Food for Thought

This book is an attempt to understand changes in the macro policy environment of organisations dealing with agriculture and agribusiness activities in South Asia. The main proposition of this study is that on account of limited opportunities for global agricultural trade in the pre-WTO period, and the 'autarkic' agricultural policy followed by most countries in South Asia. The main emphasis of 'development plans' was on self-sufficiency in agriculture, national food security and adequate availability of food through the Public Distribution System. Strengthening the export competitiveness of agriculture in the regional or global market was not a conscious strategy. However, this paradigm of national protection and self-sufficiency has been completely reversed by the provisions of the WTO, which has opened new opportunities for trade liberalisation. South Asia has to respond to the challenges of the WTO, and in this process, latent business opportunities within the region will come to the fore. This study suggests that agribusiness organisations in the region must anticipate these changes and prepare themselves for the coming years. It points out that while state supported agribusiness organisations will be adversely affected on account of the liberalisation manifesto which most South Asian nations have adopted, other forms of agribusiness organisations, especially co-operatives and private enterprises will get the opportunity to flourish.

Sanjeev Chopra (born 1961) studied Literature and History at Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar and Jawahar Lal Nehru University New Delhi. He wrote for Times of India and Economic Times before joining the Indian Adminstrative Service in 1985. He held the Robert S McNmara fellowship of the World Bank (1998-99) and the Hubert H Humphrey Fellowship at University of Cornell(1999-00). He is currently on the faculty of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie.