Connect with:
Thursday / April 24. 2025

logo
mobile-logo
HomeStandard Blog Whole Post (Page 561)
Acts & Schemes – Centre, Trade

It aims to encourage use of domestic bamboo and curb import from China 

In order to curb another import from China, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Custom (CBIC) hiked import duty on bamboo for agarbatti (incense stick) to 25 per cent. 

“Customs duty on bamboo imports by agarbatti manufacturers hiked from 10 per cent to 25 per cent with immediate effect to encourage use of domestic bamboo for AtmaNirbhar Bharat,” Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Custom (CBIC) said in a tweet. CBIC is apex policy making body for indirect taxes such as Goods & Services Tax (at Central level) and Custom Duty. 

The board said the 25 per cent customs duty rate shall now uniformly apply to any import of bamboo, including by traders. Uniform rate will help in avoiding misuse and rates related disputes. “This measure will benefit farmers immensely. MSME agarbatti manufacturers also to gain, as earlier only the large agarbatti manufacturers were able to import bamboo at lower rate,” it said. 

Various research report suggests that India annually imports finished raw agarbatti to the tune of 1.10 lakh tonnes and round bamboo sticks to the tune of 40,000 tonnes. The Customs duty on raw agarbatti was 20 per cent and 30 per cent on round bamboo sticks. However, the Centre brought duty on raw agarbatti to zero and a concessional duty of 10 per cent is applied to round bamboo sticks imported from China. This affected local industries. Size of domestic agarbatti industry is over ₹6,000 crore.

It aims to encourage use of domestic

Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance

The firm’s PAT stood at Rs 26.75 crore during the last quarter of 2018-19.

 Agro chemicals company Dhanuka Agritech on Wednesday reported a 45.80 per cent growth in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 39 crore for the quarter ended March.

The firm’s PAT stood at Rs 26.75 crore during the last quarter of 2018-19, the company said in a BSE filing. Total turnover rose 18.09 per cent to Rs 227.57 crore compared to Rs 192.72 crore in the March quarter of FY19. 

For the year ended March, the company’s PAT jumped 25.66 per cent to Rs 141.47 crore as compared to Rs 112.58 crore in FY19. Similarly, turnover rose 11.36 per cent to Rs 1,120.07 crore from Rs 1,005.84 crore earlier. 

“Driven by the focus of winning customers through planned strategies, our financial performance continued to gain momentum quarter after quarter this year. We registered 11.36 per cent growth in turnover this year, which shows our initiatives have reaped good results”, said M K Dhanuka , Managing Director Dhanuka Agritech.

 Dhanuka also added that being agro-industry, the government allowed us functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic in lockdown 2.0, and hence, the impact of lockdown was not much. 

With this year’s favourable monsoon forecast coupled with a slew of initiatives announced by the government, the company is hopeful of positive performance in 2020-21, he said. 

“At the same time, we will remain committed to improving our product mix, ongoing branding initiatives and new product offerings.We are strengthening agri-inputs dealers as a strong extension service provider…We keep adding new products every year through collaborations and are continuously on the lookout to bring in the latest technology to Indian farmers,” he added.

The firm’s PAT stood at Rs 26.75

Agro chems – Pesticides

PMFAI expressed concern over the adverse impact of the ban on farmers in the webinar on ‘Impact of Banning 27 Pesticides on Agriculture and Agrochemical Industry’ 

Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) has demanded an enquiry into the matter by a high-powered Govt-appointed scientific committee. PMFAI also expressed concern over the adverse impact of the ban on farmers battling locust and lockdown in the Kharif season and said such a move will bring the Indian domestic and export markets to their knees and strengthen Chinese competition.

 “All the 27 molecules have been registered in India by regulatory authority CIB&RC, meeting all scientific evaluations for safety and efficacy, backed up by scientific data. These generic pesticides are used in India since 1970 without any risk or adverse impact to humans, animals and environment, and includes Malathion that was extensively used by the government during the recent locust attack. The review process of Dr Anupam Varma Committee was arbitrary – the committee, formed in July 2013, was initially mandated to examine continued use of three neon icotinoids but within a month, the mandate was expanded to 66 generic insecticides that are banned, restricted or withdrawn in some other countries, but are used in India. This disregards FAO’s advice that climate, crop grown, pests and diseases must guide the choice of pesticides for every country. In its final report, submitted to the Government of India in December 2015, the committee recommended a ban on 18 pesticides and suggested review of 27 generic insecticides after completion of studies. We conducted recommended studies suggested by the Registration Committee and submitted the report in 2019, explicitly stating that we are ready to conduct further studies, if directed. However, on 14th May 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare issued a draft ban on these 27 pesticides,” said Pradip Dave – President PMFAI and Chairman Aimco Pesticides Ltd.

The PMFAI noted that implementing the ban will increase the input cost of farmers and force India to stop supplying to the global market, now catered to along with China. It will also break the backbone of Indian generic pesticide industry, including several MSMEs.

 “The pesticides under the ambit of the proposed ban produce more than 130 formulations used by the farmers for crop protection. This ban will increase farm input cost of farmers who are affected by lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 and locust, apart from various other threats to their crops. These pesticides account for 40 per cent of the domestic market and the alternative available to the farmers will be branded, readymade and expensive ones produced by the MNCs. The generic pesticide formulations, proposed to be banned, cost between INR 350 to INR 450 per litre, which is economic and affordable to most of the farmers. If the ban is imposed, the alternatives imported will cost in the range of INR 1,200 to INR 2,000 per litre. Imposing the ban will be a double whammy for the agriculture sector and can significantly burden the efforts to double farmer’s income by 2022. At the same time, the ban will shrink India’s export capability by more than 50 per cent and hand over a market worth INR 12,000 crore to our Chinese competitors – it will defeat the very purpose of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’,” said Dr K N Singh – Vice President Registration, Gharda Chemicals Ltd.  

 

 

PMFAI expressed concern over the adverse impact

E-commerce, Finance, Supply Chain

Funds will be used to invest in technology and expand food distribution business in South India 

 

 U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has extended a 100% guarantee to WayCool Foods’ latest round of fund raise of U$5.5 Mn through debt financing from IndusInd Bank Ltd. It follows the Series C round of US$32 Mn led by Lightbox earlier this year. Setuka Partners LLP was the advisor to the current transaction. 

DFC’s financing to WayCool comes through IndusInd Bank in the form of a 100% guarantee. The loan is to be deployed through IndusInd Bank’s Impact Investing division, which will support WayCool Foods’ expansion plans.

 WayCool Foods plans to use the funds to introduce advanced technology, implement strict hygiene measures, and increase transportation efficiency to reduce food spoilage and improve farmer yields, thus contributing to food security. This will also allow the company to strengthen food distribution across South India. 

Karthik Jayaraman, Co-Founder and CEO, WayCool Foods said, “WayCool has been steadily building necessary technology and operational capabilities to operate robust agrifood supply chains from soil to sale. We welcome DFC and IndusInd Bank as partners in this journey and believe that this partnership is an endorsement of WayCool’s ability to lead transformation within the sector.” 

DFC, America’s development bank, provides financing to address critical challenges across emerging markets globally. The investment in WayCool Foods demonstrates DFC’s commitment to supporting India’s food and agriculture distribution sector. The investment has been finalized after a stringent due diligence process. 

On associating with WayCool Foods, Ajay Rao, Director – Social Enterprise Finance Team, DFC, said, “We are proud to work together with the remarkable team at WayCool to solve some of the most pressing challenges in India’s agricultural sector. We look forward to this collaboration during these critical times and are thrilled to support WayCool’s efforts to enhance food security in India.”

 The loan is deployed through IndusInd Bank’s Impact Investing Group. The DFC guarantee enabled the bank to provide an equivalent of Rs. 35 Crores loan to WayCool, IndusInd Bank said in a statement. The structure is significant as it helps in mobilizing local capital for WayCool, also it eliminates foreign exchange rate fluctuation risk from the balance sheet of WayCool, it added.

 WayCool procures, processes, and distributes a range of food products including fresh produce, staples, and dairy products, moving over 250 tonnes of food every day to 8,000 enterprise clients across South India. The company operates a soil-to-sale model, engaging deeply with a base of 40,000 farmers in more than 50 regions across India, while bringing efficiency through its direct supply chain model. The Company plans to accelerate profitability and improve on its capital efficient model by continuing to invest in technology and automation across the value chain. 

