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HomePosts Tagged "World Bank"
Agrotech, Finance, Sustainability, World

ESG investors are expected to drive capital flows to help farmers overcome livelihood and other barriers to adopting environmentally friendly smart technologies

Stakeholders are establishing ethos to bolster environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the smart agriculture industry. Forward-looking players are enriching the lives of producers and consumers through sustainable innovation to minimise environmental footprint. State-of-the-art technologies, including precision farming, automation, sensors and cloud computing, have become the next big thing in the agriculture industry. ESG investors are expected to drive capital flows to help farmers overcome livelihood and other barriers to adopting environmentally friendly smart technologies.

Governing bodies and watchdogs have vouched for building resilience for people, agricultural food systems and sustainability to augment agricultural productivity and incomes. An unprecedented spike in the global population and shifting diets have spurred the demand for smart agriculture to manage cropland, forests and livestock.

A feature story on the World Bank website claimed that acute food insecurity in 2023 could overtake the food crisis witnessed in 2007-2008. With agriculture being prone to climate change, weather variability, soaring temperature and invasive crops have elicited challenges and opportunities for investors and other stakeholders. The World Bank infers that agriculture produces around 19–29 per cent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

ESG investors are expected to drive capital

Animal Health, Finance, Live Stock, World

The new program will help reduce the risks of animal disease outbreaks by improving disease surveillance and veterinary services in the livestock.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved an $82 million loan towards the adoption of global best practices for animal health management to prevent, detect, and respond to endemic zoonotic, transboundary, and emerging infectious diseases. It will strengthen India’s One Health approach, which recognizes that people and animals are connected with their shared environment.

Animal disease outbreaks globally continue to pose risks to public health systems and have enormous economic costs. With India having the largest livestock population in the world, these risks are particularly high. For example, foot and mouth disease alone costs the country more than $3.3 billion annually.

The Animal Health System Support for One Health Program will support India’s Livestock Health and Disease Control Program, which seeks to control animal diseases and zoonoses.

The $82 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) uses the Program-for-Results (PforR) financing instrument that links disbursement of funds directly to the achievement of specific program results. The loan has a maturity of 11.5 years with a grace period of 4.5 years.

“The new program will help reduce the risks of animal disease outbreaks by improving disease surveillance and veterinary services in the livestock and wildlife sectors,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank’s Country Director for India. “At least 2.9 million livestock farmers will have increased access to improved animal health services in the participating states of Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.”

Through state-of-the-art laboratories, the program will also strengthen collaboration and data sharing with the human health sector. It will also enhance food quality and safety in animal products, especially in livestock and wet markets.

“In India, around 68 percent of the workforce relies on farming and remains in close contact with domestic animals and poultry, thereby becoming frequently exposed to sick or infected animals,” said Hikuepi Katjiuongua, Adarsh Kumar and Anupam Joshi, the Task Team Leaders for the program. “By supporting evidence-based policies on animal disease and zoonoses management, the program will address food safety in livestock value chains.”

The new program will help reduce the

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Animal Health, Dairy, Goat farming, India, Live Stock, Poultry, Sustainability

Parshottam Rupala also launches Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiatives 

Parshottam Rupala Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched the Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative and World Bank-funded Animal Health System Support for One Health to enhance India’s preparedness and response to potential animal pandemics, in line with the One Health approach. This initiative aims to enhance India’s preparedness and response to animal pandemics, focusing on zoonotic diseases that threaten both animal and human health. This initiative will help to improve veterinary services and infrastructure, disease surveillance capabilities, early detection and response, build the capacity of animal health professionals, and awareness among farmers through community outreach.

 The event also saw the launch of the World Bank-funded project on ‘Animal Health System Support for One Health (AHSSOH)’ which aims at creating an ecosystem for a better animal health management system using the One Health approach covering five states in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Parshottam Rupala, Union Cabinet Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said, “India is home to a diverse animal species, and the livestock sector plays a critical role in the country’s economy and food security. However, we are also vulnerable to threats posed by emerging and zoonotic diseases. The Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative is a proactive step to protect our animal resources and ensure the safety and health of our people. The Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative and the World Bank-funded ‘Animal Health System Support for One Health’ are comprehensive efforts to address animal pandemics in a holistic manner. By strengthening our animal health systems and implementing the One Health approach, we can better prevent and control zoonotic diseases, which not only impact the health and welfare of our animals but also have a significant economic impact and human health concerns.”

