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Agro Universities, Agrotech

ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has developed the unique technology

Agrinnovate India, the commercial wing of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi granted license to the Department of Horticulture & Food Processing, Government of Madhya Pradesh for the ‘Aeroponic Method for Virus-free Potato Seed Production’ in New Delhi. The ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has developed the unique technology of Aeroponic Potato Seed Production.

The nutrients are sprayed into the roots in the form of misting through the Aeroponic. The Plant’s upper part remains in the open air and light. An average of 35 to 60 Mini Tubers (3 to 10 Grams) are obtained from one plant. Since, soil is not being used, there are no soil diseases and the Aeroponic System saves two years in the development of breeder seed as compared to the conventional system. To ensure the potato seed’s availability, the technology has been commercialised with 20 firms in eight states.

The Chief Guest, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare asserted on the Central Government’s dedication to ensure the timely supply of the quality and certified seeds to the farmers. 

Tomar stated that the ICAR Institutes develop the technologies for their respective areas.

The Guest of Honor, Bharat Singh Kushwaha, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Horticulture & Food Processing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh hoped that the latest and unique technology will help to meet the requirements of Potato Seeds and enhance its production in the state. Mentioning Madhya Pradesh as the 6th Largest Potato Producing State of the country, Kushwaha underlined the significant role played by Malwa in the potato production.

The minister stated that Madhya Pradesh has emerged as an ideal destination state for potato processing in the country. He also underlined that Indore City alone is contributing for around 30 per cent potato production of the state. The minister accentuated that the licensing will play a crucial role in helping the farmers in the potato crops’ production to a large extent.

E Ramesh Kumar, Horticulture Commissioner, Horticulture & Food Processing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh stated that the technology having the production capacity of one million mini tubers will help to meet the state’s seed requirement of about 4 lakh tonne.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) also spoke on the occasion.

Dr Anand Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticultural Science), ICAR along with Dr NK Pandey, Director, ICAR-CPRI, Shimla and Dr Sudha Mysore, CEO, AgrInnovate India deliberated during the occasion.

ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain, Trade

India would have stocks of 80 LMT of wheat, well above the minimum requirement of 75 LMT

India has a comfortable food situation with an overall surplus availability of grains and stocks expected to be higher than the minimum requirement for the next one year, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Sudhanshu Pandey, said.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi Pandey said that after meeting the requirement of welfare schemes in the year ahead, on April 1, 2023, India would have stocks of 80 LMT of wheat, well above the minimum requirement of 75 LMT. India would have surplus wheat even though production was expected to 1050 LMT, slightly lower than the initial estimate of 1110 LMT in FY 23.

Pandey said that due to higher market prices, a large quantity of wheat was being bought by traders at a higher rate than MSP (Minimum Support Price), which was good for the farmers. “This year due to an increase in market prices and higher demand by the private players both for the domestic as well as export purposes, the purchase by the government agency is less. But that goes in favour of the farmers. Farmers are getting a good price for the wheat,” the secretary said.

The Secretary underlined the surplus availability of rice as well. He said, “Our rice procurement last year was about 600 LMT and this year same figure is expected. Our annual requirement for NFSA is roughly about 350 LMT. So, we are in a surplus situation.”

He added that from next year, fortified rice will be distributed to the entire Public Distribution System (PDS) and with surplus rice stocks we are in a comfortable situation.

Pandey also talked about the reallocation order under which 55 LMT additional Rice has been allocated in place of wheat in PMGKY. He said that this was done after extensive consultation will all States/UTs in two steps- firstly, the General Manager of Food Corporation of India (FCI) consulted various State authorities. In the second step, at the Ministry level, the PD (Public Distribution) division responsible for PDS in the country, consulted with States/UTs.

Talking about the wheat exports, Pandey said that till now 40 LMT of wheat has been contracted for export and about 11 LMT has been exported in April 2022. He informed that after Egypt, Turkey had also approved the import of Indian wheat. Pandey said that from June, wheat from Argentina and Australia would start arriving in the international markets, so this was the opportune time for exporters to sell wheat in the international markets.

Pandey also clarified that the edible oil stocks were sufficient in the country and after a temporary ban by Indonesia, the palm oil imports were expected to start soon and this would soften the edible oil prices in the country.

India would have stocks of 80 LMT

AgroPolicy, Country, Supply Chain, World

The Russia-Ukraine turmoil has had and in future will have a lot of repercussions on the global food sector. Many developing and developed nations could be impacted by it, including India. However, this unfortunate chaotic situation could turn out to be a silver lining for Indian exporters. Let’s see if that is possible and how.

Be it natural calamities, or war between different nations, the first thing which comes to one’s mind is the disruption of trade which in some ways lead to the food crisis in certain parts of the world. Though the Russia-Ukraine war which is now going on for the second month has not only taken its toll across various sectors around the world, however, the main worry remains on the import of food grains to various countries including India.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), prices of wheat, corn and cooking oils have all increased to record high soaring prices. Food commodities are likely to expose several million people to hunger as the supply of key staple crops such as wheat, corn and sunflower could be affected. FAO states that countries like Australia, Argentina, India and the US could make up for a portion of the grain shortfalls from Ukraine and Russia. However, the FAO’s preliminary assessment is that, due to the war, 20 per cent to 30 per cent of wheat, corn and sunflower seed crops will either not be planted or go unharvested during Ukraine’s 2022-2023 season.

Lingering crisis
According to the United Nations, the war has led to a giant leap in food prices last month to another record high. Ukraine is a major producer of cereals such as maize and wheat which have risen sharply in price too. The UN says that the war in the Black Sea region spread shocks through markets for staple grains and vegetable oils. The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN warned last month that food prices could rise by up to 20 per cent as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, raising the risk of increased malnutrition across the world. The world’s wheat projection has been cut for 2022 from 790 million tonnes to 784 million tonnes, because of the possibility that at least 20 per cent of Ukraine’s winter crop will not be harvested because of direct destruction.

