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HomePosts Tagged "Netafim India"
Agrotech, Company News, India, Water

Company aims to cover 25,000 ha of land and reach 35,000 farmers across India by 2025.

Netafim India, a leading smart-irrigation solution provider, has launched its groundbreaking product, Toofan, an innovative irrigation technology that promises to transform farming for growers of all scales. Through this product, the company aims to cover 25,000 ha of land and reach 35,000 farmers by 2025 across India to revolutionize sustainable farming. The innovative system with best-in-category anti-clogging technology ensures optimal delivery of water and nutrients. The drip line is 40 per cent stronger with greater tensile strength. Toofan by Netafim India is 20 per cent more affordable than the existing and available thin wall, non-pressure-compensated (NPC) drip lines in the Indian market.

Toofan by Netafim India not only makes modern, efficient irrigation accessible to all but also offers a simplified buying process that transcends subsidy limitations. The cost-effective drip technology is now available to farmers of all scales, from large to small holdings, regardless of subsidy eligibility. The drip line is engineered for swift deployment, allowing farmers to cover up to 10 acres in a single day. This revolutionary feature saves both time and resources.

The digital launch concluded on the social media platforms of Netafim India and witnessed the interest of 10 Lakh farmers and dealers. Mr. Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director, Netafim India and Senior Vice President, Netafim Ltd., unveiled the product during the virtual launch. Toofan by Netafim India is an economical choice engineered with revolutionary TurboNext™ technology and offers unparalleled durability, thus helping farmers achieve better crop yields. The technology is available for any row crops on flat topographies.

Speaking about the launch, Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director Netafim India and Senior Vice President Netafim Ltd., said, “Netafim India aims to provide an affordable, high-performance micro irrigation system that not only ensures consistent and uniform yields but also aids in reducing the operational costs of farmers. As a farmer’s anthropologist, we understand the dynamics of Indian agriculture and continuously work to bring solutions that meet the evolving needs of our growers. We are proud to be a part of India’s agricultural growth story and committed to bring innovations that transform the lives of farmers. We are delighted to set new standards in clog resistance and enhance Agri performance with Toofan driplines. Netafim’s Toofan is set to reshape the agriculture landscape, empowering farmers to embrace modern irrigation practices without subsidy constraints and offering an unprecedented installation speed. Our revolutionary patented technology is a testament to our commitment to support one of the largest sectors contributing to Indian GDP”.

This multi-seasonal system is useful for surface or subsurface (SDI) applications. It promises to usher in a new era of agricultural efficiency and empower Indian farmers for sustainable and quality cultivation. This revolutionary product is available in a convenient 600-meter bundle with a 16 mm diameter and dripper flow rates ranging from 1.0 L/H to 2.2 L/H. With Toofan, farmers will experience a remarkable 40 per cent increase in strength, heightened tensile strength, crack resistance, high elongation properties, and enhanced UV resistance, which extends the product’s lifespan.

Company aims to cover 25,000 ha of

Company News, India, Water

Farmers from Dambal, Kalkeri, Harogeri, and Hirevaddatti villages have obtained higher yields using drip irrigation technology during the Kharif season

Ten farmers of Singatalur Lift Irrigation and Drip Irrigation Package -1 (10080 Ha) were felicitated for outstanding performance in crop production by Karnataka Neeravari Nigama Limited officials in the event that Netafim India and Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited JV organised. The farmers from Dambal, Kalkeri, Harogeri, and Hirevaddatti villages have obtained higher yields using drip irrigation technology during the Kharif season of 2021-22. The event was organised at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Hulkoti, Gadag. The felicitation program witnessed the participation of eminent guest Ramesh H, Assistant Executive Engineer, Sub Division 1 of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited and Er. Basavaraja Bandivaddar, Professor, WALMI, Dharwad. Girish Deshpande, Sr. Manager Projects Management, Netafim India, Umesha M C, Sr. Manager – Agronomy, Netafim India, Parimalarangan, and Project Manager – Singataluru 1 project, Netafim India, and Sanjay Shirgurkar, CGM, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited participated for the felicitation ceremony.

During the ceremony Ramesh H, Assistant Executive Engineer of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited stressed that “farmers should cooperate with irrigation projects and boost their crop yield through scientifically proven drip irrigation. Each farmer’s success will encourage other farmers in the neighborhood to adopt drip technology, thus helping the farmer community with their financial growth and making the project successful.

Er. Basavaraja Bandivaddar, Professor, WALMI, Dharwad, said,” Drip irrigation is very beneficial as it offers higher yield and income with less water.” Encouraging farmers to adopt drip irrigation, he emphasised that “the strengthening of water user cooperative societies and the cooperation of farmers is critical for successful projects. With this project, farmers can protect their crops through drip irrigation in case of lack of timely rain for the growing crops “.

Singataluru Lift Irrigation Project endeavours to bring the entire farming community together through Community Drip Irrigation Project – to establish systematic and sustainable irrigation practices. The ongoing phase 1 of the project plans to bring 10,080 hectares of agricultural land and thousands of farmers from 12 villages under drip irrigation to offer maximum crop yield. The drip system is provided by Karnataka Neeravari Nigama Limited. Netafim India is extensively providing agronomy services to educate farmers on sustainable agriculture practices.

Farmers from Dambal, Kalkeri, Harogeri, and Hirevaddatti

Agrotech, Opinions, Water

By Girish Deshpande, Senior Manager, Netafim India

In India, maize is predominantly a Kharif crop, with almost 85 per cent under cultivation, whereas rabi maize corresponds to 15 per cent of the area. Despite having the largest area under maize cultivation, the yield per hectare is still lower than the world average. Our country’s average maize productivity per hectare is around 20-25 quintals indicating higher land usage with low farmer income.

In India, the cereal crop is primarily cultivated in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The state of Karnataka is one of the largest producers of maize in the country. Karnataka grows maize in the approximately 1.3 million hectares of land, which accounts for 13.1 per cent of the total land utilized for agriculture. It produces 4.4 million tonnes which is around 16.5 per cent of India’s total supply of maize.

The policymakers in Karnataka are persistently working towards creating a conducive agricultural ecosystem to achieve farmers’ prosperity through emphasizing and embracing scientific methods and innovations. Case in example, the Singatalur Lift Irrigation Project endeavors to bring the entire farming community together through Community Drip Irrigation Project – to establish systematic and sustainable irrigation practices. The ongoing phase 1 of the project plans to bring 10,080 hectares of agricultural land under drip irrigation connecting 13 villages and 7800 farmers in this Kharif season under various crops.

In the last Kharif season, under Singatalur Lift Irrigation Scheme, where certain blocks were commissioned, almost 400 farmers used drip irrigation on 450 hectares of land for maize cultivation. Embracing drip irrigation, the farmers of Singatalur have witnessed maize yield increment by more than 100 percent accounting for 65 -70 qt/ha with a drip against the yield of 25 qt/ ha under rainfed irrigation. The labour cost is reduced by 20 percent. Earlier Singatalur Maize farmers used to earn Rs. 27,550 /ha without drip; currently, they are earning Rs 60,000/ha with the drip. The total operation cost before drip used to come around Rs 6.5 per kg, whereas after the implementation of drip, the cost has reduced by 39 per cent to Rs 4 per kg.  The success of maize cultivation under drip irrigation is encouraging farmers of the locale to adopt the technology. The analytics suggest that the area with drip irrigation for maize is expected to increase to 2500 Ha in the current Kharif season. Moreover, the other crops in the project area have also shown yield increment with the adoption of drip irrigation and significant reduction in input costs during the last Kharif season.

The holistic approach by Karnataka Government to sustainably manage all the natural resources and provide the farmers with the necessary infrastructure for sustainable farming practices is reaping prosperity. The continuous adaptation of advanced technologies and institutional policies by the government for sustainable usage of resources is not only bringing the state to set a benchmark in agriculture innovation but also ensuring that the quality of life of these rural communities is improved.

By Girish Deshpande, Senior Manager, Netafim IndiaIn

Interaction, Opinions

Despite the success in terms of production that has ensured food security in the country, food inflation and volatility in prices continue to remain high causing inconvenience to consumers and uneven income for farmers

Agriculture continues to be a dominating employment generating sector and contributes a significant proportion to the country’s GDP. Even in the unfortunate pandemic, the sector climbed new heights with record production of various food grains, exhibiting resilience and ensuring food security. Despite the success in terms of production that has ensured food security in the country, food inflation and volatility in prices continue to remain high causing inconvenience to consumers and uneven income for farmers. Besides pandemic wrecking substantial physical, social, economic and emotional havoc on all the stakeholders of the Indian agricultural system, locust infestation from East Africa to India, Natural calamities, and depleting natural resources only added to the sector’s woes. 

Even though the policymakers accelerated a raft of measures and announced reforms to give thrust to the sector, it has reached an inflection point that needs immediate attention. Thus, the forthcoming budget offers an opportunity to fix an array of ancillary problems and fast run the wheels of reforms to accelerate the growth engine of the Indian agriculture sector.

Alignment of Micro-irrigation coverage with ambitious Vision India@2047

While the government is working on the blueprint for India@2047 to be ‘future ready’, it is important to accelerate India’s growth and adoption towards new-age agriculture practices with optimum utilisation of resources. The average penetration of micro-irrigation in the irrigated area (drip and sprinkler) is estimated at 17 per cent which is much lesser compared to countries like Israel (90 per cent), Russia (78 per cent), Spain (75 per cent), the US (55 per cent) and Brazil (52 per cent). We need to have an ambitious target and align the execution process to take micro-irrigation coverage to 60-70 per cent in the next 25 years. 

Identifying areas and crops to integrate the benefit of micro-irrigation with structured governance and execution strategy will help the country climb a newer height of fiscal growth. To do so, the government may create five years bucket of appropriate execution and monitoring roadmap for the next 25 years backed by adequate budgetary support consistently.

Process streamlining measures in irrigation subsidy 

While the micro-irrigation coverage has benefitted millions of farmers, the scheme implementation leaves a lot to desire at the execution level. The delays in the disbursal of micro-irrigation subsidies under the PMKSY program are hampering its progress. Online portal for an end-to-end process execution and visibility, transparency in the process for fund disbursement, ensuring checkpoints at various stages and adherence to timelines would bring the efficiency in subsidy disbursal and support farmers to be debt-free much conveniently.

Providing infrastructure status to the micro-irrigation industry

Infrastructure status would help the micro-irrigation manufacturer (95 per cent of which comes under MSME) in reduced operating costs, thereby accelerating the industry growth as well as bringing the equipment cost down for the farmer community.

Aligning different schemes together for exponential benefit – Solar and Micro-irrigation, Agriculture alongside Solar installations, and others

Focus on renewable energy like solar would ensure energy security in the agriculture sector as well as in the rural landscape and address environmental concerns. Making farmers energy-sufficient would also reduce the burden on government energy subsidy bills. Solar installation-friendly agriculture would help farmers with reduced operational costs, boost land utilization and improve overall income.

Diversification programs to increase crop productivity 

12 per cent of the cropped area under fruits and vegetables (F&V) leads to 24 per cent in value terms, in contrast to 13 per cent area under oilseeds which gives only 6 per cent in value terms because of lack of scalability. Policymakers may consider promoting domestic oilseeds and oil palm cultivation with higher productivity measures to address the demand cycle. Similarly, disrupting rice cultivation that covers more area and water utilization through drip technology would improve yield, save water and reduce carbon emissions. Drip irrigation adoption also has the potential to facilitate crop diversification thus, making a direct impact on farmer incomes.

Policy & budget outlay for integrated climate smart agriculture practices

Climate change has led to reduced crop yields and farm productivity. Besides, the increased occurrence of invasive pests, weather variability, poor agriculture practices has also added to the deteriorating situation of climate change. The agriculture sector is one of the main contributors to the climate problem. It currently generates 19–29 per cent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A shift towards climate-smart agriculture practices through proper policy and financial outlay can go a long way in achieving sustainable growth.

Focus on creating infrastructures to support innovation and digitalisation in Agriculture

Special focus and fund allocation in the upcoming budget for infrastructure in rural areas would support the digitalisation of agriculture and put the sector on the fast track. Currently, India is spending less than 1 per cent of Agri GDP in R&D. An Agri innovation fund, which supports ag-tech solutions, start-ups, and digitalisation at different levels of the Agri value chain can transform agriculture economy in the future.

Interest subsidy on agriculture for long term loans

Access to credit remains one of the critical elements in a sustainable and more importantly a growing ecosystem. Interest subsidy on agriculture for long-term loans to help farmers with continual investment in farm mechanisation and building state-of-the-art infrastructure would go a long way to develop a sustainable model in agriculture. Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for adopting micro-irrigation similar to CGTMSE for MSMEs will be helpful where initial support can be provided by the government.

Special budgetary assistance for micro-irrigation to state government to overcome covid impact

The financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has left many states across the country to slash the budget for micro-irrigation. The policymakers should consider supporting the states through an additional corpus of funds either by direct special assistance programme or increasing the existing Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) set up under NABARD to facilitate the states in mobilising resources for expanding coverage of micro-irrigation.

Despite the success in terms of production