State Agriculture Policy Plans to Make “Goa” An Export Hub

The Goa government announced the agriculture Export Policy (AEP) for the state on Friday, with the general goal of improving farmers' income and the state's proportion of national Agri exports. 

The policy intends to promote Goa as India's agricultural export hub, create the necessary export-oriented infrastructure, and promote new, indigenous, organic, ethnic, traditional, and non-traditional agricultural products for export.

Goa's agricultural products, such as cashew, mancurad mango, Moira banana, alsando, and korgut rice, might comprise the state's export blanket. The proposal claims that Goa can become an export hub due to the facilities of Mormugao port and Dabolim airport.

All of this is possible when farmers' efforts are combined with the construction of required export infrastructure in the state the report adds. 

The policy is expected to encourage entrepreneurship, broaden the export basket, and encourage the export of innovative, indigenous, organic, ethnic, traditional, and nontraditional agricultural products. The policy suggestions are divided into two groups: strategic and operational.

Pre-Harvest and Post-Harvest Management of Agricultural Products

Pre-harvest and post-harvest management are essential for ensuring product quality. The policy proposes to implement suitable infrastructure and logistics support, including packhouses and cold chains, exit point infrastructure, processing infrastructure, testing labs, and refrigerated transport vehicles, to accomplish this.

Special infrastructure, such as vapor heat treatment, irradiation facilities, hot and cold water treatment facilities, dehydration, Individual Quick Frozen (IQF) technology, ripening chambers, and so on, will be developed, with the participation of private entrepreneurs and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

The focus will be on attracting more private investment in export-oriented infrastructure." Involvement of the private sector from the start of infrastructure design results in inefficient infrastructure, which will promote agricultural exports from the state," the report says. 

The major products exported from Goa are alcoholic beverages, jaggery and confectionery, and cereals preparations, among others. The export of Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) products from Goa, in 2016-17, was 17740.23MT valued at Rs 9,881.12 lakh. In 2017- 18, the export was 13585.93MT valued at Rs 7,364.51 lakh. 

Marketing campaigns for individual fruits or goods such as mancurad mango, cashew feni, and korgut rice are also encouraged. This activity would be part of a long-term communication effort involving a branding blitz in key target areas. The guideline stipulates that both digital and traditional media platforms must be used.