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E-commerce, Finance, Start ups

 It would help the company in supporting its vision of offering healthy and sustainable solutions.

 

Agri-tech startup Concinnity Agro2o Pvt. Ltd, based in New Delhi, has raised funding from Mumbai Angels Network. The company, founded by Yash Vyas in 2018, stated that it develops products focused on making hydroponics-based farming accessible to both small farmers and commercial institutions. The financial details of the deal was not disclosed.

 “Argo2o has a clear potential to grow because we as consumers are always looking out for fresh and organic vegetables these days,” Mumbai Angels Network co-promoter and chief executive Nandini Mansinghka said. 

Vyas said the investment from Mumbai Angels Network would help the company in supporting its vision of offering healthy and sustainable solutions.

Agro2o’s product, the Smart Garden, allows for intelligent nutrient infusion, water refill reminders, and comes with features such as automated lighting and water and air quality detectors. 

Up to 50 different plant types can be grown through the product, and their growth can be monitored through a user’s smartphone. 

Mumbai Angels Network

This marks the second reported deal by Mumbai Angels Network this week. In recent, it announced Rs 1.75 crore (around $230,732) commitment to Crimson Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, a health-tech start-up focused on ostomy care. The angel investment group was established in 2006 and says it has over 400 members across chapters in regions including Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

The group says it has over 140 companies in its portfolio and claims more than 45 exits with a cumulative investment of over Rs 150 crore.

 

 

 It would help the company in supporting

Foodgrains

Paddy procurement crosses one crore mark  

In these unprecedented times, Telangana comes bearing good news for the agricultural sector. The state announced that paddy procurement in the State has crossed 1 crore metric tonnes (MT) mark. Paddy procurement in Vaanakalam (monsoon crop) and Yasangi (winter crop) seasons accounted for 47 lakh MT and 65  lakh MT amounting to a total of 1.12 crore MT.  

The announcement was made by Telangana State Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy who added that six years into the formation of the State, Telangana has witnessed 367 percent increase in paddy procurement.

He attributed this success to the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who rolled out farmer welfare schemes such as Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Beema and round-the-clock free power supply for the agricultural sector. He also launched new irrigation projects and minimum support price, MSP.

A bar chart provided by the department illustrates that the government had procured 24.25 lakh MT during 2014-15 which doubled to 2016-17 with 53.69 lakh MT. Again in 2018-19, the procurement increased to 77.41 lakh MT.  Despite COVID-19 crisis, the State has achieved a new record by procuring 1.12 crore MT, he added. The current Yasangi season has seen an increase of 76 per cent against the previous Yasangi season and 6,408 procurement centres were set up across the State to facilitate the record high yield.

Paddy procurement crosses one crore mark  In these

Animal Health

“LastMile” – improving through digital
With the new mobile app, the “LastMile” team can now better manage day-to-day activities and support farmers, retailers and veterinarians more effectively

The  is an integrated, solutions-driven program seeking to address crucial animal health challenges by making animal medical resources available in hard-to-reach areas. The initiative targets ruminants, such as sheep, goats along with cattle, and poultry.

Established by Boehringer Ingelheim, with support from the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) and funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “LastMile” aims to bridge current gaps in access, availability, and awareness of animal healthcare solutions for smallholder farmers in Africa. The program’s mission is to create long-lasting partnerships with the local farming community in an effort to establish and drive sustainable businesses that are integrated into the wider national economy. It was initially launched in Kenya, and other key markets throughout Africa including Cameroon, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, with a plan to expand in Tanzania.

With the new recently launched mobile app, field force and teams working on the “LastMile” are now able to manage their day-to-day activities and work more effectively with farmers, retailers and veterinarians. The objective for rolling out the use of the app is to monitor the activities accurately, collect data, measure the impact and reach of the initiative, as well as to improve the understanding and knowledge about the smallholder farmer sector for better-informed decision-making in the future. In addition, the app has proven critical in the current times of social distancing and heightened safety measures for regular and easy interactions with all our stakeholders.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project funder and GALVmed, will also benefit from this app, as more accurate KPI data related to the project will be available.

Some of the main features include a calendar section, farm and retail visit sections, training part covering diseases and product information and also surveys to gather specific information about the target market.

