The developed countries are blatantly using non-tariff barriers to block agricultural exports from developing countries," said Sompal, member, Planning Commission, at a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry meeting on Wednesday.

Though the new global trading system, ushered in by the World Trade Organisation in 1995, was likely to provide tremendous international trading opportunities in agriculture, the experience of developing countries had been far from encouraging, Sompal said.

Non-tariff barriers like sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures along with heavy agricultural subsidies in the developed countries had made it difficult for developing nations to enter the developed countries, he pointed out.

The meet marked the launch of a Ficci project in association with the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation.

The project is aimed at promoting European Retail Parties Good Agricultural Practices among commercial farmers in India.

European Retail Parties is an organisation of 118 food retail chains, exporters and importers of food products in Europe.

It aims at global partnership to ensure safe and sustainable agriculture and has developed a set of standards incorporating the concept of Good Agricultural Practices.

These standards are called European Retail Parties Good Agricultural Practices. They provide a framework to improve agricultural practices.

The project is aimed at creating awareness among the Indian farming community about harmful and inefficient agricultural practices.

These practices not only make farming unprofitable, but also pose a risk to sustainable agricultural development and consumers' health.

"The European Retail Parties Good Agricultural Practices pilot project, if successful and replicated on a larger scale, will benefit the export oriented commercial farming sector," said Truls Hanevold, Norwegian ambassador to India.

Hanevold said while new standards and requirements might be seen as barriers, they should also be seen as opportunities to new and better paying markets and increased profitability for producers.