Growth linkage effects of agro-industrialisation

Raw material procurement activities of agro-industries promoted rural to rural interaction and the export of value added products from the region promoted rural-urban interaction. It could be concluded from this study that the growth of agro-industries would favour growth of non-farm non-industrial activities. Reduction in levy sugar would generate greater employment opportunities than reduction in tax for sago and starch. Hence agro-industrialisation should be emphasised as a means of development strategy. In this regard, regions for agro-industrialisation should be identified based on the production of crops, and efforts to install optimal number of agro-industries in these regions must be encouraged. Further studies should focus on identifying the bottlenecks for the growth of agro-industries; when these bottlenecks are sorted out, it would pave the way for generation of income and enhancement of rural-urban interaction.