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Company News, Sustainability

Company plans to generate 1 million carbon credits in India by 2023

nurture.farm, a digital platform for sustainable agriculture, has become the first company to successfully generate and forward sell agricultural-related carbon credits in India.

nurture.farm’s Alternate Wetting and Drying & Dry Seeded Rice (AWD-DSR) project covered 22,000 acres of rice paddy fields and involved over 2,500 smallholder farmers. This initiative forms a crucial part of nurture.farm’s mission to transition farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, and reduce the environmental impact of rice cultivation. 20,000 carbon credits were derived from this AWD-DSR project. Its benefits included 15 per cent to 30 per cent of water savings.

Another 120,000 credits are under process from the Crop Residue Management (CRM) Program. The CRM Program empowered over 25,000 farmers to prevent 420,000 acres of farmland being burnt, thereby preventing the generation of 2,135 tonnes of particulate matter, including PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter.

nurture.farm’s AWD-DSR program is now being submitted to a global validation agency, and in two quarters’ time to the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra) for final verification and credit generation. The CRM Program will follow suit, with submission to the validation agency in the next quarter.

During the last cropping season (Rabi), nurture.farm expanded the AWD-DSR program across an additional 120,000 acres. The company plans to create more carbon credits by further extending its projects. In 2022, nurture.farm’s CRM Program will cover at least one million acres, while it will scale up its AWD-DSR project to 180,000 acres. nurture.farm has set a target to help Indian farmers generate one million carbon credits by 2023, thereby being the leading supplier of nature-based carbon credits in India.

Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO of nurture.farm, said, “India is well-placed to pioneer agriculture-related carbon credit trading. India is the world’s second-largest producer of key staples including rice, wheat, fruit and vegetables, and agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for over 50 per cent of the population. And yet, India is also the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

Since its launch in 2020, more than 1.5 million farmers – who are collectively responsible for over five million acres – use the nurture.farm platform to access the mechanisation services, technology, training, services, market linkages, finance agri-inputs and farm equipment they need to perform sustainable  agricultural practices.

nurture.farm is currently developing protocols for verifying traceable carbon credits through its online platform and will use blockchain technology to trade credits on carbon markets. During the course of 2022, nurture.farm will also establish a common carbon credits registry and trading platform, which utilizes a standardised methodology to simplify traceability and make verification easier.

Company plans to generate 1 million carbon

AgroPolicy

The meeting followed directions from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to scale up shipments in order to alleviate any global supply chain disruptions in view of the geopolitical situation

Amidst a record surge in wheat exports in the current fiscal, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) recently organised a meeting of key stakeholders in the value chain for promoting exports to those countries which have a huge shipment potential.

The meeting, held on March 17, 2022, followed directions from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to scale up shipments in order to alleviate any global supply chain disruptions in view of the geopolitical situation.

The meeting was chaired by APEDA chairman Dr M Angamuthu and had participation of key stakeholders such as traders, exporters, port officials, policy influencers from the Ministries of Food & Consumer Affairs, Railways and officials from various State Governments.

The export of wheat recorded a huge surge at $1742 million during April-January 2021-22, growing 387 per cent over the corresponding period in 2020-21 when it touched $340.17 million.

India has reported a wheat export worth of $2352.22 million in the last three years, including the first ten months of current fiscal 2021-22. In 2019-20, the wheat export was worth $61.84 million which rose to $549.67 million in 2020-21.

India is in final talks to start wheat export to Egypt, while discussions are going on with countries like Turkey, China, Bosnia, Sudan, Nigeria, Iran, etc to start wheat export.

The meeting followed directions from the Ministry

AgroPolicy, Trade

The export of maize increased nearly six-fold, taking the total value of shipment to $1593.73 million in the last three years despite logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak

The export of maize has touched $816.31 million in the first ten months of current fiscal 2021-22 (April-January), already exceeding the $634.85 million achieved during the last financial year.

From an exports realisation of $142.8 million in 2019-20, the export of maize increased nearly six-fold, taking the total value of shipment to $1593.73 million in the last three years despite logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

“The significant rise in agri-exports is seen as a testimony of the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income through creating requisite infrastructure and improving value chains on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products,” Dr M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said.

Neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal are the major importers of maize from India. Bangladesh has imported maize worth $345.5 million in the current fiscal (April-January), while Nepal has imported maize worth $132.16 million during this period.

With initiatives of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to explore and diversify new markets, Vietnam has emerged as a major destination for export of maize. India exported maize worth $244.24 million to Vietnam in the first ten months of current fiscal (April-January 2021-22). Other prominent importing countries are Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Taiwan, Oman, etc.

The export of maize increased nearly six-fold,

Company News

The alliance is supported by the global partner Bayer, and the local partners AMSA (Agroindustrias Unidas de México) and Yara

Founded in 2018 by Bayer, IFC and Netafim, the Better Life Farming (BLF) Alliance has been launched in Latin America starting with the opening of the first BLF Centre in Córdoba, Mexico in February 2022. The Alliance is supported by the global partner Bayer, and the local partners AMSA (Agroindustrias Unidas de México) and Yara. It brings together global as well as local private and public organisations to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and their communities in low- and middle-income countries. Assessment studies are underway for further expansion plans of BLF in Latin America, Africa and Asia in 2022 to help unlock full potential of smallholder farmers.

“The concept of Better Life Farming is to build partnership ecosystems that are able to address farmers needs by providing advanced agronomic solutions, good agricultural practices, on-farm training, market access to help farmers grow their farms into commercially viable and sustainable farming businesses, rather than just a means to thrive”, said Dr Lino Dias, Vice President of Smallholder Farming at Bayer’s Crop Science division.

The initiative seeks to facilitate agricultural capacity building in rural areas across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It acts as a last-mile delivery solution to provide smallholder farmers access to high-quality agricultural inputs, services, and training needed to enable local farmers’ capacity building and connection to the food value chain.

Today, BLF already reaches more than 600.000 smallholders in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The alliance has successfully operated more than 1.600 BLF Centres in 2021, thanks to the vast number of motivated local agri-entrepreneurs including many women, committed to making a difference in their communities.

The alliance is supported by the global

AgroPolicy

Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) delegation meets Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel to enable the plant-based food ecosystem in India.

The delegation, led by the Association’s Executive Director, Sanjay Sethi, briefed the Union Minister on the state of the nascent but rapidly expanding plant – based food sector in India. Noting that the sector was poised for explosive growth, Sethi sought the Union Minister’s guidance and support to turn it into a major industry catering to both domestic and global markets through policy changes, capacity building, enabling ease of business and other interventions. The global plant-based food market is expected to reach 77.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2025.

The Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel asked PBFIA to have a special meeting with the Ministry to discuss Cold Chain logistics and explore what can be done to smoothen daily parcel operations between major cities for the industry. Patel asked Gaurav Sishodia, AVP, and Invest India, who was also present at the meeting, to collaborate with PBFIA for its various initiatives.

Sethi said that he is delighted that the Minister has sought the PBFIA’s assistance to organise two major events, one involving all the Indian stakeholders in the plant based ecosystem, and another where international players would be invited as well, in order to understand and address all the challenges faced by the industry. The Minister also appreciated the youthful energy and enthusiasm of the PBFIA delegation.

Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) delegation

Supply Chain

Cargill’s ranking reflects the company’s leadership and innovation on animal welfare

Cargill has announced that it has received a Tier 2 ranking in the newly released Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report, the leading global measure of company performance on farm animal welfare.

This is the sixth year in a row that the annual BBFAW report ranked Cargill in Tier 2 out of six tiers total. Only 16 of the 150 global companies rated in BBFAW’s report are in Tiers 1 or 2, which BBFAW defines as reserved for companies that have made animal welfare integral to business strategy.

“We are proud of our continued high ranking in this year’s BBFAW report, as well as the work we’re doing every day to advance animal welfare within our operations, with our customers, along our supply chains and across the industry,” said Nick Wolfenden, Cargill’s global sustainable animal welfare director.

Animal welfare is a crucial issue for consumers, food manufacturers, protein producers, and farmers and ranchers worldwide. Cargill collaborates with numerous organisations to help advance animal welfare across all species in its business and incorporates these advances through continuous improvement efforts both internally and with supply chain partners.

Cargill’s ranking reflects the company’s leadership and innovation on animal welfare, as well as a data-driven approach to comprehensive reporting across its animal protein operations and supply chains worldwide.

Cargill’s ranking reflects the company’s leadership and

Live Stock

The company is expanding its product line to include a unique platform for cell-cultured collagen production

Aleph Farms, the first company to grow cultivated beef steaks, has announced it is expanding its product line to include a unique platform for cell-cultured collagen production. The company’s highly differentiated, integrated strategy to develop a complete alternative to animals in intensive animal farming is a testament to its inclusive vision to supplement sustainable, but less productive, livestock agriculture practices.

Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms commented, “Focusing on single categories of animal products does not account for the complexity of the animal agriculture ecosystem. The protein transition should rely on a systems-based approach to successfully contribute to a comprehensive, just and inclusive transition for animal agriculture.”

Conventional collagen is produced by boiling and processing cow’s hides and bones, and is widely used in a range of industries. Aleph Farms’ cultivated collagen offers attributes of natural animal-based collagen that are unmatched by plant or fermented recombinant-based alternatives.

As the first product to emerge from the company’s newly revealed incubator, and following 18 months of research by an expert team in stealth mode, Aleph’s collagen is now moving to full product development stage and should launch in 2024. This announcement follows the company’s expansion to its new cultured-beef steaks pilot production plant. Both platforms largely share similar inputs and equipment and present operational and cost-reduction synergies.

The company is expanding its product line

Horticulture, Supply Chain, Trade, Transportation

The export of fresh fruits from India has increased from 516.26 million in 2014-15 to 768.54 million in 2020-21.

Promotion of exports of agriculture products, including dairy products like curd and cheese, is a continuous process. To promote the export of dairy products, an Export Promotion Forum (EPF) has been constituted under the aegis of Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The EPF has representation from trade/industry, line Ministries/Departments, regulatory agencies, research institutes, state governments etc. Meetings of the EPF are held regularly to discuss the various issues affecting exports, such as SPS/ TBT issues, market access issues, plans for export promotion and capacity building programmes etc. Recommendations made by the EPFs are passed on to the relevant authorities for appropriate action.

Mathura and Banaskantha districts in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat respectively have been identified as clusters for export of dairy products. APEDA has organized awareness cum capacity-building programmes for farmers/Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) in these clusters. APEDA also provides assistance to exporters of dairy products under various components of its export promotion scheme.

The export of fresh fruits from India

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Interaction

Mahesh Girdhar, President, Crop Nutrition Business, Smartchem Technologies Ltd 100 per cent subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL) interacted with AgroSpectrum on future of fertilizer industry in India. Editorial excerpts:

How do you foresee the fertilizer industry in India?

Agriculture, including its allied sector, is one the largest sources of income in India. The sector contributes 19.9 per cent to the country’s GDP (as of FY 2020-21), with 56.6 per cent of the population engaging in the agricultural sector. We have achieved self-reliance in production of food grains; however fruits & vegetables have surpassed food grain production to meet the changing consumer needs.

Fertilizer industry has played a significant role in ensuring food & nutrition security since the green revolution. The Indian fertiliser industry continues to enhance its capability to fulfil demands of Indian agriculture with Nitrogen based fertiliser like Urea, Ammonium Sulphate; the phosphorous-based fertilisers such as diammonium phosphate (DAP), the NP, NPK grades and single superphosphate (SSP); potash-based fertilizers; sulphur-based fertilizers as well as several other micronutrients which are critical to realize crop production and quality of produce. In recent times innovative foliar nutrition solutions & organic based fertilizers are being developed by various companies.

When it comes to crop nutrition, there is a significant scope to improve nutrient use efficiency & provide balance nutrients to crops at various stages of their growth to fulfil the crop nutrition requirement, to realize yield and quality potential. Production processes are also labour intensive and regionally biased, and there needs to be focus on application technology and farmers education on understanding and adopting newer products and services.

It is pertinent to note that plant requires 16 essential nutrients, they are classified   according to the amount required by the plants i.e. primary nutrients, secondary nutrients & micronutrients.

Essential nutrients are required to be available to crops at right time, at right dose through right source and at right stage of crop. Industry needs to further focus on innovating & brining solutions to key issues to add further value in the crop nutrition management of crops.

Application of Balance nutrition

In India, on average 58, 36.5, 12.8, 7.1, 4.2 and 23.2 per cent soils are deficient in S, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu and B respectively. More than 50 per cent samples are found deficient in Zn and B in 110 and 63 districts of the country, respectively. Imbalance availability and uptake of essential nutrient by plant leads to huge yield gap (difference between yield potential and the actual realized yield) and nutritional value of final produce in most of the Indian crops. Hence, supplementing plant nutrients in balanced proportion as per the crop need and its critical growth stage requirement is important.

Nutrient Use efficiency

Nutrient use efficiency (NUE) depends on the plant’s ability to take up nutrients efficiently from the soil, that mainly depends on soil health  (physical, chemical & biological properties), internal soil transport, storage, reactivity with other soil minerals and remobilization of nutrients. It can also be greatly affected by enhancing soil health, efficient fertilizers as well as through soil and irrigation management.

Present nutrient use efficiency of India for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and MOP is 30-50 per cent, 16-20 per cent and 50-60 per cent, respectively. The unutilized N is lost through several mechanisms such as leaching, denitrification, volatilization, etc., and pollutes the groundwater and atmosphere. Similarly, considerable amounts of P and K get fixed in the soil. Hence, NUE is one big area where global and Indian fertilizer industry is investing a lot of time and resource to bring improvements.

How Crop Nutrition Business, Smartchem Technologies Ltd 100 per cent subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL) is contributing to growth of fertilizer industry in India?   

Crop Nutrition Business at STL offers Crop Nutrition Solutions that are technologically superior and come with Enhanced Nutrient Use Efficiency i.e., soil applied Croptek & Smartek, unique Nitro Phosphate & Bensulf-Superfast. We also offer efficient water-soluble products which are crop and stage specific ‘All in One’ and various other products under the brand name ‘Mahadhan’.  Our Crop nutrition business has a traditional & strong presence in the horticultural belt of India i.e., the states Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. The company expanded its geographical reach to south and north states of India (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh) in the last few years.

We have a very strong team of market development spread across our operating geographies & crops; our team seamlessly provides crop nutrition education & demonstrate innovative solutions at the fields. We are continuously brining value-added crop nutrition products and solutions.  Mahadhan brand is used by more than 5 million farmers annually. STL is amongst the top 5 NPK manufacturers & largest producer of Bentonite Sulphur in India, with facilities at Taloja (Maharashtra) and Panipat (Haryana). We are the pioneers in brining Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) through continuously innovating varied solutions in defined horticulture & commercial crops and market leaders in specialty fertilizers in the country. 

What inputs are required for the growth of fertilizer industry in India?

Currently India is significantly dependent on imports of fertilizers as finished goods and as raw material. We need to focus on various initiatives to reduce fertilizer usage through innovative technology to maximize fertilizer use efficiency and farmer education for balanced nutrition. Encouraging domestic production of finished fertilizer and exploring strategic partnerships for mining of critical raw material i.e., phosphate and muriate of potassium in India & overseas, will help to reduce import dependence.

Policy makers play a pivotal role in Identifying policy interventions to encourage innovation for the industry to develop solutions to address nutrient use efficiency, promoting data driven balanced use of nutrients & using farmer’s extension capability jointly with the industry to educate and create awareness of nutrition management practices.

Dipti Barve

Mahesh Girdhar, President, Crop Nutrition Business, Smartchem

Trade

To ensure GI tagged product promotion, a prime location has been identified at the departure area of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi

In a bid to promote exports of locally sourced Geographical Indications (GI) tagged agricultural products, the Central government has been striving to identify new products and new export destinations. 

