Connect with:
Thursday / November 21. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
Home2022July (Page 3)
AgroPolicy, Org. Chart – Centre

All India retail prices of tomatoes drop by 29% compared to last month and onion down by 9% compared to last year

The all-India retail price of tomato has registered a 29 per cent decline over last month as market arrivals improved with the onset of monsoon rains. The retail price of onion is also largely under control at 9 per cent below last year level.

The government has built up a reserve stock of 2.50 lakh tons of onion in current year which is the highest ever onion buffer stock procured. The procurement for the buffer has helped in preventing mandi price of onion from crashing this year despite a record production of 317.03 lakh tons reported by Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.

The onion stocks from the buffer will be released in a calibrated and targeted manner during the lean months (Aug – Dec) to moderate price rise. The stocks will be released through targeted open market sales and also offered to states/UTs and government agencies for supplies through retail outlets. Open market releases will be targeted towards states/cities where prices are increasing over the previous month and also in key mandis to augment the overall availability.

All India retail prices of tomatoes drop

Company News, Finance, India, Machinery – Post-harvesting

The consideration will be paid in cash and the 1,317 equity shares of Sampo are being acquired at a price of euro 3,333 per share aggregating euro 43,89,561 (Rs 35.57 crore), as per filing.

 Mahindra & Mahindra has hiked its stake in its Finland-based arm Sampo Rosenlew Oy to 100 per cent with the acquisition of residual shares for over Rs 35 crore. In December 2020, the company increased its stake in combine harvester maker Sampo Rosenlew Oy to 79.13 per cent with the acquisition of additional 1,050 shares for Rs 31.15 crore.

Mahindra & Mahindra executed an option exercise share purchase agreement to acquire 1,317 equity shares of Sampo Rosenlew Oy, pursuant to the exercise of a call option by it on the other shareholder of Sampo. Subsequently, the shareholding and consequent voting rights of M&M in Sampo would increase from 79.13 per cent to 100 per cent of the equity share capital of Sampo and it would become a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

The consideration will be paid in cash and the 1,317 equity shares of Sampo are being acquired at a price of euro 3,333 per share aggregating euro 43,89,561 (Rs 35.57 crore), the filing said.

Sampo is known for its mid-sized combine harvesters in markets, including Europe and North Africa. It is also a joint venture partner of M&M for combine harvesters in Algeria. Sampo will jointly focus on the combine harvesters and specialty harvester business in Asia, Africa, Eurasian Economic Union countries and Latin America.

Mahindra’s scale in tractors and Sampo’s expertise in combine harvesters allow both companies to offer a broader product portfolio to address the needs of farmers in various countries. Sampo clocked a turnover of euro 52 million in the fiscal ended March 31, 2022.

The consideration will be paid in cash

Agrotech, China, Company News, Finance

Expected strong growth was primarily driven by a significant, double-digit increase in prices

 ADAMA Ltd.  has provided an estimate regarding its financial performance for the second quarter and first half of 2022.ADAMA is expecting to report sales growth of approximately 22 per cent in USD terms (24 per cent in RMB terms) in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter last year. Sales in the first half of 2022 are expected to grow approximately 25 per cent in USD terms (25 per cent in RMB terms), compared to the same period last year.

The expected strong growth over the quarter and first half period was primarily driven by a significant, double-digit increase in prices, a trend which started in the third quarter of 2021, complemented by volume growth and despite the negative impact of exchange rates and supply challenges. This growth is a reflection of the robust demand in the market resulting from the elevated global crop prices during the first half of 2022. The Company’s performance was particularly strong in Brazil, where the Company continues to work to strengthen its position within this growing market, while the Company’s sales of raw material and intermediates in China continued to grow strongly.

In the second quarter and first half period, the Company is expecting to report an increase in adjusted EBITDA and its margin, in comparison to the corresponding periods in 2021. The strong top-line growth more than compensated for the impacts of higher procurement, production and logistics costs, exchange rate impacts as well as higher operating costs, which were impacted amongst other factors by higher inflation.

It should be noted that certain relocation and upgrade charges have significantly declined since Q1 2022, as the relocation and upgrade of the manufacturing Jingzhou site in China has been completed and is now at a high level of operation.