WayCool has previously raised three rounds of funding from Lightbox, LGT Lightstone Aspada, FMO, Caspian Impact Investment, and Northern Arc Capital Ltd.

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is America’s development bank. DFC partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world today. We invest across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. DFC also provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs in order to create jobs in emerging markets. DFC investments adhere to high standards and respect the environment, human rights, and worker rights.

 

 

 

Funds will be used to invest in

E-commerce, R&D, Seeds

The company conducted large-scale trials of the variety in 2019-20 season in the South and Madhya Pradesh

Shriram Bioseed Genetics, a hybrid seed from the DCM Shriram Limited stable, has launched a ‘long-shelf life and high-yielding’ hybrid tomato variety Bioseed Flexi Harvest 4 here.

Almost close to 250 progressive farmers, nursery growers & leading distributors from Kaddapa, Chitoor, Rangareddy, Anantpur, Kolar, Bangalore and Chickbalapore joined the virtual launch of ‘Bioseed flexi Harvest 4’. 

The company conducted large-scale trials of the variety in 2019-20 season in the South and in Madhya Pradesh, a company statement said.

‘Bioseed flexi Harvest 4’ is developed by Shriram Bioseed Genetics (A Division of DCM Shriram Limited) based in Hyderabad. Shriram Bioseed Genetics has already launched excellent products in the square round segment (Bioseed 2182, 2071, VEER) in Tomato in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat last year where the product is in high demand. 

Bioseed research is actively working with new technology especially in crops like Tomato, Okra and Hot Pepper where farmers will benefit with high yield & now newly launched product in tomato like Bioseed flexi Harvest 4’ will definitely help in increasing the income for Tomato growers. The product characteristics include Flexible Harvesting, Long Shelf life, high yield, excellent rejuvenation, excellent fruit colour, and uniformity & size retention capacity-which are imperative requirements for Tomato growers. 

During the year 2019-20, Shriram Bioseed Genetics conducted large scale trials of Tomato BIOSEED FLEXI HARVEST 4 in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Madhya Pradesh state which has high potential for Tomato Cultivation Farmers who used the product during the trials also shared their success stories with BIOSEED FLEXI HARVEST 4 with the participants during the launch event. A few farmers who have used BIOSEED FLEXI HARVEST 4 for trial in their fields compared the output Vis a Vis that generated by another leading hybrid seed. They expressed that they received better yield and price in the market from the product by Shriram Bioseed Genetics’ BIOSEED FLEXI HARVEST 4. They claimed that this was due to Flexible Harvesting, Long Shelf life high yield, high disease tolerance, fruit firmness and uniform tomato size till 12-15 harvesting BIOSEED FLEXI HARVEST 4 has more fruit weight and produces more number of fruits per plant which automatically gives higher yield and more profit to farmers.

 

 

The company conducted large-scale trials of the

E-commerce, R&D

 HPE Center of Excellence (CoE) enables farmers to increase crop yield, nutritional value and revenue 

 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced that the HPE Centre of Excellence (CoE) for IoT-based agriculture in Gudipalli, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, has generated significant benefits for local farmers by enabling them to increase crop yields, nutritional value, and revenue from their produce by applying technology. The CoE announced in July last year, was designed and implemented by HPE Pointnext Services Global Customer Solution Centre, Bengaluru.

 The CoE is focused on upskilling students in areas of Internet of Things (IoT) and programming to improve their employment prospects and also supports local farmers to help them achieve higher food production from finite land resources. As part of this initiative, students from nearby colleges have had the opportunity to work with IoT experts from the HPE Pointnext Services Global Center and certified agronomists on edge-to-cloud technology. 

“Our endeavour has always been to encourage differentiated learning experiences and we are proud to offer these through this CoE in partnership with HPE. The artificial intelligence and machine-learning work achieved as part of this initiative has immensely helped the local students and farming community,” said Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairman, Agastya International Foundation.

 The solutions included edge compute (HPE Edgeline EL300), onsite IoT modules, drone imaging and analysis, a user interface and dashboard for monitoring and reporting of various on-ground parameters and activities at the fields. Images from drones and satellites are used to plot NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) to demonstrate how it can be applied when scaled to larger farms.

