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Trade opportunities and way forward to upscale the export of GI and traditional bananas from India

ICAR- National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), New Delhi jointly organised a two-day consultative workshop on ‘Export of GI and traditional bananas: Present scenario, trade opportunities and way forward’ during 21-22 December, 2022 at Tiruchirappalli to upscale the export of GI and traditional bananas from India.

The Chief Guest, M Angamuthu, IAS, Chairman, APEDA, New Delhi appreciated the efforts of ICAR-NRCB, FPOs, and banana farmers’ efforts to conserve the GI and traditional bananas. He stressed the need to utilise the varietal diversity of bananas by using cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, and precision farming for extending export to more than fifty countries shortly.

The Special Guest, C Samayamoorthy, IAS, Agricultural Production Commissioner praised Tamil Nadu for cultivating diverse, traditional banana cultivars resistant to various biotic and abiotic stresses.  He also assured the support of the Tamil Nadu State Government for promoting exports of bananas.

The Special Guest, Rajalakshmi Devaraj, IDAS, Addl DGFT, Chennai underlined that under the District Export Hub Program, 11 districts from Tamil Nadu were selected in which Tiruchirappalli district was identified for banana export.

V Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor, TNAU, Coimbatore stressed the importance of soil management by following strategies such as precision farming, micro-irrigation, and fertigation, etc.

K M Indiresh, Vice-Chancellor, UHS, Bagalkot informed that under One District One Product (ODOP) program, in Karnataka, two regions were identified for promotion of bananas particularly value added products.

V B Patel, ADG (Horticultural Science -II), ICAR, New Delhi urged to enhance the productivity and improve the quality of bananas.

While presiding the inaugural session R Selvarajan, Director, ICAR-NRCB, mentioned that value of banana exports tripled from Rs 430 crores to 1300 crores during 2018-2022 and there is a great opportunity to export GI tagged and traditional banana cultivars in view of increasing demand for those cultivars. He applauded the Sirumalai and delta region farmers of Tamil Nadu for cultivating and protecting the GI-tagged and traditional cultivars of banana.

On this occasion, six publications were released and three awards were conferred to different stakeholders in banana production system viz., Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Jalgaon, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation, Thottiyam and Tamil Nadu Hill Banana Growers’ Federation.

More than 300 participants attended the export workshop and an exhibition was also organised wherein more than 100 varieties and landraces of bananas were displayed.

Plenary session of the workshop was held on 22 December, 2022. M K Shanmugasundaram, IAS, Development Commissioner, MEPZ,SEZ, Chennai was the Chief Guest and D K Agarwal, Registrar General, PPV &FRA, New Delhi and Alex Paul Menon, IAS, Joint Development Commissioner, MEPZ, SEZ, Chennai were the Guests of Honour.

Trade opportunities and way forward to upscale

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

‘Drones for Precision Agriculture’ training programme held at MPKV, Rahuri

The Centre for Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology for Climate Smart Agriculture and Water Management (CAAST-CSAWM), under the aegis of ICAR-National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) recently held a National Training Programme entitled ‘Drones for Precision Agriculture’ at its Central Campus at Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri for capacity building of academicians, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, farmers and practitioners.

While inaugurating the programme in hybrid mode as Chief Guest, Dr R C Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agric Education) and National Director, ICAR-NAHEP said that the country is now experiencing the Agriculture 4.0 phase that particularly emphasises the use of digital technology; and opined that drones have assumed great importance in the age of digital technology.

He expressed that the use of artificial intelligence, coupled with drones, sensors and internet of things (IoT) enabled devices  which will establish new bench marks in Indian agriculture. He urged CAAST, MPKV to organise such capacity building programs regularly and also to schedule workshop on “Drone Awareness” for senior officers of SAUs and ICAR Institutes in the country.

‘Drones for Precision Agriculture’ training programme held

The 7-day online workshop was attended by over 350 young researchers and faculty members belonging to the various fields of biotechnology

A “National Workshop-cum-Webinar on Genome Editing” has been organised from June 27 to July 3, 2022 online with an objective of communicating the advances in science and technology to young students and researchers. This workshop was organised under the Chairmanship of Prof KC Bansal, Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi, who is a former Director of the premier institution of ICAR, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR).

Co-Chaired by a world-renowned scientist Prof Yiping Qi, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, USA, the 7-day online workshop was attended by over 350 young researchers and faculty members belonging to the various fields of biotechnology.

Speakers included Dr KA Molla, Scientist, NRRI, Cuttack; Dr Siddharth Tiwari, Scientist, NABI, Mohali; Dr P Chander Shekhar, Principal Scientist, CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad; Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty, Senior Scientist, CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi; Dr Viswanathan Chinnusamy, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi and Dr Naveen Bisht, Staff Scientist V, NIPGR, New Delhi. The scientists who will be speaking during the next three days include Dr Kavita Babu, Principal Investigator, IISc, Bangalore; Dr Deepti Trivedi Vyas, Scientist, NCBS, Bangalore; Dr Amit Ghosh, Assistant Professor, IIT, Kharagpur; Dr Basudev Ghoshal, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Dr D T Singh, Founder & President, CloudSeq Pte Ltd, Singapore.

Prof KC Bansal highlighted the current state of Gene Editing and mentioned that since Government of India has recently issued guidelines easing the norms for bio-safety assessment for developing genome-edited crops, more opportunities have opened into the research and development in this field, and therefore, this workshop is the need of the hour. The Gene Editing technology enables the manipulation of targeted genes in a precise and efficient manner in many organisms and cell lines, and has become indispensable for all life sciences researchers globally, ranging from agriculture to pharma to health sectors.

The 7-day online workshop was attended by

The workshop was held under the Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari Campaign 2022

Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, recently organised a One District One Product (ODOP)-based workshop on the processing and value addition of Walnuts in Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

The event was inaugurated by Ashok Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar. The ODOP workshop was aimed to set the stage for all food-tech stakeholders to impart, discuss and acquaint the stakeholders with the new emerging trends in food processing and technological innovation in walnut processing in the Kishtwar district.

The workshop witnessed the presence of eminent industry speakers sharing their insights for micro-enterprises and farmers to pave the way for walnut-based products to scale to domestic and global levels.

The ODOP workshop under Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari Campaign is a one-of-its-kind-initiative by the Ministry along with the support of distinguished industry experts to educate and guide the farmers in the Kishtwar District of Jammu and Kashmir to make informed decisions to scale up their food business in walnut processing in the present scenario.

The workshop was held under the Kisan

A bilingual compendium of success stories of natural farming, consisting of 110 success stories from 13 states across India, was released during the event

NITI Aayog, as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, recently organised a national level workshop on ‘Innovative Agriculture’ in New Delhi.

Dr Neelam Patel, Senior Adviser, Agriculture and Allied Sectors (AAS) Vertical, NITI Aayog welcomed the participants and cited the need to understand the science, fundamentals, and processes behind the practice of natural farming. She hoped that the knowledge, research experience, and expertise of the international experts attending the workshop will aid in building the capacities of the Indian scientists, researchers, and policymakers for the promotion of natural farming in the country.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, during his address, said “Natural farming is the need of the hour and it is important to identify scientific ways so farmers can be assured direct benefits from natural farming and higher incomes.”

Addressing the workshop, Prof Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog said “We can give a chance to such alternatives because there is no serious threat to food security since we are food surplus.” He also called for stepwise adoption of natural farming. 

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parushottam Rupala pointed out that the awareness about nutritious food, good health and immunity has increased during the pandemic. In this regard, he also highlighted the role of natural farming in providing nutritious food. He stressed the importance of cattle and livestock in ensuring better nutrition. 

Addressing the workshop, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar mentioned that the Government has been encouraging agricultural practices that work in harmony with nature, reduce the cost of production, and ensure good-quality produce and profits for farmers. He also emphasised the importance of science and technology in natural farming.

Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat, shared his experience regarding how shifting to natural farming has led to a significant reduction in the cost of cultivation, improvement in soil health, and enhancement in yield. He also added that adopting natural farming will help optimise the work of farmers and benefit the environment at large, especially when it comes to the use of water. ‘There is huge scope for bringing in innovations in the agriculture sector through natural farming’, he added.

Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog mentioned that the time is ripe to encourage natural farming and share the benefits with the people at large, especially our farmers. The shared experiences of states will help build a robust roadmap to adopt innovative agricultural practices in the country. He expressed his enthusiasm to come up with a successful road map toward natural farming in India post the workshop. 

A bilingual compendium of success stories of natural farming, consisting of 110 success stories from 13 states across India, was released during the event. 

The workshop had four technical sessions: (i) a panel discussion on natural farming in states, (ii) natural farming for soil health restoration and climate change mitigation, (iii) promotion of natural farming, (iv) innovations in natural farming.

During the first technical session, Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, joined the workshop virtually and highlighted the importance and traditional aspects of cow-based natural farming which helps sequester carbon and improve soil health. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh mentioned the state’s plan to promote natural farming on both the sides of the banks of the river Narmada and 5,200 villages. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh stressed the need to enhance research on natural farming and stated the need for support from the Centre for natural agriculture in the ratio of 90:10. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke about the current status, progress and challenges in natural farming in Uttarakhand. 

In the second technical session, academicians, scientists, researchers, and dignitaries discussed the need to promote regenerative agriculture, strategies to reverse and mitigate climate change with traditional farming systems, the importance of sustainable agroecological food systems in the 21st Century, the role played by natural farming in making agriculture climate-resilient, and the need for green economics for a New India. 

In the third technical session, the need to scale up natural farming, integration of National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) resources, and the role played by Cooperatives and FPOs in the promotion and scaling up of marketing networks and provision of credit support for natural farming was highlighted. Dr Rajeshwar Chandel (Executive Director, Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana, Himachal Pradesh) spoke about the Community based certification process in Natural Farming. Dr Baljit Saharan (Associate Prof. Haryana Agriculture University) said, “Improved soil biology and biodiversity play an important role in the promotion of natural farming.”

In the last technical session, innovations like pre-monsoon dry sowing, experiences in managing crop residue while practising natural farming, and mechanisation and automation for input preparations and applications in natural farming were shared.

More than 1250 participants from central ministries, state governments, industry, farmers, academic and research institutions, KVK’s and NGOs, delegates from national and international organizations in agriculture and allied sectors, and international delegates from France, Australia and Germany joined the workshop physically and virtually. 

A bilingual compendium of success stories of

Discussions will be held on sustainable agriculture, better nutrition, health benefits, and environmental sustainability

Glostem will organise national workshop cum webinar on genome editing from June 27 to July 3, 2022. The conference will be chaired by Prof KC Bansal, Secretary, NAAS, India and Co-chaired by PROF Yiping Qi, Univ. Maryland, USA.

The seven-day online workshop will cover the basics of genome editing as investigated by researchers in different organisms including model plant species, Drosophila melanogaster,
Caenorhabditis elegans, yeast, mammalian and stem cells, and elaborate on its application for sustainable agriculture, better nutrition, health benefits, and environmental sustainability. Future developments and directions of the emerging genome editing tools and technologies will also be discussed.

The faculty for the workshop is drawn from reputed national institutes like IISc, Bangalore; NCBS, Bangalore; CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi; CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad; IIT, Kharagpur; DBT-NABI, Mohali; DBT-NIPGR, New Delhi; IISER, Mohali; ICAR-IARI, New Delhi and ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack.

Scientists and researchers from academics and industry working in the field of plant, human, and animal biotechnology including agricultural biotechnology, plant genetics and genomics, plant breeding, crop improvement, disease resistance, stress tolerance, plant-microbe interaction, functional genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, molecular biology, pharmacogenomics, personalised medicine and synthetic biology.

Experts will elaborate on the application of Genome Editing for sustainable agriculture, better nutrition, health benefits and environmental sustainability.

Discussions will be held on sustainable agriculture,

Experts will guide the farmers on bamboo cultivation

The 12th AGROVISION, India’s Premier Agri Summit, scheduled from December 24-27, at Reshimbagh Ground, Nagpur will conduct a workshop on Bamboo Cultivation in India.

The value of bamboo production in India is estimated at $4.4 billion. This is a field with immense earning potential and Agrovision 2021 with its workshops will put light on bamboo cultivation in the country.

With an aim to familiarise farmers with the latest trends and technologies that influence agriculture today, many workshops will be organised on important topics, such as: Bamboo cultivation, agri tourism, supply chain management, empowering farmers, poultry production etc, in the event.

Farmers from in and around Vidarbha and adjoining states will be participating in the event this year. Furthermore, conferences on current issues in agriculture and allied agri sectors will be held. Around 400 exhibitors are likely to participate in the event.

The exclusive media partner is Agro Spectrum India along with BioSpectrum India and NuFFooDS Spectrum India. MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications is the organiser of the event.

Experts will guide the farmers on bamboo

Experts will guide on supply chain management and agri- value chains in the workshop

The 12th AGROVISION, India’s Premier Agri Summit, scheduled from December 24-27, at Reshimbagh Ground, Nagpur, will initiate a free workshop on “Food processing and Supply chain management in agriculture”.

As Agriculture witnesses new innovations & technology, it becomes important to understand the Value Chain & Supply Chain involved in Food Processing & Agriculture. In the workshop at Agrovision 2021, the experts will guide the farmers on food processing and supply chain management in agriculture.

Agrovision has completed 11 years of its march and brought about a profound impact on the farm economy of Central India.  Agrovision was conceived in the year 2007 to create a common platform for the farmers, industry, and government and bring together every important entity in agriculture to create a better future for the farmers. The vision of Agrovision is to create a more knowledgeable, practical and a smart famer.

Farmers from in and around Vidarbha and adjoining states will be participating in the event this year. Apart from this, there will be free interactive workshops for farmers. Conferences on current issues in agriculture and allied agri sectors will be held. Around 400 exhibitors are likely to participate in the event.

The exclusive media partner is Agro Spectrum India along with BioSpectrum India and Nufoods Spectrum India. MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications is the organiser of the event.

Experts will guide on supply chain management

Free workshops on empowering farmers through market reforms will be held in Agrovision2021

Agrovision is entering into its 12th edition and over the last 12 years it has brought about a profound impact on farm economy of Central India.

The 12th AGROVISION, India’s Premier Agri Summit, scheduled from December 24-27, at Reshimbagh Ground, Nagpur, will drive innovation, collaboration, and empowerment of farmers on a common forum. Free workshops on empowering farmers through market reforms will be held in Agrovision2021.

Farmers from in and around Vidarbha and adjoining states will be participating in the event this year. Furthermore, conferences on current issues in agriculture and allied agri sectors will be held. Around 400 exhibitors are likely to participate in the event.

The exclusive media partner is Agro Spectrum India along with BioSpectrum India and Nufoods Spectrum India. MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications is the organiser of the event.

Free workshops on empowering farmers through market reforms