The India story
The pandemic followed by the political imbalance between Ukraine and Russia has resulted in the advent of inflation, resulting in rising costs for critical commodities such as cooking oil and largely the food sector. India imports around 90 per cent of sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, hence, the crisis is likely to impact prices and supply in the country. A report from Reuters states that the
Government of India has halted sunflower oil imports from the Black Sea region as about 3,80,000 tonnes of sunflower oil shipments from the region are stuck at ports amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As per the Department of Consumer Affairs website, the prices of six edible oils — groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, soya oil, sunflower oil and palm oil — have risen between 9 per cent and 56 per cent at all-India levels in the last one year and with the war in full swing, the price will head north.

However, according to the All India Edible Oil Merchant Federation, the import price of edible oil has seen around 12 to 15 per cent corrections in the last two to three weeks and will be reflected
in the retail market in the coming month.

Piyush Goyal, Commerce Minister, Government of India said, “Sunflower oil imports have been affected as it largely came from Ukraine, it has a smaller proportion in our edible oils basket. But, whenever there is a situation like this it has an impact all over the world and almost all edible oil prices in the entire world have shot up today because of the Russia-Ukraine war.” Crisil in its report mentions that the supply disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a supply shortfall of at least 4-6 lakh tonnes of crude sunflower oil for India next fiscal. The report further mentions that Russia’s major banks are severed from the SWIFT system after it invaded Ukraine and the resultant sanctions imposed by the US and European nations. Although trading of food products with Russia has not been prohibited, trade settlement has become difficult, leading to supply disruptions.

An opportunity for Indian exporters
Amidst the crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war created an unlikely opportunity for some of the Indian agri-exporters who trade in wheat, maize, millet and processed foods. Since the war began, Indian wheat has been in huge demand among European countries. It may be noted that Ukraine is the top wheat exporter in the world and Russia and Ukraine together have a 25 per cent share in the global wheat market.

Says Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, “Wheat exports from India, the world’s secondbiggest producer of the grain, have picked up after global prices surged due to Russia’s war
against Ukraine, and total shipments from the country have already touched a record of 6.6 million tonnes this fiscal so far.”

He added, “It is an “opportunity” for Indian exporters as the new wheat crop will be available early from March 15 onwards when compared to other global wheat producers.” Not only wheat but sugar exports are also expected to touch 7.5 million tonnes in the 2021- 22 marketing year (October-September), much higher than 2 million tonnes in the last year buoyed by strong global prices.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) mentions, a ban on Russian flights to Europe has also resulted in an opportunity for Indian exporters of processed foods like say nuts, fruit juices, confectionery, pulses etc.

Govt’s initiative
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during one of his speeches in Rajya Sabha said “Indian wheat exports are set to cross 70 lakh metric tonnes this year from merely 2 lakh metric tonnes two years ago. Many ships and containers have been blocked in several European countries following the Russia-Ukraine war and the crisis has only deepened, especially after the COVID-19 crisis.”

“The government has maintained dialogue with shipping companies and those who operate containers. The government is keeping a close watch on the situation and whatever steps are required to be taken it will take action,” he said.

The Government of India is waiting for things to stabilise. The Department of Commerce is holding regular consultations with all stakeholders to ensure the availability of essential imports and to find alternate destinations for our exports.

“Our position is quite comfortable,” says Food Secretary Pandey while mentioning the case of edible oils for which India is heavily dependent on imports and for sunflower oil amidst the Ukraine crisis.

What does the future behold?
No one knows till when will this war go on. The likely disruptions in agricultural activities in both countries will lead to an escalation of food insecurity globally when international food and input prices are already high and volatile. Many countries are likely to be affected by this war. India seems to be well prepared to mitigate the crisis. Though there has been a lot of hue and cry on how India overcomes challenges when certain situations arise, be it sanctions from the US and other developed countries, the country can handle the crisis in a better way when it comes to strategies like food protectionism.

Sanjiv Das
sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com


The Russia-Ukraine turmoil has had and in

Agrotech

Drone technology is all the rage right now because of its numerous applications, and future possibilities in farming. Initially, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used by the military, but other industries quickly leveraged the wide range of applications for UAVs. Drones encourage farmers to overcome a wide range of obstacles and reap numerous benefits from precision farming in addition to enhancing overall performance. Human error and inefficiency in traditional farming methods leave a $1.3 billion market void that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) can fill. Let’s explore further

Drone technology is being used to eliminate any ambiguity or guesswork and instead focus on accurate and reliable information. Young budding entrepreneurs in India’s agro sector have been enticed by the recent trends of using drones to improve overall farming operations. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) is a groundbreaking initiative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) to further support these startups. It aims to improve agricultural and allied sector infrastructure to encourage agribusiness and agripreneurship by facilitating financial aid and cultivating a business incubator system.

Elaborating further on the benefits of these flying machines, Devan Chandrasekharan, Founder and Managing Director, Fuselage Innovations said, “We at Fuselage Innovations address the need to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the farming business by deploying the most advanced solution for mapping and diagnostics of farmland through dedicated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/drones.
Our vision is sustainable agriculture and food security through universal digital access to agronomy knowledge and best farming practices.”

“Doing current projects, we realised that the idea we have put forward has a huge impact on the agricultural sector. By adopting our drone farming method, we have been able to increase
the crop yield of the farmers by 35 per cent and reduce the utilisation of agricultural resources by up to 70 per cent. Yield loss could be minimised by being able to detect the disease earlier and
for that, our FIA spectra UAV is best suited for this job,” he added. Currently, the company is working with 220 farmers in Kerala on a consolidated area of about 10000 acres. The firm is providing its services to these farmers on a regular basis and in future, it is planning to expand its services to pan India level.

Hurdles blocking the growth

As operating drones requires a specialised set of skills, there’s a lot of potential for creating jobs in rural areas by offering training in this area. A total of around 2.1 million new rural jobs are expected to be created as a result of these cuttingedge technologies. But still there are a number of issues that need to be addressed in order for adoption to be successful. Highlighting one major issue, Mrinal Pai, CoFounder, Skylark Drones said “In addition to the advantages, the use of drones in agriculture has some limitations. Due to their larger payloads, drones can fly for 20-60 minutes on a single charge. This results in a smaller area covered per charge and a higher operating cost for the drone. Research into developing lighter, longerlasting batteries for agricultural drones needs to be accelerated by the government in order to increase their operational flexibility.”