Net Income

The Company is expecting to report an increase in Adjusted & Reported Net Income in the second quarter and first half period, compared to the same periods last year following achieving higher Operating Profit and despite a significant increase in financial expenses due to the high Israeli CPI, elevated securitization expenses attributed to increased exposure to Brazil and higher hedging costs on exchange rate.

Expected strong growth was primarily driven by

Agrotech, Company News, Middle East countries, R&D

Field trials have resulted in significant improvement, while leaving minimal footprint.

Israel based leading global specialty minerals company, and ag-biotech company PlantArcBio, Ltd. has announced the development of a novel bio-stimulant technology platform, which will improve crop yields while having minimal impact on the environment.  The platform successfully uses of RNAi technology to maximize a plant’s natural yield increase mechanisms, without any genetic modification, and was the result of a multi-year research collaboration between the two companies.

In early-stage canola field trials, the platform has significantly increased seed weight per hectare for canola crops, and ICL and PlantArcBio are planning larger-scale field trials in 2022.  These will include testing the new technology platform using both commercial sprayers and standard farming practices.  Greenhouse trials for soybeans and rice are already in progress, with early results showing good potential. 

“The use of novel biostimulants based on RNAi technology helps promote sustainability, by reducing the use of chemicals in agriculture,” explained Hadar Sutovsky, vice president of External Innovation and general manager of ICL Planet. “This aligns perfectly with ICL’s long-term goal of creating impact and sustainable growth in the agriculture end-market, alongside ensuring food security.” 

“ICL and PlantArcBio have filed for a joint patent on the application for multiple crops,” said Sutovsky. “The application does its work, then rapidly disappears from both the plants and the environment, lasting no more than a few days, as it is highly biodegradable and also leaves no residual footprint.”

“The positive canola field trial results constitute another milestone in strengthening PlantArcBio’s capabilities in the development of RNAi-based products,” said Dror Shalitin, Ph.D., founder and CEO of PlantArcBio. 

Field trials have resulted in significant improvement,

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, R&D

The COE will facilitate the production of quality planting material, training and demonstrations to the farmers and the other stakeholders using automated sowing machines and assembly lines.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister  inaugurated the two State-of-the-Art Facilities – Centre of Excellence (COE) for Protected Cultivation on Horticultural Crops and Business Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Support through Technology in Horticulture (BESST-HORT) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research in Bengaluru.

The COE will facilitate the production of quality planting material, training and demonstrations to the farmers and the other stakeholders using automated sowing machines, assembly lines and hi-tech greenhouses demonstrations in protected cultivation and the BESST-HORT would provide technical handholding, mentoring & other support to the Agri-Start-Ups and onsite & virtual training.

Tomar applauded the progress made by the Institute and the Council’s other Horticultural Institutes. He also said that the COE would smoothen the production of quality planting material, train and demonstrate farmers and other stake holders using automated sowing machines.

The COE will facilitate the production of

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains

NITI Aayog and WFP have prepared a compendium of good practices for scaling up the production and consumption of millets in India and abroad.

NITI Aayog and the World Food Programme (WFP), India, launched the ‘Mapping and Exchange of Good Practices’ initiative for mainstreaming millets in Asia and Africa on 19 July 2022 in a hybrid event.

NITI Aayog and WFP have prepared a compendium of good practices for scaling up the production and consumption of millets in India and abroad.

The event was inaugurated by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery in the presence of Member Prof. Ramesh Chand and Adviser Dr Neelam Patel, WFP Representative and Country Director India Bishow Parajuli, National Rainfed Area Authority CEO Dr Ashok Dalwai, and Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Shubha Thakur.

Representatives from ICAR, Central and state government departments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, industry, Central and state agriculture universities, FPOs, NGOs, startups, academic and research institutions, and international organizations such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), etc., participated in the event.

NITI Aayog and WFP have prepared a

Company News, Dairy, Finance

 Company’s milk procurement has increased by a phenomenal 190 per cent over the last 12 years.

Amul cooperative movement celebrated its 75th anniversary by achieving group turnover of Rs. 61,000 crores, further consolidating its position as the largest food and FMCG brand in India. Needless to state, Amul, which is currently ranked as the 8th largest dairy organization in the world, added another Rs. 8000 crores to its group turnover in 2021-22, growing even faster than its 12-year compounded average growth rate, on the back of rapid post-pandemic recovery in out-of-home consumption and demand from restaurants, catering, travel and hospitality segment.

