Government is promoting natural farming since 2019-2020 through a sub-scheme namely Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY). The scheme mainly emphasizes on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of cow dung-urine formulations and other plant based preparations. Under BPKP, natural farming is being promoted in cluster of 500 ha and Rs. 12200.00 is provided per ha for three years, in which Rs. 2000 is provided as incentives to farmers through DBT. So far 4.09 lakh ha area has been brought under BPKP.

 

To encourage more farmers engaged in natural farming and enhance the reach of natural farming on larger scale, Government has formulated National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) by up-scaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) to promote natural farming across the country. NMNF will cover 7.5 lakh ha area by developing 15,000 clusters in next 4 years with total budget outlay of Rs. 1584 crore (GoI Share).  

 

The State-wise details of amount released for the purpose of promoting natural farming under BPKP is given below:

 

State-wise details of amount released under BPKP to promote natural farming

 

Sl. No.	States	Area in Ha	Amount released (Rs in lakh)
1.	Andhra Pradesh	100000	750.00
2.	Chhattisgarh	85000	1352.52
3.	Kerala	84000	1954.93
4.	Himachal Pradesh	12000	286.42
5	Jharkhand	3400	54.10
6.	Odisha	24000	381.89
7.	Madhya Pradesh	99000	787.64
8.	Tamil Nadu	2000	31.82
Total		409400	5599.32

 

Government is undertaking large scale training of Master Trainers, Champion Farmers and practicing farmers  on techniques of Natural Farming through National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) and National Center of Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF). MANAGE has also sensitized the public representative like Gram-Pradhan on the technique and benefits of Natural Farming. Study material on 22 regional languages has been prepared, 697 Master Trainers have been developed on natural farming and 997 training were conducted on natural farming for 56952 Gram Pradhans through MANAGE.

A Digital web portal (naturalfarming.dac.gov.in) has been launched for promotion of natural farming to display information about implementation framework, resources, implementation progress, farmer’s registration, blog etc.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Mango trees in Bihar are a sight to behold this year. The weather has also been favourable so far due to which the farmers are happy about their mango production this time.

 

The mango trees in the state are laden with flowers or 'manjar', and the farmers are busy protecting them from any kind of disease or natural disaster.

 

In India, the major mango-growing states are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, among others.

 

National productivity of mango is 8.80 tonnes per hectare.

 

In Bihar, mango is cultivated in an area of 160.24 thousand hectares with production of 1,549.97 thousand tonnes.

 

Mango productivity in Bihar is 9.67 tonnes per hectare, which is slightly higher than the national productivity.

 

Bihar ranks 13th among 27 states in the list of mango-producing states.

 

Bihar is known for its wide variety of mangoes, which includes 'Dudhiya Malda', 'Jardalu', and 'Gulab Khaas', among others.

 

Among the different types of mangoes produced in Bihar, the 'Jardalu' variety of Bhagalpur got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2018, which shows the uniqueness of the fruit.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), in collaboration with the state government, has exported 4.5 lakh tonnes of organic Jardalu mangos to Bahrain, Belgium and the UK.

 

The specialty of this variety is that if the saplings are planted anywhere other than Bhagalpur, the fruit will lose its fragrance.

 

Seeing its specialty, the government has decided to expand the production of this variety to Munger and Banka, which are adjacent to Bhagalpur and have similar soil pattern.

 

The other varieties produced in Bihar include 'Fazli', 'Sukul', 'Sepia', 'Chausa', 'Kalkatiya', 'Amrapali', 'Mallika', 'Sindhu', 'Ambika', 'Mahmud Bahar', 'Prabha Shankar' and 'Biju'.

 

The 'Jardalu' variety of Bhagalpur, 'Dudhiya Malda' of Digha and 'Chausa' of Buxar are not just sold in different parts of India, but are also exported to other countries.

 

A mango grower told IANS: 'This year the mango trees have blossomed well. We are speculating that if the 'manjars' are saved from storm, this year there will be a bumper yield of mangos.'

 

A farmer from Bhagalpur said: 'The production in the area has been not been good for the last three years, but this year the mango trees are in bloom and there is hope of a good crop. This is the time to protect the flowers from germs and heat.'

 

S.K. Singh, chief scientist and co-director of research at Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur, who has done detailed research on the diseases that affect mango trees, said that there is no use of pesticides at this juncture.

 

'Wait until the fruits are equal to the size of peas, after which you can use pesticides. At this time, a large number of bees have come to the mango orchards, and we should not disturb them because they are doing pollination work in the orchards,' he said.

 

Singh added: 'If you sprinkle any kind of medicine, it will harm the bees and there is a possibility of the delicate parts of the flowers getting damaged.'

Regular supply of Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan region has hit the Mumbai market from this week with 10,000 to 12,000 crates arriving daily at Vashi's APMC wholesale yard. With this, export to various destinations has already kicked off. Supplies from Sindhudurg dominate the market now. Prices of a crate of Alphonso mangoes have dropped substantially and are hovering in the range of Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000 in the APMC market. They are retailed at Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000 for a crate. Market observers predicted that the supply volume will increase after March 25 and the prices are likely to go down thereafter.

 

Friday witnessed the supply of 12k crates of Alphonso mangoes from the Konkan region itself. Meanwhile, exports to the three major international markets for Indian Alphonso mangoes in the Gulf, Singapore and the United Kingdom have already begun. Around 30% of the total arrivals in the Mumbai market daily are being exported now. Traders said that the Konkan mangoes usually hit the Mumbai market in mid-March. And the quantity will go up 30k crates by the end of this month and later to 40k in April. A crate comprises 4 to 6 dozen mangoes. In fact, the supply this year is more than the corresponding period last year.

 

Out of the total 40, 000 crates of mangos of different varieties that arrive at APMC everyday, 30% are the Alphonso variety. If this was not enough, over 5,000 boxes of Alphonso mangoes from South Indian states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu arrived in the city, almost triple the supply when compared to last year. Last year at the same time, a total of 10,000 to 15,000 crates arrived in Mumbai. The robust supply has led to a dip in price.

 

Speaking to TOI, Sanjay Pansare, APMC director and mango trader said, 'The regular supply has started arriving at the market from early this week. We are expecting an adequate supply this season, unlike last year owing to Covid. The January flowering crop will be harvested in April and May.'

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met a team of six ambassadors and high commissioners of India at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Monday.

 

The dignitaries included the Ambassador of India to Indonesia Manoj Kumar Bharti, Ambassador of India to Tunisia Nguikham Jathom Gangte, Ambassador of India to Republic of Cote d’Ivoire YK Sailas Thangal, Ambassador of India to Romania Rahul Shrivastava, and High Commissioner of India to Jamaica R Masakui. Out of the envoys, four hail from Manipur.

 

During the meeting with the Chief Minister, the visiting team suggested setting up a Special Economic Zone for country-made liquor Sekmai as well as better packaging and branding of the product.

 

The scope for the training of selected athletes in Jamaica was also looked into. During the meeting, the group discussed the export of Manipur’s horticulture products.

 

Singh and the visiting team further discussed the promotion of Manipur’s cultural heritage in Europe, Africa, and other international forums. Opportunities for the employment of skilled manpower in European countries like Romania were also discussed.

 

The team also agreed to promote the upcoming ‘Manipur Sangai Festival’, using their relations with embassies of foreign countries in India for their participation.

 

The team of envoys arrived in Imphal on October 16. They will interact with officials of different government departments for the export and promotion of Manipur’s products and services.

 

The team will also have discussions with officials of the District Administration of Chandel, Bishnupur and Imphal East regarding the ‘One District One Product (ODOP)’. The visiting team is scheduled to depart from Imphal on Wednesday.

Riding on global cues, the export of hatching eggs from the State has seen a significant rise in the past few months, aided by strong demand for Indian eggs in West Asia and Malaysia. Among the four international airports, Cochin International Airport handles bulk of the air cargo shipped to various destinations, especially West Asian cities and some Far East destinations. The export data from the Cochin International airport reveals that there has been a clear uptick in the export of Indian eggs through the port in recent months.

 

If the export of eggs through the Cochin airport was around 2.016 tonnes in November and 2.372 tonnes in October 2022, it went up to 10.649 tonnes in December, 2022 and then to 11.742 tonnes in February 2023. According to T.S. Pramod, secretary, Poultry Farmers and Traders’ Association, the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar has raised the export market of Indian eggs with Qatar importing huge stocks of eggs from India, especially from Namakkal in Tamil Nadu, which is considered as the hub of the poultry hatchery in the country.

 

Soon after the World Cup, Malaysia has emerged as one of the key markets for Indian eggs, buoyed by India’s track record of meeting egg demand during the FIFA World Cup. Although Malaysia is one of the largest egg exporting countries in the world, its domestic production was badly hit in 2023 due to various reason, including price rise of chicken feeds followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Mr. Pramod.

 

The main ingredient of maize and soybean in the chicken feed was sourced from Ukraine. 'Though the global clues and geo-political scenario enhanced the demand for the Indian egg, Kerala is not a major beneficiary of the export market as the commercial production of egg is almost nil in the State. Kerala still depends on Tamil Nadu to meet its domestic egg requirement by sourcing around 12 million eggs daily from Namakkal, while the State’s connectivity to major destinations attracts the exporters to airlift the consignment from Kerala, which is an added advantage for export traders in the State,' said Munshid Ali, secretary, Kerala Exporters Forum.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to gift a new Integrated Pack House to the farmers of east Uttar Pradesh during his proposed visit to Varanasi on March 24. The facility, to be the third such one in the state, will be used for the storage and packaging of vegetables and fruits, and to boost agricultural exports from the region.