Parshottam Rupala also launches Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiatives Parshottam

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, India, R&D, Sustainability

The declaration highlights the need to strengthen digital Infrastructure including digital e-learning content and deployment of emerging immersive technologies across Agricultural Higher Education Institutions

There is a need to strengthen digital Infrastructure including digital e-learning content and deployment of emerging immersive technologies across Agricultural Higher Education Institutions in India. Institutionalising a system-wide Digital Capacity Building Program across stakeholders to improve systemic digital competence, knowledge and skills is also a necessity.

The Delhi Declaration on Modernisation of Agricultural Education System in alignment with the National Education Policy issued jointly by The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the World Bank highlights the need to incorporate digital resources and tools for effective and accessible teaching and learning in Agriculture. It lays emphasis towards creating a renewed and resilient system for gender-inclusive and sustainable education that will pave the way for India’s agriculture education sector. Multidisciplinary technology-facilitated education should be promoted and the policies on Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAM) in agricultural higher education need to be transformed.

The Delhi Declaration was unveiled on the concluding day of the successful three-day International Conference on Blended Learning Ecosystem for Higher Education in Agriculture 2023 hosted jointly by the ICAR and the World Bank. The Conference was held as part of the National Agricultural Higher Education Project’s (NAHEP) Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES) development initiative.

Undertaken to strengthen the National Agricultural Education System in the country, NAHEP is a five-year project initiated in 2018 with an equal contribution of $82.5 million (about Rs. 600 crores) each from the World Bank and the central government. The World Bank loan is to be repaid over 19 years after a grace period of five years, the purpose of NAHEP is to transform agricultural higher education. The Blended Learning Platform is part of the project.

Speaking at the valedictory session, Dr R B Singh, Former President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) and Chairman, of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) said, “By promoting sustainable development goals through the dissemination of knowledge and skills, we empower the next generation of agricultural leaders to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Let us continue to collaborate across borders and disciplines, to ensure that agriculture remains a force for positive change in the world.”

According to Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Former Secretary Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General, ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, “Education is the backbone of a thriving agricultural sector. Blended learning offers a powerful tool to bridge the gap between traditional classroom teaching and the demands of a rapidly changing world. I urge all stakeholders to embrace it and integrate it into our education systems. It is important for us to embrace new methods and technologies to strengthen the agriculture education system and develop a skilled workforce that can contribute to the growth of the agriculture sector.” 

“India’s agricultural sector pays a massive significance on the country’s economy. Every year, more than 5000 Indian students receive PhDs, which is more than the rest of the globe. I believe NAHEP is the perfect example of how opportunities can be provided for vocational education as it has given the platform to another initiative called the Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES). We will continue working with the ICAR and the Government of India to disseminate new technologies so that all states of the country can benefit equally from them,” said Dr Auguste Tano Kouame, Country Director, of the World Bank.

The declaration highlights the need to strengthen

AgroPolicy, India, R&D, Sustainability, World

The aim of this conference is to facilitate the development of a global ecosystem of partners from academia, industry, government, and multilateral and bilateral organisations

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and the World Bank have come together to announce the first International Conference on ‘Blended Learning Ecosystem for Higher Education in Agriculture’ in India under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP). The three-day event to be held from March 21-23 in New Delhi will be hosted by ICAR – IASRI (Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute), which is a multi-partner global forum to support collaboration for the development of a state-of-the-art blended education system for higher agricultural education.
 

The aim of this conference is to facilitate the development of a global ecosystem of partners from academia, industry, government, and multilateral and bilateral organisations who would provide critical insights towards the design and full-scale implementation of all aspects of the Resilient Agricultural Education System (RAES) under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), that is, learning management system, content repository, and system-wide capacity building. Apart from the engaging discussions the three-day event will also showcase an exhibition on the diverse range of services and offerings in the field of agriculture and blended learning.
 

The conference and exhibition will be inaugurated by Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Various other ministries will also be participating along with other global leading institutions like AICTE, IIT and IRRI among others. Eminent speakers addressing the conference include Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG), ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Dr R.C. Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India and Dr Auguste Tano Kouame, Country Director, The World Bank among others.
 

Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and Director General (DG), ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, said, “According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the agriculture sector in India contributes 17-18 per cent of the Gross Value (GVA) added of the economy and employs more than 40 per cent of the workforce. Farmers are adopting new technologies to improve and monitor crop health and production. The true adoption of blended learning has immense potential and can unlock the agriculture economy to new heights.’’

The aim of this conference is to

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, Climate, Environment, Foodgrains, India, Nature, People, R&D, Schemes - Banks, Sustainability

IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes the introduction of climate-smart technologies such as MTR.

World Bank Regional Integration and Engagement in the South Asia Region (SAR) Director Cecile Fruman visited Assam to get a firsthand understanding and appreciation of IRRI’s work on the World Bank-funded Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART).

APART aims to add value and improve the resilience of selected agriculture value chains and is focused on smallholder farmers and agri-entrepreneurs from targeted districts in the state. IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes the introduction of climate-smart technologies such as MTR.

Fruman was pleased to see the community coming together to form a Farmer Producer Company (FPC) and benefiting from the project through stronger market linkages and the introduction of new stress-tolerant rice varieties and farm-based mechanisation technologies. She met and visited the field of Usha Nath, an exemplary farmer beneficiary under IRRI-APART. Nath contributes extensively to the family income by running her own vermicompost unit and establishing different livestock enterprises. She has adopted a fully mechanised way of farming in her field and advocates for others in her community to follow suit. Nath demonstrated the operation of a mechanical transplanter in her field and shared its benefits with Fruman and the rest of the team.

Fruman stressed the importance of community-driven development and the involvement of women farmers as key drivers of true progress.

IRRI’s technical assistance to the project includes

Finance, Foodgrains, Institutions, Schemes - Banks, Sustainability, World

As part of the additional financing, the project will support the procurement and distribution of emergency seeds, fertilisers and small-scale machinery to vulnerable farmers.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved additional grant financing of $50 million from the Crisis Response window for the Strengthening Resilience of the Agriculture Sector Project in Tajikistan to support efforts of the Government of Tajikistan to mitigate food and nutrition insecurity impacts on households and enhance the overall resilience of the agriculture sector.

According to the World Food Programme, by the end of the year, 30 per cent of the population in Tajikistan will be classified as moderately food-insecure, up from 20 per cent in 2021, while those acutely affected by food insecurity could more than double to 8.6 per cent of the population.

Despite significant progress over the last decade, malnutrition among children and women continues to remain a major challenge for the country. With 18 per cent of children under the age of five being stunted, Tajikistan has the highest rate of stunting in the Europe and Central Asia region.

As part of the additional financing, the project will support the procurement and distribution of emergency seeds, fertilisers and small-scale machinery to vulnerable farmers, including women farmers; procurement and distribution of micronutrient and vitamin supplements for pregnant and lactating women and young children under the age of five, ready-to-use therapeutic food for children threatened by severe wasting; and a media communication campaign to improve infant and young child feeding practices and dissemination of critical nutrition messages.

The project will also finance the establishment of additional agri-logistical centres to improve the competitiveness of horticulture value chains and improve farmers’ access to markets. It will strengthen the national capacity for the prevention and management of future crises and food fortification, as well as support the government in revising the food security law and development of a food security crisis preparedness plan.

As part of the additional financing, the

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Sustainability

The facility will transform rural Maharashtra through Disruptive Agricultural Technologies (DATs) 

The Government of Maharashtra and World Bank, in a joint endeavour, have launched the ‘SMART Agtech Integration Facility 2022’ to transform rural Maharashtra through Disruptive Agricultural Technologies (DATs). This facility is presently seeking applications from DAT solution providers, with a presence in India, to bring in digital and technical innovations in the agriculture sector. The facility will enable selected DAT solution providers to work directly with the Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in Maharashtra to implement transformative solutions.

The project aims to enable collectives of smallholder farmers to participate in competitive agriculture value chains, facilitate agri-business investments, increase market access and productivity, and build the resilience of crops to recurrent floods or droughts in the state. A key sub-component of the project is to facilitate the adoption of DATs among CBOs in the state. The SMART Agtech Integration Facility 2022 will identify relevant DAT solution providers and facilitate interactions between the technology providers and CBOs to enable customisation and adoption of appropriate solutions. 

The SMART Agtech Integration Facility 2022 is supported by a grant from the Korea World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF), a collaboration between Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) and the World Bank. The grant marks the first KWPF initiative in India. Intellecap, a pioneer in enabling ecosystems and channelling capital to nurture a sustainable and equitable society, is supporting the execution of the grant.

The SMART AgTech Integration Facility is seeking support from DAT solution providers specifically for (1) implementing digitisation solutions for farmer collectives, (2) building value chain actor aggregation platforms, (3) enabling precision agriculture and automation services, (4) working with urban food systems and logistics solutions, (5) developing market linkage and traceability solutions, and (6) facilitating access to financial services.

The facility will transform rural Maharashtra through