 The technology and deep learning analytics were deployed to improve the farmers’ decision-making capabilities by providing them visibility into the current conditions of soil and by modelling possible future trends. By working with the students, the farmers were prescribed the amount of water to be released and the type of manure to select using nine different metrics such as values of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK), soil moisture, leaf wetness, acidic value, soil temperature and soil humidity captured by the IoT modules. This ensured the irrigation on the fields was based on scientific recommendations and the correct manure and fertilizer were used according to the soil type and weather conditions. The machine learning algorithms were used to test the soil conditions resulting in approximately 40 percent savings in the water consumption when compared to traditional methods. 

The CoE also helped the farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown by enabling them to remotely monitor the crops and make decisions related to the irrigation, soil treatment, nutrition and harvesting without the need to visit the fields. 

“As technology has the potential to increase the efficiency, quality, and sustainability of agriculture across the country, we are enabling farmers to access the requisite digital tools, which can help them make informed decisions,” said Sanjay Mujoo, VP, HPE Pointnext Services. “By enabling farmers to increase crop yields, nutritional value, and therefore also revenue from their produce, the CoE reinforces our commitment to advance the way people live and work.”

 The CoE, which currently covers 2.5 acres of land, will continue to assist the farmers as the sowing season approaches. With the early success of this initiative, HPE intends to scale the CoE to help address additional challenges.

 

 HPE Center of Excellence (CoE) enables farmers

E-commerce, IT, Nature

NCDEX and Skymet will seek approval for launching derivatives on the weather index from SEBI 

 In a first for India, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) is set to launch two weather-sensitive indices — ‘Weather Index’ and ‘Rain Index’. The exchange has tied up with private weather forecasting company Skymet to source data points and analyse them to put out a composite value. 

While the composite Weather Index would be a seasonal guide, the Rain Index would show daily variations in the value depending on actual rainfall across the country and long seasonal variations from the same date last year. The value of the Rain Index may turn “negative” in case of a drought.

 These two indices would start from “zero” as their base value every year. The Rain Index would June to May calendar; details regarding the Weather Index were awaited. In 2004, the NCDEX had disseminated weather index values, it was done only for a short period only. 

“Several rounds of discussions have taken place internally and also with the regulator — Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) — about these products and their significance. We are launching both indices very soon with the entire mechanism in place. On receiving approval from the regulator, we will make them available for trading,” said Kapil Dev, chief business officer, NCDEX. 

 Skymet offers weather-based business solutions to media, power, shipping and telecom. Jatin Singh, founder and managing director, Skymet Weather Solutions, said: “We have 7,000 observatory stations across the country — one in every 100 km. The monsoon rains affect everything in India — from the economy to business and sales of commodities like gold, pesticides, seeds, and fertiliser. So, the Weather and Rain indices would be useful for all classes of people in the country.”

Initially, these indices will be available only for reference to check their accuracy. This means trading will not be allowed as these products are yet to obtain approval from Sebi. The announcement by the exchange came barely two weeks after it, on May 26, launched the agriculture composite index for futures trading — Agridex. Following the launch, the Agridex had closed turnover of Rs 21 crore (May 26) and Rs 24 crore (May 27), but it declined gradually to Rs 4.8 crore on June 4 and Rs 5.1 crore on June 5.

 The total exchange turnover during this period jumped to Rs 910 crore on June 5, as against Rs 611 crore on May 26.

NCDEX and Skymet will seek approval for

E-commerce, Machinery – Post-harvesting

TwinePro knot provides up to 30 percent more strength to the tied twine for more efficient baling and productivity 

 

 

Over the years, northern states in India such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, see burning of paddy straw in the months of October and November after harvesting Rabi crops every year. It causes hazardous pollution in the region, including the national capital of Delhi. This has created big opportunities for the balers’ market. Although, many farm machinery manufacturing companies provide balers for paddy straw management, however, it has not been sufficient to make the environment pollution free.

Drought conditions across large parts of Australia prompted a surge in demand for balers in recent seasons, and with that demand expected to continue this year, Case IH has flagged a number of upgrades and new features within its baler ranges. 

Case IH has introduced the new-generation TwinePro knotter on all LB4XL balers, including the LB434XL for the Australia and New Zealand market. This new knotting concept greatly improves the process, combining for the first time the advantages of the double knot system with the additional benefit of a loop knot. 

