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Agrotech, Company News, India, IT, Start ups, Sustainability

Application now available for global agribusinesses to digitise, automate, and make data-driven decisions for improved efficiency, productivity, and sustainability

Cropin, a leading agtech company known for creating the first industry cloud for agriculture, has announced that its farm digitisation software, Cropin Grow, is now available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace. The AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog that allows customers to easily find, purchase, and deploy third-party software and services to build solutions on the AWS platform. With Cropin Grow now available on the AWS Marketplace, agri-industry players and governments worldwide will be able to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and use data to reimagine agriculture.

Cropin Grow is designed to be a powerful tool in a connected and digitally enabled agriculture ecosystem. The platform, developed over a decade of innovation, aims to use technology to solve real-world problems in agriculture, such as connectivity issues, climate change, supply chain disruptions, food waste, and food security. By making every farm asset traceable, predictable, and sustainable, Cropin Grow empowers industry stakeholders to manage risks, increase productivity, maximise revenue and profit, and optimise resources. This platform is used by enterprises, governments, and development agencies to deliver value to all participants in the food value chain. It also uses AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Container Service (EKS) for Kubernetes and Amazon Relational Database Service to help accelerate the roll-out of new capabilities and features, and operate and scale databases in the cloud, Amazon OpenSearch Service to increase operational excellence, and Amazon SageMaker to quickly and easily build and train machine learning models.

Commenting on the development, Kunal Prasad – Co-Founder & COO, Cropin said, “Today, agribusinesses are rapidly transforming their business models and legacy systems. They are accelerating digitisation and adopting climate-smart agriculture practices to address challenges faced by the agri-ecosystem today. As a trusted digital transformation partner for our customers for over a decade, we are committed to enabling this shift and playing our part in evolving the global food system. The listing of Cropin Grow on AWS Marketplace is a key milestone in making our solutions accessible to more users. I am confident that the agri-ecosystem will immensely benefit from this development.”

Sunil PP, Alliances and Channel Lead – Public Sector, AWS India and South Asia, added, “The AWS Marketplace helps customers to discover, buy and deploy software solutions from AWS partners easily. Customers benefit from the speed, business agility, and cost-effective options, while AWS partners gain a new sales channel. We’re pleased to see Cropin Grow on the AWS Marketplace and are excited for its potential to unlock new value and create an overall positive impact for agri organisations globally”.

Application now available for global agribusinesses to

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, Finance, India

Q3 PAT at Rs 30.61 up 101 percent from Rs 15.23 crore last year.

Best Agrolife Ltd. the leading agrochemical company in India, declared financial results for Q3FY23 in its Board of Directors meeting. The company showed significant Year on Year growth for the quarter ending & 9 months ending 31st Dec 2022.

Consolidated Key Highlights-Q3 & 9 Months ending FY23

  • The company recorded revenue of Rs 327.8 crore, a YoY growth of 41 percent as against Rs 232.5 crore in Q3 FY22. On 9 months basis revenue grew 65.5 percent (Rs 1492 crores as against Rs 901 crore in 9 Months last year) Q3 EBITDA at Rs 58.1 crore up 79 percent from Rs 32.43 crore last year. On 9 months basis EBITDA at Rs 306.5 Crores up 196 percent from last year of Rs 103.7 cr.
  • Q3 PAT at Rs 30.61 up 101 percent from Rs 15.23 cr last year. 9 Months PAT at Rs 200.6 cr up 202.2 percent from last year of Rs 66.4 cr.

Commenting on the performance for the quarter and period ending December 2022 Vimal Alawadhi, Managing Director, Best Agrolife Ltd. (BAL) said, “We are glad to share that despite being a lean season BAL successfully managed to remain consistent with its performance in the third quarter of this financial year. While the company has shown growth with a positive outlook across all the business segments during this period. We are fully focussed on our global export expansion which will start reflecting in our revenue growth soon. The company is set to introduce new and exclusive patented products like Ronfen and other different segment products which will scale up our growth further in the next financial year.”

It is important to note that BAL recently obtained registration for the indigenous manufacturing of Cyhalofop-butyl and Propaquizafop Technical u/s 9(3) along with several crucial technicals.

Q3 PAT at Rs 30.61 up 101 percent from

Agro Universities, Award, India, People, R&D, Sugar industry

Retired as Coimbatore ICAR Sugarcane Breeding Institute Director, Dr Bakshi currently works as a consultant in various sugar mills and also works for cane farmers’ welfare.

