Agriculture III for UPSC: Allied Sectors, Rural Credit, KCC, Cooperatives, DAY-NRLM and the VB-G RAM G Act (2025-26)

Allied Sectors: Livestock, Dairy, Fisheries and Horticulture

🎯 Exam priority: Tier-2, steady. Agriculture produced 23 Prelims questions in ten years. After MSP and food security (Article 19), the next-most reliable sources are rural credit (KCC, cooperatives, SHGs — the 2018, 2020 and 2023 papers all asked them), the allied sectors (the 2025 paper asked the Rashtriya Gokul Mission) and the rural-development schemes that the Survey and Budget keep renewing. This year there is a major current-affairs anchor too: the 2025 law that replaced MGNREGA.

Foodgrains are no longer the whole of farming. Milk, eggs, fish and fruit and vegetables now bring in more of the sector's growth, and they depend on credit and cooperatives that reach the village. This note takes the growth first, then the money, then the institutions, then the rural-development schemes that wrap around them.

Allied sectors: livestock, dairy, fisheries and horticulture

• Livestock is now about a third of agricultural GVA. It grew at a compound rate of 12.77% a year from 2014-15 to 2023-24, and its share of agriculture-and-allied GVA rose from 24.38% to 30.87%; it is 5.49% of the whole economy's GVA. The sector matters for the poor: livestock supports small and marginal farmers and the landless.

• Milk. India is the world's largest milk producer — about 25% of global output. Production rose from 146.31 million tonnes (2014-15) to 247.87 million tonnes (2024-25); per-capita availability is 485 grams a day against a world average of 328. Milk's value of output (₹12.21 lakh crore in 2023-24) makes it the largest agricultural commodity by value — larger than rice or wheat. India is also second in eggs (149.11 billion eggs in 2024-25) and fourth in meat (10.50 million tonnes).

• Schemes to know. The Rashtriya Gokul Mission develops and conserves indigenous cattle and buffalo breeds and raises their genetic quality (a 2025 Prelims question); the nationwide Artificial Insemination programme lifted AI coverage of breedable bovine females from 25% to 40%; sex-sorted semen, Gau Chip and Mahish Chip (genomic chips for indigenous cattle and buffaloes) support breeding; the National Programme for Dairy Development supports milk procurement, chilling and processing, and brings new dairy cooperative societies into the fold.

• Fisheries. India is the world's second-largest fish producer (8% of global output) and second in aquaculture; about 3 crore fishers and fish farmers depend on it. Fish production rose from 95.79 lakh tonnes (2013-14) to 197.75 lakh tonnes (2024-25) — up 106% — and the sector is 7.43% of agricultural GVA, the highest among the allied activities. Seafood exports in 2023-24 were 16.98 lakh tonnes worth ₹62,408 crore. The schemes are the Blue Revolution, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana; fishers can now get Kisan Credit Cards (4.49 lakh issued).

• Horticulture is a bright spot. It accounts for about 33% of agricultural GVA, and in 2024-25 horticulture production (362.08 million tonnes) exceeded foodgrain production (329.68 million tonnes). India is the world's largest producer of dry onions (about 25% of global output) and second in vegetables, fruits and potatoes.

Rural Credit: Institutions, KCC, MISS and AIF

Growth needs credit, and credit in India has moved from the moneylender to the bank.

Rural credit: institutions, KCC and the subsidy design

• From moneylender to institution. Non-institutional credit (moneylenders, traders) supplied about 90% of farm credit in 1950; by 2021-22 its share had fallen to 23.4%. Institutional credit flows through scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), cooperatives, small finance banks and microfinance institutions, steered by the Lead Bank Scheme and Priority Sector Lending (Article 6).

• The cooperative ladder. Short-term cooperative credit has three tiers: Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) at the village, District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) at the district and the State Cooperative Bank at the State, with NABARD refinancing them. A DCCB's central function is to fund the PACS below it; commercial banks, not cooperatives, deliver most short-term farm credit by volume (a 2020 Prelims question).

