating higher income from agriculture is also slow and to speed up the agricultural

transformation the forum will provide all-round support to the Federal & State

Governments, FPOs, Individual Farmers, Institutions, NGOs and other entities engaged in

promotion and development of Farmers to enhance production, productivity and

profitability. The small and marginal farmers through better access of knowledge, skills,

know-how in agriculture and most importantly the access to the International market

will increase the agriculture production, income and thereby elevate their decision-

making abilities and socioeconomic status.

Goal/Objective

The goal is to ensure that agricultural innovation systems, encompassing research,

extension, education and enterprise - deliver the best development outcomes to resource-

poor farmers and rural communities.

Area of Work

Create a platform between Europe & India by which aims to the promotion of the

exports of agriculture product from India to Europe and bringing the best farming

practices from Europe to India for the betterment of the Indian Farmer through

their capacity building.

Continuous mounting the delegation from EU to India and India to Europe for

sharing the knowledge, Know how’s, Farming practices, resources development,

occupational standards, certifications, and focusing in Joint ventures for developing

& delivering these programs in India.

Continuous organizing events, conferences, study tours and roadshows in Europe

& India, it will lead to a greater awareness of the agriculture & food processing

sector of India in International market.

Conducting joint research & white paper for better understating of the impact of

climate change on agriculture, modern agriculture technologies, the agriculture

market in Europe, the export process, certification, documentation, and the best

farming practices.

Bring together proven agriculture solutions that will benefit various stakeholders

and conduct the capacity building program through Training-of-Trainers (ToT) and

experience sharing

Help in providing market intelligence and development will be done through four

main tasks:

o Identification, analysis and suggestion of the potential target markets

o Providing assistance in finding solutions to reach the best quality, safety,

logistical standards and recognized as per the European requirements.

o Assistance in bringing updated ethical and environmental farming practices

and technology

o Proposition and Implementation of promotion actions in the selected markets

at different levels.

o Direct Sales of Products on selected channels

Creating a pool of specialist of agro-food industries specialist in India & Europe for

interaction for the future collaboration with the European Countries/ Exporters.

Proposed Element

Around 70% of the Indian population depends on smallholder agriculture for their

livelihoods, the majority farming at a subsistence level using traditional methods.

However, the context of agriculture in India is changing with increasing challenges of

reduced soil fertility, erratic weather patterns due to climate change and changing

markets. It’s important for farmers to change the way they farm in terms of what they

grow and how they grow it. And need to understand what are the different practices they

adopted for farming, what kind of agricultural inputs do they use for farming, which

crops do they produce and how many times in a year, Are they producing the same crop

throughout the year or do they produce different types of crops, how varied is the

production from region to region. These are some of the questions which farmers need

to address but they lack the skills, knowledge and capacity to improve their productivity

within this context.

The Foundation believes that Europe has a lot to offer to India, in the precise sectors of

Agriculture where India faces a huge gap. And, we at EIFE, are here to support the

initiative of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 to learn from the best practices here in

Europe and adapt them for use in India.

The Foundation acknowledges the need to support and train farmers so that they can

reach their potential capacity for farming, and thus implements a series of interconnected

activities that address the challenges facing member capacity. The activities include:

Promoting Farming as a Business Concept and Farmer as an Entrepreneur

Extension Support for Increased and Diversified Production

Functional Literacy and Basic Business Skills

Strengthening Leadership and Governance

Development of good and promising practices and case studies

Market exposure Nationally & Internationally

Short/Self-paced learning activities

1) Farmer Capacity Building

India’s potential productivity is impacted by poor education and function literacy levels.

This problem is compounded by poverty which affects the majority of the population and

reduces access to and affordability of quality farming inputs. In addition lack of planning

skills, financial management skills and understanding of the value of a business approach

prevents smallholders from achieving their full potential productivity.

The lack of organisation of

farmers also creates an

obstacle for the dissemination

of information and guidance on

Good Agricultural Practices.

While the Government

provides extension workers

with a remit to support

farmers on the ground, the

reality is that this service is

reducing in quality and impact due to loss of staff and lack of funds. It is important to

equip farmers with the capacity to respond to the changing agricultural environment,

through extension support, training on techniques and sharing of best practice. The

presence of farmer groups formally organised into an extension structure, assists this

process, and can increase group productivity.

2) Farmers International Exposure Visit

Most of the research indicates that the farmers are not having the proper knowledge of

farming both technical & non-technical. And this has led to depletion productivity and

impact the pocket of the farmers. Hence, it’s essential that the farmer will get the market

exposure, know-how, and learn about new best farming practices by which they can use

modern & scientific methods of farming instead of old methods of farming and sales their

product in the market at a better price.

The new information that farmers gain through this exposure visit makes their daily

farming activities much easier. It also leads to an increase in productivity and bigger

profits in the long run. The small and marginal farmers through better access to the

knowledge, skills and services in Agriculture and other allied activities so as to increase

the Agriculture production and thereby elevate their decision-making abilities and

socioeconomic status.

Goal/Objective

The objective of the Knowledge enhancement tour is to visit the best companies,

training institutions, Universities & Business Places to develop an understanding of

the economic and environmental aspects of the business ecosystem of European

Countries;

To understand the ways in which European countries differ with respect to agriculture

ideology, processing, Training, Skill practices, testing and Marketing

To do a meaningful interaction with the key stakeholders of the Agriculture & Food

Processing Industry.

To identify the Partner/institutes in the training domain, those are willing to work

with India to train our farmers on International practices.

To gain experience in direct observation of another culture and to learn to put some

of this experience into an analytic framework that is communicated to others both

orally and in writing.

3) Promotional Events

Farmers & Importers Meet

The biggest Implications with India’s farmers is that they don’t have any knowledge of

the market, trade and the International importer or buyers. The sold all their products to

the middle man and they took the maximum benefit of it. Hence the Foundation would

like to educate the Indian Farmers about the International market, opportunities in the

International market and organizing their direct meeting with the International buyers.

These meeting with the restaurant owners, chefs, distributors, grocers and other

importers to discuss our products and the possibility of a match. This 15–20 minutes

interaction, allowing the Indian farmer to make introductions, exchange business

information, and possibly make a match between what you produce and what each buyer

needs. There are no promises made and no contracts signed on site; it’s just a chance for

you to open a door and follow up later. For farmers who are just getting started, this is a

great opportunity to learn about individual buyer requirements.

Indian Spices Festival

Even though India is one of the largest producers of spices in the world, the French

market has not performed as per the potential of the market and most Indian spices that

do come here land up in non-branded fashion and with no or low-value addition. Our

objective is to promote the consumption of Indian spices and that too with value addition

such as organic spices or an innovative mix of spices etc.

As France is a major gastronomic country and Indian food is becoming increasingly

popular here, we propose to organize a special week of Indian Spices in France by

involving seven leading Indian restaurants to promote the use of Indian spices by the

French consumers. The event that will be focusing on 6 major spices will be strongly

supported by a digital promotion campaign in French and will be also showcasing the

Indian cuisine. We will target to show to the French consumers the wellness advantages

of each spice as well as how to use the spices in their day-to-day cooking. We would also

invite leading hotel and restaurant chefs to participate in the Gala Dinner and appreciate

the Indian spices.

Indian Fruits Tasting & B2B Meet in Europe (Paris & London)

France is one of the largest markets for fruits in the world and Rungis near Paris Orly is

the biggest fresh foods market in the world. It serves as a hub for the arrival of fruits and

vegetables from around the world and is home to all principal fruit buyers and

distributors. However, India, the world’s second largest fruit producer, is entirely absent

from Rungis, with few buyers even aware of the potential of India as a fruit exporter. It

is with the objective that we want to organize the fruit tasting event at Rungis itself as it

will allow a large number of fruit buyers and distributors to participate in the event.

To take the event beyond a simple sampling and tasting session, we will also be inviting

producers of these fruits, preferably Farmer Producer Companies or cooperatives to

ensure that these can create direct linkages with the ultimate buyers in Europe, thus

cutting the middlemen out and also improving their income levels.

4) Resource Institute

The objective of Resource Institutions (RIs), is to provide various inputs of training and

capacity-building and linking these bodies to input suppliers, technology providers and

market players. The foundation wants to develop the new Resource Institute or upgrade

the existing Resource Institute of Government of India. Through this, it will become easy

to transfer the know-how at bottom of the pyramid and as a result, we will be able to

enhance the production, productivity and profitability of the farmer, especially small

farmers. These are the focus activities of our RIs.

Mobilizing the farmers

Organizing the training of the trainers & farmers to strengthening farmer capacity

Introducing the agricultural best practices for enhanced productivity of the farmer

Ensuring access to and usage of quality inputs and services for intensive agriculture

production and enhancing cluster competitiveness.

Facilitating access to fair and remunerative markets including linking of producer

groups to marketing opportunities through market aggregators.

5) Centre of Excellence

Center of Excellence (CoE) is a platform for knowledge transfer and European Agro-

Technology. As a goal, the CoE aims to serve the farmer with a focus on a key crop. Each

CoE will be comprised of Nursery management, Cultivation techniques, Irrigation &

fertigation.

Concept

Applied Research - provides solutions to the farmers, addressing gaps via the

implementation of European technology and know-how tailored to local conditions.

Transfer of knowledge- Train the Trainer (TTT) and extension, the linking element

between the applied research and the farmers. This function is carried out by the

European experts leading defined to segments and the local Indian teams within

the CoE.

Sustainability- EIAF aims to develop into a self-sufficient platform in the aspect of

HR, accumulated knowledge & operating capabilities. The CoE acts as a meeting

point and working environment for Academy, Government and farmers to

cooperate towards fruitful achievements. CoE sells to farmers the nursery outcome,

which acts as a source of income and therefore making a sustainable model.

Contact Us

Mr Vaibhav Agarwal

Chief Marketing Officer

Europe India Foundation For Excellence

M/s MIG Equity Management Pvt Ltd

Email – vagarwal@eife.org

Mobile - +91 9818926800; +91 9811513122

Registered Office

69, Boulevard Louis Mettewie, (bte.18) 1080 Brussels, (Belgium)

France Office

32 rue Le Peletier, 75009, Paris, France,

India Office

1226, DLF Tower-A, Jasola District Centre, Jasola, New Delhi

110025, India