Gurugram-based eminent agro scientist & plant breeder Dr. Bakshi Ram, has been conferred upon with Padma Shri Award on this 74th Republic Day. He has developed a sugarcane variety CO -0238 which has been a game changer for the sector. This has benefitted immensely the sugarcane growers by increasing their income from sugarcane cultivation and also the sugar industry in terms of getting better industrial yield and volumes.

Dr Bakshi Ram is best known for developing sugarcane variety CO-0238, which occupies over 70 per cent of the sugarcane area in Northern India. Retired as Coimbatore ICAR Sugarcane Breeding Institute Director, Dr Bakshi currently works as a consultant in various sugar mills and also works for cane farmers’ welfare.

Retired as Coimbatore ICAR Sugarcane Breeding Institute

Company News, Finance, India, Logistics, Supply Chain

Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to Rs 3.74 Crores in Q3 FY22-23 from Rs 0.83 Crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Snowman Logistics records 49 per cent growth in revenue in third quarter of FY22-23 EBITDA increased to Rs 25.14 Crores from Rs 19.40 Crores, registering a 30 per cent growth for the same period in the previous year and PAT increased to Rs 3.74 Crores from Rs 0.83 Crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

During the quarter that ended December 31, 2022, Snowman Logistics Ltd recorded revenue of Rs 109.39 Crores as against Rs 73.40 Crores for the same period in the previous year, registering a growth of 49 per cent.

EBITDA increased to Rs 25.14 Crores from Rs 19.40 Crores, registering a 30 per cent growth for the same period in the previous year and PAT increased to Rs 3.74 Crores from Rs 0.83 Crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Speaking about the quarter’s performance, Sunil Nair, CEO, of Snowman Logistics Limited said, “We expect to continue the momentum and grow from here. Our efforts towards offering services and solutions to complex and challenging operations are gaining traction and we hope to add some new businesses to our kitty soon.”

Snowman Logistics is a leading player in integrated temperature-controlled logistics services, catering to the varied cold chain logistical requirements of its clients, on a pan-India basis. With 43 strategically located warehouses, having a total pallet capacity of 1,29,924 across 17 cities including the key markets of Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata, Snowman caters to various services and segments like dairy products including butter and cheese, canned food items, poultry, and meat, seafood, healthcare, and pharmaceutical products.

Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to Rs

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Company News, India, Opinions, Supply Chain

Private capital needs to be made to work harder and create meaningful assets for the country.

The startup ecosystem has grown tremendously in the past few years. However, if one peels the layers, one notices an anomaly. Private capital naturally flows into sectors where big payouts are possible, even if highly risky, or where returns can be captured fast. This has resulted in considerable capital inflows into frothy sectors such as gaming, crypto, stock trading, and the like. Even in relatively deeper sectors such as food, the capital that has flowed into high-speed last-mile delivery is an order of magnitude greater than what has gone into food logistics/supply chain. It has now become critical to ensure that private capital (both domestic and international) flows into sectors of national importance. Private capital needs to be made to work harder and create meaningful assets for the country. Given this, the time has come for the Government to put its thumb on the scale, by incentivising private capital to flow into sectors of national importance such as food and Agri, healthcare, and education, and if required, disincentivising its flow into sin sectors/frothy sectors.

There have been requests to rationalise long term capital gains tax by private equity investors. This provides one opportunity for the government to send the right signals – e.g., differentiated LTCG Tax for sectors of national importance vs the others. Direction of India’s infrastructure investment funds to expand their horizons beyond hard infrastructure investments alone, and into technology investments related to the infrastructure sectors e.g. logistics and supply chains, health tech and edtech, as well as creation of new government vehicles (e.g. sovereign wealth funds, AIFs) directed towards these spaces will be another welcome measure. These, coupled with capital gains tax breaks for such vehicles, will help accelerate equity investments into sectors such as these.

 Encouraging domestic capital inflows into sectors of national importance:

In addition to the above, it is important to encourage the flow of domestic capital into sectors of national importance. Domestic capital has been relatively risked averse. Given this, incentivising them to place calculated bets on sectors such as these will accelerate development of these sectors, while also providing better returns to investors, and ensuring that the ownership of these assets is more domestic than global. Creative means may be explored for this. For e.g., if the mandatory CSR program for corporates can be modified to treat investments into AIFs focussed on sectors such as food, education and healthcare, as deemed CSR, this will make CSR funds work harder and more efficiently, and also provide the possibility of an upside to company treasuries, rather than being dissolved as a grant.

