Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. Over 58 per cent of the rural households depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Agriculture, along with fisheries and forestry, is one of the largest contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As per estimates by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the share of agriculture and allied sectors (including agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishery) was 15.35 per cent of the Gross Value Added (GVA) during 2015-16 at 2011-12 prices. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices and spice products. India's fruit production has grown faster than vegetables, making it the second largest fruit producer in the world. India's horticulture output, comprising fruits, vegetables and spices, is estimated to be 283.4 million tonnes (MT) in 2015-16 after the third advanced estimate. It ranks third in farm and agriculture outputs. Agricultural export constitutes 10 per cent of the country’s exports and is the fourth-largest principal exported commodity. The agro industry in India is divided into several sub segments such as canned, dairy, processed, frozen food to fisheries, meat, poultry, and food grains.

For development of North Eastern Region and to bring it at par with the rest of the country, maximum emphasis needs to be given to Agriculture & Allied Sectors. Though presently approaching the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan, the region is still not at par with the rest of the country in agricultural productivity, cropping intensity, irrigation coverage, application of fertilizer and pesticides, credit flow, organized marketing facilities, construction of adequate number of go-downs and warehouses, crop insurance and production of large quantities of value added products etc. Moreover, the position relating to processing of various agricultural crops to add value is also not satisfactory. Therefore, NEC seeks to provide maximum fund for all round development and modernisation of agriculture in the region.