Business Guide | Israel-India 2022

From Traditional Agriculture to Value Agriculture Traditional agriculture can be advanced and developed. Yet it is very sensitive and depends on frequent market supply and demand fractions. Valueagriculture is leadingthemarket and functioning on the regular supply and demand curve through branding and innovative product development. T he need to feed has led Israeli agriculture sector to its well-know achievements in the last century. A hostile environment with limited resources - land, water, andmanpower - created an innovative and creative sector that is now leading theworld inmany areas. Israeli agriculture is now efficient and competitive. Israeli fresh produce is now seen in European, American and Asian markets. Israeli technology is operating in farms all over the world. Israel agro-tech is now innovative and export-oriented, looking for newmarkets, newpartners, and JVswith global businesspeople and companies. The agricultural sector in India is amajor contributor to the country’s economy. It is facing similar challenges to the ones Israel contendedwith a fewdecades ago - the need to feed a growing population while urbanization creates a manpower shortage in the rural areas, a shortage of irrigation water, and competition for land resources from other users. All over theworld Israeli farmers arewell known for their innovative approach, technology adoption, hardwork and creativity. Yet, many of themare finding that helping their farms become more productive is challenging. Being a great grower is it not enough. What does it take to succeed in the near future and tomaintain the position Israeli farmers achieved? Taking a Cue from Israeli Farmers Business with some growers is booming – mainly because they are doing Agri the Israeli Way. They know that being a good traditional grower is not enough – they need to innovate, adopt new technologies and move up the value chain | Shafrir Godel Scale up along the value chain Farmers need to understand that being good traditional grower is not sufficient and they have to take the business approach; to brand, to process their produce, to change their good product to something more attractive to the market and to scale up along the value chain in order to generate better income. They need to think in agro-business terms such as profit, brand, innovation, investments and technology, value chain and business entrepreneurship. How to think in Agro-Business terms? 1. Branding fresh produce in a way that it will not be considered as commodities like its competitors, and can be identified by the customers. 2. Looking for different marketing channels in order to find the ones that pay more. 3. Processing of your own produce in order to sell food or other products and not only as commodities. It does not have to be a complex and expensive factory. Sometimes a simple inexpensive facility will do. 4. Building your own marketing platform in order to gain the marketing margin. 5. Look for special varieties or niche cropswith competitive advantage to the region you are growing in. 6. Developing products out of what is considered farm waste or lower quality produce. 7. Developing additional uses in your land such as rural and agro tourism, short-term leasing for non-agriculture uses out of season. Israel-India > Business Guide > 2022 34 > Agriculture &Water > Agro-Business