Connect with:
Saturday / April 19. 2025

logo
mobile-logo
Home2023March (Page 8)
Agrotech, Company News, Environment, Finance, IT, Sustainability, World

Program Supporters help build a community of sustainable agriculture practitioners and support the ecosystem

Agrograph, a global agrifintech company that delivers data-based solutions to companies with exposure to agriculture, announced its commitment to advancing the mission of Leading Harvest by enrolling as a Program Supporter.

Leading Harvest is a nonprofit organisation committed to increasing the adoption of sustainability practices in agriculture and works with farmers, landowners, and investors at all scales to independently certify sustainable farmland management and provide support through education and training opportunities.

“Agrograph’s support of Leading Harvest is rooted in our shared passion and commitment to transitioning the industry through both fiscally and environmentally responsible practices,” said Julia Lechner, Director of Business Development at Agrograph. “Our data solutions play a critical role in auditing and continuously improving the ways in which supply chains utilise natural resources.”

Program Supporters help build a community of sustainable agriculture practitioners and support the ecosystem that allows Leading Harvest’s Program Users to be successful in their certifications to Leading Harvest.

Program Supporters help build a community of

Acquaculture, Company News, Finance, India, Live Stock, Start ups

The funding will strengthen FreshToHome’s mission to make 100 per cent preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions.

Bengaluru-based startup FreshToHome, a fully integrated online consumer brand for preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish and meat, has closed $104 million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round. Existing investors in FreshToHome including Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital and others have also participated in this round. New investors joining this round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka. JP Morgan was the placement agent to FreshToHome for the fundraise.

The current funding will strengthen FreshToHome’s mission to make 100 per cent preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions. Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in 160+ cities in India and the UAE and offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products.

Two years ago, FreshToHome raised $121 million in its Series C round, led by Dubai’s Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital and US Government’s development finance institution – DFC.

The funding will strengthen FreshToHome’s mission to

Company News, Finance, India, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

Domestic sales in February 2023 were at 24,619 units, as against 18,910 units during February 2022 posting a growth of 30 per cent over last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES), part of the Mahindra Group, announced its tractor sales numbers for February 2023.Domestic sales in February 2023 were at 24,619 units, as against 18,910 units during February 2022.Total tractor sales (Domestic + Exports) during February 2023 were at 25,791 units, as against 20,437 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month stood at 1,172 units.

Commenting on the performance, Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “We have sold 24,619 tractors in the domestic market during February 2023, a growth of 30 per cent over last year. Record Rabi crop acreage for wheat and oilseeds, high crop prices and better terms of trade for farmers is leading to positive sentiments in the rural markets. Expected higher Rabi output will improve liquidity in the hands of the farmers, supporting tractor demand. Water reservoir levels continue to remain high. In the exports market, we have sold 1172 tractors.”

Domestic sales in February 2023 were at

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, India, People, Sustainability

Experts addressed various issues related to fisheries and aquaculture at Fishetech 23

Financial literacy is lacking in the Indian fishing industry. To address all the problems of the fisheries sector there should be an Aqua Chamber of Commerce, which will helpful for governance and policy-related fisheries, Dr S. N. Ojha, Principal Scientist of CIFE, said at a workshop in Fishetech 23. He was speaking on Finance and Credit for blue transformation. He said an Aqua Chamber of Commerce will help literate fishermen or fish farmers regarding financial issues. Chamber will also address governance issues in the fishing industry.

Prakash Dash General Manager of NABARD said, like agricultural farmers for fish farmers Kisan credit card has been introduced on which fish farmers can take out loans from banks. He also said India’s fisheries and aquaculture sector is required proper skill development. Indian fisheries sector also faces a few challenges like a lack of market chain and cold storage chain. Climate change is also one of the challenges due to which the fishing industry has been affected.  

Dr K.K. Krishnani, Principal Scientist of CIFE, while addressing Improving technology intervention in aquaculture and culture base fisheries for doubling farmer’s income, said an integrated approach in fish farming is required. Integrated farming techniques are more benefice for the fishermen’s community.   

