Farmers rue ‘tedious’ procedures for exporting

Trichy: Despite value-added agro products having a good market overseas and the state agricultural department’s continued efforts to organise workshops for them, farmers turned entrepreneurs in Trichy say it’s still a struggle.In their latest attempt to educate farmers on how to export products without intermediaries, the department of agricultural marketing and agribusiness, along with the Agricultural Marketing Board organised a one-day seminar and exhibition. About 500 farmers, agri exporters, agri entrepreneurs, and Farmers Producers Organization (FPO) members from Trichy, Perambalur and Pudukkottai participated. However, except for a few farmers and farmer’s groups, the majority said they had not even registered for export licences claiming the process involved was tedious.“The registration process, export procedures and regulations, getting international standard certification, export packing techniques, labelling prerequisites, food processing machinery, and food licenses is complicated,” says a farmer. “People like me get stuck in the initial stage. What we need the government to open is a facilitation centre that helps us with the procedures needed to initiate consignments.”To export vegetables we need a plant quarantine certificate to be submitted, where we have to detail pesticide and chemical fertilisers used, says S Sundhar, a farmer from Trichy. “It becomes a hurdle in export as we use chemical fertilisers encouraged by the agriculture department.”G Sathish Kumar, secretary of the Export Import Federation Trichy, says the organisation is helping farmers and small entrepreneurs to begin exports. “We launched the centre six months ago. We know the procedures must be strictly followed and farmers can find that difficult.”Deputy director of agri-business G Saravanan says experts impart training to farmers and entrepreneurs, including assistance in starting a firm, obtaining a bank account and PAN card, and export and import code numbers, selecting markets, sending samples, and determining appropriate product pricing.“We have several farmers who have started successful exports. Thottiam Banana Producer Group for example is exporting banana products to several countries.”

Trichy farmers in export dilemma

This article discusses the struggle faced by Trichy farmers in mastering the market for value-added agro products. The state agricultural department organized a seminar to educate farmers on exporting without intermediaries, but many farmers find the registration process and export procedures tedious. Farmers are requesting a facilitation center to assist them with the necessary procedures.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.