Single window for access to schemes and subsidies:

Today, central and state governments offer a range of schemes and subsidies. However, navigating to these subsidies is non-trivial for companies. A single window portal that enables access to these will help companies take advantage of schemes better and achieve the objective of these schemes.

Private capital needs to be made to

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Company News, India, R&D

GSP’s Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR) products Helipro and Ballot works through injections, contact, ovi-larvicidal, larvicidal on chewing pest insects.

Ahmedabad based agrochemical company, GSP Crop Science has launched CTPR (chlorantraniliprole) under the brand name Helipro and Ballot.  After the efforts of their Research and Development team, GSP Crop will now manufacture and sell CTPR under the ‘Make in India’ initiative to benefit the farmers and customers, at large.

GSP Crop Science, recently got a go-ahead from Delhi High Court to sell and manufacture CTPR in India, after which GSP has officially launched its Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR) products Helipro and Ballot that works through injections, contact, ovi-larvicidal, larvicidal on chewing pest insects.

Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR) provides an effective and long duration of insect control with its unique mode of action in crops like sugarcane, rice, soybean, pulses and vegetables by controlling all Lepidoptera and other species. It is also toxic to insect eggs, larvae and pupae on contact. CTPR has an excellent bottom-up intake and transportation in plants and effectively penetrates plants from root to stem.

Bhavesh Shah, Managing Director of GSP Crop Science said, “GSP is delighted to provide the Indian market with CTPR (Chlorantraniliprole) under the brand name Helipro and Ballot. We can very proudly say we are one of the very few companies who will be selling this market. Our aim is to provide our hardworking farmers with the right product with the price they deserve with the best quality possible.”

GSP’s Chlorantraniliprole (CTPR) products Helipro and Ballot

Agro Universities, Finance, India, Seeds

20054 farmers from 11 states register for ICAR-IIWBR online Seed Portal during 2022-23

During 2020 under Covid 19, a global pandemic situation, an online Seed Portal (iiwbrseed.in) was developed by ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal to provide seed of recent wheat & barley varieties to farmers. The seed portal was designed and executed through IIWBR website in the September. During 2022-23, a total of 20054 farmers were registered from 11 states (Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himanchal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan) within four days.  An amount of Rs 1.20 crores were generated by selling of more than 2000 quintal seed of IIWBR varieties to the farmers during October 2022.

During 2020-21 to 2022-23, 37278 farmers were registered and 26862 farmers collected truthfully labled (TL) seeds of DBW 327 (Karan Shivani), DBW 332 (Karan Aditya), DBW 303 (Karan Vaishnavi), DBW 187 (Karan Vandna) DBW222 (Karan Narendra), DDW 47, DWRB 137 and DWRB 137. During this period, revenue generation worth Rs 192.30 was generated through sale of TL seed. Total revenue generation through breeder and TL seed was Rs 12.61 crore.

The interested farmers submit the desired information (name, village, mobile number, district and state, upload soft copy of Aadhar card, select variety, quantity of seed) for registration. The farmer gets OTP on mobile to complete the registration process. The farmers are grouped state-wise and district-wise. The registered farmers are informed at least one week in advance about date and time of seed collection through bulk SMS to facilitate hassle free seed distribution. On an average, daily 3000 farmers collect seed as per the schedule.  All the payments are made in digital modes viz., QR code, net banking or card swipe).

ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal generally open the Farmer Seed Portal (iiwbrseed.in) in the last week of September till the availability (5-10 days) of seed every year.

20054 farmers from 11 states register for

Agrotech, India, Start ups

Garuda Aerospace will manufacture over 25,000 drones in the next 15 months and will revolutionize the agricultural sector.

India’s drone startup company, Garuda Aerospace, unveiled the first-ever carbon-neutral drone at the Indian Sustainability Lounge of the World Economic Forum 2023, which was being held from January 16 to 20 in Davos, Switzerland.

Garuda Aerospace will manufacture over 25,000 drones in the next 15 months and will revolutionize the agricultural sector. The agricultural Green Revolution 2.0 began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off 100 Kisan drones in 100 villages across India. This led to job opportunities for youth across India.

“It’s such a privilege to present Garuda Aerospace’s DGCA approved Made in India Carbon Neutral Drones and the ESG goal of impacting 1 billion Indians positively through drone technology at Davos 2023,” said CEO of Garuda Aerospace, Agnishwar Jayaprakash. 

Among other agendas of the WEF, start-ups and investments are the key ones. The launch of a sustainable drone which is carbon-neutral is also in line with WEF’s climate action goals. He spoke at an impactful panel discussion and highlighted progressive government policies and how the startup community is transforming India into a ‘Global Drone Hub’ by 2030.