Prasad Karnik an expert in aquaculture stated, besides fish farming, fish farmers should concentrate on algae farming. Algae farming is also profitable farming but in India, there is a lack of awareness about algae farming.   

On Alternative Livelihood through Mangrove Conservation, Sushant Sanaye, Executive Director, Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation of Maharashtra said, with shrimp farming crab farming, oyster and mussels farming and marine ornaments fish farming is also possible. He said this type of integrated farming is possible in the mangrove forest area in Maharashtra. In coastal districts of Maharashtra like Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg few fishermen are doing these types of farming with shrimp farming. These are value-added products are benefited, fishermen or farmers. Mangrove-based eco-tourism is also possible in the mangrove forest area, he added.  

To reach out to the various schemes for fishermen and farmers government has introduced the Sagarmitra program, the government has launched various schemes for fishermen but they are not aware of those schemes. To make aware of those schemes, the government has launched the Sagarmitra program, said Deepa Suman, Senior Executive of the National Fisheries Development Board at a workshop. She was speaking on Institutional Finance and Credit to the fisheries Sector. She said, the renovation of fish farms in the different states also going on so fishermen can get benefit from it.

Experts addressed various issues related to fisheries

Finance, India, Opinions, Schemes - Banks, Schemes - Govt

By Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. (NAFA)

Agriculture is a dominant sector of the Indian economy, with approximately 85 per cent of farm holdings being less than 2 ha in size, still producing sufficient food and fibre for our large population of 1.41 billion. In addition, it generates some net export surplus. It would not have been possible without a massive credit infusion to farmers. Access to adequate, timely, low-cost credit from institutional sources is essential, especially for small and marginal farmers. The policymakers have initiated several measures to improve the accessibility of farmers to institutional sources of credit. These policies have emphasized progressive institutionalisation for providing timely and adequate credit support to all farmers. Thus, focusing on enabling small and marginal farmers to improve agricultural practices.

Even though the country has taken some proactive steps in heralding reforms in agri-credit to provide financial assistance to the farmer community, it is still behind compared to some neighbouring nations. While the volume of credit has improved over the decades, its quality and impact on agriculture have only weakened. Agriculture requires substantial capital commitment, as procurement of equipment remains a significant spend for most farmers. Still, most agricultural credit extended to farmers is of a working capital nature, thus stagnating more than 80 percent of farmers’ income.

The analysis of Indian credit demand suggests that even though the banks and other financial institutions are aggressively increasing their reach to the farmer community under priority sector lending, the penetration continues to be low. In this scenario, the Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) sector focusing on Agriculture mechanization has scripted a remarkable success story. It is a testimony to the truly diverse and entrepreneurial spirit of India. From large Agri infrastructure financing to small farmers’ microfinance, these NBFCs have innovated over time and found ways to address the debt requirements of the farmer community as a whole. Over time, agri-focused NBFCs / Fintech’s have evolved to be well regulated and, in many instances, adopted best practices in technology, innovation, risk management, and governance. Thus, act as conduits and have furthered the Government’s agenda on Financial Inclusion.

The agri-focused NBFCs /Fintech’s can meet the long-term credit needs of the farmers as most of them have high penetration in rural India, and the bulk of their credit disbursements are focused only on small and marginal farmers. Public domain data suggests that only 30 percent of total small and marginal farmers have access to banks and other formal credit channels. Some of the issues faced by banks in providing credit to the farmers are difficulty in reaching far-flung and remote areas and lack of critical technology.

Further, banking activity involving lending to small farmers is plagued by various limitations like higher acquisition and servicing costs for marginal farmers and a greater risk of loan default. There are other problems that banks have faced, like difficulty in gathering farm-level data and getting information such as the cash flow and credit history of farmers. This is where the role of Agri-focused NBFCs /Fintech’s becomes critical. They have leveraged technology to derive essential insights into the farm domain and individual farmers to give out loans seamlessly and fairly. They also quickly offer credit to the farmers through lower paperwork and documentation. Adopting advanced analytics and rural market intelligence helps them bring efficiencies in the lending mechanism and cut the time taken to disburse a loan.