In line with PM Modi’s call for ‘Vocal for Local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the Centre, through Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been facilitating trial shipments into new markets world-wide for products such as Kala Namak rice, Naga Mircha, Assam Kaji Nemu, Bangalore Rose Onion, Nagpur Oranges, GI varieties of Mangoes, GI-tagged Shahi Litchi, Bhalia wheat, Madurai Malli, BardhamanMihidana and Sitabhog, Dahanu Gholvad Sapota, Jalgaon Banana, Vazhakulam Pineapple, Marayoor Jaggery, etc. 

To ensure GI tagged product promotion, a prime location has been identified at the departure area of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi. In June 2021, the season’s first shipment of 1048 kg GI Tagged Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango was exported from Lucknow to the United Kingdom and UAE.

To promote the unique GI Products from the North Eastern Region such as Manipur Black Rice (Chak-Hao), Manipur Kachai Lemon, Mizo Chilli, Arunachal Orange, Meghalaya Khasi Mandarin, Assam Kaji Nemu, Karbi Anglong Ginger, Joha Rice, and Tripura Queen Pineapple, Centre through APEDA has been organising buyer-seller meets, conducting awareness and capacity building workshops with the participation of representatives of the NER States, FPOs/FPCs, Exporters, Associations, and Government Departments such as Indian Railways, AAICLAS, NAFED, DGFT, IIFPT etc.

GI products from other regions included Sangli raisins, Nagpur Orange, Dahanu Gholvad Chikoo, Marathwada Kesar Mango, Jalgaon Banana from Maharashtra, Kandhamal Turmeric from Odisha and Bangalore Rose Onion from Karnataka, Allahabad Surkha Guava, Kalanamak Rice from Uttar Pradesh, Madurai Malli from Tamil Nadu etc.

To ensure GI tagged product promotion, a

Agrotech, Start ups

The device is equipped with advanced features which systematically convert waste into manure in just 10-20 days

Agnys Waste Management Private Limited, an IIT Kanpur incubated company, has developed an automatic composting machine known as BHOOMI (Bio-composting of Horticulture & Organic waste into Manure indigenously), in collaboration with Imagineering Lab, IIT Kanpur, with support from Engineers India Limited.

The device is equipped with advanced features like carbon filters, shredders, air pumps, solar panels, which systematically convert waste into manure in just 10-20 days. The ergonomic design makes it easily operable and in recycling organic waste.

The product’s advanced features like carbon filters, shredders, air pumps, and solar panels make it more efficient and cheaper than the currently available products in the market.The decentralised composting device can easily be installed at any bulk waste generator like apartments, hotels, hostels, institutions, etc.

Abhay Karandikar, director of IIT Kanpur commented, “Proper waste management has always been a pertinent and crucial issue, especially in urban areas. This invention is in line with our commitment to sustainability and environmental conservation. I believe this device would contribute significantly to our #SwacchBharatAbhiyan and #SmartCityMission initiatives.”

The device is equipped with advanced features

Finance, Sustainability

The latest round of funding will be used towards R&D and to support GPS Renewables’ next phase of growth and expansion

GPS Renewables, a Bengaluru-based bioenergy technology firm, has closed its Series B funding from Neev Fund II, managed by SBICap Ventures. The latest round of funding will be used towards R&D and to support GPS Renewables’ next phase of growth and expansion. 

With the current round, GPS has cumulatively raised close to $20 million in the form of equity. The earlier round was led by Netherlands based Hivos-Triodos Fund and Hyderabad-based Caspian Impact Investments in September 2020.

GPS Renewables started off with a captive bio gas product called the ‘BioUrja’. The Company has successfully expanded its capacity by over 5000x over the last couple of years, thereby positioning itself as the go-to project integrator in the bio energy space, covering BioCNG, Bioethanol and Green Hydrogen.

GPS Renewables has recently commissioned Asia’s largest BioCNG plant based on SSO (Source Separated Organics) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Setup over 15 acres of land, this bio-gas plant is expected to produce 17 tonnes of BioCNG every day from 550 tonnes of organic household waste. Nearly 400 city buses in Indore will soon run on the BioCNG generated from this bio gas plant. The company is in the process of setting up the world’s largest BioCNG plant in Hyderabad in association with project development partners from Japan.

