Why value addition is critical to an economy

The global imagination of ‘rural’ is mainly a depiction of low-income communities relying primarily on agricultural activities for livelihood.

Agriculture and industry have long been tied in a symbiotic relationship that allows the former to provide raw material towards the creation of final products. Industry, on the other hand, incorporates many agribusinesses into the numerous value and supply chains that drive it, and this catalyses the growth and productivity of agriculture. Its additional generation of foreign earnings through exports provides an income to many.