 

The pack house was built on a 4461 sq.ft area in Karakhiyaon at Rs.15.78 crore. It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment with the aim to ramp up the supply of banarasi langda mango, cauliflower, green chilli and tomato, which are grown in abundance in east UP, to Japan, Australia, Korea and Europe.

 

Single-window clearance has been put in place for faster documentation. Farmers will be trained to ensure that their produce match international standards. After Saharanpur and Lucknow, this will be the third integrated pack house in the state and the first in the Purvanchal region, said an official.

 

Dr CB Singh, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) deputy general manager, said only good quality and disease-free fruits would be stored at the pack house, and added that even the equipment used in the facility were made in India.

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has directed NAFED, it’s Nodal Organization to contribute and promote the 'International Year of the Millet' 2023 on a global scale.

 

Under the guidance of Shri Tomar, NAFED has entered into a MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to extend its support to Millets initiatives.

 

Under the collaboration, NAFED has started extending marketing linkage to Millets-centric Startups, setting up a Millet Corner in NAFED Bazaar Retail Stores, installation of Millet Vending Machines across Delhi-NCR. We are also in process to establish a Millets Experience Centre at Delhi Haat, INA to promote nutritious Millets and create awareness on the rich history of India through Millet based dishes.

 

Shri Tomar said, all Central Ministries and State Governments including leading Food and Beverage bodies and Industries, both Public and Private should pitch in to make IYoM-23 a 'People's Movement' alongside positioning India as the 'Global Hub for Millets'.

 

Shri Tomar also pointed out that India has assumed the G20 Presidency from 1st of December, 2022 and is convening the G-20 Leaders' Summit for the first time in the country. He said, during the Presidency, which also coincides with the International Year of Millets, it provides an opportune time to showcase India's strength in the area of food security and nutrition in which millets will play a very important role. To build the momentum for popularization of millets and to make the IM 2023 a huge success, the inclusion of millets across all international and national events is crucial to take forward the proposed interventions as part of IYM celebrations, the Minister added.

 

Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Manoj Ahuja informed that the Centre has requested to Ministries/Departments and State Governments for visibility of lYoM -23 during all the G-20 meetings to be held in the year 2023. It has also requested that for the ministerial level meetings, the Ministries/Departments and the State Governments may ensure the following for a millet experience, wherever possible- Millet based hampers, Millet branding-right from airport, city side and in the venue, Millet cuisine and snacks to be included in lunch/dinner, Millet stalls & café, Millet rangolis and Millet literature

 

Shri Ahuja said, for the working group meetings, the following may be ensured- One or two millet products in the hampers provided, Branding at the venue and airport, Millet literature, Millets cuisine & snacks, Millet stalls & café.

 

In this connection, responsibility was given to NAFED to provide especially curetted millet-based hampers which showcasing cultural history of millets, DIY recipes of millets and health & nutritional benefits of millets.

 

NAFED has developed premium quality Millet Gift Hampers which have been showcased at the G-20 1st Employment Working Group Meeting under the aegis of Ministry of Labour & Employment at Jodhpur, Rajasthan. These hampers are developed with the idea to promote IYM-2023 and demonstrate support and commitment to the promotion of Millets and Millet based products.

At the one-day workshop on “Logistics Cost Framework” organized by DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB) today in New Delhi, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted that the journey from India@75 to India@100 needs an efficient logistics ecosystem to drive us through Amrit Kaal to become Atmanirbhar Bharat. The efforts of infrastructure development through several inisitatives such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the revolutionary PM GatiShakti Initiative, will bring down India’s Logistics cost from double digit to single digit. He suggested taking note of India’s geography, terrain, size and complexities, trade volume and value etc while calculating the logistics cost. 

 

He shared that in the last 9 years, from being the 10th largest country in terms of GDP, India has now become 5th largest country in the world. India will become the 3rd largest country in the coming 2-3 years, through the impactful infrastructure projects that are going to be implemented from April 2023 to March 2024. He further added that E-commerce, smarter FTAs, adopting international quality standards, good manufacturing practices, leveraging on our successful startups ecosystem, utilizing National Education Policy 2020, drone technology, artificial intelligence, strong PPP collaborations and Centre-State partnerships will work towards catalyzing India’s development. Logistics in India as a policy tool will help achieve ‘Serve the world from India’ and ‘Make in India for the world.’

 

While sharing his opinion in his opening remarks Secretary, DPIIT, Sh. Anurag Jain said, ‘just in 4 years India’s infrastructure is many times better than before’. He also shared how PM GatiShakti NMP has revolutionized the Planning Process through digital surveys. It has helped in reducing time and cost in DPR preparation and infra projects, optimum utilization of financial and human resources.

 

Special Secretary, Logistics Division, DPIIT, Smt. Sumita Dawra during the closing remarks, acknowledged the approach and methodologies presented by the international and Indian Experts. She also mentioned that as an outcome of the workshop, a Task Force including members from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), academic experts and other stakeholders will be established for formulating a Logistics Cost Framework in a time-bound fashion. 

 

The workshop witnessed participation from Shri Suman Bery, Vice chairman, NITI Aayog; Member Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC PM) Dr Rakesh Mohan; Director General South Asia Department, ADB Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB senior functionaries, Senior academicians from international universities; senior officials from relevant Ministries / Departments, and private sector representatives. In the workshop, views were presented on the importance of logistics cost calculation, as India enters a potential period of sustained growth and development. Academic minds presented existing global frameworks and models for calculation of logistics costs. This workshop brought together the best minds from across the world who have expertise in the logistics domain. 

 

The key speakers on the significant aspect of logistics cost assessment in the workshop were professors and academicians from Japan, Thailand, Korea and Industry experts. During the workshop it was discussed that there is a need for diagnosis on logistics cost in India, that includes among other aspects, parameters such as optimal transportation modal mix, packaging, warehousing and storage, other administrative and indirect costs. A new possible approach for calculating estimates through Technology driven secondary data sources such as E-Way Bill and Fastag data needs to be explored. 

Noodles, pastas, idlis, dosas, namkeens and ice creams made of millets? Really? The tongue is the judge at the exhibition organised at Indian Agriculture Research Institute by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), whose tagline is 'Take a bite and opt for taste and health'.

 

Over 100 entrepreneurs, including exporters, are showcasing ready to eat and ready to cook products made using millet at the event.

 

The exhibition, which coincided with PM Narendra Modi's address at the Global Millets (Shree Anna) conference, is an eye opener. 'I am diabetic and was on the verge of being put on daily insulin shots when I decided to change my diet to include millets,' said Rajiv Raj Jain, a software developer.

 

'This not only reversed my medical condition but also helped me lose 40kg. Today I'm fit and healthy and living life to the full best.'

 

Six months ago, Jain decided to transform his experience into a startup to manufacture and market snacks made from millets. Within three months of the launch, sales have doubled, claimed Jain.

 

Santosh Rane, sales manager of a Pune-based enterprise, claimed that no butter, preservatives, added sugar, salt are used in their products, most of the snacks it sells being natural farm produce and naturally gluten free. The stall showcases breakfast cereal (jowar and bajra flakes), millet bars (almond, amla, cranberry, hazelnut and walnut), snacks and millet baking products, including chocolate millet cake mix, vanilla millet cake mix and brownie millet mix. 'These are a powerhouse of essential nutrients, minerals and proteins,' said Rane.

 

M P Vijay, deputy general manager, APEDA, said the exhibition focused on millet products that were healthier even if they were 'sheer replicas of junk foods and maida products'.

 

He disclosed that millet-based ice cream would be launched on Sunday though millet turmeric energy drinks are already available. 'Millets are non-acid forming, easy to digest and also have anti-inflammatory properties,' he added.

 

An array of millet versions of popular snacks is on display, among them khakhra (jowar, bajra and jowar-bajra mix), khapli, laddoos (ragi), cookies (millet jeera, chocochip, kesar pista), muffins (vanilla and chocolate flavours), poha (bajra, jowar and ragi mix), namkeen and bhujia (ragi, jowar). Besides, bajra, jowar roti packs were also available along with ready to cook upma, biryani, khichdi, kheer, kesari bhaat, bisi bele bhaat and other delicacies.

 

Chef Manjit Singh Gill, president, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations, said that live demos had also been organised for sellers and buyers, all aiming to popularise millet as an international grain and to show foreign chefs how to use millet in making a variety of food items. Gill said that millet pancakes were made with kimchi along with soup and other items.

India and the European Union (EU) on Saturday concluded the fourth round of talks for a comprehensive free trade agreement in Brussels, a move aimed at further strengthening economic ties between the two sides. The next round of the talks is planned for 12-16 June here.

 

India and the 27-nation bloc resumed negotiations on June 17 last year after a gap of over eight years on the proposed agreements on trade, investments and Geographical Indications (GI).

 

'Round 4 of India EU-FTA negotiations held at Brussels,' Nidhi Mani Tripathi, Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce has said in a tweet. She is India's chief negotiator for the agreement.

 

India had started negotiations for a trade pact with the EU in 2007 but the talks stalled in 2013 as both sides failed to reach an agreement on key issues, including customs duties on automobiles and spirits and the movement of professionals.

 

India's merchandise exports to EU member countries stood at about USD 65 billion in 2021-22, while imports aggregated USD 51.4 billion.

 

A GI is primarily an agricultural, natural or manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.