The various purposes for which agri-dedicated NBFCs lend money to the farmer include loans for equipment and machinery, modern and efficient methods of irrigation, and various other components in the value chain of cultivation. They have also brought down the interest rate of loans to as low as 12-18 percent compared to 24-60 percent available in the informal credit system in the vast rural parts of India. The use of modern technology to draw estimates of loan demand, visibility of usage of credit, tracking irrigation facilities, etc., to come up with the exact products and offerings for the farmers are another set of distinct advantages these NBFCs offer.Rol

It’s time the policymakers support such NBFCs who are charged up to bring radical and profound changes to the formal farm financing. The major challenge these NBFCs are trying to tide over is inclusion under reforms that currently are limited to banks and their Agri credit business. The policymakers must ensure that agri-focused NBFCs/ Fintech’s are included in effective programs such as the government subsidy schemes, a benefit hitherto available only to the Banks. It will enable them to lend efficiently, and mitigate farmers’ credit requirements, thereby supporting their income growth. It will also go a long way in boosting agriculture financing and help India dominate global leadership of the agrarian economy.

By Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, Netafim Agricultural Financing

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, Finance, World

Sales in the agricultural business (Crop Science) advanced by 15.6 per cent to a record 25.169 billion euros, with business up in all regions.

The Bayer Group achieved strong growth last year, posting significantly higher sales and earnings. ″2022 was a very successful year for Bayer despite the challenging environment. We were able to deliver, even during these difficult times, and met the upgraded financial targets we set in August, ″ said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management, at the company’s Financial News Conference.

Sales in the agricultural business (Crop Science) advanced by 15.6 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to a record 25.169 billion euros, with business up in all regions. Growth was strongest at Herbicides (Fx & portfolio adj. 43.9 percent), which saw sales rise in Latin and North America and in Europe/Middle East/Africa in particular thanks to higher prices, as supply for glyphosate-based products was tight. Sales at Corn Seed & Traits rose 8.8 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) as the division increased its market share. Price increases in all regions more than offset a decrease in acreages in North America and lower license revenues. Sales at Fungicides were up 5.2 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with higher prices in the Latin America and Europe/Middle East/Africa regions in particular more than offsetting a decline in volumes in North America. Sales at Soybean Seed & Traits were level with the prior year, with business growing in Latin America but declining in North America due to lower volumes.

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science advanced by 46.2 percent to 6.867 billion euros, mainly due to the significant increase in sales. Earnings also benefited from contributions from ongoing efficiency programs and a positive currency effect of 284 million euros (2021: negative currency effect of 387 million euros). By contrast, earnings were mainly diminished by an increase in the cost of goods sold, which was primarily due to high inflation. The EBITDA margin before special items increased by 4.1 percentage points to an industry-leading 27.3 percent.

Sales in the agricultural business (Crop Science)

Agrotech, Company News, Horticulture, India, Supply Chain, Trade

IG International and Rijk Zwaan jointly will not only focus on Sweet Palermo cultivation in India, but also on brand promotion.

In partnership with Rijk Zwaan, the Indian trading company IG International is introducing Sweet Palermo® in the Indian market. The sweet, pointed peppers in four different colours are a good fit with the Indian trading company’s mission to keep inspiring consumers with colourful, healthy and high-quality fresh produce. Among other things, Sweet Palermo stands out thanks to its appealing flavour, its versatility and its high nutritional value. The partnership agreement was officially signed during the recent Fruit Logistica in Berlin.

Nowadays, Tarun Arora, the younger scion of the Arora family, leads the young corporate team with his innovative and modern outlook. He reveals why he likes Sweet Palermo so much: “The Indian market always has scope for healthy and nutritious products. Moreover, Indian customers like sweetness in food and they are interested in tasty and healthy snacks. The unique qualities of Sweet Palermo are a perfect fit for it. It is a healthy, versatile and convenient product in bright colours that directly attract people’s attention.”

