Bangalore, Dec 02: Contract farming and price protection to farmers could be the new strategies to be adopted to synergise agricultural growth and export, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, N T Shanmugam, said Sunday. Inaugurating the five-day "Bangalore Food Tech 2002", Shanmugam noted that though India's agri-exports had almost doubled during 1990s, maintaining a growth rate of 8.8 per cent on the global level, India's agri-exports accounted for a marginal 1.1 per cent share only.

He said with the recognition of Codex as reference standards in the international trade, his ministry was putting all efforts that various food laws in this country are harmonised and are at par with Codex standards.
The Central Food and Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) at Mysore, Shanmugam said, has launched a national Codex laboratory and it was also in the process of developing an organic testing laboaratory.
Karnataka's Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner B S Patil said the state has planned to set up eight food tech parks. An updated policy framework for the food processing sector, in tune with changing needs of the industry, is also on the anvil, he added. Bureau Report