Garuda Aerospace will manufacture over 25,000 drones

Cold Storage, Company News, Finance, India

Ecozen will leverage Nuveen’s experience in scaling impact-oriented businesses to augment its commercial offering.

Ecozen has raised $25 million of combined equity and debt capital.  The Series C equity portion was led by Nuveen and Dare Ventures (Coromandel International), with participation from Export-Import Bank of India (India EXIM Bank), and existing investors Caspian and Hivos-Triodos Fonds (managed by Triodos Investment Management). Omnivore and IFA, early investors in Ecozen, achieved partial exits in this round. The debt portion was provided by Maanaveeya Development and Finance, Oxyzo, Northern Arc group, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

Ecozen is on an accelerated growth path both domestically and internationally, where it aims to capitalise on a slate of successful projects by establishing itself as a trusted agri value chain participant in Africa and Southeast Asia. Ecozen will leverage Nuveen’s experience in scaling impact-oriented businesses to augment its commercial offering, and the funding from India Exim Bank will support the Company towards its export-related activities.

The Company is also looking beyond the agricultural sector to accelerate the broader energy transition through its deeptech expertise in energy storage, motor controls, IoT and analytics. The company estimates the market size for its innovative technology stacks in India to grow to $25 billion by 2025.

Headquartered in Pune, India, Ecozen was founded by three IIT Kharagpur alumni, Devendra Gupta, Prateek Singhal and Vivek Pandey. The company has helped generate over 1 billion units of clean energy (kWh), saved over 20,000 metric tons of food loss and reduced over 1 million tons of GHG emissions.

“We are thrilled to successfully close this round and are excited to bring Nuveen, India Exim Bank, as well as other new investors, on board,” said Devendra Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder at Ecozen. “As we expand beyond India and agriculture, we will continue to focus on profitable growth and sustainable technology solutions. Ecozen will aggressively expand production capacity and product range.”

“Nuveen seeks out companies that mitigate climate change, build resilience to its impacts, and provide high quality, affordable products and services to the low-income consumer segment,” said Rekha Unnithan, Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity Impact Investing at Nuveen.

Ecozen will leverage Nuveen’s experience in scaling

Company News, North America, Sustainability

Truterra’s 2022 carbon program will result in more than $4.5 million in payments to participating farmers for nearly 237,000 tonnes of carbon stored in soils.

Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives, announced the launch of Truterra™ sustainability services, a comprehensive suite of agronomic and financial resources designed to meet farmers where they are at every stage of their sustainability journey. This launch is part of Truterra’s broader effort to work with more farmers to encourage adoption of regenerative farming practices by working to remove one of the biggest barriers to practice change – fear of lost profitability and productivity of their acres – and develop new offerings that best fit farmers’ needs and support their transitions to more sustainable practices.

Truterra sustainability services focuses on working with farmers to plan, make and maintain sustainability practice changes, including:

Making a plan: The Truterra™ soil health assessment and plan sets quantifiable soil health baselines and provides custom recommendations to improve overall soil health and resiliency. The soil health assessment brings much-needed locally relevant context to soil health measures for farmers to understand more about their soil health status, potential for improvement and to help create a roadmap toward improved soil health. After a successful 2022 pilot across several states including Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, Truterra is expanding the soil health assessment to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The soil health assessment offering builds on the robust conservation agronomy support already being delivered through Truterra and Winfield United networks of trusted local ag retail advisors and its farmer support team.

Creating a pathway to make change: Truterra’s market access program is an on-ramp for eligible farmers considering adopting new regenerative practices on their fields. Farmers can potentially receive $2/acre to begin building the baseline data required to participate in future carbon program opportunities. In addition, farmers have the opportunity to participate in the WinField United Advanced Acre® Rx prescription plan1 – a component of which provides a warranty to offset part of the risk of this practice change implementation.

Being rewarded for transition: For fields that have made eligible practice changes within the last four years, qualified farmers can potentially earn between $15-$30 per tonne of new carbon stored through Truterra’s 2023 carbon program which is now open for enrolment through February 28. Truterra offers farmers earning potential by paying based on results – carbon stored – rather than a set payment per acre.

Truterra is also working to develop additional opportunities for farmers to be rewarded for their stewardship, such as the USDA-funded Climate SMART (Scaling Mechanisms for Agriculture’s Regenerative Transformation) project to scale production and demand for climate-smart corn, soybean, wheat, cotton and milk production. 

