Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S  Jagan Mohan Reddy has officially launched 11 food processing units, which were established with a budget of Rs 1,719 crore. The inauguration ceremony was held virtually, with six units being inaugurated and the foundation stones being laid for five additional units from the camp office.

 

These units have a combined production capacity of 3.14 lakh tonne of food items annually, around 40,307 farmers would benefit from these initiatives.

 

The Chief Minister announced the launch of four primary vegetable and fruit processing centres in the Annamayya and Chittoor districts, a millet processing unit at L Kota in the Vizianagaram district and an onion and tomato dehydration cluster at Thadakanepalle in the Kurnool district.

 

The ceremony also marked the foundation stone laying for three primary tomato processing centres in Satya Sai and Anantapur districts. Additionally, a groundnut processing unit was initiated at Dharmavaram in the Satya Sai district and a Mondelez India foods unit in Sri City, Chittoor district.

 

Reddy has emphasised Andhra Pradesh's remarkable commitment to farmers, disclosing that the state has allocated an impressive 8,000 crore for intervening and ensuring Minimum Support Price (MSP) during price drops. The state stands alone in providing MSP even for millets, intricately connecting them with the Public Distribution System (PDS) through Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs). Reddy also highlighted the state's proactive approach, extending MSP coverage to crops not encompassed by the Central government.

 

Furthermore, the Chief Minister unveiled plans for significant agricultural advancements, including an expansive 55,620mt-capacity groundnut processing unit in Dharmavaram, set to benefit 15,000 groundnut farmers. He also revealed upcoming projects such as four vegetable and fruit processing centres in Annamayya and Chittoor districts, catering to 2,414 farmers, along with proposed tomato processing units in Satya Sai and Anantapur districts, aimed at supporting 3,588 farmers. Additionally, he noted the emergence of 32 primary and 13 secondary processing units for millets, with a notable 7,200mt-capacity secondary millet processing unit in Vizianagaram district, aimed at aiding millet farmers.

With India and Peru agreeing to resume talks for a free trade agreement, the South American nation is looking to export avocados, fresh grapes, blueberries, and gold to India, Vice Foreign Trade Minister of Peru Teresa Stella Mera Gomez said. She said that technical teams of India and Peru would meet to start talks on modalities and scope of the proposed agreement.

 

The two countries started negotiations for an FTA in 2017. Five rounds of talks were held until August 2019 before the COVID pandemic disrupted the process.

 

'We are going to talk again about that (the modalities). Due to the pandemic many things changed so we want to replan additional modalities and our technical teams will hold that conversation,' Gomez has said.

 

When asked about areas of interest for Peruvian businesses in India, she said Peru's main interests are in exporting agricultural products like avocados, fresh grapes, and blueberries, and natural resources like gold, copper and calcium phosphates.

 

Most of the blueberries that are sold in India are sourced from Peru, she said adding the proposed agreement will at least deal with trade in goods and services.

 

'If areas like investments are to be made part of it will be decided by the technical teams,' she said.

 

India-Peru trade in 2022-23 stood at USD 3 billion. While India's imports from Peru were USD 2.2 billion, exports stood at USD 865 million.

 

India's main exports to Peru include automobiles, motorcycles and three-wheelers, polyester and cotton yarns, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel products, plastic products, and tyres. Main imports from Peru are gold, copper, synthetic filaments, phosphates of calcium, fresh grapes, fish flour and blueberries.

 

'In manufactured products also we are interested in finding space in India,' the minister said. She was here recently for the India-LAC conclave.

 

She added that Peru has free trade agreements with all major economies like the US, EU, China and Japan and is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

 

'We are not competing in the same product. Our economies are complementary, which is very helpful in the negotiation process,' she said.

 

On investments, she said there is huge scope for Indian investments.

 

'We are in the centre of South America and we are developing a new port at Chancy (80 km north of Lima). It is going to be ready next year and would be able to take in bigger ships and reduce time to connect with Asian countries. That could be an opportunity for Indian businesses to manufacture products there,' Gomez said.

 

'We want Mahindra, Tata and all the Indian brands doing business in Peru. Indian automobiles, two-wheelers, and three-wheelers are very well known there…We need to have your products (manufactured) there in order to compete with the rest of the countries we are importing from,' she said.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that India will be importing tomatoes from Nepal, amid a record high surge in prices in the country.

 

During her speech in Parliament, Sitharaman informed that the first lot of imports are likely to reach in Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur cities in northern India by Friday.

 

Tomato prices have surged more than 1,400 per cent at the wholesale market to a record 140 rupees ($1.69) per kg in the past three months, with farmers citing reasons including poor rainfall, higher temperatures and a virus outbreak that have hit the crop, as per a Reuters report.

 

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das also said that a spike in tomato prices and rise in cereal, pulses contributed to inflation, while announcing key decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. He further stated that the vegetable prices may see a significant correction.

 

The tomato prices witnessed a significant surge in June and July leading to high inflation. Vegetables prices, which have a 6 per cent weighting in the overall consumer price index (CPI), hit a seven-month high in June, rising 12 per cent month-on-month, reported PTI, citing official data.

 

Prices usually ease from August, when the harvest makes its way to the market, but this year, traders expect costs to remain high until October as supplies stay tight.

 

Costlier staples such as onions, beans, carrots, ginger, chillies and tomatoes not only feed voter discontent ahead of state elections in the next few months: The higher prices are likely to stoke retail inflation, which is expected to hit a seven-month high in July, diminishing the potential for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to lower rates this year.

 

Farmers in the third-biggest tomato-producing region in the southern state of Karnataka say poor rainfall, higher temperatures and a virus outbreak have hit the crop, which was planted on less land than a year ago because of a crash in prices.

Around 65% of the country’s population lives in rural areas and 47% is dependent on agriculture for livelihood, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23. Agriculture is a time-bound activity that requires the right agri-inputs at the right time to maximise production and productivity. Agri-inputs are essential ingredients of agriculture and an efficient delivery system plays a crucial role in the growth of farm income.

 

About 4.09 lakh hectares have been brought under natural farming in eight states with Andhra Pradesh leading the group, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Parliament on Tuesday.

 

The eight states are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu, the minister said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

 

The Centre is promoting natural farming since 2019-20 through a sub-scheme, Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP), under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana.

 

'So far, 4.09 lakh hectare area has been brought under natural farming in 8 states,' Tomar said.

 

About 1 lakh hectares have been brought under natural farming in Andhra Pradesh, 99,000 hectares in Madhya Pradesh, 85,000 hectares in Chhattisgarh, 84,000 hectares in Kerala, 24,000 hectares in Odisha, 12,000 hectares in Himachal Pradesh, 3,400 hectares in Jharkhand, and 2,000 hectares in Tamil Nadu, he said.

 

Natural farming is chemical-free and based on the integrated agriculture and animal husbandry approach using livestock and local resources. The method relies on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, and the use of on-farm cow dung-urine formulations from local livestock.

Paradip Port achieved a major milestone by clocking record cargo throughput of 50.16 MMT Cargo on 8th August, 2023, by exhibiting 6.5% growth over the corresponding period of previous fiscal. This feat has been achieved by the Port in 129 days in the current fiscal compared to 140 days during the previous year. PPA has also handled record 942 nos. of Vessels in comparison to 812 nos. handled in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

 

For the above feat, Shri P.L. Haranadh, Chairman, PPA expressed his gratitude to Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Port Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) under whose dynamic leadership and guidance, PPA could turn a new chapter. He said, 'Together, with the unwavering support of our dedicated workforce and the collective will of our nation, we shall continue to script remarkable success stories for Paradip Port—a story that exemplifies growth, sustainability, and a brighter tomorrow for generations to come.'

 

Shri Haranadh also congratulated all Officers/Employees, the user Industries, Stevedores, Steamer Agents, Trade Unions, PPP Operators to have their continued faith in the ability of the Port to serve them.

 

India and Japan being active and vital middle powers in the Indo-Pacific region, their partnership for project-specific support in Sri Lanka holds significance and with their proven experience, knowledge, and expertise in tackling specific development challenges, both countries could support Sri Lanka financially and technically, suggested report brought out by prominent Colombo-based think tank Pathfinder Foundation.

 

The report -- 'Medium and Long-term Strategy for Indo-Japanese Collaboration to Support the Economic Transformation of Sri Lanka' -- was released here on Thursday in partnership with two prominent think tanks based in New Delhi, namely, NATSTRAT and Vivekananda International Foundation, and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

 

India is a natural trade and investment partner for Sri Lanka, considering its geographical proximity and its current 'Neighbourhood First" policy. Japan has a long-standing relationship with the country providing development assistance. 'A vulnerable developing country like Sri Lanka can utilize tripartite cooperation to signal its specific demands more efficiently, thereby increasing opportunities for joint projects,' according to the report.

 

Four areas -- Low-carbon power generation in Sri Lanka; Development of Trincomalee as an energy hub; Logistics & connectivity and People-to-people contact – have been identified in the report as broad areas of tripartite cooperation.

 

Addressing the launch of the report Japanese Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki said that India’s issuance of financing assurances to Sri Lanka at the time of its economic crisis was instrumental in accelerating the process of Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring and that it appreciates India’s engagement and forward-looking approach on the issue.

 

'When Prime Minister Kishida visited Delhi and gave an address on the new plan of the free and open Indo-Pacific, he highlighted South Asia as one of the major pillars, one of the priority regions in his new plan. And Japan attaches primary importance to its relations with Sri Lanka and India as indispensable partners in order to realize the vision,' Suzuki recalled.

 

'We place the highest priority on transparent and equitable debt restructuring where all creditor entities, creditors countries, and organizations participate. An equitable treatment among all creditors. If one country is favoured over another, then the entire debt restructuring will fall apart. Sri Lankan President has made it public that Sri Lankan govt will never treat any country more favourably than others and Japan highly appreciates the public commitment that President made that crystal clear', the envoy stated.

 

Milinda Moragoda, the Sri Lanka High Commissioner also hailed the trilateral cooperation between the two countries and said that given the amount of investment required, it hence becomes an important aspect.

 

'This I would see as the next stage of our President’s Ranil Wickremesinghe visit to India. As you know the joint economic vision statement that was given between Prime Minister Modi and Wickremesinghe and outlined three key areas. One was ‘connectivity’, the second was ‘economic integration’ and the third was investment. In that context, given the amount of investments that are required, trilateral cooperation becomes also an important aspect of it. So in that context, Japan, India and Sri Lanka working together. Japan and Sri Lanka have had a long association and so is India and Sri Lanka,' the High Commissioner stated.

Prices of non-basmati parboiled rice like IR 64 have surged nearly 12% in the past ten days, as markets such as Africa and West Asia are heavily buying this variety of rice from India to meet their domestic demand. Overseas demand for parboiled rice has shot up following the Centre's decision to ban the export of raw, white rice on July 20, given apprehensions among global buyers that India may ban export of parboiled rice as well. Industry executives said if the government does not put an export duty on non-basmati parboiled rice, then the IR 64 variety, which is consumed by the common people, will go out of the reach of the people. Parboiled rice is one that has been partially boiled in the husk at the paddy stage and has a yellowish hue.

 

'Since the ban on the export of raw, white rice, the demand for parboiled rice has seen an upward trend in Africa and the Middle East. In the Middle East, many companies and agencies are buying this rice for feeding their workers,' said Suraj Agarwal, CEO of Tirupati Agritrade, which markets and exports rice under the brand name RiceVilla. India has been the world's largest exporter of rice since 2012. Currently, it exports more rice than the combined shipments of the next three largest exporters - Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.

 

BV Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association, said after the procurement of paddy starts, the government might assess the supply situation by December and consider lifting the ban. 'There is a warehousing problem at the Food Corporation of India as it is running out of space. So government will have to take some steps,' he said.

As Mushkibuji, a fragrant rice variety, grown in Sagam village of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district received the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag, the farmers associated with its cultivation are ecstatic.

 

The tag was granted to this product on Tuesday after a long legal process.

 

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) said, 'It really is great news for the farming community as it is likely to help in boosting the production of Mushkubudji.'

 

Ahmad, a postgraduate and a native farmer of Sagam, has been cultivating Mushkibuji on 9 kanal of his agriculture land.

 

'Packaging and marketing were the major challenges we were confronting. The counterfeit variety was being sold in the market ruining our reputation. But now with GI tagging this will stop,' he said.

 

The other farmers Greater Kashmir spoke to were also jubilant.

 

'The higher prices of aromatic rice limit its consumption to special occasions like weddings and festivals. But now we hope that we are able to take this precious variety to national and international markets,' said Haji Abdul Qadir, another farmer and a member of FPO.

 

He said that the scented variety was presently sold at Rs 20,000 per quintal and now the rates are expected to go up.

 

'It is most likely that more and more farmers would switch over to its cultivation, boosting the production,' Qadir said.

 

He said that the customers would also not now be reluctant to purchase the variety as they would be sure that they are getting the original product.

 

Experts opine that the GI tag would not only help the product to reach the international market but also preserve its Intellectual Property Rights.

 

District Development Manager NABARD, Rouf Zargar told Greater Kashmir that with the product now getting the GI tag, the intellectual property rights and geo-specific character of this niche crop produced in Sagam would be protected.

 

He said that it would also be a deterrent to the institutes in developing counterfeit varieties with the same fragrance.

 

'No person can copy it from beyond their geographical areas and now the FPO can even take legal action against the offenders,' Zragar said.

 

Chief Agriculture Officer Anantnag, Ajaz Hussain Dar said that the Mushkubudji farmers would now have access to global markets and this would fetch them a very good price.

