Connect with:
Tuesday / October 22. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
Home2020November
E-commerce, IT

It enables farmers to control the application of mineral fertilizers and to monitor their effectiveness using remote sensors. 

PhosAgro-Region, a PhosAgro subsidiary that is Russia’s largest mineral fertilizer distribution network, and Exact Farming have unveiled a digital system for monitoring the effectiveness of mineral fertilizers at the Russian Agrarian Forum. The companies estimate that the new digital field monitoring system could have an impact of up to RUB 500 million per harvest per 100-thousand hectares of farmed land.

 The joint project between PhosAgro-Region and Exact Farming enables agricultural producers to control the application of mineral fertilizers and to monitor their effectiveness using remote sensors. The system is currently being piloted in nearly 20 regions of Russia.

 

The automated system monitors the condition of crops, enabling PhosAgro-Region’s agronomic service to make recommendations for adjusting the mineral nutrition being applied to crops based on remote sensor data, an analysis of vegetation spectral indices, meteorological data and information from farms. An important element of this system is digital satellite monitoring, which makes it possible to see fields in their entirety from the ground. 

Information on the nutrient contents of different fertilizer grades is input into the system using NFC tags on PhosAgro’s fertilizer packaging. The tags can be read by a mobile app, which transmits the data to the Exact Farming satellite agronomic monitoring system and links a particular fertilizer to specific geo-coordinates. Analysis of data on the results of the use of mineral fertilizers in dozens of Russian regions will make it possible to automate the selection of mineral crop nutrients for various combinations of crops and agrometeorological conditions. 

“The ability to process and analyse large volumes of agronomic data on an ongoing bases makes it possible for our customers to evaluate the effectiveness of various nutrition systems and to adapt them either independently or with the help of automated tools to the agronomic conditions of specific fields,” said PhosAgro-Region Development Director Maxim Zatochny. 

Exact Farming CEO Anna Kudinova noted that during the pilot implementation of the system, the financial impact of the timely corrections to crop nutrition reached RUB 5.5 thousand per hectare for sunflowers, and from RUB 3.5 thousand to RUB 7.5 thousand per hectare for spring wheat, corn and sugar beet. “This means that the impact of this new digital system on a farm with 100-thousand hectares of arable land could reach up to RUB 0.5 billion,” said Ms Kudinova.

It enables farmers to control the application

AgroPolicy, Finance

Agriculture, forestry and fishing shows 3.4% growth 

As per the Statistics Ministry, India’s Gross Domestic Product contracted by 7.5% in the second quarter (July-September) of 2020-21 amid the COVID-19 crisis. This marks the second quarter in a row where the country’s GDP has contracted, implying that India has plunged into a technical recession. During the April-June quarter, India’s GDP crashed by 23.9% which was attributed to the fact that the country was among the economies worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fishing (3.4%), manufacturing (0.6%) and electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services (4.4%) have recorded a positive GDP growth. The government has stated that the GDP estimates are likely to undergo revisions owing to the reliance on limited data sources. The release of the next quarterly GDP estimates shall be on February 26, 2021.

Commenting on the second quarter GDP numbers [Q2 FY21] released in recent, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, “The GDP figure showing a decline of 7.5% in the second quarter has come in as a pleasant surprise. This is much better than what was anticipated by most analysts and clearly reflects that the Indian economy is on a sharp recovery mode. The positive, albeit marginal, growth noted in the manufacturing sector in the second quarter is truly encouraging. Many of the high frequency indicators were showing swift correction moving into the green zone and we have also seen an improvement in the incoming corporate results for the second quarter. All these trends are quite reassuring and speak of the resilience of the Indian industry and economy.”

The policy guidance provided by the government so far has been encouraging and we hope to see continued momentum on that front. We are at a critical point on the growth trajectory and it is important that all levers are used to sustain this improvement, added Dr Reddy.

Going ahead, the government should keep a close watch on the demand side. While the festive season will continue till December and the earlier demand-oriented measures announced by the government will take effect, we feel it will be important to lend further support to consumption activity. The government can look at extending the consumption voucher idea to all rather than just government employees. The multiplier effect of consumption vouchers is more than 2 and it is an effective way to boost retail demand in the short term. Also, exchange rate can be focused on as a policy tool to boost demand. Additionally, government must continue to invest heavily in the infrastructure sector as it can be a real driver for growth and employment, said Dr Reddy. 

The latest Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0 will give a further boost to the economy. The PLI scheme for additional ten champion sectors indicates government’s resolve to make India a manufacturing hub and the scheme can be truly transformational, Dr Reddy added.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing shows 3.4% growth As

Agrotech, Webinar

The dignitaries spoke on the forthcoming challenges and the macro-level changes which will arise due to the new farm bills

 

Centre for Civil Society, renowned public policy think tank organised a webinar on “The Role of Agri-businesses in Doubling Farmers Income” which saw the participation from  Anand Chandra, Executive Director- Arya Collateral, a leading post-harvest warehousing and financial solutions company, Sathya Raghu, Co-Founder, Khyeti,  Sudhanshu Kumar, Farmpreneur and owner of the most technologically advanced farm in Bihar. The session was coordinated by Prashant Narang, Associate Director, Centre for Civil Society. The dignitaries spoke on the forthcoming challenges and the macro-level changes which will arise due to the new farm bills, namely – Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmer (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. 

Anand Chandra shared his insights on market linkages and commodity warehousing which will play a major part in the coming times as there will be no restrictions for anyone to procure commodities from any part of India. He further shared, “The many good initiatives and reforms in agriculture by the central government will reach logical conclusion when there is greater synergy between central and state government on concurrent list matters”

 

“The agri outlook of India is very positive as compared to the rest of the world as we produce crops of very high quality with low investments, the only task in front of us is to store and manage crops. Farmers’ income can only be doubled when the crops are managed well and the produce is not getting wasted. Arya has come up with a platform called a2zgodaam.com to help farmers for all their post-harvest needs of storing crops to sell them and has seen a significant rise since launch” added Anand Chandra, Executive Director at Arya Collateral Warehousing Services.

 

Prashant Narang, Associate Director, Centre for Civil Society shared, “The outlook of the government policies look very positive but there are still some of the changes which need to be made to make our agri policies more successful resulting not just doubling farmers income but hopefully it can triple or quadruple farmers income by 2025”.

The dignitaries spoke on the forthcoming challenges

Agrotech

Farmers in Southern India can now avail of on-farm delivery of Bayer’s agri-inputs via BigHaat’s e-commerce platform

Bangalore-based Bayer CropScience Limited has recently signed a partnership with BigHaat, a leading agri-input e-commerce platform to enable last-mile delivery of Bayer’s seeds and crop protection products directly to farmer’s doorsteps. The partnership will support farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and focus on paddy, cotton, corn, chili and horticulture crops. Besides access to the entire range of Bayer’s agri-solutions from seed to harvest, farmers can also avail of crop-specific agronomic advisory through BigHaat’s Agristore digital platform. 

Set up in 2015, BigHaat is one of India’s leading agri-inputs e-commerce platform, providing a wide range of quality inputs including seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, nutrients, farm implements, and crop advisory to over 3 million Indian farmers. Besides product listings, review, order placement and doorstep delivery of products, BigHaat’s cognitive intelligence-based technology offers farmers real-time, image-based disease & pest diagnosis and crop stage-wise advisory for over 80 crops and enables them to choose the right agri-inputs and the technical know-how for safe and effective application. Farmers without smartphones can give a missed call on 180030002434 to receive a call back from the customer call center and receive advisory on the phone or schedule a field visit from crop agronomists. 

“With changing grower needs, the Go-to-Market approaches in the Indian agri-input industry are steadily evolving. Rising digitalization has paved the way for dynamic shifts such as the use of e-commerce platforms for the purchase of agri-solutions. Bayer’s partnership with BigHaat is a strategic collaboration to provide farmers diverse choices beyond the traditional services they usually rely on,” said Simon Wiebusch, Chief Operating Officer for Bayer India’s Crop Science Division.

Farmers in Southern India can now avail

R&D

Scientists are trying to understand the disease paradigm for developing innovative management strategies

An improved understanding of Fusarium, a root pathogen infection in the banana plant may soon help develop strategies to prevent the disease that causes wilting of the fruit crop that is grown in at least 5 major states of India.

India is the leading producer of banana in the world and the present cultivation is vulnerable to this fungal disease which dwells in soil as a saprophyte and shifts to the parasitic mode in presence of host roots. Scientists are trying to understand the disease paradigm for developing innovative management strategies.

Dr Siddhesh Ghag from University of Mumbai-Department of Atomic Energy (UM-DAE) Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (CEBS), Mumbai a recipient of the INSPIRE Faculty fellowship, of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, is using genetic approaches to decipher the molecular cross-talk between banana and Fusarium during infection.

Dr Ghag’s team is focusing on studying the transcriptional factors that regulate the expression of virulence genes in Fusarium oxysporumcubense(Foc), the fungal plant pathogen, that causes Panama disease of banana. His research work could lead to improved disease-resistant in plants.

According to the research work conducted by Dr Ghag and his team, a molecular combat exists between the two partners at the site of infection where repertoire of virulent factors from Foc and defense molecules from banana are secreted. In the process of recognition of banana roots, Foc activates a series of virulence genes. All these virulence genes are under the control of a few master regulators which are up-regulated during colonization. FocSge1 is one such master regulator that acts as a co-activator and triggers the expression of effector genes required for pathogenicity. The FocSge1 deletion strain of Fusarium created in Dr Ghag’s lab showed characteristics that together contributed to the loss of pathogenicity (property of causing disease).

Scientists are trying to understand the disease

Agrotech, E-commerce, Sustainable Energy

The project will use 200 TPD pressmud (sugar plant waste) from the adjacent sugar plant to produce 10TPD CBG. 

 

 

 Dharmendra Pradhan,Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) and Steel, GOI, laid the foundation stone for the first pressmud to Compressed Biogas (CBG) project in Karnataka. Praj Industries will deploy its RenGasTM technology for the project being set up by Leafiniti Bioenergy. The project will use 200 TPD pressmud (sugar plant waste) from the adjacent sugar plant to produce 10TPD CBG. The plant will also produce high quality organic manure certified by Natural Organic Certification Agency (NOCA) as a co-product.

 

The compressed biogas produced in this plant will be utilised by IOCL under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme. The project is scheduled to be completed in the next six months.

In addition to this development, Praj and Leafiniti have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up nine more CBG projects in southern India over the next three years. The cumulative 10 projects including the one underway will have a total capacity of 100TPD CBG production and will be completed over the next three years.

CBG is a renewable biofuel in gaseous form, derived by processing bio-based feedstock such as biomass, agricultural residue, sugarcane press mud, cattle dung, etc.

These developments are in line with the objectives of the MOU that Praj signed with MoPNG on 2oth November 2020 as a preferred CBG technology solutions provider, facilitating the construction of CBG plants as part of the SATAT initiative. Launched in October 2018 by the MoPNG ministry, SATAT aims to achieve production of 15 MMT of CBG from 5000 plants by 2023. An investment of over 2 lakh crore is expected to be pumped into setting up these plants.

 

Speaking at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony, Dr Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, of Praj Industries, said, “We are delighted to partner with Leafiniti Bioenergy to provide technology and plants for their CBG projects. CBG is an important element of our Bio-MobilityTM platform that offers technology solution to produce carbon neutral transportation fuel from bio-based feedstock. Praj is committed to provide innovative solutions to prospective developers so as to create a positive impact on environment and society. The setting up of CBG plants would not only strengthen the rural economy but also align with the goals of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.”  

Wishing the project every success, Murugesh Nirani, CMD, Nirani Group, said, “Praj is a leading technology provider in the bioeconomy space and we are happy to set up this project that heralds a new wave in bioenergy. This project will help reduce GHG emissions and will work as a catalyst for the local rural community. It will provide direct and indirect employment and as a cleaner, greener fuel,  will serve as an alternative to fossil fuels like petrol, LPG, diesel, furnace oil, etc.”

 Subhransu Biswal, Director, Leafiniti Bioenergy, said, “We at Leafiniti are committed to take tangible actions which respect our environment and create a sustainable energy ecosystem for the world.”

 

 

 

 

The project will use 200 TPD pressmud

Agrotech, IT, Start ups

CMO Asia recognizes Simply Fresh for making India’s largest 140-acre ‘Plant Factory’ in Telangana 

 

 

Hyderabad based agritech start up Simply Fresh, has been awarded the ‘Telangana Best Brand’ award by CMO Asia ‘2020. The award was presented at a virtual felicitation ceremony. The awards recognize, identify, and celebrate outstanding brand building & marketing initiatives by organizations, individuals, and teams for their innovation, uniqueness, consistency, and performance.

Simply Fresh, an innovative agri-tech startup, using precision farming techniques, has commissioned India’s largest 140-acre ‘Plant Factory’ in Telangana. The company uses plant profiling & nutrient management in climate-controlled greenhouses. The greenhouses have retractable roofs & walls, are equipped with growing systems (benches, gutters, pots, etc.), and supported by AI-driven fertigation and irrigation system. Simply Fresh leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) through its proprietary software Farm in A Box (FiAB), which tracks the plant’s life cycle from the initial stage of seeding, plant profiling, monitoring plant health, and nutrient level requirement at each stage of growth. This gives the brand ‘Simply Fresh’ the unique attributes of transparency and ensures quality and consistency in the product.

Speaking on the recognition Sachin Darbarwar, Founder and CEO of Simply Fresh India said “It is a great honour to receive the award from CMO Asia this year. The award encourages us to work hard and bring outstanding quality for produce including nutraceutical crops, medicinal & aromatic plants, leafy greens, and vine crops using precision farming techniques; for the customers through sustainable agriculture practices.”

CMO Asia recognizes Simply Fresh for making

Agrotech, Finance

Issued in three tranches, it has brought the total size of the bond to EUR 900 million 

 

 

Syngenta Group has announced that Syngenta AG completed a successful EUR 100 million tap of its existing EUR 800 million Eurobond, announced on 8 April and issued in three tranches on 16 April 2020, 24 April 2020 and 19 October 2020, bringing the total size of the bond to EUR 900 million. Its maturity date is in April 2026.

 

Syngenta Group is one of the world’s leading agricultural technology and innovation companies, with roots going back more than 250 years. Its 49,000 people across more than 100 countries strive to transform agriculture through breakthrough products and technologies that play a vital role in enabling the food chain to feed the world safely, sustainably and with respect for our planet. Swiss-based and Chinese-owned, the group draws strength from its four business units – Syngenta Crop Protection headquartered in Switzerland, Syngenta Seeds headquartered in the United States, ADAMA® headquartered in Israel, and Syngenta Group China – that provide industry-leading ways to serve customers everywhere.

Issued in three tranches, it has brought

Agrotech

The all-in-one hydroponic and aquaponic event will bring leading growers and brands together

Hyderabad-based Plantaerie innovates the most simplified hydroponics systems for 21st-century people to grow clean and fresh food with minimal natural resources of water and land, along with Singapore-based Farm2Hope, has recently organized a two-day AgriTech Festival on November 27 and November 28 2020 on hydroponics and aquaponics.

AgriTech festival is the first of its kind on an online meetup of masterminds with worldwide participation of hydroponics and aquaponics enthusiasts, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

For two days, Agritech Fest will stream hyper-focused speeches, social lounge, networking sessions, and live Q&A sessions to help upgrade to the next level. The all-in-one hydroponic and aquaponic event will bring leading growers and brands together.

Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture, which is a method of growing plants, usually crops, without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent; the farming is proving to be an attractive proposition in India. The joint effort by Plantaerie and Farm2hope will bring together 1000+ of the world’s brightest minds in hydroponics & aquaponics to learn, share & network online.

The all-in-one hydroponic and aquaponic event will

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, Start ups

Collaboration is aimed at digitizing the working of 1, 50,000+ retailers with an expected reach to 20 Mn farmers using Unnati’s technology platform

  Noida-based agri-tech startup Unnati has partnered with Mosaic India, a leading global fertilizer brand. The strategic, exclusive collaboration is aimed at digitizing the working of 1, 50,000+ retailers with an expected reach to 20 Million farmers using Unnati’s technology platform over the coming years. The tie-up encompasses digitizing the retail channel, easing the payments and credit flow to the retailers, delivering education to the farmers backed by the deep experience of Mosaic on Nutrient Management. 

With the tie-up, fertilizer retailers will be provided with tools to manage their stores. Through its tech-led platform, Unnati will also enable the retailers to source products, engage with farmers directly, and extend credit to the farmers. Furthermore, retailers can avail working capital loans and will be trained to enable farmers to sell their farm output through Unnati’s tech platform. 

The tie-up will also extend Mosaics deep understanding of sustainable Nutrient usage to farmers through Unnati’s intelligent platform. This will guide the farmers on optimal nutrient usage and provide them with the ability to get balanced nutrition at fair prices. 

Speaking on the partnership, Ashok Prasad said, “The agriculture ecosystem is progressing rapidly and digitising fast. Unnati has always been committed to extending a wide array of world-class services powered by cutting-edge technology. Through this association, we aim to reach more than 3 million farmers to educate them to increase the quality and quantity of their yield and simplify the working process of the agri input delivery to farmers. Mosaic is one the most trusted brands and we are extremely delighted to partner with them to bring the best in digital services to the farming ecosystem. We look forward to a long-lasting relationship.”

 

Adding to this, Robin Edwin, the managing director of Mosaic said, “Our combined knowledge will go a long way in assisting agri input delivery channels and farmers switch to the digital way of working. We are thrilled to join hands with Unnati, a leading agritech platform and hope to build on this first of its kind partnership to bring the benefits of digital farming to Indian agri ecosystem. This partnership also takes inspiration from the vision of our prime minister on digital India, where the country has been witnessing human-centric approach to technology development, specially targeted at the upliftment of rural population. We look forward to engage digitally with our channel partners and farmers and offer the best of agri solutions to them through direct connect with them”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collaboration is aimed at digitizing the working

Finance, Japan, Seeds

Totam is an innovative seed company active in research, breeding, and the sales & marketing of hybrid tomato seeds for the fast-growing active greenhouse segment

Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co., Ltd. has recently reached an agreement to take a 75% stake in Totam Seeds B.V. (Totam), and signed a share purchase agreement on November 25, 2020. Totam is an innovative seed company based in the Netherlands, active in research, breeding, and the sales & marketing of hybrid tomato seeds for the fast-growing active greenhouse segment. Tomatoes represent the largest crop segment in the vegetable seed market, and Totam has a proven track record in developing high-quality tomato seeds.

Active greenhouses with climate control enables year-round production and stable supply against the backdrop of the changing climate while minimizing labor which is an issue for the global agriculture industy.

Mitsui will partner with Prominent U.A. (“Prominent”), the largest tomato growers’ association in the Netherlands, a leading country in the area of active greenhouse production technology. This partnership will enable Totam to leverage Prominent’s vast experience in the production of tomatoes under active greenhouse conditions and insight into latest consumer trends, and strong research and development capabilities of Mitsui’s seed ecosystem such as Top Seeds International Limited to develop new and innovative varieties.

Mitsui plans to supply active greenhouse farmers around the world with tomato seeds developed by Totam, alongside comprehensive solutions based on Prominent’s know-how (e.g. irrigation, sytems, sensors, etc.).

Mitsui is placing a focus on responding to increased demand for food due to growth of the world’s population, as well as ensuring a stable supply of food in response to climate change, and addressing the increasing demand for vegetables to improve people’s health and living standards.

Totam is an innovative seed company active

Agro Universities, North America, R&D

The team will develop 1- to 2-foot worm-like robots that emulate how a bore drill into the ground, combined with a peristaltic motion that mimics how worms move through soil

Scientists of Cornell University, New York are recently planning to develop worm-like, soil-swimming robots to sense and record soil properties, water, the soil microbiome and how roots grow.

A $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant led by the principal investigator (PI) Taryn Bauerle, an associate professor in the Horticulture Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will focus on the plants and soil perspective.

Meanwhile, a $750,000 NSF National Robotics Initiative grant to PI Robert Shepherd, associate professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering, will develop the soil-monitoring robots.

Furthermore, the project will focus on maize, with the ultimate goal of incorporating factors related to root growth to improve breeding efforts and soil management that directly affect food productivity and security.

To acquire those measurements, the team will develop 1- to 2-foot worm-like robots that emulate how a bore drill into the ground, combined with a peristaltic motion that mimics how worms move through soil.

The team will experiment with a number of sensors and strategies. A robot’s ability to push through soil can reveal such properties as soil density and compactness. Robots will also be fitted with small temperature and humidity sensors.

Another goal of the project will be to evaluate how plants might respond to the effects of climate change, such as water availability. Measurements of root growth, factored in with environmental data, can provide insights into how roots grow based on external conditions, such as droughts.

The team will develop 1- to 2-foot

AgroPolicy, Europe, Trade

To showcase India’s strength in export of fresh fruits and vegetables and strengthen the confidence of the German buyers in Indian agri products 

 

 

 Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, facilitates export of its scheduled agricultural and processed products through several export promotional activities.

 During the Covid19 pandemic period, APEDA continued its endeavour to promote export of agricultural products through the virtual medium.  Several virtual buyer seller meets were organised with the importing countries in association with the Indian Missions abroad.

 In this series, a virtual networking meet with German importers was organised on 25.11.2020 to promote export of fresh fruits and vegetables from the country.  The event was organised by APEDA in collaboration with Embassy of India, Berlin and German Agribusiness Alliance.More than 70 participants participated in the event.

 

 On the occasion Paramita Tripathi, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of India, Berlin, Dr. M Angamuthu, Chairman APEDA and  Julia Harnal, Chairperson, German Agribusiness Alliance addressed the participants.

 Chairman APEDA in his address gave emphasis on the potential of Indian GI and Organic products as well as processed products. Paramita Tripathi, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of India, Berlin laid emphasis on larger presence of Indian horticulture for their unique taste & qualities.  

The event comprised of presentations by the Indian side on the strength of Indian agricultural products in exports specifically grapes and fresh fruits and vegetables.  From the German side, there were presentations on the requirements and expectations of the German market.

 The event provided a platform to showcase India’s strength in export of fresh fruits and vegetables to further strengthen the confidence of the German buyers in Indian agri products and facilitate exports.

 

 

To showcase India’s strength in export of

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agrotech

NAFED will address these issuesi n beekeeping supply chain and ensure price remuneration to the beekeeping farmers.

The Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited. (NAFED) was inaugurated by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar. The inauguration programme was hosted online and attended by the new Honey FPOs, farmers and FPOs from various parts of the country.

 

Inaugurating the programme, the Minister stated that “Beekeeping in India is highly predominant in the unorganized sector among the rural and tribal population. Despite having a huge potential of honey production in the country, the beekeeping industry is still underdeveloped. The adoption level of beekeeping is also quite less due to various constraints. NAFED will address these issues by acting as an intermediary and filling up the gaps between the elements of the beekeeping supply chain and also ensure price remuneration to the beekeeping farmers. Through these Honey FPOs, NAFED will also work for promotion of beekeeping as an occupation for unemployed women and tribal populations and uplift their livelihood”. Tomar also said that honey beekeeping will change the lifestyle of small and marginal farmers and help in achieving the goal of increasing farmer’s income.

 

Govt. of India is promoting the creation of FPOs in view of their significant role in fulfilling the mission of implementing agricultural reforms in the country. Promotion & Formation of FPOs is the first step for converting Krishi into Atmanirbhar Krishi. For this purpose new Central Sector Scheme for Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs was launched.

 

Under the new FPO scheme, so far National Level Project Management Advisory and Fund Sanctioning Committee (N-PMAFSC) had allocated 2200 FPO clusters for 2020-21 to all Implementing agencies. N-PMAFSC allocated 500 FPOs to SFAC, 600 FPOs to NABARD & 500 FPOs to NCDC, 100 FPOs to Watershed Development Department of Karnataka, 50 FPOs to SFAC-Haryana, 50 FPOs to Tamil Nadu SFAC, 50 FPOs to North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC), 100 FPOs to NRLM Division of MoRD for the current FY (2020-21). Additionally specialized FPOs to be formed, 100 Organic FPOs by INM, DAC&FW, 100 Oilseed FPOs by DAC&FW and 50 commodity specific FPOs by NAFED with value chain development.

 

Implementing Agencies had also identified the block wise clusters. FPOs will be developed by specialist ’Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs)’ engaged by Implementing Agencies. NAFED had already empanelled the CBBOs and other IAs are in the process of empanelment of CBBOs. 

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited.(NAFED) has been appointed as the 4th National Implementing Agency other than SFAC, NABARD and NCDC for the creation of 10,000 FPOs by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW). NAFED has recently taken over the national level Federation of Indian FPOs and Aggregators (FIFA) with the aim of creating sustainable small holder institutions to enhance collective capacities, shortening of agri produce value chains for equitable returns to all stakeholders and leveraging technology for enhanced transparency, scale and seamless agri. produce trading. Creation of Honey FPOs is one of the thrust areas of FIFA’s business plan.

 

NAFED, through its empanelled Cluster Based Business Organisation (CBBO) Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 States of India. The areas covered under the programme are Sundarbans in West Bengal, East Champaran in Bihar, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Morena in Madhya Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

The Honey FPOs made by ISAP under the aegis of National Bee Board (NBB) and NAFED will help its members in not only upgrading their skills in Scientific Bee Keeping but will also help in making its members set up state of the art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, etc., quality control laboratories, collection, storage, bottling and marketing centres. These FPOs will benefit by the schemes of Mini Mission – 1 and Mini Mission – 2 of National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) of National Bee Board. The beekeepers / honey collectors of all the 5 states would be helped in branding and collective marketing of their Honey and other allied products of bee keeping through the marketing channels of NAFED. Efforts will also be made to explore the overseas market for improving the returns to the Bee Keepers and Honey collectors.

 

 

NAFED will address these issuesi n beekeeping