He further said, “At the very first time, the farmers give us a very confused look when we brief them about our innovative solutions. But as they get used to our products and services then it is a smooth ride for them. This is a very important aspect of our business to make farmers aware of the benefits that this technology brings to them and for that, we provide free services to them on an initial stage.”

Enhancing the skill set of the farmers

As mentioned earlier, operating drones require a different set of skills and to attain these, proper training is required so that these flying machines can be operated at an ease. But unlike in the past, now most of the farmers are technically sound therefore; these farmers can be trained easily. Concurrently, it will create enormous job opportunities as more of the youth will join the agro sector and with their knowledge and skills, this technology can revolutionise this entire domain. To meet the growing demand for drones in agriculture, the newly established Kaushalya – The Skill University (KSU) in Ahmedabad has established its School of Drones, which will enrol and train 20,000 children from rural backgrounds and farming families. The university has come up with the idea of “trainer entrepreneurs” as a solution to the lack of available drone technology trainers. It has taken the university five years to put together a road map that includes input from civil aviation, flying schools, drone federations, drone startups, and industry leaders. Drone flying skills, drone assembly and maintenance, value-added services such as data analysis and artificial intelligence application, among other things, are all part of the curriculum at KSU’s ‘School of Drones,’ which will be established in the near future.Using the infrastructure of the university, these trainers whose remuneration will be linked
to their performance, will be paid by the state government through university in case of free or subsidised training. More the trainees, the more, the trainers earn with the university fixing the rates.

Nitin Konde

Drone technology is all the rage right

Agrotech, R&D

After receiving a nod from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, many agri companies are raring to go and make Drones a mainstay for farmers, with big and small land holdings, alike. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International have already begun drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot peppers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Realtime agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability are but a few promising deliverables of the versatile drones.

In August 2021, the MoCA and regulator DGCA allowed 10 organisations, including state governments and private companies, to use drones for a year. Those given permission include – Karnataka, National Health Mission (Mumbai), Gangtok Smart City Development project, Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) plant at West Bengal’s Burnpur, Hyderabad’s Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy, Gujarat’s Blue Ray Aviation, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bayer Crop Science, and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. In December 2021, the Government had
released SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for drone regulation for pesticide application. It covered important aspects like statutory provisions, flying permissions, area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones and weather conditions. Traditionally it has been the farmer who
sprays his crops physically. Even with hired manual labour, this is a costly and timeconsuming affair. In the manual spraying method, a farmer generally spends a considerable amount on labour charges, more water and a higher quantity of chemicals. With drones, it takes only a few minutes to spray fertilisers and permitted pesticides on one acre as opposed to 5- 6 hours earlier. Also crops at any height can be effectively reached, as drones ensure comprehensive and equal distribution of fertilisers and pesticides. Drones can support more targeted applications of insect, weed and disease-control products. This ensures correct dosage and also limits the risk of accidental exposure to chemicals. Besides,drones also offer real-time agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability.

Bayer conducted its first drone trial at its multi-crop breeding centre in Chandipa, near Hyderabad. The on-ground event, showcasing a field demonstration on the use of drones in agricultural operations. Bayer has partnered with innovative drone startup, General Aeronautics Pvt Ltd and conducted several in-house and external R&D trials with universities and central research institutions to generate data to make drone-based services available to farmers. Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Bayer has been working closely with the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Civil Aviation,
industry bodies, regulators, policymakers and drone manufacturers over the last few years to introduce a conducive policy framework for the implementation of drone technology in Indian agriculture.

Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Suchinnovations can shape the roadmap of sustainable farming in India, while spurring smallholder support and food security.D Narain, CEO and Managing Director, Bayer CropScience Ltd said, “Drone applications are operating in other small farmer countries in Asia and have the potential to deliver significant value to smallholders in India, as well as for the
economy and the planet.”

Aligning itself with the Government of India’s intent to promote drone use in agriculture, Coromandel International Limited, the country’s second largest phosphatic fertiliser player and part of Murugappa Group, conducted its first drone trials in Hyderabad. Commenting on the trials, Sameer Goel, Managing Director, Coromandel International Limited said, “The guidelines issued by the UnionMinistry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to make drone technology affordable to the stakeholders in the agricultural sector is indeed a major boost towards promoting precision farming in the country. Drones are especially suited for a country like India with small landholding farmers, since other modes of aerial application aren’t viable here. While bringing in an element of precision, drone spraying will also help farmers mitigate the issue of labour unavailability during peak season and decrease the time to spray. These trials are our first steps towards embracing this next-gen technology.”

The drone industry has gone through a paradigm shift in the last few months and the agri industry is one of the few industries to have received approvals to operate drones for farming operations, with new government regulations making deployment, design, development and manufacturing of drone technology easier. For drone technology to flourish, the government’s emphasis on drones for farming
operations can greatly benefit farmers, with promotion of drone usage from crop assessment to agrochemical/fertiliser spraying. Drones can be flown easily in green zones with almost all agricultural areas falling in the green zone.

New business opportunity
Also the AgTech sector is abuzz with increasing flow of growth capital into startups that play across the value chain from market linkage to financing to precision farming to mechanisation services. A fast-growing startup ecosystem is bringing new business models that seek to address several legacy challenges in the industry. Mahindra & Mahindra has started conducting drone-based agricultural trials, precision spraying on paddy, hot pepper crop in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While informing about drone trials Hemant Sikka, President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “Mahindra & Mahindra is already making drone services accessible and affordable through Krish-e, our Farming-as-a-Service business. New business models like drone rentals are providing drone services in India, opening many possibilities for the future.”

Sikka also added that a new business vertical, Krish-e provides digitally enabled services, across the complete crop cycle affordably and accessibly to farmers and includes advisory, access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions. These are all focused on bringing down the overall cost of farming, improving crop output and consequently the farmer’s income.Drone tech adoption
Promotion of drone design, development, and manufacturing in India, specifically for Indian farming conditions will further help develop andboost adoption of the technology in the rural and agri sector. Apart from releasing new regulations, the Government has also announced the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for drone manufacturers to promote India as a drone hub. The government has also allocated Rs 120 croreover next three financial years under PLI scheme, banning import of drones (component import is allowed) to promote the domestic production of drones, also making licences to operate drones easily available across the country.