“A journey to sustainability is never a straight line. Working through the farmer cooperative system enables us to take a comprehensive view and deploy targeted support to directly address what farmers and retailers need to best manage risk and maximise natural resources to generate a potential return on investment,” said Tom Ryan, president, Truterra. “Through the launch of our sustainability services approach, Truterra is excited to continue working with ag retailers and farmers in an effort to address cost, risk and knowledge barriers to regenerative agriculture practice adoption. In turn, we can help position them as leaders in emerging market opportunities for carbon removals, climate-smart commodities and other ways to be rewarded for their stewardship while future-proofing their businesses for the long-term.”

Truterra’s 2022 carbon program is expected to pay farmers more than $4.5 million total in cash payments for nearly 237,000 tonnes of carbon stored in soils. The program delivered 220 participating farmers an average payment per participating farmer of $24,842. Full results for the 2022 program will be released in the coming months once all payments have been finalised.

Truterra’s sustainability services are rooted in the Land O’Lakes cooperative network, which touches about 50 percent of all U.S. harvested acres, and work through its agricultural retailer network of trusted advisors to provide farmers better agronomic insights to continuously improve their operations. With Truterra’s work in supporting farmers transition to sustainable practices, WinField United’s scientific approach to crop management and the expertise of local ag retailers, the Land O’Lakes cooperative system is working to help mitigate the risk associated with converting to more climate-smart practices.

Interested farmers can learn more and find the program that is right for them at Truterraag.com/enroll or contact their local Truterra retail partner.

Agreement is required and conditions, restrictions and service fees apply. Percentage goals for the crops’ Approved Yield range from 95–105 percent for corn and 95–100 percent for soybeans. Only available to corn and soybean farmers who enrol a minimum of 250 acres of an individual crop in the program.

Truterra's 2022 carbon program will result in

Agrotech, Animal Health, Company News, India, People

In 2016, Rajiv was awarded the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ by the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA)

Rajiv Gandhi, Founder, CEO & Managing Director of Hester Biosciences has been appointed as Chairman FICCI Gujarat State Council. Rajiv is a member of the governing council for Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Chimanbhai Patel Institute, Ahmedabad, Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat and National Advisory Committee for Animal Husbandry and Dairying Sector, constituted by The Government of India.

Rajiv Gandhi, born 11 July 1962, is a first-generation entrepreneur. A B.com graduate from Bombay University, he started a proprietary trading company in 1985 in Mumbai for distributing animal health products with no experience or knowledge in animal health business. He then transformed that proprietary business into Asia’s largest single location animal vaccine and health products manufacturing company based in Ahmedabad under the name of Hester Biosciences. Hester is now a 500 people-strong organisation which recorded a turnover of Rs 219.35 crores in the financial year 2021-22, earning a net profit of Rs 39.52 crores.

While commenting on the appointment, Rajiv Gandhi, Founder, CEO & Managing Director of Hester Biosciences said, “It is both, an honor as well as a responsibility to serve and strengthen FICCI in Gujarat. This is a time of great global curiosity towards India. Gujarat being an economic powerhouse, will play a big role in further accelerating India’s growth. My endeavor will be to support wealth creators especially young entrepreneurs. My endeavor is to also continue to work on the path set by the immediate past FICCI Gujarat State Council Chairperson Geeta Goradia as well as work under the leadership of FICCI President Subhrakant Panda towards the objectives of FICCI.”

Hester subsequently expanded its animal vaccine manufacturing activities by setting up plants in Nepal and in Tanzania respectively. In 2016, Rajiv was awarded the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ by the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA).

In 2016, Rajiv was awarded the ‘Outstanding

Agro chems – Chemicals, AgroPolicy, Company News, India

Agrochemicals are excluded from the PLI scheme that is resulting in delays in new investments.

Vimal Kulshrestha, President Crop Protection, Hikal Ltd expressed his views on expectations from Union Budget 23 which will be presented on February 1 in the parliament.

“The Indian crop protection industry is a major contributor to the country’s agriculture sector, providing essential products and services to boost and protect agricultural produce. However, the industry has been facing a number of challenges in recent years, including increased competition from cheaper imports, regulatory hurdles, and a lack of investment in research and development. Agrochemicals are excluded from the PLI scheme that is resulting in delays in new investments. In light of these challenges, the industry is hoping for positive announcements of schemes, regulatory and tax concessions that will support the growth of domestic agrochemical manufacturers. We think that government should restrict /regulate the import of agrochemical formulations into India, which can be manufactured in India from the locally manufactured agro actives and enough capacity is available with Indian manufacturers. This will benefit India by reducing its foreign exchange usage. It will also boost the Government’s ‘Make in India’ efforts. Indian agrochemical industry is poised to make domestic products that can be imported to the world to contribute to the country’s export economy.