“Many farmers invested in a new baler in the past few years as hay and straw production became a vital income lifeline in drought-affected regions. While conditions have certainly eased across some areas, we still expect hay and straw production to remain a popular option for many businesses with the market for balers and associated equipment to reflect that demand,” said Tim Slater, Australia/New Zealand Product Manager for Hay and Harvest, Case IH. 

“With this in mind, we’re excited about the updates we’re able to offer customers on our Model Year 2020 baler ranges, reinforcing the reputation for excellence our large square and round balers have always been known for,” Slater added. For the ever-popular and reliable large square baler LB4XL series, one of the most anticipated new features is a new knotting concept that dramatically improves the process. 

Key benefits

Reduction in twine offcuts left on the bales – providing an environmental benefit with fewer offcuts left in the field, minimising wastage and removing the risk of stock ingestion or fleece contamination for wool producers.

Even stronger knots with higher tensile strength – the TwinePro knot provides up to 30 percent more strength to the tied twine for more efficient baling and productivity, allowing greater bale densities with the same twine.

Improved daily productivity – the operator can achieve a higher bale density with a significantly lower risk of twine breakage. 

“Case IH has been a pioneer of double-knot technology, but no matter how good your product, you have to keep striving to do better and this is what we’ve achieved with the TwinePro knotter,” Tim said. 

Other changes include a stronger pick-up system and redesigned rotor cutter tines to improve cutting performance in high volume conditions. 

For the RB5 series round balers, there is now the option for the addition of a fully-integrated moisture sensor, the first time this has been offered for Case IH round balers. The operator can use the moisture information – as they’re operating the baler – to make an informed decision on the potential quality of the crop and storage options.

 

TwinePro knot provides up to 30 percent

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, Finance

RCF tripled its standalone profit after tax in the March quarter to Rs.142.28 crores from Rs.48.47 crores in previous year  

 

Despite the current COVID19 situation Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd- RCF a PSU under the Department of Fertilizers government of India has been successful in keeping its operations running and has crossed Rs. 100 Crores in sales of its Industrial Products in the first two months of the current financial year 2020-21.

RCF’s Q4 2019-20 Profit after Tax rises over 190 % over Q4 2018-19. Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) tripled its standalone profit after tax in the March quarter to Rs.142.28 crores from Rs.48.47 crores in previous year registering an increase of 193.54%. 

RCF’s Profit after Tax for FY 2019-20 rises 49 % over FY 2018-19. Profit after tax for financial year ended 31st March 2020 surged to Rs.208.15 crores from Rs 139.17 core in previous year.

Annual revenue from operations jumped 9 % year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs. 9698 crores, which is the highest ever since inception. Annual EBIDTA before exceptional items grew 36 % y-o-y to Rs. 711.96 crores.

Despite various challenges being faced by the Company, the financial performance for the current year has been better as compared to previous year.

Fertilizer industry got some relief as Government approved vintage allowance of Rs. 150 per tonne to certain plants (30years old + converted to Gas) and additional fixed cost of Rs. 350 per tonne of Urea as per Modified NPS III which was long awaited. RCF has accounted for the same in Q4 of FY 2019-20.

The Board has recommended a dividend of 28.40%, its highest-ever dividend declaration in the history of the Company.

S.C. Mudgerikar, CMD RCF, has stated that during the FY 2019-20 the overall sale of manufactured & traded fertilizers increased by 7% over previous year. Company’s Complex Fertilizer-Suphala sale increased by more than 15% over previous year. RCF launched two new products during FY 2019-20 viz. Organic Growth Stimulant & Water Soluble Silicon Fertilizer. RCF commissioned 15 million litre per day capacity Sewage Treatment Plant during FY 2019-20. RCF also got recognized as a State Trading Enterprise for import of Urea on government account & imported 16 lakh MT of Urea. 

Going forward, the farming sector is expected to get help from a good monsoon forecast in FY 2020-21. In the ongoing current Covid-19 pandemic, Company is fully geared -up to face the upcoming challenges and ready to capitalize on the opportunities coming its way.

