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HomePosts Tagged "HarvestPlus"
Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agrotech, Company News, India, Sustainability

To kickstart this comprehensive approach, a pilot program is underway, integrating 500 farmers in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh into the Zinc Wheat value chain.

Yara India, a subsidiary of Yara International and the world’s leading crop nutrition company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HarvestPlus Solutions (HPS). HPS’s objective is to seamlessly incorporate nutrient-rich seeds and foods into global agricultural systems, empowering vulnerable communities to boost their intake of essential vitamins and minerals.

Together they are committed to the successful implementation of the project “Establishing Nutri-Farms with Smallholder Farmers in India.”  To kickstart this comprehensive approach, a pilot program is underway, integrating 500 farmers in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh into the Zinc Wheat value chain. The primary objective is to evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and impact of the approach, with the ultimate aim of expanding its reach to benefit a larger number of farmers and communities in the future.

The strategic partnership seeks to transform food systems through a focus on delivering nutritious food to all individuals, with a special emphasis on vulnerable communities. The project employs a comprehensive approach that combines the use of biofortified seeds with capacity strengthening of farmers in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), including efficient nutrient management. This approach aims to enhance farm productivity and bolster farmers’ resilience toward food and nutrition security.

In ensuring a sustainable supply chain, the project facilitates the connection of farmers to relevant markets, enabling them to access businesses in the biofortified value chain. This not only contributes to improved food quality but also positively impacts the income and livelihoods of farmers. Additionally, the project fosters collaboration with public sector stakeholders to create an enabling environment for the adoption of nutrition-smart agricultural techniques.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director, Yara South Asia said, “We are delighted to collaborate with HarvestPlus Solutions on a transformative journey towards nutritional security, focusing on sustainable solutions to shape a nature positive food future. Our partnership focuses on enhancing farm productivity, improving food quality, uplift farmer livelihoods and revolutionize food systems for a healthier and more resilient future.

Ravinder Grover, Regional Coordinator – Asia, HarvestPlus said,” “We are excited to join hands with Yara India to set up nutrition smart farms in India. By combining our expertise, we aim to introduce innovative bundles that promote sustainable farming practices and enhance crop nutrition and yield. This collaboration stands as a testament to our shared dedication to building a healthier, more resilient future for communities around the world.”

To kickstart this comprehensive approach, a pilot

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Company News, India

Partnership aims to accelerate the development, dissemination, and uptake of nutritionally enriched crops to benefit millions of people in the region.

The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) and HarvestPlus have embarked on an exciting collaboration aimed at increasing the adoption of nutrition and climate-smart agricultural technologies across the Asia-Pacific region. This partnership marks a significant milestone in advancing food and nutrition security, promoting sustainable agriculture, and building resilience in the face of emerging challenges. By collaborating, both organizations aim to accelerate the development, dissemination, and uptake of nutritionally enriched crops to benefit millions of people in the region.

“APAARI and HarvestPlus have signed a Partnership Statement to collaborate on agri-food systems transformation with special reference to enhancing the role of biofortification in crops for achieving nutrition security in the Asia-Pacific region”, said Dr Ravi Khetarpal, Executive Secretary of APAARI.

Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus said, “Across the Asia-Pacific region, there is an opportunity to accelerate nutrition security by integrating nutrient-enriched staple food crops into food systems. We are delighted to work together with APAARI to enhance agricultural research across the region and improve equitable access to nutritious crops for smallholder farmers.”.

This collaborative effort between APAARI and HarvestPlus holds great promise in advancing agricultural technologies and practices, improving nutrition, and building more resilient and sustainable food systems for the Asia-Pacific region. As they work hand in hand, both organizations are dedicated to making a lasting impact and positively transforming the lives of millions.

Partnership aims to accelerate the development, dissemination,

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Company News, India, R&D

 HarvestPlus and OUAT develop food processing technologies and utilise FPOs and KVK knowledge network to raise awareness about the benefits of biofortified crops.