To promote drone applications in agriculture, the Government has included drones under the SMAM (Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanisation) scheme. Under the scheme, CHCs, village level entrepreneurs, FPOs will get the subsidy of 40 per cent up to Rs 4 lakh. Also CIB&RC (Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee) has rolled out guidelines for registration of agrochemicals for drone spraying. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has also released the SOPs for spraying of agrochemicals and fertilisers.

After receiving approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, agriculture companies
are hoping for an increase in penetration of drone technology in the agriculture sector. Companies are trying to promote drone technology by making drone services accessible and affordable
through providing access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions to small-scale farmers. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International
Limited have started drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot pepper in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Since drones offer real-time agronomic
advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability, it has paved a way to new business opportunities in the agri industry in India.

Dipti Barve
dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

After receiving a nod from the Ministry

Agrotech, Start ups

CropTrails will help SatSure expand and strengthen its international market reach into its target geographies in Africa, LATAM and SEA

Bangalore based SatSure, a deep tech startup working at the intersection of spacetech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Software as a Service (SaaS) to drive decision intelligence, is pleased to announce the acquisition of SaaS application CropTrails, which was conceptualised and incorporated in the year 2018 by Indore-based startup OEPP Innovations Private Limited.

CropTrails is a web and android application designed to bridge gaps in the processes of farm management. The mobile application is used as an information collecting tool by the field officers or supervisors to record and digitise information about farmers, farms and crops. The application allows the users to monitor and control the crop cycle, track input usage like fertilisers, access weather forecasts, and track farm visits by the supervisors, among others. CropTrails also doubles as a field force productivity monitoring tool with in-built role-based user management.

This development comes in after SatSure raised $5 million in Pre-Series A funding in a round earlier this year. SatSure shall be transforming CropTrails into a no-code platform for IT teams of agribusinesses to rapidly prototype and build their in-house tool that can be easily integrated with SatSure Sparta’s datasets.

“Farm digitisation tools like CropTrails are necessary for countries such as Nigeria and the Philippines. It forms the first digital layers on top of which other services can be rendered. Thus, this acquisition will help SatSure expand further and strengthen its international market reach into its target geographies in Africa, LATAM and SEA. SatSure will also use the collected data and feed it into its proprietary algorithms to increase its learning rate as part of this deal,” said Prateep Basu, founder and CEO of SatSure.

CropTrails will help SatSure expand and strengthen

Agrotech, R&D

Today, satellite-driven technology, big data analytics and digital solutions are helping farmers in many countries including India to make better and more informed cropping decisions. Drones have become one among the most promising emerging technologies. However, the benefit quotient of these airborne unmanned tech can be expedited by some swift and pragmatic governmental interventions. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global agriculture drones market size was valued at $0.88 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $5.89 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 22.4 per cent from 2021 to 2030. Keeping these stats in mind, let’s delve deeper.

Even though the Agri-drone sector in India is at a very nascent stage, the future looks promising as there are many key players like Bayer, CropLife India, BharatRohan, Dhanuka, among other players, entering the Indian market to expand the use of drone technology. Recently, the Government of India has introduced new rules and regulations pertaining to drones which has made operations easier for the drone companies.

The policy on Kisan Drones will significantly boost the Agri Drone Industry in India with grants, subsidies, and research opportunities. Apart from its advantages and benefits, the drone industry faces bigger concerns like labour shortage, proper training of operators, use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and cost aspect which restricts the industry from adopting this technology. All these concerns call for looking at this technology in a more comprehensive way.

Can drone industry flourish in India?
According to a report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and global consultancy firm, EY, Indian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to touch $885.7 million by 2021, while the global market size of drone is pegged at $21.47 billion. Currently India is the 5th largest importer of drones. In the past few years, use of drones in agriculture has gained a lot of attention in digital space and precision agriculture is the need of the hour. There is an immediate need for the agricultural sector to adopt leading-edge digital and precision agriculture technologies to improve farm productivity and democratise access to market information for all farmers in India. Drone technology can potentially revolutionise the farming industry through need-based precise and focused application of crop inputs.

As pointed out by Rishabh Choudhary, Co-Founder & CTO, BharatRohan, “We have a population of 1.3 billion people which is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050 and we must find ways to meet the increased food demand without modifying natural resources. Still, an average Indian farmer loses 20-25 per cent of his crop due to pests, diseases, and various other ecological factors. Precision agriculture can help farmers make better informed decisions while helping them with sustainable farming practices and increase their profit per acre. Drones are very versatile and can help us understand the state of crops at centimetre level precision with high efficiency and low cost and can also help farmers spray chemicals at a much faster pace.”

He further said, “Rise in venture capital funding for the deployment of drones in the agriculture industry and surge in adoption of precision farming solutions by the farmers drives the growth of the agri drone industry. The increase in the automation industry in farming and agriculture provides abundant growth opportunities for drone’s application in the agriculture sector.”

Adopting drone technology
With the market for agricultural drones reaching a whopping $1.3 billion globally, the purpose of adopting drone technology is to focus n accurate and reliable information. For which, industry players and the government of India are working keenly towards drone adoption technology in the country. As mentioned by Choudhary, “Recently the Government of India came up with new Drone rules and regulations which has made operations easier for the Drone companies and Policy on Kisan Drones will significantly boost the Agri Drone Industry in India with grants, subsidy and research opportunities provided by the government. Agri drones will be the future of India. Drone startups can use this opportunity to accomplish better technological capacities. It is also a pushing for public-private partnerships for high-tech farm services in which drone technology will be a major player. All these efforts would not just encourage farmers to switch to digital and mechanised farming but also boost growth in the agribusiness sector and create more employment opportunities for youth.”

In another initiative, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed extensive use of drones in agriculture, including spraying insecticides and nutrients. The proposed drones-as-a-service (DRaaS) model has capabilities to revamp and boost India’s fragmented drone industry for new business and employment avenues. In her budget speech, the minister spoke about the Drone Shakti scheme, encouraging drones as a service in our country. Undoubtedly, drones have evolved from defence only equipment to multi-purpose equipment, which can be used for several sectors like governance, farming, logistics, to name a few.

Furthermore, Ministry of Agriculture has recently granted interim approval to 477 pesticides for drone usage, to fast track agridrone adoption in India. For this, each pesticide needs to be approved by the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee which would take 18-24 months. The registered pesticides will include insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators (PGRs), for commercial use throughdrones for two years.

How cost effective is it?

The first and foremost issue that is faced by this industry is the cost aspect of drones. As highlighted by Navneet Ravikar, Chairman &Managing Director, Leads Connect Services, “Possibilities of a phenomenal thrive in the Agri Drone industry is imminent regardless of the challenges it may face due to the requirement of change in the mindset of the stakeholders. First and foremost, the issue is regarding the cost aspect of drones. There is apprehension that this may either discourage or create doubts in the minds of the farmers.”


Managing cost-aspect of drones
Consideration of cost aspects should now be in the context of long-term returns. Especially when there is a looming threat of climate change and shrinking arable land on agricultural productivity.
Intervention of technology is now indispensable to increase agricultural productivity, which will certainly help in recovering the cost of implemented technologies. There is a need to work on possibilities where financial assistance can be given to farmers or Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for adopting advanced technologies. The government has already announced a huge subsidy on drones
being purchased by FPOs.

Boosting agri-drone industry
To boost the agri-drone industry in India, many key players have stepped up with initiatives that have helped farmers exponentially. Delhibased agritech startup BharatRohan Airborne Innovations has helped 3600 mint farmers in Uttar Pradesh to save around Rs 3620 per acre. Choudhary said, “BharatRohan is currently serving 20,000 acres of the land owned by farmers spread across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. We incentivise farmers who implement our sustainable crop advisories to farmers associated with industrial buyers who are looking for traceable farm produce and
ingredients. We have thorough experience in working with crops like Sugarcane, Japanese Mint, Paddy, Potato, and some seed spices and pulses.”

He further pointed out, “By using drone technology, we can optimise wastes as Agri drones enable optimum usage of all the resources in the field. We use UAV/Drone based hyperspectral imagery for agri-advisory and drone based digital soil testing. We deploy advanced remote sensing tools like drones equipped with Hyperspectral Cameras to monitor the agriculture crops of the subscriber farmers on a 7 to 15-day interval. Thereby replacing the guesswork of traditional practices with scientific advisory. Hyperspectral imaging is a tool that helps them detect minuscule colour changes occurring in a plant when it is infested by a pest or a disease.” The startup has recently raised seed fundinginvestments in a round led by Upaya Social Ventures and Acumen Fund, to expand its dronebased crop monitoring in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Furthermore, with the central government giving impetus to ‘Kisan Drones’, drone startups as well as large industry players like Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector and CropLife are putting together their agri drone strategy.

There has been an exceptional collaborative and consultative fast paced policy making process led by the Government with stakeholders’ involvement, preceding the Budget announcements for Krishi Drones. CropLife India was closely involved in development of the drone application Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Guidelines for use of Drone application for crop protection, as part of the expert committee set up, and shared best practices across Asian countries.

Sharing his insights on this, Asitava Sen, Chief Executive Officer, CropLife India said, “The government is already playing a facilitator’s role with progressive policies, subsidy schemes and production-linked incentives to make India a major hub for drones.” He further said, “We should now look into how all stakeholders can work together to help develop a Conducive Ecosystem for Drone Applications in Agriculture. The objective forevery stakeholder should be market development through farmer awareness, successful demonstrations and evolving innovative business models. There will be plenty of scope for improving market share later.”

Not only this, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently launched Kisan Drones at 100 places across the country from Manesar. “I am sure this launch will not only prove to be a milestone in the development of the drone sector but will also open endless doors of possibilities. I am also told that Garuda Aerospace has set a target of making one lakh ‘Made in India’ drones in the next two years. This will generate new jobs and new opportunities for several youngsters. I congratulate the team of Garuda Aerospace,” said PM Modi.

According to the PM, the Kisan Drone is now the beginning of a new age revolution in this direction. In another step towards realising a collective vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Central Government has also approved the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components.

In another step towards realising a collective vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Central Government has also approved the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components.

Global scenario

According to the report published by Allied Market Research (AMR), the global agriculture drones’ market was estimated at $0.88 billion how all stakeholders can work together to help develop a Conducive Ecosystem for Drone Applications in Agriculture. The objective for every stakeholder should be market development through farmer awareness, successful demonstrations and evolving innovative business models. There will be plenty of scope for improving market share later.”

One of the leading global suppliers of specialty chemicals for agriculture, Clariant has recently launched DropForward: a focused approach to providing precision application with adjuvants and co- formulants. The company is offering its customers Synergen DRT: the first solution to come out of its DropForward concept. “Synergen DRT helps to control drift and volatility of fine droplets during application and helps improving the coverage and penetration of the actives in the leaves, boosting biological performance as well as making drone spraying more sustainable and environmentally friendly,” said Fabio Caravieri, Clariant’s Head of Marketing, Industrial & Consumer Specialties.

Further, Bayer has partnered with innovative drone startup, General Aeronautics and conducted several in-house and external R&D trials with universities and central research institutions to generate data to make drone-based services available to farmers. Another leading firm ADAMA and Agremo, a leading aerial analytics provider, have announced an expansion programme of the ADAMA EagleEye, a drone analytics farming platform powered by Agremo and operated by ADAMA.

Dispelling doubts, instilling confidence
The most relevant measure that is required from the industry is to make use of drones cost effective for farmers.

Ravikar said, “It is important to understand that the success of the drone industry is also dependent on the conviction of farmers that using drones will not create a huge financial burden for them. So, in the truest essence, drone manufacturers must start putting farmers on priority when they discuss their business models on the table. However, we are yet to be fully selfsufficient in drone manufacturing. Sum it up, we have a long way to cover to provide cost effective methods using drones.”

He added, “Also, the growth of the agri drone industry is dependent on encouraging frameworks where multi and inter disciplinary technologies can be incorporated seamlessly. In addition, this is also very important to understand that flying drones across regions can be cumbersome and time consuming. Therefore, robust smart drone survey frameworks need to be developed. Besides making the process of data collection easy and seamless, smart drone surveys can be instrumental in threshold analysis, and such analysis is necessary for upscaling things.”

Besides this, the government needs to create a positive outlook for imports and provide policy support for ‘Make in India’ drones.

Pooja Yadav
pooja.yadav@mmactiv.com


Today, satellite-driven technology, big data analytics and

AgroPolicy, Sustainability

The forum hosted an exclusive CEOs session on global opportunities for India

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, recently launched the Asia Bio Ag Forum, a two-day conclave held by the Agriculture Today Group at National Agriculture Science Centre (NASC), New Delhi. The objective of the forum was to promote and boost the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices and ensure food and nutritional security, as well as farmer prosperity, across Asia.

The forum hosted an exclusive CEOs session on global opportunities for India. On the Chair and Co-Chair was Dr William Dar, Agriculture Minister – Philippines; and Dr Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary-General, AARDO. Other dignitaries that were present for the event included Dr Rattan Lal, Renowned Soil Health Scientist and World Food Prize Laureate; Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA; Dr MJ Saxena, Managing Director, Ayurvet; Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director, Plant-Based Foods Industry Association; and Dr Neelam Patel, Senior Advisor Agriculture, NITI Aayog.

Tomar said, “The government’s intent hereon is to eliminate the practice of middlemen in the agriculture value chain so that the farmers get a fair price for their products and do not face discrimination in any manner. I assure you that we are also taking efforts to make agriculture and farmers connected with the latest technology.”

Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director, PBFIA, highlighted three trends shaping the plant-based food sector- a) sustainability, b) the tsunami of entrepreneurs and consumer focus on health c) the treatment of food and diet as a means of medicine.

Sethi added, “Plenty of young entrepreneurs are entering the plant-based food sector, and they need guidance concerning the preparation of safe foods as per the regulations laid by the regulatory authorities. Therefore, optimum training, handholding and mentoring support become essential. A joint task can provide valuable support to not just institutes like NIFTEM but to hundreds of other institutes breeding young scientists and entrepreneurs. The other potential opportunity can come from pea production and processing amidst the geo-political changes caused by Ukraine- Russia war. The demand for pea protein to formulate value-added products is witnessing a tremendous rise globally. Additionally, there is a need to bring a component of technology into the food production system. Wherein we can save soil, water bodies and reduce air pollution. Including mention of the carbon footprint of food choices as a labelling requirement”.

Dr William Dar, Agriculture Minister of Philippines, Mr Hugo Javier Gobbi, Ambassador of Argentina in India, and Dr Douglas Ry Wagner, Global CEO, AlgaeEnergy, Spain, stressed that cooperation between nations is key to the global adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
The conclave successfully concluded with a brief presentation of BioAg Asia Awards 2022 and a vote of thanks.

The forum hosted an exclusive CEOs session

Agrotech, Europe, R&D

The EXPLOYO™ Vit targets the most damaging pests for wine growers, the vine moth Lobesia botrana, which feeds on grapes and infects crops with botrytis.

Syngenta Crop Protection, a leader in biological innovation, and M2i, a leading technology provider of pheromone-based crop protection solutions, expand their collaboration and launch EXPLOYO™ Vit, a new pheromone-based solution to help wine growers in France effectively manage detrimental pests in vines that impact the quality and yield of grapes. The technology targets one of the most damaging pests for wine growers, the vine moth Lobesia botrana, which feeds on grapes and infects crops with botrytis, a potentially deadly fungus that causes vines to rot.

Authorized and certified for organic farming, EXPLOYO™ Vit is biosourced and natural. It can be sprayed directly onto the vines and provides wine growers greater flexibility to better manage their crop. Pheromones are natural signaling compounds that effectively control pests by interfering with their mating behaviors and preventing their reproduction. Since pheromones are non-toxic and species-specific, they help preserve the diversity and abundance of insects and pollinators.

Wine growers across France will be the first to benefit from the new and sustainable solution. Wine serves as one of France’s most valuable agricultural products, accounting for around 15 percent of agricultural revenue. France produces 16 percent of all wine produced worldwide, and more than 300,000 jobs in the country are linked to the production and sale of wine.

After the market launch in France, EXPLOYO™ Vit will be rolled out in several wine-producing countries in Europe including Spain, Portugal and Greece over the next 12 months, pending regulatory approval. The technology will be marketed in Latin America under the name brand LOBESIA Pro Spray®.

Corey Huck, Head of Global Biologicals at Syngenta Crop Protection, said, “Our collaboration with M2i is a strong example of our commitment to be the partner of choice for leading technology providers in the biologicals space. We are committed to driving sustainable agriculture practices and are excited to provide wine growers across different markets with a product that helps enhance the quality of grapes and fights against key vine pests.”

The EXPLOYO™ Vit, targets the most damaging pests for wine growers, the vine moth Lobesia botrana, which feeds on grapes and infects crops with botrytis.

Syngenta Crop Protection, a leader in biological innovation, and M2i, a leading technology provider of pheromone-based crop protection solutions, expand their collaboration and launch EXPLOYO™ Vit, a new pheromone-based solution to help wine growers in France effectively manage detrimental pests in vines that impact the quality and yield of grapes. The technology targets one of the most damaging pests for wine growers, the vine moth Lobesia botrana, which feeds on grapes and infects crops with botrytis, a potentially deadly fungus that causes vines to rot.

Authorized and certified for organic farming, EXPLOYO™ Vit is biosourced and natural. It can be sprayed directly onto the vines and provides wine growers greater flexibility to better manage their crop. Pheromones are natural signaling compounds that effectively control pests by interfering with their mating behaviors and preventing their reproduction. Since pheromones are non-toxic and species-specific, they help preserve the diversity and abundance of insects and pollinators.

Wine growers across France will be the first to benefit from the new and sustainable solution. Wine serves as one of France’s most valuable agricultural products, accounting for around 15 percent of agricultural revenue. France produces 16 percent of all wine produced worldwide, and more than 300,000 jobs in the country are linked to the production and sale of wine.

After the market launch in France, EXPLOYO™ Vit will be rolled out in several wine-producing countries in Europe including Spain, Portugal and Greece over the next 12 months, pending regulatory approval. The technology will be marketed in Latin America under the name brand LOBESIA Pro Spray®.

Corey Huck, Head of Global Biologicals at Syngenta Crop Protection, said, “Our collaboration with M2i is a strong example of our commitment to be the partner of choice for leading technology providers in the biologicals space. We are committed to driving sustainable agriculture practices and are excited to provide wine growers across different markets with a product that helps enhance the quality of grapes and fights against key vine pests.”

The EXPLOYO™ Vit targets the most damaging

Agrotech, Horticulture, Interaction, IT, Opinions

Praman.AI, the world’s largest Horticulture Exchange launched in August 2021, has introduced the first-of-its-kind revolutionary exchange platform that is dedicated to horticulture and agri commodity trading, with over Rs 5000 crore in annualised trade value. Saurabh S, President, Praman.AI reveals more about the exchange and how it can empower farmers

Tell us about the exchange platform that is dedicated to horticulture and agri commodity trading?

The agriculture market for spices, nuts, fruits and vegetables is a massive $1.4 trillion in value and Praman with its AI-enabled Quality underwriting and trade settlement has disrupted the way fresh produce is traded within a short span of six months.

Praman, the world’s largest horticulture exchange, was launched in August 2021, facilitates spot-trading, e-auctioning, and reverse-auctioning in horticulture commodities of fruits, vegetables and spices including onion, cardamom, apples etc.

Praman’s technology intervention converts farmyards into digital market yards with end-to-end traceability, quality assurance and trade discovery. Today, we are pioneering the concept of the spot-quality assessment across cash crops and have become the benchmark for hundreds of farmers, farmer producer organisations, modern trade corporations, and general trade buyers across the country and the globe. 

Sellers and buyers get access to the national price discovery grid, digital trade discovery, quality underwriting and guaranteed trade settlements. We also provide a full-stack service bouquet of logistics, warehousing, and credit financing of these trades which then becomes an end-to-end post-harvest solution. 

Praman has proved to be a trusted partner with a flourishing community of 34000+ growers, 5000+ buyers, and 700+ partnerships including major corporate houses and nodal governmental organisations like NAFED, AP Markfed, the Spices Board of India, J&K Horticulture Board among others.

How does Praman.AI want to bring in a revolution in the horticulture sector?

Praman’s Exchange platform makes horticulture trade easy, simple, and trustworthy. It has been built on three pillars:

Trade Discovery: A digital platform that enables fair price discovery and strong market linkage by driving geographic expansion and market outreach.

Quality Assurance: Our proprietary Intello Labs’ technology enables digital and spot quality assessments on trade accepted parameters that are instant and accurate at every stage of the supply chain.

Trade Settlements:  We have integrated a full-stack array of services including logistics, warehousing, payments and credit facilitation for its users to seamlessly execute trade contracts.

We at Praman recognise the imminent need to empower all our farmers, traders, and consumers with digitalisation and sustainability across the globe. 

In the wide-scale adoption of digital trade in fresh produce, Praman has the potential to disrupt how horticulture and agri-commodities are traded the world over thus revolutionising a trillion-dollar produce trade economy.

It is also our firm belief that with Praman and our technology, the world will save over $250 billion annually in wasted horticulture produce, thus, creating a sustainable planet through reduced agri-wastage. 

How many companies are listed at your exchange? Are you associated with BSE, NSE etc?

We are not associated with NSE or BSE. Praman’s exchange platform focuses on fair price discovery of agri-produce for quality produce through real-time auctions and spot trades.

Over 8000+ Traders and Trading / Procurement Companies are members of Praman and over 40,000+ farmers through various Farmer Producer Organizations are members of the exchange.

How will farmers be benefitted from your exchange platform?

The lack of sufficient and relevant advancements within technology has for long made the farmers suffer the consequences of information asymmetry. Lack of technology to determine the communicable quality assessment of the product, to provide real-time and broader market linkages have led to post-harvest loss through deterioration of quality or a colossal supply-demand mismatch; all of which affect the price realization for the farmer. 

Since the launch of Praman, we have seen high ground-level impact creation within a short span of six months. Bringing in the digitalisation of the horticulture trade, the exchange has successfully standardised quality, enhanced price discoverability, established market linkages, and eliminated information asymmetry, ensuring that the entire value chain becomes transparent and traceable. 

Praman has played a significant role in impacting 40,000 Farmers across the Cardamom, Onion and Apple commodities, capturing over 80 per cent of the market. By bringing this technology to the smallest of the farmers, Praman has delivered 12 per cent higher incomes and empowering them with the ability to ascertain the quality of their products as well as get access to broader markets at the click of a button. 

Affordable automation using computer vision for activities like sorting, grading, and packing also provided an all-encompassing user experience for growers, farmer co-operatives, wholesalers, retailers and processors alike. Rich availability of data and usable data trends arrived at through this digitisation were instrumental for growers and buyers to manage their crops, inventory, and market connectivity better.

What kind of technology is in use at your exchange for the ease of trading?

Praman is powered by Intello Labs’ patented Quality Assaying technology. It is the world’s most advanced digital quality assaying solution. Our core IP visually assays the quality of fruits, vegetables and spices using AI, computer vision and machine learning for grading and sorting based on size, colour, defects, etc at every stage of the value chain. 

We have the largest proprietary data on horticulture with 300 Million images and 97 per cent accuracy in AI models for image-based quality assaying. This is one of the highest levels of accuracy that anyone can find across the industry.

It mitigates the need to manually assess commodities and removes the scope of subjectivity, ensuring fair price possibility and extensive market discovery. It delivers objective, on-the-spot, and real-time reports for all our users bringing transparency and standardisation to the quality assessment of horticulture and agri commodities. The technology also goes a long way in reducing value risk and wastage in agriculture supply chains. 

What will be your plans for the Indian agri centre?

Praman has planned an expansion of its current diverse commodity range with over 10+ more commodities in spices and fruits. Black pepper, cumin, nuts, citrus fruits etc. will be introduced on the exchange. We are also in the process of evaluating and initiating a range of customisable credit facilities for our users, re-organising warehousing and logistics with a focus on FPOs. This would go a long way in helping support the horticulture trade, improve the supply chain management and expand the market.

We are building end-to-end traceability of the agri-produce using blockchain technology and introducing smart contracts to ensure the enforceability of trade contracts. 

Where is your exchange located and do you plan to open any branches across the country?

Praman is headquartered in Gurgaon, Delhi. Since it is a digital exchange, we do not require any branch offices and have a pan India presence.

Any plans to venture into the global markets?

The Praman Exchange is a highly cost efficient and scalable product, which is already being scaled globally via extending it’s services to a vast network of importers and exporters.

Sanjiv Das

sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com

Praman.AI, the world’s largest Horticulture Exchange launched

China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Seeds, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest region, during the forecast period, in terms of volume and value

According to the report titled ‘Seed Treatment Market by Type, Application Technique (Coating, Dressing, Pelleting), Function (Seed Protection and Seed Enhancement), Formulation, Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds, Fruits & Vegetables), and Region – Global Forecast to 2027’, published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated at $6.1 billion in 2022; it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.3 per cent to reach $9.2 billion by 2027.

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest region, during the forecast period, in terms of volume and value, respectively. The Asia Pacific consists of the largest developing countries with vast agricultural lands as compared to other regions. The per capita income of the region depends on the agricultural activities conducted in the countries. The key countries that play an important role in the agriculture sector in this region are India, China, Japan, and Thailand.

Cereals and grains, fruits and vegetables, are the leading agricultural commodities grown in these countries. Rice cultivation and the predominance of small-scale manufacturers are widely seen across all the countries of Asia Pacific.

Asia Pacific seed treatment market is projected to grow with the highest CAGR due to the growing agriculture industry in China and Japan. Demand for seed treatment has been growing in this region, due to global players increasing their investments of business lines in agricultural inputs to exclusively meet the demand of crop growers to attain export quality. Additionally, the regulations for seed treatment are favourable in this region. China is estimated to account for the largest share in the Asia Pacific seed treatment market.

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest

Agro Universities, Bee keeping, R&D

Women in Uttarakhand will be trained in beekeeping for MadhuShakti project

FMC India has collaborated with Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GB Pant University) to develop entrepreneurship among rural women through beekeeping. The collaboration will help to generate sustainable income for their families and raise their living standard.

The project named MadhuShakti is a first-of-its-kind innovative sustainable development initiative in India. The three-year project is planned for the rural area of Uttarakhand.

Rural women from Sitarganj, Kotabagh, and the towns of Almora and Ranikhet will be trained in beekeeping. The produce will be procured by Honey Bee Research and Training Centre (HBRTC). The project will also closely monitor pollinator behaviour, generating a wealth of scientific knowledge that will benefit beekeepers across the country.

Women in Uttarakhand will be trained in

AgroPolicy, Sustainability

Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative launches Compacts in Madhya Pradesh that will reach 120,000 farmers and cover 100,000 Hectares by 2026

 The Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative (RPL Collaborative), founded by Laudes Foundation, IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative, and WWF India, has kick started the formation of public-private-community partnerships (Compacts) between Inditex, H&M Group, IKEA, Neutral, PepsiCo India, Sammunnati Finance, Jayanti Spices, INI Farms and S.V. Agri. The multi-stakeholder Compact also includes key-decision makers such as civil society organisations SRIJAN, Action for Social Advancement, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme; and farmer producer organisations.

The first Compact is being formed in Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh (MP), which will reach 20,000 farmers, and bring 20,000 hectares under regenerative agricultural practices. The second Compact will cover eight districts in western Madhya Pradesh, including parts of the Narmada Basin to reach 120,000 farmers in the State.

The RPL Collaborative contributes to revitalising soil health, boosting smallholder farmer incomes, improving access to water, enhancing biodiversity, and addressing gender equity through the multi-stakeholder Compacts. Members of a Compact work together to leverage sustainability and social commitments at scale and mobilize financial support for sustainability projects at the landscape level. It allows businesses to source responsibly while creating inclusive supply chain relationships, provides smallholder farmers and communities to thrive through greater participation in decision-making, and lets producers grow agri-commodities using natural and regenerative farming principles that restore natural resources and reduce emissions from farming systems.

Ajit Kesari, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Farmer Welfare and Agriculture, Government of Madhya Pradesh formally announced the Compact at an event in Bhopal. He said, “Madhya Pradesh has been a frontrunner in sustainable agriculture. With our rich biodiversity, climatic diversity and topographical variations, we take pride in contributing to 8 per cent of the total food grain and 25 per cent of total pulse and oil seeds production in India. To reduce the impact of climate shocks we are heavily committed to promoting regenerative and landscape- based agriculture. This Compact will funnel investments into the region, enable better markets for farmers, ensure credit access and convergence with government policies and encourage companies to source sustainably.”

Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative launches Compacts in

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Foodgrains

Discussions were held on the popularisation and adoption of various varieties of rice crops

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad recently organised the ’57th Annual Rice Group Meeting’.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) stressed on the importance of developing the multi-stress tolerant varieties. Popularisation and adoption of the varieties that have been released over the years and to develop and release the varieties only after the thorough evaluation of the markets and consumer’s preferences was emphasized by the Director General. Dr Mohapatra also urged for documenting the extent of the varietal spread on actual basis and discouraging the calculations of the varietal spread based on the breeder’s seed indent.

Dr Tilak Raj Sharma, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), ICAR highlighted the importance of using the modern, cutting-edge technologies including IoT, Genomics and Precision Agriculture in developing the varieties with the high productivity and suitable for the different ecosystems and suited to a rapidly changing climate.

Delivering the inaugural address, Dr RK Singh, ADG (FFC), ICAR regarded the Rice as one of the most important crops of the country with largest area and production. Improving the production and productivity of Rice in addressing the issues of malnutrition and food security of the nation were also stressed by Dr Singh.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr RM Sundaram, Director, ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad briefed about the research highlights of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Rice. Dr Sundaram also outlined the release of 6 varieties, viz., DRR Dhan 57, 58, 59, 60, 62 and 63 by the ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad through the AICRP on Rice System in 2021.
Dr. Padmini Swain, Director, ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack, Odisha highlighted the importance of the AICRP on Rice Testing System and conduct of trials in two Zones (III and IV).

About 500 delegates from India and the other countries participated in the programme.

Discussions were held on the popularisation and