India produces $190 billion of agricultural products every year. Of that, only about 15% (roughly $27.5 billion) goes into the organised (usually packaged) food industry. The remainder is sold as raw materials for direct cooking, for example fresh vegetables, bulk pulses or cereals, or unpackaged meats. When the rest of the world thinks of India, it thinks of software and Bollywood. Because India accounts for little more than 1% of global agricultural trade , the rest of the world tends to ignore its agricultural gigantism. But according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) fi gures, India ranks fi rst or second in no less than 40 commodity categories! In such key commodities as rice, wheat, sugar and tea, it is the world's second producer. No surprise then that production exceeded $10 billion in four categories: rice, buffalo milk, wheat and cow milk.

Their are two areas for increases in agricultural effi ciency. The fi rst is improved storage and transportation facilities (an estimated 30% of produce is wasted, for lack of proper facilities). A second area is mechanisation. Machinery constitutes only 8% of India's agricultural assets, as compared to 18% for a Latin American country like Argentina, or 32% for a European country like Spain.