Connect with:
Sunday / November 24. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
HomePosts Tagged "Chairman & MD"
Agrotech, India, Industry Reports / Analysis, Seeds

According to TechSci Research, the Indian seed market is valued at $3,914.36 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.41 per cent by 2029. The seed industry has recently gained the attention of investors and Indian investors are eager to see Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) from the seed industry. The government has authorised FDI in agricultural fields such as development and production of seeds and planting material.  Apart from this, many private entities are getting attracted towards seed companies and are investing in them.  The latest example is Summit Partners, a private equity group, that has bought a minority investment in two of India’s leading seed companies, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd. and Krishi Dhan Seeds. Crystal Crop Protection Limited recently made a smart purchase from Kohinoor Seeds by acquiring the Sadanand Cotton Seeds company. Leading seed companies are also incorporating cutting-edge digital technologies to mitigate the effects of pests, climate, and other external variables on farming, propelling the market to expand.  Data science, AI tools, cutting-edge phenomic analysis, and genomic sequencing are being leveraged to enhance production. However, there are certain challenges that are hampering the growth of this sector. For instance, marginal investment in R&D, short shelf life, unpredictability of demand, lack of effective monitoring mechanism, among others, are becoming a dampener in this growing sector. Let’s take a closer look at the Indian seed sector and gauge the projections for the future.

Over the decades, farmers across India have evolved a complex formal, informal, and integrated seed system that began with the age-old practice of saving seeds from preceding harvests. The diversity of formal seed systems has matured and the Indian seed industry has undergone significant transformation in the past 30 years.

Indicative of India’s evolving needs and market dynamics, the government’s initiatives  have also helped evolve and grow the seed platform. New and enhanced seed varieties  were primarily supplied  by public research bodies such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and international institutes such as the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Commenting on these vibrant developments in the seed sector, Rajendra Barwale, Chairman, Mahyco Pvt Ltd. stated, “Indian agriculture will continue to progress well to not only meet the growing food and nutrition requirements of the country, but also to become a significant player in the global agri produce market. Implementation of scientific and technological innovations will help overcome various challenges of the Indian agriculture sector.  Given that seed is the critical and determining input in the agriculture value chain, the seed industry will be a key contributor to this growth story by delivering the right technologies to our farmers.”

 “A vibrant seed sector is pivotal to growth of agriculture, and it has played a vital role in improving crop productivity in every part of the world over the years. For example, the green revolution in India which made us food surplus from ‘ship to mouth’ in the early years of independence, was rooted in the improved varieties that we bred using genetics of wheat and rice brought in from Mexico and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Manila respectively. We can give a number of examples of such transformations through the science of plant breeding, globally and in India. However, presently, the size of the seed sector, vis à vis its potential, is relatively very small compared to other agriculturally developed countries, offering us a large opportunity for future growth. Given that growth of the seed sector would have a multiplier effect on the progress of the agriculture sector, support of the Government of India for growing the seed sector would benefit all stakeholders of Indian agriculture, and most importantly our farmers”, added Barwale.

Tech catalyst

Since the late 1980s, several governmental policies have provided a significant boost to India’s seed sector, which had its roots in the 1960s with the founding of the National Seeds Corporation. The industry was bolstered and Indian farmers were able to increase their output after the introduction of the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Rights Act, 2001 and the release of Bt cotton hybrids for commercial cultivation in 2002. India’s seed market has grown to an expected $4–6 billion by 2023 (ISC, 2023; IMARC, 2023) and has significant unrealised potential as the seed hub for G20 countries.

G V Bhaskar Rao, Chairman & MD, Kaveri Seeds stated, “Seeds are becoming more regulated to accomplish a wide range of policy goals because of their significance, not just for farmers, but for society at large. Developing laws and regulations that support both formal and farmer-based seed systems while minimising negative impacts on breeding, selection, and seed output in either system is a challenge for policymakers”.

Improvements in seed technology have allowed for a greater variety of high-quality seeds to be produced, which perform better in a wider variety of environments. Applying seed technologies will guarantee good performance even under less favourable, unpredictable, and severe settings, while molecular technologies, speed breeding, and gene-editing tools speed up and improve the development of new crop varieties. Therefore, modern seed technology must integrate genetic improvement with applied technologies to deliver high-quality seeds of improved varieties with increased yields, lower input costs, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

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

According to TechSci Research, the Indian seed

Dairy, India, Live Stock, People

Dr Shah has been instrumental in sensitising the world about the unique smallholder-based Indian dairying system in different international forums.

Dr Meenesh Shah, Chairman & Managing Director, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been elected to the Board of International Dairy Federation (IDF) during the General Assembly of IDF on 15th October 2023. 

Accepting this responsibility and thanking the IDF delegates for the trust bestowed on him, Dr Shah mentioned that a representative from India, contributing more than 23 per cent of the global milk production, is on the Board of IDF, which will ensure a more inclusive and better global dairying ecosystem. This will also help putting forth the voice of millions of dairy farmers from the smallholder-based dairying system to the global forum and help design suitable policies, frameworks, systems and processes. 

He further said that the collective journey with other countries will help bring out the best for the global dairy sector. While India continues to contribute to the growth of the global dairy sector, it will also be able to leverage the expertise of other nations towards advanced scientific measures and technologies to make Indian dairying more efficient, effective and sustainable. 

Dr Shah has been associated with IDF since long in different capacities and has been instrumental in sensitising the world about the unique smallholder-based Indian dairying system in different international  forums. He is the Member Secretary of the Indian National Committee and also a member of the Standing Committee on Dairy Policy and Economics. He had spearheaded successful organisation of the World’s largest Dairy Conference – IDF WDS 2022 in India in September 2022, which was inaugurated by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India in presence of Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs & Cooperation, Govt of India also chaired the concluding session on relevance of cooperative institutions for dairy sector on the opening day. The event saw large scale participation of ministers, policy makers, experts, scientists, farmers from India and abroad. 

IDF is the leading source of scientific and technical expertise for all stakeholders of the dairy chain. IDF’s network of dairy experts has provided a mechanism for the dairy sector to reach global consensus on how to help feed the world with safe and sustainable dairy products. IDF members are National Committees, generally constituted by dairy organizations in each country and India is represented by the National Committee (INC) of the IDF.

Dr Shah has been instrumental in sensitising

Agrotech, India, Opinions, Sustainability

By Dr Deepak Birewar, Chairman & MD, Inventys Research Company

India is one of the major players in the global agricultural market. With the unstable food security landscape and the burden of feeding the growing population, the stress on the agricultural systems is increasing. This is leading to the emergence of issues like soil degradation and loss of crops and biodiversity. International scientists and industry reports suggest that at the current pace, only 50 years of harvest remain to feed the world population. In such a scenario, regenerative agriculture that prioritises ecological functions will be effective in building the resilience of agroecosystems.

Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming system that focuses on improving soil health, enhancing food quality, and biodiversity improvement, through practices that increase soil organic matter, biota and biodiversity. The technique builds soil health, supports biodiversity and even returns carbon and nutrients to the soil. Regenerative agriculture also enables soil aggregation, water infiltration, retention and nutrient cycling. The practice further reduces soil erosion and provides habitat and food for diverse species.

The technique works on four main principles: minimising soil disturbance through conservation or zero tillage, diversifying crops to replenish nutrients and disrupt pest and disease lifecycles, retaining soil cover using cover crops, and integrating livestock (which adds manure to the soil and serves as a source of carbon sinks). Regenerative agriculture preserves soil organic matter and moisture, which helps suppress weeds, protects soil from the impact of extreme weather patterns, and avoids soil compaction. The farming method promotes nutrient cycling, improved plant nutrition, and helps prevent pests and diseases.

Also known as conservation agriculture, it is a farming system that supports sustainable land management, environmental protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation. It is relatively 20-50 per cent less labour-intensive and contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through lower energy inputs and improved nutrient use efficiency. Additionally, it minimises soil disturbance by reducing ploughing and retaining carbon in the soil, promotes crop rotation to enhance biodiversity and moves grazing animals to different pastures, thus improving soil quality and animal welfare.

Benefits

The practice improves long-term farmer livelihood through reduced costs and improved crop quality. It also ensures greater resilience to market volatility and extreme climate events. It further opens new green revenue streams for farmers, such as rewarding them for carbon capture and storage in the soil.

When soil is healthy, it produces more food and nutrition, stores more carbon and increases biodiversity. It also supports other water, land and air environments and ecosystems through natural processes, including water drainage and pollination. Other benefits of this model include efficient water usage and fewer pests, as greater biodiversity makes the land more resilient.

Regenerative farming can improve crop yields – the volume of crops produced- by improving the health of the soil and its ability to retain water, as well as reducing soil erosion. These improved yields can help feed the world’s growing population. Moreover, regenerative farming has the potential to transform the croplands and pastures, which cover up to 40 per cent of Earth’s ice-free land, into carbon sinks, reducing emissions from agriculture.

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

By Dr Deepak Birewar, Chairman & MD,