Another key area of concern is the need for increased investment in research and development. The industry is looking for measures that will encourage investment in R&D to create new products and improve existing ones. The government’s support in this area will help the industry to stay competitive. Overall, the crop protection chemical industry in India is hoping for a budget that will support the growth and development of the sector, addressing the challenges it currently faces and providing the necessary resources to help it succeed in the future.”

Agrochemicals are excluded from the PLI scheme

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India

The key highlights from the fair included more than 250 stalls, millet and organic food court, buyer seller meets, international expo and conference, consumer connect and farmers workshop.

Millets & Organics 2023 – International Trade Fair kicks off in Thripuravasini, Bengaluru. The event was divided in multiple segments including Exhibition, Pavilion, B2B networking and much more. The exhibition segment of the event was inaugurated by Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka. Followed by the inaugural ceremony, Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal & Mines, inaugurated the Karnataka Pavilion. Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary also graced the event and inaugurated the B2B networking part.

Some of the key highlights from the fair included more than 250 stalls, millet and organic food court, buyer seller meets, international expo and conference, consumer connect, farmers workshop, cooking, drawing and quiz competitions, demonstration of millet recipes, among others. The key products on display during the fair were millets, organics and natural range, certified wild harvest produce, millet processing machinery, organic cereals and pulses, bio-degradable packaging, eco-friendly products, etc.

The trade fair is a platform for farmers, farmer groups, domestic and international companies, central and state institutions in organic and millet sector to connect and explore opportunities in agriculture, horticulture, processing, machinery and agri-technology.

The inauguration of the international conference was done by Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. In her address to the farmers and other participants, she called for cultivation of quality millets with optimal use of pesticides that can be taken to international platform which would help them in gaining competitive prices for their produce. The Government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income can be seen through significant rise, witnessed in agriculture exports.

The session started with a welcome address by Secretary to Department of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, followed by an introductory Speech by BC Patil, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka. Ashwatha Narayana CN Minister for Higher Education, IT & BT and Science & Technology, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka launched the SEEMI Brand Products and Millets Calendar 2023 developed by Sahaja Samrudha Organisation.

Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare in his address highlighted that the budget allocation towards farmers has increased 6 times under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. Additionally, he also said that the country is focussed on developing 10,000 FPOs and aiding farmers in setting up sorting and grading units, along with production of value-added products which are export ready. He emphasised that consumption of millets is the solution to malnutrition, which will also benefit farmers to get better livelihood and increased income.

Shubha Thakur, JS (Crops), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare appreciated the model of Karnataka State Government in millets promotion. She said, “Karnataka has been distributing millet grains through the PDS system, organising district-wise kisan mela. Further to that, farmers in Karnataka have helped boost food production, especially during the covid pandemic, by cultivating millets.” She also added that, in the coming year, National Food Security Mission (NFSM) programme will be reconstituted to the National Food and Nutrition Security Mission, paving the way for millets to reach the global forum.

The key highlights from the fair included

AgroPolicy, Company News, India

Centre’s multi-state cooperative society for exporting products of cooperatives will have an authorised share capital of Rs 2,000 crore for the trading of goods and services in the cooperative sector.

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), Krishak Bharti Cooperative (Kribhco), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will jointly promote a newly announced national-level export cooperative society with an authorised share capital of Rs 2,000 crore for the trading of goods and services in the cooperative sector.

 Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal to establish three new national-level multi-state cooperative societies to promote organic products, seeds and exports. A national-level cooperative organic society, cooperative seed society and cooperative export society will be registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002.

The Centre’s new multi-state cooperative society for exporting products of cooperatives will have an authorised share capital of Rs 2,000 crore and an initial paid-up capital of Rs 500 crore contributed by five such organisations.

The society will focus on exporting the surpluses of the cooperative sector, scout for markets, promote products made by cooperatives in the global arena, and help in increasing their demand globally.

The body will provide institutional support for aggregating an exportable surplus, working capital, logistics, technical know-how, and training. It will provide all back-end support, which includes procurement, storage, processing, marketing, branding, labelling, packaging, certification, research and development and trading to members for boosting the export potential of their products.

Centre’s multi-state cooperative society for exporting products