When asked about the partnership with Rijk Zwaan, Arora says: “Due to the market practices in India, there is a need for backwards integration. In other words, Sweet Palermo must be grown locally in India by a single company to guarantee production of premium-quality Sweet Palermos all year round. Additionally, it is important that these sweet pointed peppers are cultivated using the latest methods and technology. IG International’s Agri team will be doing this in coordination with the local and international teams from Rijk Zwaan.”

The partnership between IG International and Rijk Zwaan is not only focused on cultivation, but also on brand promotion. The two companies will be working together to make consumers aware of both the sweet taste and health benefits of Sweet Palermo. “Because it is such a new and unique product, we will be deploying our marketing and promotion teams to interact with consumers face to face and to inspire them with its recipes. We will be doing that online too, through e-commerce platforms, Instagram and many other popular websites. We expect to be able to benefit from Rijk Zwaan’s experience with Sweet Palermo in other countries. If we can promote Sweet Palermo to the right customers in the right way, we can generate long-lasting demand,” explains Arora.

Ajit Kumar Bisoi, Chain Manager at Rijk Zwaan India, is excited about the partnership: “We were already in discussions with IG International regarding Rijk Zwaan’s premium melon segment. We’re delighted that the trading company has now decided to expand its portfolio with our sweet, pointed peppers. We highly value this opportunity to work together with such a well-established and rapidly growing global organisation. This is one way we’re helping to share a healthy future for India.”

IG International and Rijk Zwaan jointly will

Company News, E-commerce, India, Inputs

With Oracle Cloud ERP, IFFCO eBazar consolidated multiple finance systems onto a single integrated finance platform to increase productivity, reduce costs and improve controls.

IFFCO eBazar Ltd., one of India’s fastest growing agricultural input retail chains with a well-established e-commerce presence, is using Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to unify its finance operations and drive greater efficiency and productivity.

Established in 2016, IFFCO eBazar Ltd. delivers quality and innovative agricultural inputs and services at a reasonable price to farming community under one roof through more than 3200 retail stores in India. IFFCO eBazar needed to replace its legacy financial management system with a modern cloud solution that would enhance visibility and governance across its business and help to enhance the decision making to achieve its objective of providing the modern retail experience to India’s farming community. To consolidate finance on a single, highly secure, and scalable cloud platform and eliminate inefficient manual processes, IFFCO eBazar selected Oracle Cloud ERP in December 2021.

“Our objective is to be the trusted partner for India’s farming community for their betterment and upliftment and provide them with better accessibility of quality and innovative agri-inputs and services at affordable prices,” said Madhulika Shukla, Chief Executive Officer, IFFCO eBazar Ltd. Oracle Cloud ERP enables us to create and manage a truly empowered and inclusive environment which enables our business growth. This will also improve our decision making, productivity, remove operational bottlenecks, increase the reliability, embrace continuous innovation and ultimately better serve our farming community for a better tomorrow.”

With Oracle Cloud ERP, IFFCO eBazar consolidated multiple finance systems onto a single integrated finance platform to increase productivity, reduce costs, improve controls and ultimately better decision making. Additionally, Oracle’s quarterly updates allow IFFCO eBazar to benefit from a regular cadence of new capabilities that are added every 90 days, without business disruption.

 Deepa Param Singhal, vice president, cloud applications at Oracle India said, “With Oracle Cloud ERP, IFFCO eBazar can now embrace automation and new business models to run its business more efficiently and unlock more opportunities to support India’s growing agricultural community.”

The project was implemented by the dedicated team of IFFCO eBazar in coordination with Filix Consulting, an Oracle Partner Network (OPN) member.

“With this implementation, IFFCO eBazar is able to perform all the above mandates of a digitalized finance function thereby creating smarter processes as they cater to our country’s large farmer population”, said Gaurav Mathur, founder director and CEO, Filix Consulting.

With Oracle Cloud ERP, IFFCO eBazar consolidated

Company News, India

Sanjeev Kharbanda comes with extensive hands-on experience of over 28 years in management and business leadership

Best Agrolife Ltd, India’s leading agrochemical company, announced the hiring of business transformation leader, Sanjeev Kharbanda, as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to further strengthen and boost the company’s financial operations and key long-term business strategies

A finance professional and business transformative leader Sanjeev Kharbanda comes with extensive hands-on experience of over 28 years in management and business leadership.

Commenting on the appointment, Vimal Alawadhi, Best Agrolife Ltd (BAL) founder and MD said, “We are pleased to welcome Sanjeev Kharbanda to our leadership team during an exciting time of growth for the company. Other than his deep knowledge of both Indian and international financial markets he also holds a stellar record of delivering tangible results and creating long-term, sustainable value. With his invaluable breadth of experience, Kharbanda will surely help in role in taking BAL to new heights of success.”

Kharbanda joins BAL from Aqualite Industries Private Limited, a footwear brand on a growth trajectory, where he managed the dual role of CFO and Business Co-Pilot for all strategic decisions or moves. He has also worked as General Manager – Corporate Finance with Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Private Limited for more than a decade and at senior profile with other organisations across the sectors, broadly including FMCG and Telecommunication. As CFO, Kharbanda will lead the financial activities of the organisation including performance improvement, financial operations, investor sourcing, stakeholder management, and more.

“I am excited to be joining BAL as CFO and to be exploring the industry of agrochemicals which is quite new for me. Over the past few years, BAL has grown remarkably and is swiftly climbing up the success ladder through new opportunities, under the leadership of highly professionalised and visionary Board Members. I look forward to working with the Board, and team and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on this next stage of development to accelerate the company’s strategic growth and path to profitability,” said Sanjeev Kharbanda, CFO of BAL.

Sanjeev Kharbanda comes with extensive hands-on experience

AgroPolicy, Dairy, India, Live Stock, People, R&D, Schemes - Govt, Sustainability

The Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing has been inaugurated to explore the immense opportunities in the camel product processing sector

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, inaugurates the ‘Camel Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing’ at the ICAR centre in Bikaner. ICAR–Bikaner is a Premier Research Centre and an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Considering the importance of camel in the socio-economic development of arid and semi-arid zones, the Government of India established a Project Directorate on Camel at Bikaner in 1984, which was upgraded to National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC) in, 1995

The Centre has been identified as one of the important tourist places of Bikaner and is included in the tourist book. A camel museum is available to apprise them of the developmental and research aspects of the camel in the desert ecosystem. Every year thousands of Foreign and Indian tourists visit the centre.

The Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing at the centre has been inaugurated by taking into consideration the immense opportunities that this sector holds.

Parshottam Rupala interacted with pastoralists and the pastoral community at the research centre. Further, the Minister also visited the institute’s facilities and interacted with the scientist and domain experts. Detailed discussions followed on the significance of the inception of this producinstitute’s facilities and interactions shall benefit the pastoral community.

While inaugurating the training wing, Parshottam Rupala said, ‘With the Animal Husbandry sector emerging as one of the diversified drivers of economic growth and rural income, there is a need for technological infusion, public investments, and policy reforms. Further, the Union Minister also said that this centre is beneficial not only to the pastoral communities in the state of Rajasthan but India as a whole. He added that the Ministry aims to work in tandem with the stakeholders for the continued growth of the livestock sector.

The Product Processing Utilisation & Training Wing

Agrotech, Company News, India, People, Sustainability

The new program, MANDI, aims to benefit 50,000 farmers by end of 2023

Mastercard and ACCESS Development Services announced the launch of a new program in Assam focused on empowering farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) in the state. The program, Mainstreaming Agriculture through Networks and Development Initiatives, or MANDI, aims to strengthen FPOs by helping build their capacity through structured technical assistance by a professional cadre of trainers.

