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HomePosts Tagged "Centre of excellence"
AgroPolicy, Environment, Horticulture, India, Sustainability

Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Kamalam Fruit to be set up at IIHR, Bengaluru 

In India, the cultivation of Kamalam or Dragon Fruit is fast picking up and farmers of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mizoram and Nagaland have taken up its cultivation. Presently, the total area under cultivation of Dragon Fruit in India is more than 3,000 ha. which is not able to meet the domestic demand, hence the majority of the dragon fruits available in the Indian market are imported from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a roadmap is being prepared for the cultivation of this crop in the identified potential area to increase the production of exotic and niche area fruits including Kamalam. The target for area expansion under MIDH for Kamalam is 50,000 ha. in 5 years. The cultivation of this fruit has started recently and a plantation of this healthy fruit is established at ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port-Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Under MIDH, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has approved a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Kamalam Fruit to be established by the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, Karnataka at Hirehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka to focus on production, post-harvest and value addition of Kamalam.

The Centre will work for the development of the latest production technology as per the international standard & off-season production and demonstration of these technologies for high-yield production. The Centre will aim to achieve self-sustenance in Kamalam fruit production, value addition and enhance the economic development of the farming community.

In India, Kamalam import started in 2017 with a quantity of 327 tonnes, which has increased sharply to 9,162 tonnes in 2019 and the estimated import for 2020 and 2021 is about 11,916 and 15,491 tonnes, respectively. The projected import value was about Rupees 100 crores for 2021. Dragon fruit provides a fast return with economic production in the first year after planting and full production is attained in 3-4 years. The life expectancy of the crop is about 20 years. The average economic yield after 2 years of planting is 10 tonnes per acre. At present, the market rate is Rs 100 per kg of fruit, so the revenue generated by selling fruits per year is Rs 10,00,000. The Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) is 2.58.

Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Kamalam Fruit

Agri Genomics, India, R&D, Sustainability

Both organisations will work together to develop cutting-edge technologies to address the value-chain problems in agriculture

The Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) and Digital University Kerala (DUK) have signed an MoU to set up a Centre of Excellence in agriculture technologies.

As part of the MoU, Digital University Kerala will establish a recognised research centre of DUK at CTCRI and also various capacity-building programmes in digital technologies for the manpower working in the agriculture sector. 

Both organisations will work together to develop cutting-edge technologies to address the value-chain problems in the agriculture sector across the country.

Other areas of collaboration include joint research and development projects as well as developing sustainable entrepreneurship, along with joint student research programmes.

This relationship between the two organisations will help develop many innovative products to enhance digital enablement and the transformation of agriculture. The research collaboration between Digital University Kerala and CTCRI is expected to synergise the strengths of both institutions to carry out interdisciplinary research in digital agriculture and allied areas.

The institute is looking forward to having very effective collaboration in PhD programmes as well as international and national research projects to develop digital tools for sustainable natural resources management, disaster risk reduction, genomics as well as phenomic studies.

Both organisations will work together to develop

AgroPolicy, Biofuel industry, India

Opening a new regional office in New Delhi marks an important milestone in USGC’s journey and commitment to enable Indo-US trade

The US Grains Council (USGC) has been in India for more than 25 years, working with government officials to create market access for distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol for fuel. In recent years, the USGC has been working with multiple stakeholders to build awareness around ethanol and its benefits. The opening of this new office marks an important milestone in USGC’s journey and commitment to enable Indo-US trade, develop markets and improve lives.

On the occasion, Ryan LeGrand, USGC President and CEO, said, “The US-India trade relationship has never been better. India is already our second largest ethanol trading partner – all brought in for industrial purposes. With its ambitious ethanol blending program, India is poised to be one of the leading ethanol markets in the world. There is great potential for India and the U.S. to collaborate and for India to increase its ethanol blending capacity. Given this background, we have carved out a separate regional office to work jointly with our stakeholders to build India’s sustainable ethanol blending programme.”

As part of her welcome note, Alejandra Danielson Castillo, USGC Director in India, said, “India is a vibrant economy with growing energy needs, and ethanol offers a good solution to offset the import bill as well as move toward net-zero. The U.S. underwent a similar transformation and movement toward biofuels. It has developed a robust regulatory framework and infrastructure to support its biofuel industry and address climate change.”

“Our farmer members and agribusinesses would like to share the benefits of our experience with India to ease the transition to higher blends in areas like transport, pricing, logistics and environmental considerations.”

USGC has been particularly active in the region by being a significant part of conversations to promote the use of biofuels and clean energy in India. With this new office, USGC will also be able to establish a Centre of Excellence to disseminate knowledge and share best practices with all stakeholders.

Opening a new regional office in New