Emilie Veillat, Key Account Manager and LastMile application lead, The Veterinary Public Health Center at Boehringer Ingelheim shared: “The ‘LastMile’ initiative is an important part of the company’s vision and aims to support our communities as well as improve both human and animal health. I am pleased we have launched this mobile app which is not only critical for accurate data collection and monitoring, but it also helps teams stay connected, particularly in these challenging times of the pandemic.”

“LastMile” – improving through digital With the new

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, R&D

Agrilan 1015 have passed thorough investigations by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

 

Nouryon has launched, Agrilan 1015, a biodegradable dispersant that can replace less sustainable products in water-based crop protection and seed treatment formulations.

Agrilan 1015 is an alternative to dispersants available in the market which have passed more and more thorough investigations by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and other regulatory agencies for their environmental effects.

Dispersants are used in agricultural formulations and are essential to help dissolve the active ingredients in a given solution more easily. However, most of the products available, such as those based on Tristyrylphenol (TSP), are not biodegradable and remain in the environment. 

“Our customers are demanding more sustainable dispersing solutions for their agricultural formulations,” says Ignacio Garin, vice president of Agricultural Specialties at Nouryon. “ECHA has determined that TSP-based dispersants are not biodegradable and persist in the environment, which is likely to require formulators to limit or completely eliminate their use.”

Garin explains that Nouryon’s agricultural customers in Asia have provided positive feedback on Agrilan 1015 after a limited introduction of the product in the region, paving the way for a global launch.

“Today’s farmers are constantly challenged to have to produce more crops with fewer resources,” comments Larry Ryan, executive vice president and president of Performance Formulations and Nouryon’s Americas. “By listening to the needs of our customers, we have successfully developed and presented a new solution that is not only better for the environment, but also for the future of agriculture.

Agrilan 1015 have passed thorough investigations by

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce

The new branding will better align the company to its core competency and business focus.

 

International Panaacea Limited the pioneer and technology powerhouse from India which has made great strides towards technological leadership in the field of biological inputs for agriculture, has re-named itself as IPL Biologicals Limited. 

The new branding will better align the company to its core competency and business focus. After 27 years of proud service, IPL is excited about the future and committed to maintain the highest standards of innovation, product development, and customer service.  

IPL Biologicals Limited specialises in biological solutions for agricultural applications. IPL Biologicals has the widest portfolio of more than 50 products in disease management, pest control, plant nutrition and soil health management. Its products are renowned for their high quality and efficacy.

 Focused on innovative technologies, IPL Biologicals has two R&D labs with world class infrastructure, scientists, microbiologists and agronomists along with pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing plant. Our products help customers around the globe to control diseases and pests, improve plant health for better yields, simultaneously reducing chemical residues in foods, and development of pest resistance.

IPL Biologicals is committed to a safer and healthier planet by offering effective and safe solutions to reduce usage of chemical products in agriculture to consumers globally.

The new branding will better align the

E-commerce

The partnership has commenced as a pilot project in Mysore in Karnataka 

Bayer CropScience recently announced that it has partnered with agri business division of ITC to extend the reach of its crop protection products through ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform. The partnership has commenced as a pilot project in Mysore in Karnataka and will gradually be expanded to other geographies across India, Bayer said in a statement. 

With COVID-19 disrupting farming operations and on-farm advisory, this initiative will help farmers avail agri-inputs and digital advisory on a timely basis, it added. 

ITC and Bayer are jointly training and on-boarding retailers in Mysore, to cater to farmers’ orders placed through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform. 

Field Officers from both companies have also received extensive training on product knowledge and technical advisory to support farmers. Over 42,000 ITC farmers, covering 60,000 hectares across 1,100 villages in Mysore region would be benefitted from this partnership. 

Farmers can place their order for Bayer products through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform and track their orders. Those without access to smartphones can place their orders online with assistance from Bayer and ITC’s field staff. Offline orders can also be placed. 

“Farmers in India often struggle to get access to agri-inputs, training and advisory under one roof. Lack of modern technologies and good agricultural practices hamper crop productivity and profitability. At Bayer, we are looking at collaborations to create greater value for farmers and the entire agri eco-system,” Bayer CropScience CEO and MD D Narain said. 

Bayer’s partnership with ITC aims to offer tailored solutions, enabling farmers to achieve better harvests and progress to sustainable agriculture, Narain added. 