Commenting on the investment, Mainak Chakraborty, Co-founder and CEO of GPS Renewables, said, “Untreated organic waste streams, ranging from urban waste to paddy straw, are one of the biggest contributors to global warming and it poses serious health concerns for the current and future generations alike. Climate positive solutions to these problems are the need of the hour, and that’s where GPS’ bio-energy solutions suite comes in. We are excited to partner with Neev II as we further strengthen our mission towards making the world cleaner and more sustainable. This partnership will help accelerate our growth while capitalising on the organic feed-stock to bio-energy market.”

The latest round of funding will be

AgroPolicy, Pulses

Global germplasm will be used in the Indian breeding programmes

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha on March 15, 2022, has announced that the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) has enabled access to global germplasm for use in the Indian breeding programmes. Ten high yielding varieties of Lentil, Chickpea and Barley have been released by ICARDA along with ICAR for commercial cultivation in India during the last three years. Of these, six were released in 2019, three in 2020 and one in 2021.

The ICARDA is engaged in the research and development of improved varieties of food crops (Wheat and Barley) and nutritionally rich pulses. Besides, ICARDA also works on different natural management systems like cropping systems, water productivity modelling, conservation agriculture technology, fodder cactus, etc. in association with the ICAR institutions, the State/Central Agricultural Universities and the Central and State Departments.

Global germplasm will be used in the

Agrotech, Interaction, Seeds

Women leaders in agri industry shares views on ‘Women Leadership Building Sustainable and Inclusive Food System’

 On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and Alliance for Agri Innovation held a webinar on ‘Women Leadership Building Sustainable and Inclusive Food System’. Eminent speakers from Asia Pacific included, Dr Usha Barwale Zehr, Director and Chief Technology Officer at Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Private Limited (MAHYCO); Dr Purvi Mehta, Asia Lead – Agriculture, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Dr Mary Ann Sayoc, Public Affairs Lead, East-West Seed Group.

Expressing views on the limited women leadership in agriculture, Dr Usha Barwale Zehr, said, “Efforts must be made to mentor young women in careers in agriculture. We have undertaken several activities such as outreach programmes, creating on-field demonstrations around the benefits of biotechnology. A lot of women are engaged in biotechnology and are engaged in a majority of lab-focused activities. Further biotechnology tools need to be applied for the benefit of small-holder farmers as they are crop, scale and gender neutral. The industry will have to push forward with a greater vigor for facilitating new products as it will help to reach out to more women farmers.”

Dr Purvi Mehta said, “Women play a crucial role in the food value system, but their participation varies in different sub-sectors. The fundamental factor for inequality in women’s participation in agriculture are lack of access to land, knowledge, market and technology. About 15 per cent of women farmers get access to any traditional extension service. Fundamental factor for this inequality is ownership of land as less than 10 percent of India’s farmland is owned by women. While property rights are equal for women, the challenges lie in social factors.” Seeking the right balance for the empowerment of women farmers”.

Dr Mary Ann Sayoc, said, “Women’s leadership is found to be better and sought a slew of measures for their empowerment in leadership. A study found that outcomes related to COVID-19 were systematically better in countries led by women. A sustainable and inclusive food system highlights the contributions of women in the value chain. Women in leadership in the traditionally male-dominated field such as agriculture are seldom properly recognised for their success. Education, and promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality besides strong family support, access to resources, representation and policy support are needed to address the inequality.” Expressing concern over limited representation of women in leadership despite being half the population, Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India, said, “We want to change this in future. And when we talk about inclusiveness and sustainability, women are by nature more inclusive and sustainable in nature. As we bring and support more and more women in leadership positions, inclusiveness and sustainability get a boost. Women are involved in the production and consumption levels of food. Men have a huge role to play in supporting women to achieve what they are capable of achieving. This calls for a huge mindset change in men.”

Women leaders in agri industry shares views