Entrepreneurship Development through Processing and Preservation of Grains

Agro processing industries occupy a dominant position in manufacturing. In low-income countries, they can represent about 50 percent of the manufacturing sector. Their contribution to manufacturing is 61 percent in agriculture-based countries and 37 percent in urbanized developing countries. Agro-industries also play a central role in employment generation, being characterized by a marked presence of women in their workforce. Processing of agricultural produce is carried out mainly in urban areas and the farmers market their produce in the unprocessed form. If processing could be done by farmers themselves at farm level, they could increase the market value of their produce and there by significantly increase their incomes. The combined opportunities of export and domestic markets offer a strategic opportunity for the integration of agriculture into dynamic agro-industrial supply systems with strong regional and employment impacts.