 

 

 

 

RCF tripled its standalone profit after tax

Agro Universities, R&D

The MoU with University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS), Bangalore will help strengthening of agri innovation ecosystem in Bangalore and Karnataka 

 

 

 To facilitate nurturing innovations in Agriculture, Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore (UAS, B). Dr Rajendra Prasad, Vice Chancellor of UAS (B) with his team visited BBC campus on 5th June for signing MoU.

On the occasion, many agri start-ups being incubated at Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre presented their ideas, work and future plans of research to UAS (B) team. These included Farm Gulp, Trana labs, Tojo Vikas, Biotherm, Atrimed and Seragen. Dr Rajendra Prasad, Vice Chancellor was impressed with the ideas and products of BBC’s agri start-ups. This was followed by BBC facility tour for the visitors. “This facility is a boon to start-ups and students who have great concepts” said, Vice Chancellor.

“I am happy to associate with BBC for all our applied research activities related to agriculture” he added. Managing Director of BBC, Dr Jitendra Kumar expressed his heartfelt thanks to Vice Chancellor for the visit and said, “The collaboration with UAS will help strengthening of agri innovation ecosystem in Bangalore and Karnataka in a big way”.

Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre has already signed MoU with the ICAR-IIHR for the benefits of horticulture start-ups. This MoU with UAS added to the list for the benefit of the Agri start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs of Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre as well as UAS (B).

Professors of UAS (B), Dr Harinikumar, Dr Ramanjini Gowda, Dr Veena Anil and Director of Research, Dr Y G Shadakshari also were the part of visit and the event.

The MoU with University of Agriculture Sciences

E-commerce, Environment, Water

ITC has partnered with various states programmes such as MGNREGS and NABARD for watershed development in 5.6 lakh acres area

 ITC Limited, one of India’s leading multi-business conglomerates and an exemplar in environment sustainability said that it was rapidly scaling up its highly acclaimed Integrated Watershed Development and Environmental Resources Replenishment initiatives through partnerships with various state governments. These partnerships will be largely focussed on water stewardship and biodiversity conservation. 

Water Stewardship Initiatives

ITC’s watershed programme today covers more than 1,000,000 acres across India. Under this programme, the company has adopted a comprehensive approach focussed on supply augmentation and demand side management. Supply augmentation covers area treatment, water harvesting, groundwater recharge and biodiversity conservation and demand side management aims at improving water use efficiency in principal agricultural crops of area. 

The success of ITC’s integrated water management approach has not only benefitted farmers by enhancing crop yields and expanding cultivation area but has also led to large savings through efficiency in water usage.               

ITC’s Water Stewardship programme is also a community based participatory approach. It employs low cost technologies to arrest soil erosion, enhance moisture, conserve rainwater and recharge groundwater. The benefits of ITC’s water stewardship programme are multiple and multidimensional. 

With water scarcity increasingly becoming an area of concern, ITC continues to focus on an integrated water management approach within the fence that includes investing in water conservation measures and rainwater harvesting initiatives at its units. For larger coverage and scale, ITC has also partnered with various state government departments and programmes such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) programme and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for watershed development in 5.6 lakh acres area. 

Similarly, as part of demand management, ITC has entered a partnership with Water Resources Department of Maharashtra to improve water productivity in 2.42 lakh acres of command area which is under four irrigation schemes spread in four districts of the state. This partnership aims at supporting the government’s ‘More Crop per Drop’ credo and reduce crop water demand in the dams.

These large scale interventions will serve as meaningful examples and inspire many more such fruitful programmes in this area to benefit farmers. 

Highlighting ITC’s environment sustainability initiatives, Chitranjan Dar, Corporate Management Committee Member at ITC responsible for overall supervision of Quality Assurance, ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre, Central Projects Organisation and Environment, Health & Safety said, “Going forward, our focus on sustainability and environment stewardship would gain larger significance in the post-Covid-19 period. The lockdown period has witnessed nature healing itself and going forward, citizens will expect corporates to demonstrate larger steps to replenish and preserve the environment.” 

“We believe that expanding interventions in environment replenishment and addressing climate change will be critical for a sustainable future.  An enterprise of tomorrow is one that pursues competitive growth to create larger value for society even as it enriches the environment and creates opportunities for sustainable livelihoods. Our Integrated Watershed Development programme, large scale afforestation programme, our renewable energy and green buildings footprint are some of the successful pivots in our strategy to pursue ‘Responsible Competitiveness’ – a socio-economic construct that underpins the ITC’s objective to be future ready whilst ensuring that growth is sustainable and inclusive,” Dar added.