After the 48th Annual General Body Meeting of GCMMF (the organization that owns and markets products under brand Amul), held on 19th July 2022, Shamalbhai Patel, Chairman, GCMMF, informed that the cooperative achieved 18.46 per cent growth in turnover in 2021-22, which was even higher than 16 per cent CAGR in turnover over the last 12 years. The Chairman also emphasized the fact that “Over the last 12 years, our milk procurement has increased by a phenomenal 190 per cent. This impressive growth was a result of the high milk procurement price – which has increased by 143 per cent during this 12-year period – paid to our farmer-members”.

The Chairman also added that the highly remunerative price helped us retain farmers’ interest in milk production; and better returns from dairying have motivated them to enhance their investments in this sector

He further emphasized, “Our expansion plans are based on our milk procurement projections. Generally, every year there is capacity expansion through an investment of approximately Rs. 800 crores to Rs. 1,000 crores. We are also expanding in fresh products (milk, curd and buttermilk). A new dairy plant, with an investment of Rs 500 crores, will come up in Rajkot. Within two years, large dairy plants will also come up in Baghpat, near Delhi, Varanasi, Rohtak and Kolkata”.

The Vice-Chairman of GCMMF,  Valamji Humbal, stated that “ We recently built Asia’s biggest milk powder plant. We are also working on a technology which can store perishable Indian milk-based sweets and desserts for up to 45 days & beyond”.

R S Sodhi, Managing Director of GCMMF, informed, “Our milk-based beverages business grew by 36 per cent in value terms, despite the peak summer season of 2021 being impacted by the second wave of Covid. Our ice-cream business also saw a sharp revival with a more than 50 per cent value growth in 2022. Our flagship brand Amul Butter grew by 17%, while our Ghee business grew by more than 19 per cent, both in value terms. We achieved 17% value growth in Amul long life milk, 44% value growth in Amul Cream, 24 per cent value growth in Amul Dahi, 18% value growth in fresh Buttermilk and impressive 12% value growth in our largest product category, Amul fresh milk.”

 Company’s milk procurement has increased by a

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro Universities, Agrotech, Middle East countries

The conference aims at bridging the gap between industry and academia in Israel.

 Introducing the next generation of scientists to the rapidly evolving field of formulations, The ADAMA Center for Novel Delivery Systems in Crop Protection in Tel Aviv University (The ADAMA Center) hosted its first “The Chemistry of Formulation” conference at The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Tel Aviv, Israel.

During the conference, leading experts from ADAMA, HP Indigo, Hava Zingboim SkinTech, SolarEdge, Kornit Digital, Redefine Meat, Liposphere and CannaSoul spoke about the key role of formulations in a wide variety of industries ranging from crop protection and high-tech, to cosmetics, nutrition and others. Over 200 students studying for advanced degrees from leading academic institutes in Israel as well as representatives from different companies, attended the conference and learned about the importance of formulation science and what a career in this exciting and growing field looks like across different industries.

“For ADAMA, innovative formulations in crop protection means products that deliver greater value to farmers while improving sustainability in agriculture to guarantee food supply. We established the ADAMA center with Tel Aviv University in order to create specialization in delivery and formulation technologies which are applicable to industry and cannot be studied as a profession in academic institutions anywhere in the world, leading to a growing shortage of experts in the field,” said Yoav Avidor, ADAMA’s VP Innovation, Development, Research and Regulatory Affairs. “This conference is another step towards bridging the gap between industry and academia, and we are thrilled to share our experience with these highly motivated students and look forward to their future contributions to the field.”

“Formulation science is a foundation pillar for R&D in nearly all fields of applied sciences and industries, ranging from crop protection to the development of novel vaccines or novel smart materials. Despite the key role that formulation science hold, many students are not aware of its significance, or the skills and processes involved. The Center’s goal is to raise awareness among students in chemistry, materials science, biotechnology and other related fields about this vital field, and to provide them with theoretical and practical knowledge, so we can help them to become the leading formulation experts of tomorrow” said Prof. Roey Amir, the head of the ADAMA Center at Tel Aviv University.