Sanjiv Rangrass of ITC, who has been driving the e-Choupal 4.0 initiative, said: “This collaboration with Bayer will enable access to quality inputs by digitalizing the local marketplace eco-system for farmers. This will leverage Bayer’s expertise in agri-inputs and ITC’s deep-rooted linkages with farmers through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform, thereby creating value and a brand of trust for the farmers.” 

ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform aims at providing on-demand crop advisory linked to products and services across the value chain.has partnered with agri business division of ITC to extend the reach of its crop protection products through ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform. The partnership has commenced as a pilot project in Mysore in Karnataka and will gradually be expanded to other geographies across India, Bayer said in a statement. 

With COVID-19 disrupting farming operations and on-farm advisory, this initiative will help farmers avail agri-inputs and digital advisory on a timely basis, it added. 

ITC and Bayer are jointly training and on-boarding retailers in Mysore, to cater to farmers’ orders placed through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform. Field Officers from both companies have also received extensive training on product knowledge and technical advisory to support farmers. 

Over 42,000 ITC farmers, covering 60,000 hectares across 1,100 villages in Mysore region would be benefitted from this partnership. Farmers can place their order for Bayer products through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform and track their orders. Those without access to smartphones can place their orders online with assistance from Bayer and ITC’s field staff. Offline orders can also be placed. 

“Farmers in India often struggle to get access to agri-inputs, training and advisory under one roof. Lack of modern technologies and good agricultural practices hamper crop productivity and profitability. At Bayer, we are looking at collaborations to create greater value for farmers and the entire agri eco-system,” Bayer CropScience CEO and MD D Narain said.

 Bayer’s partnership with ITC aims to offer tailored solutions, enabling farmers to achieve better harvests and progress to sustainable agriculture, Narain added.

 Sanjiv Rangrass of ITC, who has been driving the e-Choupal 4.0 initiative, said: “This collaboration with Bayer will enable access to quality inputs by digitalizing the local marketplace eco-system for farmers. This will leverage Bayer’s expertise in agri-inputs and ITC’s deep-rooted linkages with farmers through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform, thereby creating value and a brand of trust for the farmers.” 

ITC’s e-Choupal 4.0 platform aims at providing on-demand crop advisory linked to products and services across the value chain.

 

The partnership has commenced as a pilot

Dairy, E-commerce

Profitability plummets by 50-75 bps

The Covid-19 pandemic-driven lockdown has nearly halted the revenue growth of the Indian dairy industry because of weak sales of value-added products, VAP like ice cream, cheese, flavoured milk, curd and yoghurt among others, which are more profitable than liquid milk.

 These products account for over a third of the organized dairy sector’s revenue and are expected to shrink by 2 to 3 per cent this fiscal, reducing operating profitability by as much as 50-75 basis points, (bps).

Based on analysis of 65 CRISIL-rated dairies that account for slightly more than two-thirds of the Rs 1.5 lakh crore revenue of the organized dairy segment, it has been revealed that a return to normalcy will happen in the second quarter. 

It also highlighted that working capital needs of dairies will need to be increased drastically and liquidity of mid-sized ones (revenue below Rs 500 crore) will be tested as a result of surplus milk being converted to skimmed milk powder (SMP) and the unsold VAP inventory. 

The nationwide lockdown prevented institutional sales of VAP to hotels and restaurants, which account for almost 20 percent of the organized dairy segment’s revenue. Moreover, logistical challenges and consumer’s reluctance in consuming cold products like ice creams, flavoured milk and yoghurt during the pandemic has adversely impacted sales in the first quarter, which is supposed  to be a  peak-demand season. 

Sameer Charania, Director, CRISIL Ratings said , “Steady demand for milk and higher VAP prices (hiked 10% in the second half of last fiscal) will help partially offset lower VAP volume, and arrest any decline in the dairy sector’s revenue. Further softer input prices will provide some respite and limit the fall in operating profitability to 50-75 basis points.”

Profitability plummets by 50-75 bpsThe Covid-19 pandemic-driven

R&D, World

  Dr Rattan Lal becomes the recipient of the $250,000 award for promoting soils for sustainable development. 

Leading soil scientist Dr Rattan Lal was announced as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.

The 2020 Laureate Announcement Ceremony featured pre-recorded remarks from the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue with World Food Prize Foundation President Barbara Stinson announcing the name of the Laureate.