A landmark collaboration between HarvestPlus and Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established to strengthen biofortification research in Odisha state. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the organizations reinforces the significance of biofortification as a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural approach to combat micronutrient malnutrition.

The partnership between HarvestPlus and OUAT will enhance the Indian crop improvement program for biofortification, develop food processing technologies, and utilize Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) knowledge network—of the National Agricultural Research System—to raise awareness about nutrition and the benefits of biofortified crops.

The HarvestPlus-OUAT partnership signifies a significant step forward in the fight against hidden hunger in one of India’s most vulnerable states and reinforces both organization’s commitment to improving public health and nutrition outcomes. By combining HarvestPlus’ decades of expertise developing and scaling up biofortification with OUAT’s academic rigor and skill generating new technologies and transferring them to farmers and stakeholders, the organizations will accelerate the adoption of biofortification and improve the population’s resilience.

During the signing ceremony, Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, the Honourable Vice Chancellor of OUAT, emphasized the critical role that biofortification can play as an agricultural-nutrition solution to add more essential nutrients into the diets of families in the state of Odisha.

The MOU was signed by Dr Dayanidhi Mishra, OUAT Director, Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, and Binu Cherian, Country Manager of HarvetPlus India. Cherian expressed his confidence in the collaborative partnership’s ability to strengthen and expand the reach of biofortification in Odisha to more of its most vulnerable community members and ensure greater access to healthy diets that make a meaningful impact.

Biofortification is a process that increases the nutritional value of staple food crops, and offers a sustainable solution that can help transform food systems, particularly in resource-constrained geographies. By enhancing the levels of essential vitamins and minerals in crops, biofortification improves the nutrient intake of vulnerable populations and helps alleviate widespread micronutrient deficiencies that contributes to a loss of human potential.

 HarvestPlus and OUAT develop food processing technologies

India

To address hidden hunger and the resultant malnutrition

Grameen Foundation India (GFI), together with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and HarvestPlus hosted a one-day workshop on the “Scaling up Biofortified Crop through System Integration” in Lucknow. 

The workshop’s objective was to provide the findings and outcomes of GFI’s recently-conducted research study while also discussing the changes brought about by the implementation of the project connected to the growing of biofortified crops.

Mr Ravinder Grover, Program Lead (Global) of HarvestPlus, led the discussions on the concept of cultivating biofortified crops to address hidden hunger and the resultant malnutrition. 

Biofortified crops, in this case wheat fortified with zinc, was tried out in nine districts of the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh via 1,004 small and marginal farmers who are members of 27 farmer-producer organisations (FPOs). The project was implemented with financial and technical support of GAIN and HarvestPlus, and led by GFI’s project director, Rajnikant Prasad.

The project aimed at making a beginning in eradicating micronutrient deficiency in the region by increasing the uptake of consumption and cultivation of biofortified crops.

To address hidden hunger and the

Agrotech

The partnership will empower women through inclusive agriculture approach

HarvestPlus and Grameen Foundation India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase food, nutrition, and livelihoods security through the production, consumption, and marketing of conventionally bred biofortified crops in India.

The collaboration will focus on health and nutrition initiatives, along with financial inclusion and agriculture-based livelihoods, to enable vulnerable populations (especially women) to overcome poverty and hidden hunger. These initiatives will be led by women agripreneurs known as Grameen Mittras, who will provide doorstep availability of various services and develop a personal connection with farmers through regular interactions, thereby cultivating good faith and trust with them.

These Grameen Mittras are also transforming their own lives by learning new skills, generating income, and increasing their financial independence. Under this engagement, a pilot with biofortified zinc wheat has been undertaken in Uttar Pradesh under the Commercialisation of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Programme, which is co-led by HarvestPlus and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). This pilot focuses on training and capacity building of smallholder farmers (with at least 30 per cent women farmers), awareness generation on the cultivation of biofortified crops, and enhancing knowledge of farmers and Farmer Production Organizations (FPOs) on pre-harvest and post-harvest loss and its management.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Grameen Foundation to help scale up production and consumption of nutrient-enriched crops in India,” said Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus.