The conference aims at bridging the gap

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, Finance, Seeds

 Company witnessed a strong growth of 16.5 per cent in revenue on the back of 17.1 per cent growth in domestic crop care business and 51 per cent growth in exports.

Rallis India Limited, a TATA Enterprise and a leading player in the Indian Agri inputs industry announced its financial results for the first quarter of the financial year starting April 2022.

Announcing the results, Sanjiv Lal, Managing Director, and CEO, Rallis India said, “In Q1, we witnessed a strong growth of 16.5 per cent in revenue on the back of 17.1 per cent growth in domestic crop care business and 51 per cent growth in exports. However, we faced cost headwinds which affected our margins. In the seeds business, there were challenges of delayed monsoon and crop shifts. The revival of monsoons in July augurs well for agriculture.”

He also added that our long-term focus continues to be investing in growth through new product introduction, expanding our retail footprint and investing in flexible Multipurpose manufacturing plants for multiple chemistry capabilities required for our new product pipeline.

Key Highlights – Q1

The Company recorded revenues of ₹ 863 Cr for the quarter ending 30 June 2022, an increase of 16.5 per cent over PY of Rs 741 Cr. Profit before tax (before exceptional items) was at Rs 90 Cr as compared to PY of profit before tax (before exceptional item) of Rs 109 Cr and the Profit after tax (after exceptional items) was Rs 67 Cr, as compared to PY profit after tax (after exceptional item) of Rs 82 Cr.

Key Developments

With the announcement of CAPSTONE, Rallis India became the first company in India to introduce FENOXANIL

Launched 1 new herbicide for Cotton and Paddy crops each, 3 new Paddy hybrids and a Tomato hybrid

Received product registrations for ‘Daksh Plus’ – a Wheat herbicide – and ‘Clasto’ – a Cotton insecticide

 Company witnessed a strong growth of 16.5

Agrotech, Opinions, Water

By Girish Deshpande, Senior Manager, Netafim India

In India, maize is predominantly a Kharif crop, with almost 85 per cent under cultivation, whereas rabi maize corresponds to 15 per cent of the area. Despite having the largest area under maize cultivation, the yield per hectare is still lower than the world average. Our country’s average maize productivity per hectare is around 20-25 quintals indicating higher land usage with low farmer income.

In India, the cereal crop is primarily cultivated in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The state of Karnataka is one of the largest producers of maize in the country. Karnataka grows maize in the approximately 1.3 million hectares of land, which accounts for 13.1 per cent of the total land utilized for agriculture. It produces 4.4 million tonnes which is around 16.5 per cent of India’s total supply of maize.

The policymakers in Karnataka are persistently working towards creating a conducive agricultural ecosystem to achieve farmers’ prosperity through emphasizing and embracing scientific methods and innovations. Case in example, the Singatalur Lift Irrigation Project endeavors to bring the entire farming community together through Community Drip Irrigation Project – to establish systematic and sustainable irrigation practices. The ongoing phase 1 of the project plans to bring 10,080 hectares of agricultural land under drip irrigation connecting 13 villages and 7800 farmers in this Kharif season under various crops.

In the last Kharif season, under Singatalur Lift Irrigation Scheme, where certain blocks were commissioned, almost 400 farmers used drip irrigation on 450 hectares of land for maize cultivation. Embracing drip irrigation, the farmers of Singatalur have witnessed maize yield increment by more than 100 percent accounting for 65 -70 qt/ha with a drip against the yield of 25 qt/ ha under rainfed irrigation. The labour cost is reduced by 20 percent. Earlier Singatalur Maize farmers used to earn Rs. 27,550 /ha without drip; currently, they are earning Rs 60,000/ha with the drip. The total operation cost before drip used to come around Rs 6.5 per kg, whereas after the implementation of drip, the cost has reduced by 39 per cent to Rs 4 per kg.  The success of maize cultivation under drip irrigation is encouraging farmers of the locale to adopt the technology. The analytics suggest that the area with drip irrigation for maize is expected to increase to 2500 Ha in the current Kharif season. Moreover, the other crops in the project area have also shown yield increment with the adoption of drip irrigation and significant reduction in input costs during the last Kharif season.