According to the ACCESS baseline survey of FPOs in Guwahati, 95 per cent of organisations cited access to markets as their key challenge along with a lack of financial services and the awareness and knowledge to avail of government schemes.

Mastercard and ACCESS are aiming to help address these challenges by facilitating training frameworks, curricula, and tools for FPOs. The program will focus on accelerating growth and development among FPOs and enhancing the financial literacy among farmers by Training them in best agricultural practices, Improving their access to market linkages, and digital tools, Generating awareness about financial services along with the available government schemes
The program has been operational on a pilot basis in Assam for the last six months and has been able to onboard 83 FPOs to date. As it continues, MANDI aims to benefit 50,000 farmers by the end of 2023.

The launch event was attended by Sankar Das, AGM, NABARD, Dr Jayanta Sharma, Senior Scientist, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kahikuchi, Dr Lalit Sharma, Director, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, and other distinguished guests.

Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services, said, “The adoption of agritech solutions has played a vital role in streamlining the supply chains and addressing diverse challenges related to market linkages and access to financial services. There is a need to strengthen FPOs through technology to ensure increased connectivity and enhanced productivity. We are thrilled to collaborate with Mastercard and facilitate the tools, curriculum, and skills to ensure long-term sustainability for FPOs.”

Gautam Aggarwal, Division President, South Asia, Mastercard, said, “FPOs face several challenges to growth due to lack of digital infrastructure and technical skills. The MANDI program aims to address these issues by establishing a sustainable model that bolsters the resilience of smallholder farmers as well as supports self-reliance for FPOs by equipping them with knowledge, digital tools, and training. This initiative advances the Government of India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and reiterates Mastercard’s commitment to connecting more people to the digital economy, including those who earn their livelihoods from agriculture.”

The new program, MANDI, aims to benefit

Agrotech, Company News, Finance, India, People, Supply Chain, Sustainability

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of its kind in India that provides tailor-made credit solutions to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers through data-backed technology

ERGOS, India’s leading farmer-centric technology platform, announced that it has enabled its lending partners to achieve disbursement of over Rs 100 crore to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers. This milestone has been achieved through the recent launch of ERGOS’ credit product for the farming community which has enabled thousands of farmers in 3 different states in India to access institutional credit.

ERGOS backed by Aavishkaar Capital, Chiratae Ventures and British International Investment enables farmers to digitise their farm produce and provides them with doorstep access to end-to-end postharvest supply chain solutions.

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of its kind in India that provides tailor-made credit solutions to small and medium-scale farmers and buyers through data-backed technology. Unlike conventional loan options, ERGOS’ platform allows farmers and buyers to access asset-backed low-cost credit irrespective of their socio-economic background or limited credit history. The product leverages data-driven insights and a unique risk-scoring matrix that is based on the farmer’s field profiling, crop pattern, the value of their produce digitised and performance patterns of the crops that are being cultivated by the farmers.

Umesh Gowda, CTO, said “The impact of ERGOS’ GrainBank platform is unprecedented. We have been able to convince farmers to adopt mobile-driven technology and engage in transactions using bank accounts electronically as against cash, which also helps farmers to improve their credit score as we had zero defaulters and 100 per cent of loans are being closed on time. This milestone not only sets a benchmark for helping small farmers gain access to credit at competitive rates but also paves the way for a more inclusive and transparent financial system by leveraging technology at farmgate. ”

 Kishor Jha, Founder and CEO of the company, said “Our vision for the future of agriculture revolves around creating sustainable farming solutions that promote growth and ensure a financially secure future for farmers. We are dedicated to bringing digital technologies to the forefront of the agriculture industry for a more secure farm future. The ERGOS’ platform is well-equipped to serve farmers all across the country. With a presence in over 50 plus districts and partnerships with banks and local institutions, the company is confident of growing 3x in FY24 and building an annual disbursal book of Rs 5,000 crore by FY28.”

Ajay Maniar, Partner at Aavishkaar Capital said, “The leadership team at Ergos has continued to build and execute on their vision of creating Ergos as a ‘farmer first’ Grainbank that allows a farmer to store their grains safely, avail instant financing against their stored stock and discover the best market price for their produce, all facilitated via few clicks on the Ergos App. The company has successfully demonstrated its model across multiple geographies and is now well positioned to replicate and scale its model across India whilst creating significant value for the underserved farmer community”

ERGOS’ credit product is the first of

AgroPolicy, India, Opinions

By Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII)

The Union Budget 2023-24, presented by the Finance Minister has many positive announcements for agriculture in general and a budget allotment of Rs 1.25 lakh crore. The budget is an important instrument used by governments to shape public policy, economic growth and desired public responses to a country’s needs.

The most important announcement is the development of open source, open standards and interoperable Digital Public Goods (DPG) for delivering several services to the farmers. As we know digital technology is transforming our lives. A DPG like Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has completely changed the landscape of payment systems in the country. Even many of the developed countries do not have such a system. The recently introduced Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will also have a major impact on the scale-up of digital ecommerce businesses and consumers. Similar DPGs are to be developed for delivering multiple services to the farmers like a supply of inputs, crop advisory /health monitoring, credit, insurance, etc. Some private organisations like Agri Collaboratory, the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) are working on this subject, apart from several government organisations and the Agristack, launched by the government earlier. It is very heartening that the government has now focused attention on this subject through the budget announcement, which will help in making this a reality.

Setting up an Agri Accelerator Fund for startups in rural areas is another major announcement. This will go a long way in supporting the new wave of startups coming up in the food, agri and fintech sectors. Startups are working in the pre-sowing phase, cultivation-phase and post-harvest phase of crops, livestock, fisheries, poultry and other segments of agriculture. This fund will help in scaling up real innovations, including grass- root level innovations which can play a crucial role in making farming easier and reducing the drudgery of the farmer, apart from making it attractive for the youth and women to get into agriculture.

A micro-irrigation project has been announced in Karnataka as well, with an allotment of Rs 5,500 crore budget, aside from targeting Rs 20 lakh crore of agri credit. All these  are very positive measures to help agriculture and the farmers.

The Cooperative sector received a big boost in the budget, emphasising the need for a cooperative-based economic development model. This is in line with the recent announcements made about giving a major role to cooperatives in the supply of seeds to farmers. The budget talked about the computerisation of 65000 Primary Agricultural Credit Coop Societies at an investment of Rs 2516 crore. This will also help in setting up a national database of cooperative societies. Massive decentralised storage facilities will be set up for crop output in rural areas. There will be a scale-up of multi-purpose cooperative societies, dairy societies, fisheries societies, etc. These measures will help the rural areas in a big way and the farmers will benefit particularly well.

The thrust towards natural farming has continued in the budget. A few important announcements were made. An Organic Bioresources Scheme has been announced, which envisages setting up 200 compressed biogas plants at an investment of Rs 10,000 crore Large-scale biomass collection and distribution structures will be set up.

A Bharatiya Prakrutik Natural farming system will be established under the name GOBARDHAN Scheme. 10,000 bio-input resource centres will be set up to promote natural farming among one crore farmers. This is a massive program which hopes to convert almost 5 per cent of the farmers to natural farming. This could be a turning point in the history of natural farming in India. However the challenge of marketing products of such natural farming as value-added products through an identity-preserved supply chain system will remain a challenge, unless the government announces a separate programme for it. The profitability of the one crore farmers will depend on marketing their output at remunerative prices.

The budget should have addressed more deeply incentivising sustainable agricultural practices and smart agriculture, which will help in mitigating climate risk. Specific and well- targeted incentives for crop diversification, reducing water consumption and similar urgent needs could have been included in the budget. Promotion of natural farming is not a guarantee for sustainable agriculture.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

By Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of

Agrotech, India, Interaction, People, R&D

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023, AgroSpectrum India, had the privilege of speaking with her to share her message with women in agriculture and to inspire others in the industry.