“The world’s population continues to grow, and we need to use the resources we have more productively and efficiently to make sure everyone has enough food on their table,” said Secretary Pompeo. “Dr. Lal’s research in soil science shows that the solution to this problem is right under our feet. He’s helping the earth’s estimated 500 million small farmers be faithful stewards of their land though improved management, less soil degradation, and the recycling of nutrients. The billions of people who depend on these farms stand to benefit greatly from his work.” 

From his humble beginnings as a refugee growing up on a small subsistence farm in India, Lal’s determination to learn and succeed in school propelled him to become one of the world’s foremost soil scientists. His pioneering research on the restoration of soil health in Africa, Asia and Latin America led to revelations that impacted agricultural yields, natural resource conservation and climate change mitigation. The agricultural practices Lal advocated are now at the heart of efforts to improve agriculture systems in the tropics and globally. 

“The unbound joy and excitement of receiving the 2020 World Food Prize reminds me about the gratitude, privilege and honor of working for farmers from around the world,” said Dr Lal, who now serves as Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and founding Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University (OSU). 

Always working on the premise that the health of soil, plants, animals, people and the environment is indivisible, Dr. Lal began his research career at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria, developing soil health restoration projects across Asia, Africa and Latin America. He explored and transformed techniques such as no-tillage, cover cropping, mulching and agroforestry that protected the soil from the elements, conserved water and returned nutrients, carbon and organic matter to the soil. This in turn improved the long-term sustainability of agroecosystems and minimized the risks to farmers of droughts, floods, and other effects of a changing climate. 

“Dr. Lal is a trailblazer in soil science with a prodigious passion for research that improves soil health, enhances agricultural production, improves the nutritional quality of food, restores the environment and mitigates climate change,” said Stinson. “His decades of work to address all of these elements fully warrants his recognition as the 50th World Food Prize Laureate.” 

 

“Achieving hunger-free humanity, soil degradation neutrality, negative emission farming and pollutant-free water are among principal challenges which can never be ignored,” said Dr. Lal.” Sustainable management of soil and agriculture is also essential to keeping global temperatures within the safe range and restoring the environment.”

  Dr Rattan Lal becomes the recipient

AgroPolicy

The State roots for modernization in farming

 

With the latest proposed amendment to the existing Land Reforms Act, the Karnataka Government will allow the purchase of agricultural land by non-agriculturists and those interested in investing in the agricultural sector.

This has ushered in a positive reaction from the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, BCIC. Devesh Agarwal, President of the BCIC who revealed via a press release that allowing non-agriculturists to invest in purchase of agricultural land and infrastructure will be helpful to farmers. He added that farmers tend to under-utilize their lands due to lack of financial solvency which could be mitigated by this amendment.

Another major change in the Act proposes an increase in the number of units of land in the ownership of a non-agricultural individual. Post this landmark change by the state government, any Indian, or a trust, society, company or an educational institution can buy farmland in Karnataka. The purchaser’s annual income from non-agricultural sources will also not be a criteria for such a transaction, either. 

Sections 79 (A) & (B) of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 will be amended by the government via an ordinance which is expected to provide farmers realistic prices for their lands and pave the way for modernization and increase investment in the sector.

The State roots for modernization in farming  With

Agro Universities

Dr Sharma is presently working as Joint Director, Extension, and Director,  Agricultural Research Institute (Pusa), New Delhi 

  Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) has recently appointed Dr. J.P. Sharma as Vice Chancellor. Dr Sharma is presently working as Joint Director, Extension, and Director, Centre for Advance Faculty Training (Extension) Agricultural Research Institute (Pusa), New Delhi. He has a vast experience of over 26 years conducting strategic research, guiding, teaching post graduate students, conducting national/international training programmes and carrying out rural Development activities in the farmers’ field. He earned his Doctoral degree from IIT Delhi and Post-Graduation from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, and was awarded Fellowships from IIT and UNDP respectively. He is an accredited entrepreneurial motivational trainer. 