ITC has partnered with various states programmes

Agrotech

 It aims to empower Indian farmers to protect their crops against Fall Armyworm, leading to enhanced farmers’ income and farm sustainability.

 Spodoptera frugiperda, aka Fall Armyworm (FAW) – a highly invasive pest with substantial appetite, landed on Indian soils for the first time in May 2018. The pest quickly became a nationwide nuisance. By the end of 2018, FAW spread across the major maize growing regions and emerged as a significant threat to Indian farmers and agriculture. Notably, the FAW fed on many host plants and was found on sweet corn, baby corn, maize, sugarcane, and sorghum, with the potential to feed on many other agriculturally important food and feed crops in India. By early 2019, the FAW pest was reported in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. 

 As FAW threatened the already ascending production graph of maize and future of maize farmers in India in 2018, the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) launched a massive programme “Safeguarding Agriculture & Farmers against Fall Armyworm (SAFFAL),” a multi-year project supported by FMC Corporation in March 2019. 

Holding the collaboration as invaluable, Pramod Thota, President, FMC India, “FMC India, as a responsible research-based leader in crop protection, is committed to supporting sustainable agriculture in India. Project SAFFAL is another of FMC’s initiatives that aim to empower Indian farmers to protect their crops against such dreaded pests, such as Fall Armyworm, leading to enhanced farmers’ income and farm sustainability. We are proud to be partnering SABC in this endeavour with Project SAFFAL.” 

Project SAFFAL, along with the government machinery and extension systems, helped towards effective management and control of voracious FAW. Moreover, thousands of farmers were trained in good agricultural practices throughout different maize growing regions in India. 

“Contrary to the notion of failure of the agri-extension system in the power corridor of Krishi Bhawan, we have witnessed a noticeable revolution in the agri-extension system in the hinterlands to address the problem of pestilence fall armyworm. The concerted efforts from different agencies including ICAR institutions, KVKs, SAUs, and state agriculture departments and NGOs helped avert threat to socio-economic, food and feed security in India”, said Dr C D Mayee, President, South Asia Biotechnology Centre which successfully led a country-wide project on FAW. 

As a result of the project in Kharif and Rabi 2019-20, India achieved a record maize production at 28.98 million tonnes. SABC released the impact report on SAFFAL’s journey across multiple farming communities in India. It is a testament to the resilience of the farming community, a functional nationwide extension system, and a true model of public-private partnership in the agricultural extension system.

 

In cohesion with the different initiatives by Central as well as state government agencies, project SAFFAL successfully addressed the farmers’ informational needs in a targeted manner. The efforts appealed to the different information delivery channels, reaching the farmers through mass media, customised information material, demonstrations, active helplines, social media, and maize expert networks. Active farmer engagement and their demonstrated efficiency in controlling an exotic pest upon the first instance of infestation showed the efficient relay of information. Indian farmers also tended to actively uptake information across different channels accessed by them regularly. Additionally, the regular assessment of conditions through surveys also facilitated the adjustment of recommendations. 

The community based participatory efforts distilled down to educating the farmers in effective integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to help restrain possible damages. To further strengthen the aim and objectives of Project SAFFAL, strong support from government functionaries remains large. SABC successfully addressed the issues of availability of both botanical, biological, and chemical-based solutions, and advocated for affordable solutions. 

SABC also reached out to the Government of India to either subsidise or exempt the IPM inputs such as pheromone traps and lures, safety kits (PPE), botanicals, biologicals, and safer agriculture pesticides from Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime. Currently, such inputs promoting the cause of organic farming are placed under 18 percent GST. Moreover, based on the ground reality, SABC reached out to the Government of India to expedite the registration of the new and safe chemicals to help ensure compulsory seed treatment before making seeds available to farmers. 

Key deliverable of Project SAFFAL in 2019-20 

Outreach & Geographical Reach – Successful completion of 15 educational-cum-awareness programmes on Fall Armyworm spreading over 11 maize growing states. 

