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Agribusiness essentially has the following characteristics:
1. Hierarchical system of management—financial administrators and accountants with farm managers to carry out day-to-day business
2. Large farms
3. Farming operations organised in sizeable production units
1. An extension of the plantation system
In highly industrialised countries, many activities essential to agriculture are carried out at places away from the farm. These include the development and production of equipment, fertilisers, and seeds. In some countries, the processing, storage, preservation, and delivery of agricultural products have also been separated from basic farming. In consequence, farming itself has become increasingly specialised and business-like. Some business firms even raise crops, as in the case of winery, that operates its own wine-yards, or large commercial producers who maintain their own farms. Many of these farms are extensively mechanised with computer technology to increase production.
In recent years, conglomerate companies that are involved in non-agricultural business have entered into agri-business by buying and operating large farms. Some food processing farms that operate farms have begun to market fresh produce, under their land resources.
India has recently entered into agribusiness, which consists of processed and unprocessed agricultural products. In the processed category are processed fruits and vegetable juices, meat, and meat and fish products, sugar and molasses, coffee and tobacco, spices, and wheat, tea, and rice. Entry into agribusiness requires polishing and parboiling. Commodities like fruits, vegetables, and eggs are sorted out according to size, shape, and colour. Canning of fruits and vegetables constitute an important part of agribusiness. However, there is need in India to develop facilities for research to evolve new techniques and standardised recipes and methods of manufacture of fruits and vegetable products.
It is also necessary to develop sophisticated allied industries such as manufacture of containers and closures (covers) equipments and machinery used by fruits and vegetable processing. Further, grant of subsidies and incentives like the removal of duty on tin plates, sugar, and railway freight to processors is necessary to encourage exports.
India can have good agribusiness in mango products and other processing industries based on fruits like apple, pineapple, oranges, lemon, lime, aonla (Phyllanthus emblica and guava, and vegetables like peas, tomato, and potatoes (canned). Other fruits and vegetables which are exported to some extent in the processed form are apricot, bel (Aegle marmelos}, peach, plum, strawberry, ladies finger, brinjal, cabbage, carrot, karela (bitter gourd), tinda (citrullus volgaris}, mustard green, parivtA, spinach, turnip, chillies, and ginger.