The holistic approach by Karnataka Government to sustainably manage all the natural resources and provide the farmers with the necessary infrastructure for sustainable farming practices is reaping prosperity. The continuous adaptation of advanced technologies and institutional policies by the government for sustainable usage of resources is not only bringing the state to set a benchmark in agriculture innovation but also ensuring that the quality of life of these rural communities is improved.

By Girish Deshpande, Senior Manager, Netafim IndiaIn

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, Company News

Chrome is currently registered in the Czech Republic and is expected to be available later this year in additional countries across the region such as Germany, France, Poland and the UK.

ADAMA Ltd, a leading global crop protection company, announced the launch of Chrome®, a ready-to-use broad spectrum weed control solution that combines three complementary Modes-of-Action in a single product that is effective for all main winter cereal crops.

Chrome is a liquid herbicide composed of a pre-mixture of three active ingredients (AI’s) Flufenacet, Diflufenican, and Chlorotoluron, which together help manage resistance issues in grass and broadleaf weeds, delivering long term weed control. As a ready-to-use formulation, Chrome is simple to use, while providing farmers the flexibility to add complementary solutions in the tank mix. Chrome® builds upon the success of ADAMA’s Merkur®, a pre-mixture of Flufenacet, Diflufenican and Pendimethalin which is registered in multiple EU countries.

“Farmers in Europe need an effective broad-spectrum herbicide and a weed resistance management tool, as many herbicides are being removed from the market due to increasing regulatory restrictions, thus limiting their options.” said Renato Castagna, Head of Portfolio for ADAMA Europe.

Both products broad-spectrum efficacy has been confirmed in over 140 field development trials across the EU and the UK, making it a complementary part of a full herbicide program for cereals. The wide application window, long lasting performance, and superior formulation provide farmers ease of use, while its mixability allows them to create a full crop treatment program.

Chrome is currently registered in the Czech Republic and is expected to be available later this year in additional countries across the region such as Germany, France, Poland and the UK.

Chrome is currently registered in the Czech

Agrotech, Company News, Interaction, Start ups

 It focuses on imparting best practices for paddy with an emphasis on the agronomical practices to be followed after sowing as well as looking into opportunities for market linkage.

Delhi based Gram Unnati, India’s first integrated agri-tech solutions company, recently conducted the first of the series of knowledge workshops along with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Bareilly, for paddy farmers in Uttar Pradesh. The first camp was held at Mangadpur village, Riccha Block in Bareilly and was participated by nearly 100 paddy farmers.

The knowledge workshop was organized to provide guidance to farmers on the appropriate and scientifically recommended package of practices to be followed in the crop after transplantation has taken place. The camp was attended by Dr. Brijpal Singh – KVK Bareilly in-charge, Dr. Ranjeet Singh – Agri scientist, KVK, Dr. Rakesh Pandey – Agri scientist, KVK, Mr. Inderpal Singh – local officer from Agriculture Dept., Mr. Shyam Singh – expert on micro-nutrients, and Dr. BP Singh – Agri expert from Gram Unnati. It was organized by the UP-project team of Gram Unnati comprising Nupur Mishra (Project Manager), Pawan Kumar (Project Coordinator), and field officers Vishwajeet and Tejram.

Gram Unnati has also lined up a series of awareness workshop with KVKs across western Uttar Pradesh. Besides UP, Gram Unnati is also launching similar workshops with KVKs in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Haryana, and Maharashtra. The awareness workshops would focus on imparting best practices for paddy with an emphasis on the agronomical practices to be followed after sowing as well as looking into opportunities for market linkage.

Aneesh Jain, CEO & Founder, Gram Unnati said, “For many farmers, in the past, the entire paddy field has been destroyed due to lack of timely guidance with respect to control and management of pests along with nutrient management. In this region, paddy is the principal crop grown during the Kharif season, making it one of the main sources of income for local farmers. This is the reason why we decided to organize awareness camps for farmers with the help of KVKs.”

 Dr. Brijpal Singh, KVK Bareilly in-charge, said: “We are delighted to be a part of this program organized by Gram Unnati. This is a great platform that would help the farmers learn new technology to better their produce.”

 It focuses on imparting best practices for

Agrotech, Company News, Horticulture

The foundation helped set up the necessary infrastructure for the crop and imparted the training to farmers to grow the fruit.