Public-Private Partnership – Established collaboration with 40 public sector institutions including SAUs, KVKs, ICAR-Institutions, AICRP Maize, ICAR-ATMA; state departments of agriculture.

 Farmers Training – In-depth training of >7,050 maize farmers; indirectly reaching out to ~ 308,000 farmers, extension officials and other key stakeholders. 

FAW Vernacular Posters – More than 20,000 posters in 8 languages distributed in 11 maize growing states.

 Pheromone Traps/Lures & FAW Soft Toys – Distribution of 2,700 pheromone traps & lures and 2000 soft toys indicating FAW identification marks to progressive farmers, extension officials of KVK and state agriculture departments and entomologist of respective partner institutions and live demonstration of its usages. 

 It aims to empower Indian farmers to

Acquaculture, Agro Universities

The programme aimed at increasing the fishers’ income in post COVID-19 era. 

 

 

The ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata in association with the Fisheries Department, Government of Odisha and Primary Fisheries Cooperative Society, Salia initiated an “Innovative Reservoir Enhancement Programme” in Salia Reservoir under the Schedule Caste Sub Plan Programme. The programme is aimed at improving the production from 30 tonnes to at least 60 tonnes from the reservoir to help more than 200 Schedule Caste households that are dependent on the reservoir for their livelihoods. 

The Institute initiated the nursery raising programme for developing advanced fingerlings as the stocking material in the reservoir for production enhancement prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19. In two acres of nursery area 1 lakh IMC fish fries were stocked in the nursery with a stocking density of 0.50 lakh / Ac in the month of October, 2019. The fishers were advised to take care of the nursery and feed regularly to the stock during the lockdown period of COVID-19 pandemic situation. 

The ICAR-CIFRI conducted a successful fish seed stocking programme in the reservoir on 21st and 22nd May, 2020. The stocked advanced fingerlings were approximately 30 gm in size. The objective of growing these fish seed in captive nursery is to develop stunted fingerlings. During this, 25,000 advanced stunted fingerlings of Indian Major Carps were stocked in Salia Reservoir. Approximately, 10 tonnes fish production can be additionally achieved from the reservoir. This is the first phase of seed stocking and the approximately 50,000 fish seeds in the nursery will be released in phased manner in the month of June. 

The programme aimed at increasing the fishers’ income in post COVID-19 era. Its implementation will generate an additional income of Rs. 30 lakh for the Scheduled Caste fishers of the Salia reservoir. Keeping the contingency posed by the COVID-19, the fishermen were distributed the face masks and sanitizers along with maintaining the practice of social distancing.

The programme aimed at increasing the fishers’

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce, Finance

The consolidated annual income rose to RS 3,415.4 crore from Rs 2,900.4 crore in the 2018-19 fiscal. The consolidated annual income rose to RS 3,415.4 crore from Rs 2,900.4 crore in the 2018-19 fiscal. 

Pesticides and agrochemicals maker PI Industries recently reported a 12 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 110.7 crore for the fourth quarter of the 2019-20 fiscal on higher expenses, and said there won’t be any major impact of COVID-19 pandemic on its business. The firm’s net profit stood at Rs 125.7 crore in the same quarter of the 2018-29 fiscal, according to a regulatory filing.

Its net income rose to Rs 862 crore during the quarter ended March 31 of this fiscal from Rs 826.9 crore a year ago.

However, expenses remained higher at Rs 720.9 crore as against Rs 656.8 crore in the year-ago period. For the full 2019-20 fiscal year, the company reported an increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 456.6 crore from Rs 410.2 crore in the previous year.

The consolidated annual income rose to RS 3,415.4 crore from Rs 2,900.4 crore in the 2018-19 fiscal. According to the filing, the group’s operations were disrupted at research and development (R&D) facilities at Udaipur, manufacturing facilities at Gujarat and sales depots across the country following the nationwide lockdown announced in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

This resulted in partial deferment of the group’s domestic and export revenues for March to the next quarter, the company said. However, since April, the group has resumed operations at its various sites in a gradual manner and the management believes that being into an essential commodity, there is no significant impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the current and future business conditions. The management also concluded that no material adjustments were required in the financial statements and it will continue to closely monitor the situation, the filing added.

 

 

 

 

The consolidated annual income rose to RS