• Scale. Ground-level agricultural credit was ₹28.69 lakh crore in FY25 — ₹15.93 lakh crore of short-term loans and ₹12.77 lakh crore of term loans — beating the ₹27.5 lakh crore target.

• Kisan Credit Card (KCC). It gives revolving short-term credit for cultivation, post-harvest expenses, marketing, consumption needs of the farm household and working capital for farm assets and allied activities — not for tractors, harvesters or a house (a 2020 Prelims question). At 31 March 2025 there were 7.72 crore operative KCC accounts with ₹10.20 lakh crore outstanding. The Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) gives loans at an effective 7% with a 3% prompt-repayment incentive, and ₹1.77 lakh crore has been disbursed as MISS subsidy between FY15 and FY26. Budget 2025-26 announced raising the MISS loan limit through KCC from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh, and KCC has been extended to fishers and dairy farmers.

• Plugging leakage. The Kisan Rin Portal (2023) integrates 30 SCBs, 42 RRBs, 20 State Cooperative Banks and 356 DCCBs, covering over 5 crore farmers; it spots duplicate loan accounts and flagged ₹1,080.88 crore of duplicate or excess claims.

• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). A ₹1 lakh crore medium-term financing facility (FY21 to FY26, support running to FY33) with interest subvention and credit guarantees for post-harvest management and community assets; by 27 November 2025 it had mobilised ₹1,23,002 crore for warehouses, cold storage, processing units, sorting and grading units and custom hiring centres.

• Self-Help Groups. The SHG-Bank Linkage programme was begun by NABARD (1992) — not the State Bank of India — and works on joint liability: the group takes responsibility for each member's loan (a 2023 Prelims question). Under DAY-NRLM, SHGs are federated into Village Organisations and Cluster Level Federations (below).

Cooperatives and Rural Development Schemes

Credit is delivered by institutions, and the biggest of them in the village is the cooperative society. That is why the Government made cooperatives a separate ministry.

Cooperatives: the Ministry of Cooperation and PACS reform

• The Ministry of Cooperation was established on 6 July 2021 under the vision of 'Sahkar se Samriddhi' (cooperation is a State subject, but the Centre regulates multi-state cooperatives).

• Model Bye-laws (circulated 5 January 2023) let PACS take on 25 or more new activities such as dairy, fisheries and storage; 32 States and Union Territories have adopted them.

• PACS computerisation: a Centrally Sponsored Scheme approved on 29 June 2022, expanded to 79,630 PACS with a budget of ₹2,925.39 crore (shared by the Centre, States and NABARD), to run on one ERP by 31 March 2027; 59,261 PACS were using the software by January 2026.

• The Cabinet approved (15 February 2023) a plan to set up new multipurpose PACS, dairy and fisheries cooperatives in every panchayat in five years (32,009 registered so far) and (31 May 2023) the world's largest decentralised grain-storage scheme in the cooperative sector, building godowns at PACS level — 112 PACS godowns were complete by 30 December 2025.

Rural development: livelihoods, roads, housing, land

Panchayats, Land Titles and the Farm and Allied Package

Two more strands complete the rural picture: the Panchayat's land and planning role, and the programmes aimed at districts and farmers in the latest Budgets.

Panchayats, land titles and the Budget's farm and allied package

• SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas), run by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, uses drones to map inhabited village land and issue property cards that give rural households legal proof of ownership and make the property bankable. By December 2025 drone flying had covered 3.28 lakh villages and about 2.76 crore property cards had been prepared for 1.82 lakh villages. Panchayats also get GIS-based spatial plans (Gram Manchitra, Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plans). National Panchayati Raj Day is observed on 24 April.

• PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (Budget 2025-26) targets 100 agri-aspirational districts by converging 36 schemes from 11 ministries, benefiting about 1.7 crore farmers — including fisheries schemes and the KCC for fisheries.

• Budget 2026-27 for farmers and allied sectors. The speech notes that livestock contributes close to 16% of farm income and proposes a loan-linked capital subsidy for animal husbandry entrepreneurship and private veterinary colleges, hospitals and laboratories; a dedicated programme to rejuvenate old orchards and expand high-density cultivation of walnuts, almonds and pine nuts; coconut promotion; Indian Cashew and Cocoa programmes; integrated development of 500 reservoirs and Amrit Sarovars for fisheries; fish catch by Indian vessels in the Exclusive Economic Zone made duty-free; and Bharat-VISTAAR, which integrates the AgriStack portals and the ICAR package of practices with AI systems.

Food Processing, Cold Chains and Agri-Marketing

Raising farm incomes is not only about producing more; it is about losing less and selling at a better price. Food processing and marketing are where the gap between the farm-gate price and the consumer's price is closed.

Food processing, cold chains and agri-marketing

• Why it matters. Food processing cuts post-harvest losses, creates off-farm jobs and lifts farm-gate prices. Its gross value added rose from ₹1.34 lakh crore (2014-15) to ₹2.24 lakh crore (2023-24); it employs 12.83% of the workforce of registered manufacturing (Annual Survey of Industries 2023-24); the share of processed foods in agri-food exports rose from 13.7% to 20.4% between 2014-15 and 2024-25; and the sector drew USD 7.33 billion of FDI equity between April 2014 and March 2025.

• PM Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) funds integrated cold chains, processing clusters, food-testing laboratories and backward and forward linkages — ₹6,000 crore for 2016-20 and ₹6,520 crore for the 15th Finance Commission cycle (approved by Cabinet on 31 July 2025, including food irradiation units and NABL-accredited testing labs). So far 1,618 projects have been approved. A government evaluation found that completed cold-chain projects cut wastage by up to 70% in fisheries and 85% in dairy.

• PMFME (June 2020) — the first scheme for micro food-processing enterprises — gives credit-linked subsidy and seed capital through the 'One District One Product' approach, targeting two lakh enterprises with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore. PLI for Food Processing (31 March 2021, ₹10,900 crore, 2021-22 to 2026-27) builds large Indian food brands.

• Marketing reforms in one line each: e-NAM links mandis electronically; FPOs aggregate small farmers; the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund finances warehouses and grading; and the Agricultural Produce Market Committee mandis remain the first point of sale in most States. Mains questions on the bottlenecks in 'upstream and downstream' marketing want exactly this chain: aggregation, grading, storage, transport and price discovery (Article 19).

VB-G RAM G Act 2025: The End of MGNREGA

The biggest rural-development change in decades happened on 1 July 2026, and it is a certain candidate for 2027.

VB-G RAM G Act, 2025: the end of MGNREGA

• Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 — VB-G RAM G in December 2025. It was brought into force across all rural areas on 1 July 2026, and from the same date the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) stands repealed.

• The guarantee rises from 100 to 125 days of unskilled wage employment per rural household each financial year. Unemployment allowance, if work is not given on time, is at least a quarter of the wage rate for the first 30 days and at least a half for the rest of the year.

• Wages go by DBT and are due weekly or within 15 days of the muster roll closing; delay compensation is 0.05% of the unpaid wages per day beyond the sixteenth day. Attendance is captured by face authentication through NMMS.

• Four themes of work: water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure and works to mitigate extreme weather events — a shift from open-ended labour towards durable, planned assets.

• Money. The Centre provides ₹95,692.31 crore in 2026-27 (total outlay with the State share above ₹1.51 lakh crore); administrative expenditure rises from 6% to 9%. The Bill made the scheme a centrally sponsored scheme with costs shared 60:40 between the Centre and States (90:10 for the North-eastern and Himalayan States), against the 100% central wage funding of MGNREGA, with States bearing spending above a normative allocation and notifying a pause of up to 60 days in a year for peak sowing and harvesting.

The likely Mains angle: does shifting wage costs to States weaken demand-driven guarantee? The likely Prelims angle: 125 days, 1 July 2026, the repeal of MGNREGA, the four work themes, the 60:40 sharing.

How UPSC Could Ask This Next

How UPSC could ask this next

• The institution-ladder stem. 'Consider the following statements about short-term cooperative credit: PACS are at the apex...' The near-miss swaps the tiers. Right order: PACS (village) → DCCB (district) → State Cooperative Bank (State). Another form: 'Which of the following provide agricultural credit?' (SCBs, RRBs, cooperative banks, small finance banks — all do).

• The KCC stem. Expect an item such as 'purchase of a tractor' or 'construction of a house' inserted into the list of KCC purposes. KCC is short-term working-capital credit; tractors and houses are not. Also: the MISS interest rate (7%) and the proposed limit change (₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh).

• The 'who started' stem. SHG-Bank Linkage — NABARD, not SBI; Rashtriya Gokul Mission — for indigenous breeds; the 100 Million Farmers platform — World Economic Forum; NPOP — Commerce Ministry with APEDA as secretariat; PMKSY and RKVY — Agriculture Ministry.

• The 'which is largest' stem. Milk is the largest agricultural commodity by value of output, bigger than rice and wheat; India is the largest milk producer (about 25% of global output) but only second in fish and eggs; horticulture output exceeds foodgrain output.

• The new-law stem. '125 days', '1 July 2026', 'repeal of MGNREGA', 'centrally sponsored with 60:40 sharing' — each can be a statement; the false version will say 100 days or 100% Central funding.

• Mains angles. (1) How can the allied sectors double farm incomes and what is stopping them (cold chains, credit, breed quality)? (2) Why do cooperative banks matter for rural credit and what reforms do PACS need? (3) Evaluate the transition from MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G: entitlement versus asset creation, and the new fiscal burden on States. (4) Is the Kisan Credit Card's interest subvention well-targeted?

Further Reading

• NCERT Economics textbooks (Class 11–12), the Economic Survey, the Union Budget documents and RBI publications cited in this note — the primary sources behind every figure above.

Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs

Twelve practice questions on the allied sectors, rural credit, cooperatives and rural development, followed by real UPSC questions and exact Mains questions.

Practice Questions

Q1. India's livestock sector's share of agriculture-and-allied GVA, according to the PIB year-end review, rose from 24.38 per cent in 2014-15 to roughly

• (a) 55 per cent in 2023-24

• (b) 20 per cent in 2023-24

• (c) 30.87 per cent in 2023-24

• (d) 45 per cent in 2023-24

Q2. Which one of the following is the largest agricultural commodity in India by value of output?

• (a) Wheat

• (b) Sugarcane

• (c) Milk

• (d) Rice

Q3. Consider the following statements about India's fisheries sector:
1. India is the second-largest fish producer in the world.
2. Fish production roughly doubled between 2013-14 and 2024-25.
3. Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana is a scheme for the fisheries sector.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

• (a) 1 and 2 only

• (b) 1 only

• (c) 1, 2 and 3

• (d) 2 and 3 only

Q4. In 2024-25, horticulture production in India

• (a) was not recorded

• (b) was equal to foodgrain production

• (c) was lower than foodgrain production

• (d) exceeded foodgrain production

Q5. The share of non-institutional sources (moneylenders, traders and others) in agricultural credit fell from 90 per cent in 1950 to about

• (a) 2.3 per cent in 2021-22

• (b) 70 per cent in 2021-22

• (c) 23.4 per cent in 2021-22

• (d) 50 per cent in 2021-22

Q6. The Kisan Credit Card scheme gives farmers short-term loans for which of the following purposes?
1. Cultivation expenses and post-harvest expenses
2. Consumption needs of the farm household
3. Purchase of a tractor
4. Construction of a family house

• (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

• (b) 1 and 2 only

• (c) 1, 2, 3 and 4

• (d) 3 and 4 only

Q7. Under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme, farmers who repay promptly effectively borrow short-term crop loans at an interest rate of

• (a) 7 per cent less a 3 per cent incentive, i.e. effectively 4 per cent

• (b) 2 per cent

• (c) 4 per cent

• (d) 9 per cent

Q8. In the three-tier short-term cooperative credit structure, which one of the following is the correct order from the village upwards?

• (a) Primary Agricultural Credit Society, State Cooperative Bank, District Central Cooperative Bank

• (b) District Central Cooperative Bank, Primary Agricultural Credit Society, State Cooperative Bank

• (c) Primary Agricultural Credit Society, District Central Cooperative Bank, State Cooperative Bank

• (d) State Cooperative Bank, District Central Cooperative Bank, Primary Agricultural Credit Society

Q9. The Ministry of Cooperation was established in

• (a) 2014

• (b) 2019

• (c) 2024

• (d) 2021

Q10. Consider the following statements about the Viksit Bharat — Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025:
1. It raises the statutory employment guarantee from 100 to 125 days a year.
2. It repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 from 1 July 2026.
3. Wages are funded entirely by the Centre.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

• (a) 1 only

• (b) 2 and 3 only

• (c) 1 and 2 only

• (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q11. 'Lakhpati Didi' initiative, in the news, is associated with

• (a) the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission

• (b) the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

• (c) the National Social Assistance Programme

• (d) the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

Q12. The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), often called the 'Aadhaar for land', is

• (a) a code issued only for urban land

• (b) a 12-digit number based on the owner's Aadhaar

• (c) a 10-digit mobile-linked number

• (d) a 14-digit alphanumeric code based on geo-coordinates of the land parcel

UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Real UPSC Prelims questions, checked against the official paper and answer key.

Q1. (2020) Consider the following statements:
1. In terms of short-term credit delivery to the agriculture sector, District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) deliver more credit in comparison to Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks.
2. One of the most important functions of DCCBs is to provide funds to the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) Neither 1 nor 2

• (b) 2 only

• (c) Both 1 and 2

• (d) 1 only

Q2. (2020) Under the Kisan Credit Card scheme, short-term credit support is given to farmers for which of the following purposes?
1. Working capital for maintenance of farm assets
2. Purchase of combine harvesters, tractors and mini trucks
3. Consumption requirements of farm households
4. Post-harvest expenses
5. Construction of family house and setting up of village cold storage facility
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

• (a) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

• (b) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

• (c) 1, 3 and 4 only

• (d) 1, 2 and 5 only

Q3. (2023) Consider the following statements :
1. The Self-Help Group (SHG) programme was originally initiated by the State Bank of India by providing microcredit to the financially deprived.
2. In an SHG, all members of a group take responsibility for a loan that an individual member takes.
3. The Regional Rural Banks and Scheduled Commercial banks support SHGs.
How many of the above statements are correct?

• (a) Only two

• (b) Only one

• (c) None

• (d) All three

Q4. (2021) With reference to 'Water Credit', consider the following statements:
1. It puts microfinance tools to work in the water and sanitation sector.
2. It is a global initiative launched under the aegis of the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
3. It aims to enable the poor people to meet their water need without depending on subsidies.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

• (a) 2 and 3 only

• (b) 1 and 3 only

• (c) 1, 2 and 3

• (d) 1 and 2 only

Q5. (2018) As per the NSSO 70th Round "Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households", consid- er the following statements:
1. Rajasthan has the highest percentage share of agricultural households among its rural households.
2. Out of the total agricultural households in the country, a little over 60 percent belong to OBCs.
3. In Kerala, a little over 60 percent of agricultural households reported to have received maximum income from source other than agricultural activities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) 1 and 3 only

• (b) 2 only

• (c) 1, 2 and 3

• (d) 2 and 3 only

Q6. (2018) With reference to organic farming in India, consider the following statements:
1. 'The National Programme for Organic Production' (NPOP) is operated under the guidelines and directions of the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
2. 'The Agricultural and Processed Food Productds Export Development Authority' (APEDA) functions as the Secretatiat for the implementation of NPOP.
3. Sikkim has become India's first fully organic State.
Which of the statements given above is/are corect?

• (a) 2 and 3 only

• (b) 3 only

• (c) 1, 2 and 3

• (d) 1 and 2 only

Q7. (2025) Consider the following statements about the Rashtriya Gokul Mission:
I. It is important for the upliftment of rural poor as majority of low producing indigenous animals are with small and marginal farmers and landless labourers.
II. It was initiated to promote indigenous cattle and buffalo rearing and conservation in a scientific and holistic manner.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• (a) Neither I nor II

• (b) I only

• (c) II only

• (d) Both I and II

Q8. (2024) Which one of the following is the correct description of "100 Million Farmers"?

• (a) It is an international alliance and a network of individuals and farming organisations interested in supporting and strengthening the development of the organic animal husbandry.

• (b) It is a platform with the mission of encouraging the farmers to form Farmer Product Organisations or Agribusiness Consortiums, thus facilitating the access to global open markets to sell their products.

• (c) It is a digital platform fully integrated with service providers and built on blockchain that lets buyers, sellers and third parties trade fertilizers quickly and securely.

• (d) It is a platform for accelerating the transition towards food and water systems that are net-zero (carbon), nature-positive and that aims to increase farmer resilience.

Mains Practice Questions

Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.

• Discuss the role of allied sectors — livestock, fisheries and horticulture — in raising farm incomes. What constraints (credit, cold chain, breed quality, marketing) hold them back?

• Examine the structure of rural credit in India. How have KCC, MISS, cooperative reforms and the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund changed access to institutional credit?

• What reforms are needed in Primary Agricultural Credit Societies to make them viable multipurpose institutions?

• Evaluate the transition from MGNREGA to the VB-G RAM G Act, 2025. Does the 125-day guarantee with a cost-sharing model strengthen or weaken the rural safety net?

• How can self-help groups and DAY-NRLM help rural women move from subsistence to enterprise?

UPSC Mains — Previous Years’ Questions on this topic (last 10 years)

These are the actual GS Mains questions UPSC has asked on this theme — real proof of how, and when, it is tested. Try to write a full answer to each.

• 2026 (GS-III): Explain the factors responsible for inefficiency of agri-produce marketing. How e-commerce helps to reduce inefficiency of agri-produce marketing? Explain.

• 2025 (GS-III): Elaborate the scope and significance of supply chain management of agricultural commodities in India.

• 2025 (GS-III): Examine the scope of the food processing industries in India. Elaborate the measures taken by the government in the food processing industries for generating employment opportunities.

• 2022 (GS-III): What are the main bottlenecks in upstream and downstream process of marketing of agricultural products in India?

• 2022 (GS-III): Elaborate the scope and significance of the food processing industry in India.

• 2021 (GS-II): Can the vicious cycle of gender inequality, poverty and malnutrition be broken through microfinancing of women SHGs? Explain with examples.

• 2020 (GS-III): What are the main constraints in transport and marketing of agricultural produce in India?

• 2020 (GS-III): What are the challenges and opportunities of food processing sector in the country? How can income of the farmers be substantially increased by encouraging food processing?

• 2020 (GS-II): "Micro-Finance as an anti-poverty vaccine, is aimed at asset creation and income security of the rural poor in India". Evaluate the role of the Self Help Groups in achieving the twin objectives along with empowering women in rural India.

• 2019 (GS-III): Elaborate the policy taken by the Government of India to meet the challenges of the food processing sector.

• 2018 (GS-III): Examine the role of supermarkets in supply chain management of fruits, vegetables and food items. How do they eliminate number of intermediaries?

• 2017 (GS-III): What are the reasons for poor acceptance of cost-effective small processing unit? How the food processing unit will be helpful to uplift the socio-economic status of poor farmers?