“The focus on women agripreneurs, in particular, is in line with our strategic priority of engaging and empowering women as farmers, family members, and entrepreneurs,” he added.

The partnership will empower women through inclusive

Agrotech, Foodgrains, Seeds

The partnership focus on improving farmers’ access to finance, input markets, and output markets, and support policy advocacy efforts to create an enabling environment for biofortification.

HarvestPlus and IFFCO Kisan will work together to scale up biofortified crops – specifically, Iron Pearl Millet and Zinc Wheat – as a cost-effective way to address micronutrient malnutrition. The collaboration will also focus on conducting farmer trainings, crop demonstrations, improving farmers’ access to finance, input markets, and output markets, and support policy advocacy efforts to create an enabling environment for biofortification.

Sandeep Malhotra, MD, IFFCO Kisan said, “IFFCO Kisan is a farmer centric organization with a vision to improve the quality of life of farmers through its technological and on-ground services. We have been long propagating – ‘safe and healthy food’ grown sustainably which reflects in the work done with millions of farmers in partnerships with CCAFS for Climate Smart Villages and its group members in BISA, IRRI, ICRISAT and other like-minded partners. The partnership with HarvestPlus which is leading the commercialization of Biofortified crops, advances our commitment and resolve in promoting this to the small and marginal farmers by addressing the pressing need of mitigating malnutrition. Our joint efforts should not only sensitize farmers at large about the ‘Hidden hunger’ (due to deficiency of key micro-nutrients – zinc, iron, etc.), but also contribute to improving Nation’s food system.”

Arun Baral, CEO of HarvestPlus, highlighted that “The partnership will leverage the partners’ respective areas of expertise in mission-driven agricultural development. HarvestPlus is the global leader in all aspects of staple crop biofortification, while IFFCO Kisan has decades of experience supporting smallholder farmers along the agricultural value chain through its wide array of services like mobile advisory, IFFCO Kisan Agriculture App, and Kisan Call Centre. The process of commercializing surplus biofortified grains has already begun under the Commercialization of Biofortified Crops (CBC) Programme, which is co-led by HarvestPlus and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). By developing commercial markets for surplus biofortified crops that are primarily grown by smallholder farming families, the CBC Programme will help create a sustainable basis for improving diet quality and tackling hidden hunger among both farmers and consumers.”

The partnership focus on improving farmers’ access

Agro Universities, R&D

 Collaboration will make available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality seed and related technologies to the farming communities and consumers

ICRISAT and HarvestPlus signed an agreement for scientific and technical collaboration between the two global organizations. Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus, and Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which is made and entered into by IFPRI on behalf of its HarvestPlus Program.

 On the occasion, Dr Hughes said, “ICRISAT and HarvestPlus will work together more closely, making available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality seed and related technologies to the farming communities and consumers. This will contribute to eliminating micronutrient malnutrition in the drylands.”

Baral asserted, “Mainstreaming nutritional traits in crop development is a key element in scaling up biofortification globally to help end the epidemic of hidden hunger. HarvestPlus looks forward to partnering and working hand in hand with ICRISAT to ensure that the benefits of nutrient-rich staple crops extend to farming families in dryland communities.”

Dr Arvind Kumar, Deputy Director General – Research, ICRISAT, said, “Under this agreement, HarvestPlus and ICRISAT will join forces to advance mainstreaming and scaling up of nutritional traits by ensuring adequate resources for this critical work to help smallholder farmers access to essential nutrition.”

Promote nutrition research in crop development on ICRISAT mandate crops in Asia and Africa

Jointly advocate biofortification at the international level

Mobilize resources for mainstreaming and targeted breeding of nutritional traits in crop breeding programs

Support public and private sector institutions for mainstreaming nutrient traits into their crop development programs

Promote research on enhancing nutrient bioavailability, retention, anti-nutrients, processing, etc.

Upscale biofortified cultivars at farmers’ fields according to rules and regulations of the national agricultural research systems of identified countries.

ICRISAT and HarvestPlus have broadly agreed to carry out the following collaborative activities:

 Collaboration will make available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality