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Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Europe, India, Sustainability

The agreement includes a study on using cutting-edge UK technology to spot diseases in shrimp aquaculture

The UK and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement on science, research and innovation, which will help facilitate a raft of new joint research programs – some of which include aquaculture initiatives.

The collaborative activities carried out under the MoU will be supported by joint funding agreed by both sides, with finances for each program determined between the UK and India on a case-by-case basis.

“The agreement will remove red tape standing in the way of major collaborations while unleashing a raft of new joint research schemes aiming to deliver progress on some of the biggest issues facing the world: from climate change and pandemic preparedness through to AI and machine learning,” according to the UK government press release.

The agreement includes a study on using cutting-edge UK technology to spot diseases in shrimp aquaculture, as well as a partnership using data to detect harmful algal blooms (HABs) affecting the ocean. Moreover, there are plans to fund 10 UK-India fisheries research fellowships.

“The agreement is part of our program of deepening UK collaboration with other global science superpowers on ground-breaking innovation and research, to help tackle shared global challenges,” said George Freeman, Minister of State for the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. “This partnership will grow the sectors, companies and jobs of tomorrow for the benefit of both our countries and the globe.”

The agreement includes a study on using

AgroPolicy, India, Water

The two ministers exchanged perspectives on their respective regions, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific

S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister held wide-ranging discussions with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen during which new agreements were signed in the field of agriculture and water as well as on mobility.

According to a tweet by S. Jaishankar, the two sides also noted the progress in the I2U2 – India, Israel, US, UAE bloc – as well cooperation in multilateral forums.

The main pillars of the Strategic Partnership are Agriculture, Water, Defence & Security which are taking our ties forward. New agreements in water & agriculture underline the potential to do more.

Both ministers discussed cooperation in high-tech, digital & innovation, as also connectivity, mobility tourism, finance, and health. Also noted was the progress in I2U2 and cooperation in multilateral forums. The two ministers exchanged perspectives on their respective regions, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific.

The Israeli Minister in a tweet said he had held an excellent meeting with EAM Jaishankar, and the two sides are expanding cooperation in the fields of cyber, agriculture and water.

The two ministers exchanged perspectives on their

Acquaculture, India, Supply Chain, Trade

India’s shrimp exports to China are likely to cross $ 1.2 billion this fiscal compared to $ 0.8 billion in the previous financial year

The shrimp sector will see revenue growth of 5 per cent year-on-year in fiscal 2024, driven by increasing demand from China, which will shore up exports to a near-lifetime high of $ 5.3 billion seen in fiscal 2022. This growth will largely be volume-driven, allowing the operating margin to bounce back to 7.5 per cent as costs soften, according to CRISIL Ratings.

Debt is likely to contract and part-funding such as capex and incremental working capital requirements will be comfortably absorbed by the strong balance sheets of the players, it added.

India, Ecuador and Vietnam are the top three suppliers of shrimp, while the US, EU and China are the top three consumers. India supplies 70 per cent of its produce to these three regions.

In the year 2023, Indian shrimp players were impacted due to extreme heat waves affecting production, shortage of containers and higher logistics costs to the US and EU and exports to China were muted amid continued lockdowns there. This has led to Ecuador, one of India’s major competitors, seizing the lead in shrimp exports.

In 2023-24, however, good produce backed by normal weather patterns and steady demand from China is expected to drive revenue for the Indian players.

India’s shrimp exports to China are likely to cross $ 1.2 billion this fiscal compared to $ 0.8 billion in the previous financial year. With logistics costs normalising, demand from the US and Europe should revive from the lull last season.

“Buyers from the US and Europe prefer shrimps processed in India because of better quality- and disease-control measures. With supply chains getting restored, Indian exporters can replace Ecuadorian suppliers and regain their lost market share.

“Revival in the Chinese economy will also aid growth in shrimp exports from India. Revenue will grow 5 per cent in fiscal 2024 on the back of volume growth of 8-10 per cent despite the reduction in realisations,” Himank Sharma, Crisil Ratings Director said.

However, the report said, with the drop in input costs being steeper than that in realisations, the margin may inch up to the erstwhile level of 7.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of higher demand, shrimp players are expanding capacities and will add close to 20 per cent of their existing gross block this fiscal.

“The shrimp sector has displayed financial prudence for quite some time now. Hence, despite moderate debt addition over the medium term, credit profiles will remain strong.

“Total outside liabilities to tangible net worth and interest coverage ratios will remain comfortably 0.5 times as on March 31, 2024, and 8 times in fiscal 2024, respectively,” Nagarjuna Alaparthi, Crisil Ratings Associate Director said.

India's shrimp exports to China are likely

Agrotech, Company News, Finance, India, R&D

The fund is committed by Morocco-based Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and the OCP Group to back breakthrough sustainable technology in India

Bidra Innovation Ventures (Bidra) has announced a $200 million commitment by Morocco-based, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and the OCP Group. The initiative will expand Bidra’s investment scope to include innovations in sustainable agriculture, energy, water and other climate technologies with a focus on emerging markets like India, Africa, and others.

This latest round of funding comes one year after Bidra launched a $50 million fund backed by the same investors focused on agriculture. In India, Bidra is an active investor in Niqo Robotics, a Bangalore-based agricultural robotics start-up focused on AI-powered sustainable spot spraying technology.

Over the past year, Bidra has nurtured multiple breakthroughs in technology. They have supported several innovative sustainable tech companies including Niqo Robotics, an AI tech-driven company that reduces chemical volumes, Agrospheres, an ag-tech company developing environmentally friendly crop protection products, and Pattern Ag, which uses predictive analytics to customise crop fertility plans.

“UM6P recognises the role innovation must play to sustainably solve global challenges,” said Amar Singh, Head of Group, Bidra Innovation Ventures. “We are grateful for UM6P’s visionary leadership and support as we continue to back innovators forging the future via sustainable technologies for Africa and beyond. Having OCP’s support is a tremendous advantage because now we can extend OCP’s regional know-how and distribution capacity to startups that are ready to scale. If you have technology that is ready for prime time, consider Bidra as a gateway to scaling your technology in India, Africa and beyond,” Singh further elaborated on the latest fundraising.

India-based startup Niqo Robotics from Bidra’s portfolio has made rapid strides over the past year and is gearing up to launch the world’s largest fleet of AI-powered green-on-green spot spray agricultural robots in India by June 2023. “We are immensely proud of our association with Bidra through the past year. We have amazing synergies, and our partnership has empowered Niqo Robotics to scale our breakthrough sustainable spot spraying solution from lab to land and potentially revolutionise crop protection applications in agriculture, worldwide,” said Jaisimha Rao, Founder and CEO of Niqo Robotics

Companies backed by Bidra not only benefit from the financial resources of UM6P and the OCP Group but also from the organisations’ domain expertise and expansive global footprint. Talent, customer, and capital – these are the three inputs that every founder is looking for. Bidra, UM6P and OCP are looking to assist disruptive sustainable technologies in all three.

The fund is committed by Morocco-based Mohammed

AgroPolicy, Horticulture, India, Supply Chain, Trade

The announcement was made in a Joint Statement by the Australian Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of India in March 2023

Australian Hass avocados have received provisional access to the Indian market. New access was granted after Australia demonstrated that its high-quality avocados could meet India’s biosecurity and food import requirements.

10 trial shipments will be sent to India during the provisional access period. Full access will be granted if these shipments meet India’s import requirements.

New access was announced in a Joint Statement by the Australian Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of India in March 2023.

The Australian Government is working with the avocado industry to facilitate the ten-shipment trial.

India has a small but growing avocado import market. In 2021-22, India imported
A$4.8 million of avocados, up from A$2.4 million in 2020-21 and A$1.6 million in 2019-20.

Imported avocados are a high-end product in India. They are most likely to enter the hospitality and food service sectors.

India imports avocados from New Zealand at 41 per cent, the EU at 39 per cent and Peru at 17 per cent. All of these exporters are subject to India’s 30 per cent Most Favoured Nation (MFN) import tariff. Under AI-ECTA, tariffs on Australian avocados have been reduced and will gradually decline to 0.

The average import unit price of New Zealand avocados in India in 2021-22 was A$4.81/kg. This is lower than the average unit import price of Australian avocados in Hong Kong (A$5.57kg) and Malaysia (A$5.54/kg) but similar to Singapore (A$4.84/kg).

The announcement was made in a Joint Statement by

Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Trade, World

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities

The benchmark index of international food commodity prices declined for the 12th consecutive month in March, driven by declines in world quotations for cereals and vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 126.9 points in March 2023, down 2.1 per cent from the previous month and 20.5 per cent below its peak level of March 2022. A mix of ample supplies, subdued import demand and the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative contributed to the drop.

The FAO Cereal Price Index declined 5.6 per cent from February, with international wheat prices falling by 7.1 per cent, pushed down by strong output in Australia, improved European Union crop conditions, high Russian Federation supplies, and ongoing exports from Ukraine from its Black Sea ports. World maize prices fell by 4.6 per cent, partly due to expectations of a record harvest in Brazil. Meanwhile, rice eased by 3.2 per cent amid ongoing or imminent harvests in major exporting countries, including India, Viet Nam and Thailand.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index averaged 3.0 per cent lower than the previous month and 47.7 per cent below its March 2022 level, as ample world supplies and subdued global import demand pushed down soy, rapeseed and sunflower oil quotations. That more than offset higher palm oil prices, which rose due to lower output levels in Southeast Asia due to flooding and temporary export restrictions imposed by Indonesia.

“While prices dropped at the global level, they are still very high and continue to increase in domestic markets, posing additional challenges to food security. This is particularly so in net food-importing developing countries, with the situation aggravated by the depreciation of their currencies against the USA dollar or the Euro and mounting debt burden,” stressed Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist.

The FAO Dairy Price Index declined 0.8 per cent in March. Butter prices increased due to solid import demand, while cheese dipped due to slower purchases by most leading importers in Asia and increased availabilities in leading exporters.

By contrast, the FAO Sugar Price Index rose by 1.5 per cent from February to its highest level since October 2016, reflecting concerns over declining production prospects in India, Thailand and China. The positive outlook for the sugarcane crops about to be harvested in Brazil limited the upward pressure on prices, as did the decline in international crude oil prices, which reduced demand for ethanol.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose slightly, by 0.5 per cent. International bovine meat quotations rose, influenced by rising internal prices in the United States of America on expectations of lower supplies moving forward, while pig meat prices rose due to increased demand in Europe ahead of the holidays. Despite avian influenza outbreaks in several large exporting countries, world poultry meat prices fell for the ninth consecutive month on subdued global import demand.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Sustainability

Narendra Singh Tomar holds bilateral meetings with the ministers of Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka

Narendra Singh Tomar Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister held bilateral meetings with Agriculture Ministers of various countries participating in the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference. An MoU was also signed with the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations. 

Narendra Singh Tomar lauded the work of WFP in promoting food self-sufficiency and supporting governmental and global efforts to ensure long-term solutions to the challenge of hunger.

At the conference, Tomar also thanked the ministers for being a part of the global conference organised by India with the aim of promoting Shree Anna, under the International Year of Millets (IYM).

He said that the International Year of Millets is being celebrated so that the Indian Shree Anna, its recipes, and value-added products are accepted globally as a people’s movement. He hoped to further strengthen India’s agricultural ties with various countries.

During the global conference, the MoU between WFP and the Government of India for cooperation between 2023-2027 was signed in the presence of the Tomar Agriculture Minister. Manoj Juneja, Deputy Chief Executive Director, Management and Chief Financial Officer of UNWFP, and Elizabeth Faure, WFP Representative and Country Director in India were present.

Meanwhile, he held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries participating in the Global Millets Conference. In a meeting with Minister Zulfikar Mustafa, Guyana’s Agriculture Union Minister Tomar recalled the visit of Mohammad Irfan Ali, President of Guyana, and Bharat Jagdev, Vice-President of Guyana and said that agriculture is a very important area of cooperation between the two countries.

“India is keen to share its expertise and experience in the development of agriculture and allied sectors in Guyana, for which an MoU is under finalisation. He assured that Guyana’s request for the deputation of two experts to ITEC from India for three years to support the Guyana Sugar Corporation management and revive the sugar estates and plants in Guyana would be considered at the earliest,” said Tomar.

Apart from Guyana, Tomar also held meetings with his counterparts from Zambia, Suriname, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.

Narendra Singh Tomar holds bilateral meetings with

Agrotech, Company News, India, IT, Latin America, R&D, Sustainability, World

The collaboration will promote resilient agriculture beginning with smallholder farms in India and commercial farms in Brazil

Agmatix, a start-up AgTech business specialising in turning agronomic big data into powerful models and insights, announced a partnership with NASA Harvest – NASA’s global Food Security and Agriculture Consortium – to support crop production in a sustainable way at the field level and mitigate the impact of climate change.

A combination of ground sampling and remote sensing data will be used to support farmers in their transition toward sustainable agriculture. The methodology developed within this partnership will track farmer efforts to improve conservation management and guide them to improve their sustainability levels.

“According to the World Economic Forum, sustainable agriculture practices must triple in order to prevent climate change. Currently, adoption is hindered by a lack of consistent and acceptable measurements at scale. Our collaboration will promote resilient agriculture beginning with smallholder farms in India and commercial farms in Brazil, and lead to further expansion worldwide,” comments Ron Baruchi, CEO of Agmatix.

“NASA Harvest is excited to partner with Agmatix to advance the use of satellite-based information to help inform on-farm decisions which can ultimately result in increased resilience while reducing waste,” comments Inbal Becker-Reshef, NASA Harvest Director.

NASA Harvest will provide its expertise on agricultural remote sensing and leverage tools developed by the consortium, which will then be combined with field data from Agmatix and processed using a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm. These data-driven insights can help farmers make field-level decisions that impact sustainability most effectively, such as cover crop selection and fertiliser application.

The collaboration will promote resilient agriculture beginning

AgroPolicy, Allied Industry, India, North America, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Trade

The main areas of cooperation envisaged are Agricultural policies for the development of modern agriculture, Organic agriculture to facilitate the bilateral trade of organic products

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of India and the Government of Chile for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Allied sectors.

The MoU provides for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.  The main areas of cooperation envisaged are Agricultural policies for the development of modern agriculture, Organic agriculture to facilitate the bilateral trade of organic products, as well as promote the exchange of policies aimed to develop organic production in both countries, Science and innovation to explore partnerships to promote innovation in the agricultural sector among Indian Institutes and Chilean institutes as well as collaborate to confront common challenges. 

Under the MoU, a Chile-India Agricultural Working Group will be constituted which will be responsible for the supervision, review and assessment of the implementation of this MoU as well as for establishing frequent communication and coordination.

The meetings of the Agricultural Working Group will be held once a year alternatively in Chile and India.  The MoU shall enter into force upon its signature and shall remain in force for a period of five years from the date of execution after which it shall be automatically renewed for a further period of 5 years.

The main areas of cooperation envisaged are

India, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Thailand, Trade

Authorities in Thailand are looking to expand the export of natural rubber gloves to China and India, following a ban on latex gloves in some U.S. states, according to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries.

Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) has established a task force to address the ban on natural rubber gloves in some U.S. states, which would pose negative impacts against Thailand-based glove manufacturers.
Nakorn Tangavirapat Governor Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) said the State of Illinois has already banned the use of latex gloves among food service workers, effective 1 January this year, citing potential allergic reactions in some workers and customers. This regulation will also apply to workers in the healthcare sector from 1 January next year.
The newly established task force by the MOAC will be working to promote the quality and safety of Thai-made natural rubber gloves while promoting the export to alternative markets, particularly China and India where demands remain strong.
Thailand exports around $738 million worth of rubber gloves to the United States, in the form of general-purpose gloves and for medical use. Thai rubber gloves make up 23 per cent of rubber gloves imported to the U.S., only after Malaysia. 

Authorities in Thailand are looking to expand

Agrotech, Finance, India, Start ups

Agribusiness Marketplaces overtook Midstream Technologies to become the most funded upstream category in FY2022.

India has overtaken China as Asia-Pacific’s biggest funder of agrifoodtech innovation, attracting record levels of investment in the fiscal year April 2021 to March 2022, according to AgFunder and Omnivore’s fourth India AgriFood Startup Investment Report.  With $4.6 billion in agrifood venture capital investments in FY2021-22, India’s agrifood ecosystem is finally receiving the funding required to tackle the challenges faced by smallholder farmers, rural communities, agricultural value chains, and food systems.

As with other parts of the world and particularly in the wake of Covid-19, food delivery services inflated total investment level, with Restaurant Marketplaces and eGrocery startups securing close to $3 billion – around 66 per cent– of total investment in the fiscal year (FY) ending 31 March 2022. But increasing deal activity for upstream innovations shows promise.

Other key insights in the report:

  • Total investment in agrifoodtech startups for India’s FY2022 stood at $4.6 billion, up 119 per cent from $2.1 billion in FY2021.
  • Deal activity also increased to 234 in FY2022 compared to 189 deals in FY2021.
  • Agribusiness Marketplaces overtook Midstream Technologies to become the most funded upstream category in FY2022. The former raised $569 million in FY2022, a 7x jump from the $86 million raised in FY2021.
  • While Midstream Technologies remains an active category with $461 million raised across 19 deals, the number of deals declined. This is indicative of multiple sub-categories including logistics, transport, and B2B retail achieving maturity.
  • Ag Biotechnology emerged as a fast-growing upstream category, raising $114 million in FY2022, a sharp increase from $5 million in FY2021.
  • Farmtech startups closed $1.5 billion in funding, a 185 per cent increase on the $527 million raised in FY2021. Rapidly improving technology adoption buoyed this segment of agrifoodtech, together with steady demand for traceable quality produce, encouraging innovations aimed at ironing out chronic inefficiencies.
  • Restaurant Marketplace and eGrocery were the most funded downstream categories, accounting for 84 per cent of total downstream funding with eGrocery startups landing the highest number of late-stage deals.
  • eGrocery startups raised $934 million across 42 deals, a 4x jump from $244 million across 25 deals in FY2021.
  • Investment in Online Restaurants & Meal Kits saw a remarkable recovery at $301 million in FY2022, almost 4x more than $64 million in FY2021.
  • Upstream investment leapt 300 per cent to $1.2 billion up from $312 million. The participation of generalist VCs, bigger deals sizes, and higher deal count contributed to this increase.

Mark Kahn, Managing Partner, Omnivore, said, “The investment trends are proof that the agrifoodtech space can no longer be called niche. It has caught the attention of generalist VCs the world over who understand that agrifoodtech is key to the transformation of India’s massive agricultural sector and rural economy.”

Agribusiness Marketplaces overtook Midstream Technologies to become

India, Schemes - Govt

Haryana plans to set up 500 pack houses to revolutionise horticulture in the state

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister inaugurated 30 Integrated Pack Houses across the state at Aterna village in Sonipat (Haryana) recently.

He said that Haryana is ahead in crop production and horticulture and it cannot be praised enough. Today it is necessary that farmers cultivate new crops, use technology in production and produce quality products. It is a matter of happiness that the farmers of Haryana and the Haryana government are walking on this path. 

During this, Jayprakash Dalal, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Haryana, was also present.

In this programme organised by the Horticulture Department of the Haryana Government, Tomar praised the schemes being run for the farmers in the state. In Haryana, 30 pack houses are being built across the state through FPOs. The Haryana government has planned about 500 pack houses, and not just 100 pack houses in the state. Setting up of 100 pack houses will change the picture of Haryana, while 500 pack houses will bring revolution in the field of horticulture in the state. 

Tomar said that the Government of India and Prime Minister Modi care about the farmers. To help the farmers, the Central Government has deposited Rs 2,17,000 crore in the accounts of crores of farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi. Minimum Support Price has been fixed for Rabi and Kharif crops, which is directly benefiting the farmers.

On this occasion, Sonipat’s MP Ramesh Kaushik also welcomed and felicitated Union Minister Tomar on reaching Sonipat.

Haryana plans to set up 500 pack

Agrotech, India

Use of drones is a key component of the Centre’s mission of promoting digital agriculture to strengthen farming sector

Drones are becoming famous in every aspect of life—from social media reels to shipment delivery to traffic monitoring. So how can agriculture stay away? Drones have become a crucial agent for the rapid transformation of the agriculture sector worldwide. And India is no exception to it. The use of drones is a key component of the central government’s mission of promoting digital agriculture to strengthen the farming sector. State governments too are adopting it with vigour as they are experimenting with drones in farming and promoting their use.

Artificial Intelligence enabled drones are used for precision farming that increases productivity and thus farm income. Drones have multi-faceted uses. They make farm operations faster and more efficient. They also help farmers to save significant money by making optimum use of fertilisers and pesticides and by ensuring uniform sowing of seeds. Spraying chemicals is a time-consuming process and it poses a health hazard. Drones can fly at low height (1-3 metre) over the crops, which make the spraying of nutrients and pesticides effective and efficient, as well as allow farmers to assess standing crops through cameras. All this not just facilitates higher productivity but also brings down the expenses on crop inputs.

Farmers in the US, who grew corn, soybean and wheat could save around $1.3 billion every year by incorporating drones in their farm operations. There are reports that drone-led precision farming can reduce input cost by 18-20 per cent while enhancing yield by 30-100 per cent in India. Drones have shown they can be beneficial in planting seeds in the Indo-Gangetic plains, where the rice-wheat cropping system is prevalent.

Farmers can make crop surveillance of the field using infrared cameras and get real-time information about crop growth, infestation, and requirement of inputs. This helps farmers in responding to any problem sooner and take active measures to nip it in the bud. Applications of drones can also be used for mapping water spread areas, pest infestation, and livestock farming besides assisting farmers in adopting good agricultural practices (GAP). Crops can be contamination-free, making them get good export prices.

Government support and encouragement for drones was evident when the Prime Minister of India inaugurated India’s biggest Drone Festival – Bharat Drone Mahotsav in May 2022.

Prime Minister called the use of drones a “milestone” for Indian agriculture and expressed confidence it would create more opportunities. The government of India has extended huge subsidies to different agriculture-related instructors, farmers producers organisations (FPO) and custom hiring centres (CHC) for purchasing and promoting drones under a new scheme of Kisan Drone. These drones are helpful for government agencies also as they can be used for crop assessment of production estimates or to process farm insurance, digitisation of land records, and can expedite claim processing and bring transparency.

Many state governments have shown interest such as the Andhra Pradesh government has decided to procure 200 Kisan Drones, which would solve the problem of labour shortage and health hazards. As excessive rains flooded farms, Karnataka has decided to use drones for crop assessment to bring transparency. Tamil Nadu too has roped in drones as a part of the digital intervention to make agriculture and farming profitable and sustainable.Gujarat, Rajasthan too, have joined the journey of digital revolution.

Drones were used in 2020 to ward off locus attacks, saving millions of hectares of farmland. Farmers are getting first-hand experience in operating drones and their usefulness such as testing the moisture of soil, which is not possible through traditional ways. State governments are confident that drones will be game-changer not only for farmers but for the entire agri economy.

Despite knowing the importance of technology, our agriculture did not adopt it for years. However, we can see a gain in momentum now. Both central and state governments are keen on embracing it. The involvement of agri start-ups, FPOs and CHCs in drone technology will allow farmers especially those financially poor to try new technological solutions. As drones become affordable and easily accessible, more and more farmers will start using them. Moreover, drones can create employment opportunities in rural parts, especially for the tech-savvy youth and bring them back to farms. As they say, artificial intelligence is set to transform the world, drones are going to change the face of farming in the 21st century.

Use of drones is a key component

Agrotech, Horticulture, India, R&D, Uncategorized

Initial planting to begin with 40 acres of land and will go up to 100 acres by 2023

IG International, one of India’s leading fresh fruit importers, has joined hands with Special New Fruit Licensing, SNFL Group, one of the world’s leading table grape R&D companies, to plant world-class grape varieties in India. This new project will establish IG International as one of the prime grape growers in India. The partnership will focus on bringing top cultivars to Indian consumers in Nasik, which is set to be the home for the production of new varieties of grapes. The initial planting will begin with 40 acre of land and will go up to 100 acres by 2023.

For over 20 years, SNFL Group has been breeding and developing new table grape varieties and licensing their production around the world. They are driven to propel the next generation of sustainable and healthy table grape varieties to better serve the success of growers, retailers, and consumers around the globe.

Acclaimed as the leading fresh fruit importer in India, IG International is entrenched with a renowned reputation for more than 50 years in this market segment. The company’s organized and strategic sourcing system, augmented by a seamless supply chain with a well-connected overseas procurement network, enables them to bring top varieties of grapes from SNFL which are currently not grown in India.

Speaking about this collaboration, Aman Anand, CEO of IG Grapes, said, “SNFL. Grapes are one of the best-selling commodities in the fresh fruit industry as they are universally liked by many consumers. SNFL will provide first-grade varieties of grapes in India through IG Grapes’ vast network. With this partnership, we are looking forward to making sure that we have scalable production, expertise, and a steady supply of delicious grapes of unmatched quality.”

On this occasion, Josep Estiarte, CEO of SNFL stated, “Grapes are one of the most diverse and devoured fruits in India and with the establishment of this collaboration between our two leading companies, we will be able to deliver quality and freshness for all grape lovers in India. NFL’s project in India started two years ago with the planting of its first protected varieties in the Indian market and we are committed to supporting the development of a premium table grape industry that will deliver better varieties to consumers.”

Initial planting to begin with 40 acres