He has handled 13 institutional and 16 externally funded research projects. He has to his credit researches on highly relevant topics like assessment, refinement of agricultural technologies, peri-urban agriculture and entrepreneurship development conducted as part of externally funded projects from reputed national/international organizations. He has designed and developed innovative extension approaches like IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model (Krishi Dak), Cyber Extension Model, Expert Systems, Cyber Extension Portal, E-learning Module, National Extension Programme, IARI-Voluntary Organization Partnership Programme and Innovative farmer led extension delivery system (IFLED) for better and faster dissemination of technologies generated in the institution. Substantially contributed for developing entrepreneurship in agriculture for creating farm and non-farm based employment opportunities in rural society.  

 

Promoted science communication as Chief Editor and Editor of national and international journals like Journal of Community Mobilization for Sustainable Development, International Journal of Applied Science and Humanities, Asian Journal of Extension Education, Journal of Agri Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University, Egypt.

He has contributed immensely as Secretary, International Federation for Women in Agriculture and Founder President, Society for Community Mobilization for Sustainable Development. He is coordinator of Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (Govt flagship scheme), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (MoHRD), Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Krishi Shiksha Yojana (MoA&FW). He is Honorary Fellow of Society for Plant Research (SPR) and Andaman Science Association. He has received more than 60 awards/recognition including Dr Rajendra Prasad Puruskar and Hari Om Ashram Trust Award of ICAR, Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar of Ministry of Home Affairs, Shanti Prasad Goel Memorial Award, Manthan Award – South Asia and Dr. G. S. Vidyarthi Award for making outstanding contributions for the upliftment of the farming community.

 

Dr Sharma is presently working as Joint

Agrotech, Seeds

Bhat has led major food and agri companies across India 

Zephyr Peacock backed potato seeds company, Utkal Tubers, has announced the appointment of Vinod Bhat, an industry veteran as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With this appointment, the lab-to-land innovation company engaged in potato research, cultivation and marketing, is moving a step closer to its vision of improving India’s agricultural yield. Utkal Tubers is committed to innovate and promote sustainable agriculture and improve farmer income. 

Bhat has led major food and agri companies across India. He has developed and implemented successful business strategies for multiple start-ups, and for corporates including Ankur Agrilinks, MTR Foods, Cavinkare and Reliance Retail. 

As CEO, he will be responsible for the overall leadership of Utkal. His experience will build on the company’s solid foundation as a pioneer in potato seed innovation, through fresh strategic and technological initiatives.

Bhat has led major food and agri

Agro Universities

It is a compilation of selected successful interventions by the KVKs, which is helpful to the farmers in lock down. 

The COVID-19 lockdown has impacted different sectors of the Indian economy. Its impact on Indian agriculture has been complex and diverse across various segments of agricultural value chain and across season when the lockdown was announced and crops like wheat, chickpea, mustard etc. were to be harvested. It was also the time for the farm produce to reach markets for procurement by government agencies. The immediate challenge, therefore, was market access for the farm produce, which was problematic due to absence of transportation and unavailability of workers for operations at farm and mandis.

To tackle this situation, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) issued state specific guidelines about harvesting and threshing of rabi crops along with the advisories on handling post-harvest operations like storage and marketing of the farm produce more efficiently. In order to cope with the case specific challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, the demand driven and location specific initiatives and innovations were implemented by different field functionaries.

 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), the outreach arms of ICAR, have once again proven their worth at the grass root level. KVKs tapped full potential of different Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to address farm challenges during the lockdown and supported farmers and farm women.

 The e book ““Innovative Agri – solutions during COVID-19” is a compilation of selected successful interventions by the KVKs, which proved quite helpful to the farmers in beating the heat of COVID-19 lockdown.

 

 

It is a compilation of selected successful

E-commerce, Seeds

It will accelerate Arcadia’s GoodHemp™ breeding platform, expand seed portfolio and customer base, and establish new breeding station

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.® (Nasdaq: RKDA), a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients, announced that it has entered into a binding term sheet with Industrial Seed Innovations (ISI), an Oregon-based industrial hemp breeding and seed company, to acquire its commercial and genetic assets, including its seed varieties, germplasm library and intellectual property.

“Industrial Seed Innovations brings tremendous talent, an impressive intellectual property and genetics portfolio and a solid and synergistic customer base to Arcadia,” said Matthew Plavan, Arcadia’s president and CEO. “This transaction will strengthen our hemp breeding and seed production capabilities, augment and leverage our proprietary ArcaTech™ discovery platform and further position us as a leader in delivering high-value, premium hemp seeds.”

According to the term sheet, ISI’s popular Rogue, Deschutes and Umpqua seed varieties will become part of Arcadia’s portfolio, alongside the company’s GoodHemp™ line of genetically superior hemp seeds, transplants, flowers and extracts. The acquisition will significantly broaden and accelerate commercialization of Arcadia’s hemp-related breeding platform, as well as establish a breeding research and development facility in the Pacific Northwest, a key hemp production area. With ISI’s historically healthy gross margins, the acquisition is expected to be neutral to accretive to cash flow from operations in 2020 and meaningfully accretive to cash flows in 2021.

Plavan continued, “With the additional capital secured last month to underwrite our strategy to accelerate growth through the acquisition of assets, this transaction will add value and speed to our hemp and hemp products business, underscoring our ambitious plans for market leadership.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020. Financial details of the term sheet were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including completion of due diligence, the receipt of any required consents and the negotiation of definitive documentation, which is expected to include warranties, representations, covenants, terms and conditions which are customary for a transaction of this nature.

“We’re excited to become part of Arcadia and the GoodHemp portfolio,” said Michael Hartenstein, president of ISI. “By joining with Arcadia, we are confident we’ll be able to deliver our strong performing, federally compliant hemp varieties to even more growers, extending into new geographies. Furthermore, Arcadia’s ArcaTech platform will amplify the genetic assets we’ve developed at ISI.”

Since launching its hemp operations in February 2019, Arcadia has been rapid-prototyping novel non-GM hemp varieties that target quality and performance characteristics highly desired by growers to overcome their greatest challenges – working directly with them in field deployment and monitoring to accelerate their speed to success. This new and proprietary discovery process, ArcaTech, combines Arcadia’s modern breeding science and genomics technology with real-time market intelligence from the field.

 

It will accelerate Arcadia’s GoodHemp™ breeding platform,

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agro chems – Pesticides

The ministry has sought suggestions from the various stakeholders within 45 days. The use of 27 insecticides are likely to involve risk to human being and animals, the order said. 

 

 Addressing a webinar organised by industry body FICCI and Dhanuka Agritech on agro-chemicals, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “The agriculture ministry will permit exports of pesticides that are banned for sales in the domestic market on a case to case basis.” 

He said the ministry will double the timeline to submit suggestions by stakeholders on its draft order dated May 14 that proposes to ban 27 pesticides. The ban will be effective from the date of final notification. The ministry has sought suggestions from the various stakeholders within 45 days. The use of 27 insecticides are likely to involve risk to human being and animals, the order said. 

A senior agriculture ministry official said that notification for extending the time for inviting comments to 90 days will be issued soon. 

On the Pesticides Management Bill, which has been introduced in Parliament, the minister said the government has made provisions of penalty and imprisonment in the proposed law to check manufacturing and sales of spurious products that can have an adverse impact on crops. 

However, he asked the industry to send their suggestions if this objective could be achieved without such provisions. The minister stressed on the need to increase expenditure on research and development in the agro-chemical sector by both the government and private players.

 Highlighting the achievement in the Indian agriculture sector, Tomar said the country has harvested bumper Rabi crops and witnessed sharp rise in the sowing of kharif crops despite the nationwide lockdown to control coronavirus disease. He expressed confidence that farm sector GDP will grow.

Earlier, Dhanuka Agritech Chairman R G Agarwal said the proposed ban would affect both farmers and manufacturers. He said at least 12 out of 27 products were being widely used in major agri producing countries and demanded that the government should withdraw this draft order. 

Pesticides industry body PMFAI on Tuesday opposed the government’s proposal to ban 27 pesticides, stating that it would result in business loss of worth Rs 6,000 crore and benefit China, besides affecting farmers’ interest with substitutes being four-times costly. 

Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) President Pradip Dave had sought an investigation by a high powered scientific panel on the proposed ban of these 27 pesticides. 

The draft order was against the spirit of Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat and the mission of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, he had said.

“These 27 generic pesticides have a total market of Rs 6,000 crore, of which Rs 4,000 crore are domestic sales and Rs 2,000 crore exports. We will lose this entire business,” Dave had said. According to industry data, the total market size of Indian pesticides industry is around Rs 40,000-42,000 crore, of which around half is domestic sales and rest exports.

The ministry has sought suggestions from the