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Dr Joykrushna Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR visits Digha Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi

Dr Joykrushna Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR recently visited the Digha Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala.

 

During his interaction with the institute’s scientists and staff members, Dr Jena emphasised a range of research activities like value-chain marketing of the marine catch and their socio-economic status, exploring the marine cage culture of important food fishes and collaboration with the ICAR-CIFRI on biology and stock status of Hilsa shad from the marine environment.

 

The DDG also released three monographs titled ’Sciaenidae Fishes of North-East Coast of India’, ’Elasmobranch Species of the North-East Coast of India – I’ and ’Elasmobranch Species of the North-East Coast of India – II’ during the occasion.

Dr Joykrushna Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries

Union Minister of State Dr L Murugan initiates scheme for farmers in dairy, aquaculture and agri sectors

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr L Murugan recently visited the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Union Government’s ongoing Public Outreach Programme.

 

Union MoS said that the district has a huge potential for milk production besides having the biggest fish production source and if exploited, it can change the socio-economic condition of the local population.

 

On the occasion, stalls were erected by some departments at Shirmal, Shopian showcasing their performance and ongoing activities. The minister inspected all the stalls and interacted with the staff and the visitors at these stalls and distributed various certificates among the beneficiaries who had established dairy units, cow units, sheep units in their respective areas. The minister also gave away one ambulance provided by Animal Husbandry Department Shopian, milk machines and genset, tractors, poultry and milk vans, sheep units under integrated sheep Development scheme and sheep units under Tribal Sub Plan, shearing machines and milk transportation vehicles as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. 

 

Dr Murugan said that the youth of the district should come forward and avail of the schemes like PMMSY and other Centrally Sponsored Schemes to earn their livelihood in a decent manner.

 

He further said that the Apple Town Shopian is famous for its apple production besides a good milk production increasing on each passing day. He said that the PM’s mission is to uplift the weaker sections of the society to enable them to earn their livelihood in a better way.

 

Dr Murugan also released a booklet ’A guide to important prevalent sheep diseases and their treatment’ that shall help the farmers to get their livestock population better treated besides other related information.

 

Union Minister of State Dr L Murugan

The plant houses 10 circular tanks with a capacity of 50,000 litres of water each and has been set up at a cost of Rs 50 lakhs

Union Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr L Murugan recently inaugurated the Re-circulatory Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology for the culture of rainbow trout in the private sector under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) at Awantipora. Coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakhs, the plant houses 10 circular tanks with a capacity of 50,000 litres of water each.

 

District Development Commissioner, Baseer ul haq Chowdhary and other senior officers were present at the inaugural ceremony.

 

The project is seen as a profitable and sustainable source of employment as it has shown great promise in other parts of the country where fish farming is carried out and such projects are in operation. The Union MoS on the occasion said that the reproduction process facilitates the entrenchment of producers in their communities as they generate alternative livelihood opportunities. He made a thorough inspection of the RAS plant and interacted with district officers.

 

The minister called upon the aspiring fish farmers to harness the potential of the fisheries sector in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable manner. He impressed upon them to enhance fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification and productive utilisation of land and water besides modernising and strengthening the value chain including post-harvest management and quality improvement.

 

The plant houses 10 circular tanks with

Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates the plant tissue culture laboratory at School of Biotechnology, SKUAST, Jammu

Northern India Regional Agriculture Fair 2021 was recently held at SKUAST Jammu. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh was the chief guest for the event.

 

Enumerating the development initiatives taken in J&K vis-à-vis agriculture and innovation, Dr Singh said the establishment of North India’s first biotechnology park, two high seed processing plants at Kathua, the launch of India’s first Aroma Mission will open new vistas of growth, opportunities and innovation in agriculture in Jammu.

 

Speaking to the farmers present on the occasion, Dr Singh emphasised that a farmer can now engage himself in multiple activities depending upon his capacity, resources so as to become integrated as the working in silos is over now. Singh maintained that the responsibility of the government is then to facilitate the farmer in every way which is being done without any compromise by the present government.

 

Dr Singh urged SKUAST administration to promote 75 agricultural Startups from this university on 75 years of India’s independence on the lines of his Ministry which is also promoting start-ups as 75 young start-ups in science, 75 women start-ups in science, 75 SIT hubs dedicated to SCs and STs.

 

The Minister stressed the integration of the Institute of High Altitude Medicine, IIIM and SKUAST which should work on theme-based projects not institution based projects for the composite outcomes and no overlapping.

 

The minister further said that the proactive outreach for the start-ups is the need of the hour to get the best minds for the promotion of our products at the national and international level be that the basmati rice, rajma or other products.

 

Singh also emphasised sustainable agricultural practices and organic farming which is being promoted by the current government.

 

During his visit, the minister laid the foundation stone of the faculty club, main campus Chatha and inaugurated a plant tissue culture laboratory at School of Biotechnology, SKUAST, Jammu, a herbal garden (Sanjeevani Tapovan) and ceremonial planting, also inaugurated basmati producers and beekeeping conventions. The minister also unveiled the world bank-ICAR funded IDP project during the concluding ceremony.

 

Professor J P Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST, Jammu in his address said that the agriculture fair has been possible only with the support of the central government in which the farmers and start-ups of the northern states and UTs have fervently participated.

 

Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, GoI, Dr RC Aggarwal, DDG (Education), ICAR, New Delhi, Dinesh Kulkarni, Organisation Secretary, BKS, Professor Manoj K Dhar, VC, Jammu University, Dr Reddy, Director CSIR-IIIM Jammu also attended the concluding ceremony.

 

Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates the plant tissue

The move is likely to soften the prices of edible oils in the domestic market

The Department of Food and Public Distribution has imposed stock limits on edible oils and oilseeds for a period up to March 31, 2022. The Removal of Licensing Requirements, Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions on Specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2021 has been issued with immediate effect i.e. from September 8, 2021. The future trading on mustard oil and oilseeds was suspended in NCDEX w.e.f October 8, 2021.

 

The Centre’s decision will soften the prices of edible oils in the domestic market, thereby, bringing great relief to consumers across the country. The high prices of edible oil in the international market has a substantial impact on domestic edible oil prices. Measures like rationalisation of import duty structure, launching of a web portal for self-disclosure of stocks held by various stakeholders etc. had already been taken.

 

In a consistent effort to further cool down the domestic prices of edible oils, the Centre has issued the order which was shared with all states. Under this order, the stock limit of all edible oils and oilseeds will be decided by the respective States Government/Union Territories Administration on the basis of available stock and consumption pattern of the State/Union Territory with the following exceptions:

 

(a) an exporter, being a refiner, miller, extractor, wholesaler or retailer or dealer, having importer-exporter code number issued by the Director-General of Foreign Trade if such exporter is able to demonstrate that the whole or part of his stock in respect of edible oils and edible oilseeds are meant for exports, to the extent of the stock meant for export.

 

(b) an importer, being a refiner, miller, extractor, wholesaler or retailer or dealer, if such importer is able to demonstrate that part of his stock in respect of edible oils and edible oilseeds are sourced from imports.

In case, the stocks held by respective legal entities are higher than the prescribed limits then they shall declare the same on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/EOSP/login) of the Department of Food & Public Distribution and bring it to the prescribed stock limits as decided by the State/UT administration where it is conducting its business, within 30 days of the issue of such notification by the said authorities.

The move is likely to soften the

SettleMint has made significant progress and taken rapid strides towards the enablement of blockchain adaption in India

The Indian arm of one of the fastest-growing global blockchain technology giants, Belgium-based SettleMint, announced the culmination of a pilot project with ITC Agri Business. In the two years of beginning operations in the country, SettleMint has made significant progress and taken rapid strides towards the enablement of blockchain adaption in India and the pilot project with ITC Agri Business is a testimony to that effect.

 

Commenting on the project, Shazad Fatmi, CEO, SettleMint India, said, “We were delighted to begin our journey in the agriculture sector in India with ITC Agri division with the pilot. The importance and role of agriculture in India is significant and it is an honour to be working closely with ITC Agri to bring the benefits and advantages of blockchain to the agriculture sector and India.”

 

“Being one of the simplest and fastest blockchain solution providers in the world, we were able to demonstrate the path to leveraging the benefits of blockchain technology via this project. The incredible adoption of this technology across sectors, the world over, augers well for India, as more and more sectors are likely to implement blockchain and reap its benefits,” added Fatmi.

 

“We are pleased to work with SettleMint on this game-changing technology for the agri-tech sector. Blockchain will unlock high-resolution commercial data sets to the agricultural community, leading to accelerated and improved data sharing between upstream and downstream entities and providing for the synchronicity in value chains,” says Rohit Pajni from ITC – ABD.

 

SettleMint has made significant progress and taken

Both the varieties will contribute effectively towards food and nutritional security of the nation

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh released the genetic version of Indian rice and chickpea (DNA panArray) developed by the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR).

 

Dr Singh said that the two DNA chips for rice and chickpea, IndRA and IndiCA are the first pan-genome genotyping arrays in these two crops and will tap the huge potential of Indian plant biodiversity and genomic diversity towards food and nutritional security of the nation. 

 

He said, along with the other research platforms established by DBT in this institute, such as the National Genomics and Genotyping Facility (NGGF), state-of-the-art Advanced Proteomics and Metabolomics Platforms and Plant Transformation Platforms, the translational facility and the chips will tap the huge potential of Indian agricultural biodiversity towards achieving the goals of the National Mission Programmes and SDG zero hunger goal.

 

The minister also inaugurated NIPGR First Translational Facility Network for Speed Breeding and High Throughput (HTP) Field Phenotyping. Referring to NIPGR’s First Translational Facility Network for Speed Breeding and High Throughput (HTP) Field Phenotyping at the campus of Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Limited (BIBCOL), Bulandshahr, UP, Dr Singh said, genomics-assisted breeding is a rapidly emerging strategy for ensuring global food and nutrition security as well as for achieving future sustainable agriculture. 

 

He said the speed breeding technique shortens the breeding cycle by promoting quick growth and development and rapid generation advancement (even up to four to six generations per year) of crop plants. Speed breeding has been demonstrated in wheat, barley, chickpea, pea, canola and peanut in fully enclosed, controlled-environment growth chambers with the supplementary environment.

 

He also noted with satisfaction that very recently, the institute has developed a device for enhancing the shelf life of fruits and vegetables and established its first startup Fruvetech. 

Both the varieties will contribute effectively towards

The states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Tripura and Chhattisgarh participated

The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, has launched the River Ranching Programme at Brijghat, Garh Mukteshwar, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The states of Uttarakhand, Orissa, Tripura and Chhattisgarh also participated in the nationwide river ranching programme. 

 

In UP, three lakhs fingerlings were ranched at three sites namely, Brijghat, Garhmukteshwar, Tigri, Meerut and Bijnor. In Uttarakhand, a total of 1 lakh fingerlings were ranched at Chandi Ghat, Ganga River, Haridwar. Approximately 150 people participated in the river ranching program in Uttarakhand.

 

In Tripura, a total of 1.85 lakh of fingerlings were ranched at four sites namely, Khowai river, Teliamura; Gomati river, Udaipur; Dhalai river, Kamalpur and Deo river, Dashamighat. In Chhattisgarh, 1.5 lakh fingerling has been ranched Mirounee Bairaj, Mahanadi. In Orissa, 1.5 lakh fingering were ranched at Munduli, Cuttack. 

 

“River ranching programme is introduced as a special activity under PMMSY scheme for augmenting and enhancing the fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification and productive utilisation of land and water. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries has designated the National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad as the Nodal Agency under the Central Sector component of PMMSY for implementing River Ranching across the country. 

The states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Orissa,

The government has sanctioned Rs 200 crore for the conservation and management of largest freshwater lake in India

Union Minister for Environment, Forest, Climate Change, Labour and Employment, Bhupender Yadav recently visited Bandipora district. The minister reviewed the status of the works being executed in the Wular Lake with physical and financial achievements, the progress of dredging etc.

Yadav said that the Wular Lake has a huge potential for the biggest fish production source and if exploited, it can change the socio-economic condition of the local population. The minister was informed that the works under the Wular Conservation Project have been taken up on large scale after the government-sanctioned the Wular Action Plan of Rs 200 crore for conservation and management of the lake. He also informed about the nature of catchment, conservation works, bio-diversity conservation and development of eco-tourism etc.

The Minister appreciated the efforts put in by the UT government and the district administration to conserve the lake and uplift the tourism sector in the district and urged the officers to work with extra zeal so as to bring the Wular Lake on the international tourist map.

Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, District Development Council Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, Additional Secretary Environment, Forest, Climate Change, Ravi Agarwal, Commissioner Secretary Forest, Sanjeev Verma, PCCF Dr Mohit Giri, Deputy Commissioner Bandipora Dr Owais Ahmad, Additional District Development Commissioner Ali Afsar Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner Zahoor Ahmad Mir and other senior officers also accompanied the Union Minister.

The government has sanctioned Rs 200 crore

Wholesale and retail prices of wheat decreased by 7.12 per cent and 4.37 per cent respectively over the year

While international prices of edible oils are soaring, the domestic market has reported a declining trend in prices with an exception, informed the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).

 

Though the international prices of edible oils have gone up in the range of 1.95 per cent to 7.17 per cent after the import duty reduction, the decreasing trend in domestic prices and net effect (ranges for 3.26 per cent to 8.58 per cent declined) after duty reduction is quite substantial. Necessary policy intervention by Central Government with reference to duty reduction is proving to be beneficial for the general consumers.

 

International prices of soyabean oil, sunflower oil, crude palm oil and RBD palmolein increased by 1.85 per cent, 3.15 per cent, 8.44 and 10.92 per cent respectively over the month. After the import duty reduction (w.e.f. 11.09.2021) on imported edible oils, domestic retail and wholesale prices reduced in the range of 0.22 per cent to 1.93 per cent. However, Mustard oil is purely domestic oil and its prices are expected to soften with a number of other measures the government is contemplating. 

 

Similarly, the wholesale and retail prices of wheat decreased by 5.39 per cent and 3.56 per cent respectively over the year. The wholesale price of rice decreased by 0.07 per cent while the retail price of rice increased by 1.26 per cent over the month. 

 

The wholesale and retail prices of wheat decreased by 7.12 per cent and 4.37 per cent respectively over the year.

 

Despite the fact that MSP for Rice & Wheat has gone up (from Rs 1868/Qtl. to Rs. 1940/Qtl. for Rice and from Rs. 1925/Qtl. to Rs. 1975/Qtl for Wheat) the price of rice and wheat has decreased in the market which is a comforting factor for consumers.

 

Notably, as of 06.10.2021, taking the reference as of 17.5.2021, the retail prices of gram, tur, urad and moong decreased by 1.08 per cent, 2.65 per cent, 2.83 per cent and 4.99 per cent respectively.

 

Regarding prices of onion, potato and tomato, the all-India average retail prices of potatoes decreased by 44.77 per cent over the year. All India average retail prices of onion decreased by 17.09 per cent over the year. The All India average retail prices of tomatoes decreased by 22.83% over the year.

 

Wholesale and retail prices of wheat decreased

States of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh take steps to control stable burning

Both the Central and state governments of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have taken various measures to diversify crops as well as to reduce the use of PUSA-44 variety of paddy. The burning of paddy straw from the non-basmati variety of crops is a prime concern. Crop diversification and moving away from PUSA-44 variety with short duration high yielding varieties are part of the framework and action plan for control of stubble burning.

As per data received from the state governments of Haryana, Punjab and UP, the total amount of paddy straw generated will come down this year. The total paddy straw generation is likely to come down by 1.31 million tonnes (from 20.05 million tonnes in 2020 to 18.74 million tonnes in 2021) in Punjab; by 0.8 million tonnes (from 7.6 million tonnes in 2020 to 6.8 million tonnes in 2021) in Haryana and; by 0.09 million tonnes (from 0.75 million tonnes in 2020 to 0.67 million tonnes in 2021) in the eight NCR districts of UP this year.

The total quantity of straw generated by the respective states was 28.4 million tonnes in 2020 which is now expected to come down to 26.21 million tonnes in 2021.

The decrease in non-basmati variety is expected to be even higher. Paddy straw generation specifically from the non-basmati variety of crops is expected to decrease from 17.82 million tonnes in 2020 to 16.07 million tonnes in 2021 in Punjab and from 3.5 million tonnes in 2020 to 2.9 million tonnes in 2021 in Haryana.

The commission through a comprehensive framework had directed the respective state governments to promote short duration and early maturing varieties of crops since they can be managed quite efficiently and provide a much wider window for paddy straw management.

States of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh

CM of Odisha Naveen Patnaik emphasises on farmers’ income growth in agri sector etc

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated the Odisha Agri Conclave 2021 virtually. Patnaik said that the state has a conducive policy environment and aspires to become an investment destination of choice by continuously creating and delivering outstanding opportunities for business growth, fostering all-around socio-economic development for the state and its people. 

 

Patnaik invited the top agri-business leaders to be partners in scripting the growth story of agribusiness in Odisha.

 

Speaking on the state’s policy framework for various sectors, he said, “We have introduced a separate agriculture budget for the state and have a robust State Agriculture Policy.

 

Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment Arun Sahoo said, “Odisha is a pioneer in promoting agriculture enterprises through ease of doing business. Mukhya Mantri Krushi Udyog Yojana has been a great support to farm sector business.” He outlined the advantages of schemes like Kalia, Balaram Yojana for the farmers. Chairman WODC and Principal Advisor to CM, Asit Tripathy gave the keynote address.

 

Development Commissioner PK Jena, Satyendra Aggarwal, Business Head, Foods of Adani-Wilmer and Sri Soundara Radjane, CEO of GTechnicio, Science also spoke. NAFED MD Sanjeev Chaddha gave the introductory remarks. Agriculture and FE Secretary Suresh Vasishth welcomed the guests.

 

The Chief Minister released two books on agriculture on the occasion.

CM of Odisha Naveen Patnaik emphasises on

The collaboration will increase farmer’s access to safe herbicide candidates

Enko, a global crop health company, and agrochemical company Nufarm have announced a partnership to develop novel chemistries and expand the supply chain of critical new herbicide solutions in Australia, the US and Europe.

The partnership will directly address the need for new chemistries and more access. Enko and Nufarm will be trialling the effectiveness of combining Enko’s leading herbicide candidate with Nufarm’s products to create unique, safe chemical formulations.

“Nowadays, most agrochemical companies are largely selling the same molecules. Both farmers and suppliers need new herbicide options to meet urgent challenges—issues that affect not just our favourite breakfast food items, but also crops that are essential to food security and economic prosperity across the world,” said Enko CEO, Jacqueline Heard. “Enko partnered with Nufarm because we share a vision for sustainable agriculture and each has unique strengths. Through Nufarm’s strong market access and customer knowledge, we can bring our target-based crop health products to more growers worldwide.”

With machine learning, Enko screens its chemical library of more than 140 billion molecules—a chemical space 15,000 times larger than what other companies can access—to find novel and unexpected product candidates at a scale that would otherwise be impossible. Enko is the first to create a library specifically designed for agriculture. Leveraging this technology alongside Nufarm will create herbicides with multiple modes of action that combat resistant weeds, broaden use cases and remain effective for farmers longer.

The partnership will utilise Enko’s discovery and development capabilities to advance weed control solutions for the most problematic global superweeds. While working in parallel the teams will expedite the development process of lead herbicide candidates.

The collaboration will increase farmer’s access to

The launch of Agoro Carbon Alliance is aimed at enabling the decarbonization of India’s food system

Agoro Carbon Alliance, a global business created for farmers to earn additional revenue from positive climate action, has forayed into the Indian market. Backed by Yara, one of the global agriculture leaders in crop nutrition and integrated with Yara’s global reach, Agoro Carbon Alliance aims to build a more sustainable and profitable food future. 

 

In India, Agoro Carbon Alliance will enable Indian farmers to generate an additional, sustainable income from carbon cropping while maintaining or even increasing crop yields. Agoro Carbon puts Indian farmers at the centre of the solution by incentivising and enabling them to change practices and connecting them to the growing number of businesses that are looking to achieve their climate pledges. 

 

Prithviraj Sen Sharma, MD, Agoro Carbon Alliance India, said, “Agoro aims to foray into the next major planetary-scale agricultural revolution with farmers spearheading the approach locally. Agoro Carbon will provide state-of-the-art digital connectivity to millions of Indian farmers, enabling hyperlocal and granular decision support mechanisms. The platform will further create direct market linkages and enable the discovery of the local grower globally.”

 

With commercial operations across four continents, Agoro Carbon Alliance aims to decarbonise farming and restore carbon to the world’s soil by implementing technologically advanced carbon cropping practices.

The launch of Agoro Carbon Alliance is