 

'After GI tagging only an authorised user has the exclusive rights to use the GI in relation to these products,' Dar said.

 

Last month NABARD promoted Mushkbudji Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) with more than 500 members, becoming the first in J&K to get the import-export license.

 

The FPO aimed to promote the scented variety of rice and help its marketing and sale across the country was incorporated as Farmers Producers Company in July 2019.

 

Around 2000 farmers are cultivating the aromatic rice in Tangpawa, Sagam village of Anantnag on approximately 5000 kanal land.

 

The fragrant quality of milled rice diminishes over time, making storage challenging and the district administration is now in process of establishing a rice mill unit in Kokernag area.

 

The variety is specially served to the groom and his companions (Baraties) at brides place alongside Kashmiri Wazwan, a multi-course traditional cuisine mostly comprising mutton delicacies.

 

In 2007, the government announced a revival programme of Mushkubuji rice varieties in Sagam village of Kokernag.

 

This precious and aromatic variety had fallen out of cultivation in the 1970s due to blast disease.

 

But with the support from the Agriculture Department and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), the unique suitability of Sagam’s climate and cold water, the stage was set for its resurgence.

 

Drawn by its unique qualities and the prospect of higher revenues, more and more farmers started cultivating this fragrant variety on their lands.

 

Recognising the transformative potential of Sagam, Tangpawa, the government declared it a model village for Mushkibudji rice in 2017.

 

To support this initiative, a substantial sum of Rs 1 crore was allocated for procurement and marketing efforts, bolstering the confidence of farmers and positioning Sagam-Tangpawa as a beacon of success.

In order to address the existing infrastructure gaps and mobilize investment in agriculture infrastructure, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme was launched in 2020 with an objective to mobilize a medium – long-term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through incentives and financial support. The scheme envisages provision of Rs. 1 Lakh Crore by banks and financial institutions as loans with interest subvention of 3% per annum and credit guarantee coverage under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for loans up to Rs. 2 Crores. As on date, loans amounting to Rs. 26,064 Crores have been sanctioned for 33,369 projects and these sanctioned projects have mobilized an investment of Rs. 44,208 crores in the agriculture sector.

 

A new campaign named 'BHARAT’ (Banks Heralding Accelerated Rural & Agriculture Transformation) has been launched by the Government under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Scheme to provide maximum benefits to the people and to create a competitive spirit among the Banks and lending institutions to mobilize agriculture infrastructure projects loan at a faster pace. This is a month-long Campaign from 15th July 2023 to 15th August 2023. Top performing Banks under different categories i.e. commercial Banks in public and private Sector, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and cooperative Banks will be selected at the end of the Campaign and their special contribution will be recognized. As on 31.07.2023, overall Rs.1239 Cr. have been sanctioned by numerous banks for 1375 projects under BHARAT campaign.

 

This Campaign was launched on 12th July, 2023 which was attended by more than 100 Banking Executives that included MDs/Chairman, EDs of commercial Banks in public and private sector, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, NBFCs and select cooperative Banks. Moreover, the daily performance under the campaign is being shared among all the Banks through messages at the closing of business hours of Banks every day. These daily updates generate much enthusiasm and competitive spirit among the Banks and lending institutions to perform and exceed their targets.  Ministry is committed to have regular interactions with the Bank Executives through various modes of communication in between with a view to review performance under the campaign and to persuade the slow movers and non-starters to perform.

 

Banks have been requested to achieve the targets considering the potential  for agri infra projects from time to time and the response of the banks is encouraging. This ministry sets AIF annual targets for individual Banks on the basis of their clientele base, geographical reach and share in the agricultural advance and past performance. The department maintains regular touch with every bank through its designated AIF Nodal Officer in the Head Office for implementation of the AIF Scheme from the submission of application to reimbursement of Scheme benefits. Interaction with Banks’ top Executives and their Nodal Officers takes place to review the progress of the Scheme and providing handholding support at regular intervals such as “Bankers are Anchors “ programme conducted at NABARD HQ in Dec.2022.

 

Further, Ministry conducts capacity building programmes at Bankers’ Training Colleges on physical mode and awareness sessions on AIF Scheme with Bank officials from Head Offices and controlling offices of various Banks on VC mode to promote the Scheme.  which displays the enthusiasm of the Banks in general. Special award giving ceremonies are also organised to acknowledge the contribution of top performing Bank Executives and their Team members. Social media groups comprising Banks’ AIF Teams serve as the fast mode of communication with Banks for persuading them to lend more and more under AIF for creation of agriculture infrastructure and this forum also helps in sorting out operational issues and providing handholding support.

 

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.