As India looks to enhance its economic growth, empowering and mainstreaming women in the agriculture workforce can create a paradigm shift. Dr Manju Vishawakarma, General Manager of Ankur Seeds is a shining example of this. With her three decades of dedicated service to the company, she has risen through the ranks on her own merit and sustained hard work, to become an industry leader. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023, AgroSpectrum India, had the privilege of speaking with her to share her message with women in agriculture and to inspire others in the industry.

Could you please share your academic and career journey with us?

I grew up in Nagpur and completed my Master’s in 1982 and PhD in 1989 from the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. During my doctoral research studies in cytogenetics, I was awarded a senior research fellowship by ICAR. In 1989, I started my professional career as an Assistant Research Officer with Ankur Seeds at Nagpur and have since continued my service here for 34 years.

At Ankur, I applied my expertise in the breeding of vegetable crops, specifically chilli and okra crops. Vegetable breeding became my passion over the years. Subsequently, I worked on Rapeseed and Mustard oilseed crops to understand their species diversity and genetics and applied my learnings in the breeding of vegetable crops. Later, I assumed the responsibility of Research Coordinator for vegetable crops in the year 2000 and then coordinated research activities in solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops, besides planning and executing breeding projects in several other vegetable crops, exploring newer areas and techniques of crop improvement research.

My focus was on studying the qualitative and quantitative traits that influenced significant biotic and abiotic stresses. In 2007, after elevation to the position of General Manager, I initiated research activities in the areas of Biotechnology, Molecular Breeding and Tissue culture and added regeneration studies and marker-assisted selections for disease resistance to accelerate vegetable breeding activities.

I am humbled to have contributed substantially to the wellbeing of farmers through several successful vegetable hybrids developed by my teams under my guidance. Many of these hybrids are still being cultivated profitably over large acreages and are very popular among growers.

I have authored many research papers and have chaired many scientific sessions.

You have been recognised as a valuable researcher and contributor to the seed industry. Can you elaborate on your research works and also a few of your achievements?

Throughout my research and career, I have always believed to have a personal touch with farmers, take their opinion on product and cultivations practices and then correspondingly work on improvising the seed to help cultivators have monetary benefits. I have grown through the ranks of Research Officer, Research Co-ordinator, Head, Vegetable Department and now General Manager of Ankur Seeds.

While I was Head of Ankur Seeds’ R&D, I ensured that the Vegetable Department developed and launched 52 hybrid plant varieties for commercial cultivation. I was recognised for the development of unique germplasm that contributes to translational research using new knowledge in bringing about a transformation in a crop. To give an example a mutant variety of rapeseed mustard with high oil content was developed under my research guidance. I have been responsible for creating significant economic benefit to farmers in our country by creating crops that gave good yields and quality. Hybrid chili ARCH-228 fetched premium value for its high colour and high pungency and yields up-to 40 qtls/acre. Hybrid Chili ARCH-226 is heat tolerant and when cultivated in summer gives high value yields. These chilli varieties made good sales in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Similarly, hybrid Okra varieties AROH-9 and AROH-10 were developed to produce high yields and also be tolerant to Yellow Vein Mosaic Virus (YVMV). Farmers were extremely happy with this seed variety as YVMV is a big nuisance that causes severe monetary loss. Rapeseed Mustard variety ARM-SL-213 is another seed variety that was developed to give a distinct colour (shiny light green) in the crop, which was equally high yielding.

In the last 30 years, I have attended several national and international seminars and conferences, and I have chaired two sessions of AVRDC or World Vegetable Centre and APSA. (World Vegetable Centre, an international non-profit research and development institute, is committed to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through the increased production and consumption of nutritious and health-promoting vegetables.)

Recently, The Foundation for Advanced Training in Plant Breeding (ATPBR) recognised me for my contributions to genetically enhancing, hot pepper, okra, solanaceous, cucurbitaceous and oilseed crops by bestowing me with the “Women Achievers in the Seed Industry” Award.

To read more click on : https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

On the occasion of International Women’s Day