 As many as 35 farmers from Farakka in West Bengal have each made over Rs.1 lakh in profits by switching to strawberry cultivation. The crop was introduced to the agrarians by Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF), the corporate social responsibility arm of Ambuja Cements Ltd., in partnership with IndusInd Bank, as part of a pilot project in 2020-21.

The foundation helped set up the necessary infrastructure for the crop and imparted the training to farmers to grow the fruit. The objective behind the intervention was to raise farmers’ income.

Marketing was an important item on the agenda, so the foundation initiated a market survey. At first, they visited local retail fruit shops and markets and contacted shopping malls in peripheral areas. It later initiated discussions across locations to explore the market.

Considering that strawberry is a perishable product, the foundation scouted for a more tolerable variety that lasts long and offers improved yields. The farmers, it was observed, had become adept at growing strawberries. A year ago, some farmers were urged to take up strawberry cultivation and the learnings from it was that it could help them earn a lump sum within 2-3 months. As a result, ACF decided to scale up strawberry production. An order of 40,000 plants was placed for 35 farmers, with the number of plants ordered being four times last year.

 Neeraj Akhoury, CEO India Holcim and Managing Director & CEO of Ambuja Cements Ltd., said, “We observed that the people living in rural areas need greater access to economic development. This is more so in the case of our agrarians—a majority of who are fragmented and landless. Economic development of our farmers can end poverty in India’s hinterland. Our focus was to target farmers with assured irrigation and other facilities so that they can earn their livelihood.”

The foundation helped set up the necessary

AgroPolicy, Horticulture, Interaction, Trade

Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister was addressing the Outreach Programme ‘Agriculture Produce and Vegetable Export Opportunities in Vidarbha’ organised by APEDA and Agrovision Foundation in Amravati.

There is a huge scope in increasing the export of agricultural produce such as fruits, flowers, vegetables from Vidarbha, but there is a need to adopt new technology and experimentation. Improving the quality of agricultural produce, fulfilling all safety criteria, good packaging is also essential. We have set export target of oranges from 500 Cr to 5,000 Cr in upcoming years with the help of organic farming of oranges and quality hybrids of oranges,” said Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister. Gadkari was addressing the Outreach Programme ‘Agriculture Produce and Vegetable Export Opportunities in Vidarbha’ organised by APEDA and Agrovision Foundation at Rangoli Pearl in Amravati.

Gadkari said that all-out efforts will be made through ‘APEDA’ and ‘Agrovision’to increase exports from Vidarbha. Pravin Pote Patil, MLC,Tarun Bajaj, Director,  APEDA Members Anandrao Raut, Vibha Bhatia,  Dilip Ghosh, Ravi Barotkar, President of Agrovision Foundation, Manish Mondhe, Sridhar Thakare, Dinesh Suryavanshi and others were present.

Joint programme for increasing agricultural exports

 An agreement between ‘APEDA’ and Agrovision Foundation to implement a joint programme for increasing agricultural exports, was signed by Bajaj and Ravi Boratkar President of Agrovision Foundation on the occasion. Speaking further, Gadkari said that experimentation, adoption of new technology is necessary to increase agricultural exports in Vidarbha. It is necessary to increase the quality of the product for export. Good nurseries should be established everywhere, said Gadkari. He asserted the need for efforts to be made to start new and useful things like using drones for spraying fertilisers and medicines. Safety of products is considered an important parameter in the global market and if traces of pesticides are found in agricultural produce, the goods are rejected. Hence, it is necessary to increase the production and maintain the quality only during organic processing to avoid that, said Gadkari and thus advocated experiments to be done at various levels for that purpose.

Gadkari added that good orange nurseries have been developed in Vidarbha and asserted the need to develop more such nurseries. “An experiment is being done by bringing the best orange seedlings from countries like Spain and planting them. Branding is also taking place for the tasty tur dal, a speciality of saline belt,” Gadkari said.

Gadkari informed that a dry port has been started at Sindhi in Wardha district, which will speed up the process. Tarun Bajaj said that orange exports from Vidarbha are on the rise with Bangladesh now they are also exported to the United Arab Emirates. The country’s total export of agricultural products is Rs 4 lakh crore.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways