Amid food and agriculture production systems globally facing unprecedented challenges from increasing demand for food, the chief agriculture scientists from G20 countries will meet for three days starting Monday in Varanasi to discuss and find solution to address rising hunger and malnutrition, adverse effects of climate changes and loss of biodiversity among several other issues.

 

The platform -- G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) -- will be instrumental in exploring joint actions towards science-based solutions to achieve sustainable and profitable agri-food systems.

 

According to a discussion paper released for the G20 event, nearly 670 million people (8 per cent of the world population) will still be facing hunger in 2030, 'if the current trend continues'. It said that between 702 million and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021 and the number is higher by about 150 million from the pre-pandemic period before outbreak of the COVID-19.

 

One of the Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon by all countries is to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. However, the projected number is the same as in 2015 when the 2030 SDG Agenda was launched.

 

Priority areas

The paper said that the increase in global hunger in 2021 reflects exacerbated inequalities across and within countries due to an unequal pattern of economic recovery among countries and unrecovered income losses among those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The 12th MACS meeting under India’s presidency has identified four priority areas on which focused discussion will take place. First, Food Security and Nutrition followed by One Health, Digitalisation for agricultural transformation and Public-Private Partnerships in agri research.

 

How can the G20 countries help sharing science-based technological and innovative solutions for achieving sustainable agri-food systems and food security and nutrition is one of several key issues to be deliberated in the meeting. Also, some common points among G20 countries to be agreed upon so that the frontiers in science and technology could meaningfully play a role in transforming agri-food systems and help achieve food security and nutrition. On India’s initiative MACS will try to find ways that research and awareness on millets and other nutri-cereal crops can be improved.

United Kingdom House of Lords Member Baroness Verma on Saturday said the UK and India will have a great Free Trade Agreement (FTA) deal and that the negotiations between the two countries are going well.

 

Baroness Verma told ANI, 'I think first of all my expectations are we're going to have a great FTA and I think it's a very complicated, complex agreement. And we can't expect things that are so complicated and so complex to be done overnight. But I know from all the conversations we've had, that everybody is working incredibly hard on all of the negotiations, and it's going well.'

 

Expressing her views on the next FTA meeting, she said, 'I think every meeting is critical. I think every meeting we have is a positive meeting and of course, if you're negotiating at that level, there will be times when it does take a little longer than what people want. But that doesn't mean that the FTA stalled. It just means that we're working through it and I'm very optimistic.'

 

Talking about the target for trade between India and UK in terms of numbers, she mentioned both countries should look at maximising the relationship and outcome.

 

'I think we should go for the maximum that we can in each other's relationship of building on what we can as a country work with India and how India can work with us,' she added.

 

Verma further said, both countries working closely on climate change issues, sustainability and solutions as the green sector is going to grow from strength to strength.

 

Baroness Verma also talked about India's G20 presidency which she believes New Delhi is going to demonstrate that they have got a very clear vision of what is expected out of their presidency.

 

Notably, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (local time) while speaking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) on Free Trade Agreements in Washington said that FTAs were being signed in a much faster way nowadays and also informed that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations were going on as she spoke.

 

This confirmation came at a time when a recent report suggested that the FTA talks between the two countries are suspended over the UK's failure to denounce vandalism by Khalistan supporters outside the Indian High Commission in London in March.

 

'Free Trade Agreements are being signed in a much faster way nowadays. We've just concluded one with Australia. Earlier we concluded with UAE, Mauritius and with ASEAN. We have extended quota-free and tariff-free regime to Least Developed Countries,' the Finance Minister said.

 

Earlier in the month, India had dismissed as 'baseless' reports in British media stating that it had halted talks for a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom over the attack on the Indian high commission in London in March, government sources said.

 

London-based newspaper The Times in its April 10 edition, citing senior British government sources, reported that the Indian government has 'disengaged' from trade talks and made it clear that there would be no progress 'without a public condemnation of the Khalistan movement.'

 

Notably, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement talks were launched on June 17, 2022.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal elaborated on how a plethora of opportunities in India make it one of the world's most trusted business and investment destinations during his address at the CEOs Business Interactive session yesterday in Rome, Italy. He said that India is an open country with global linkages with the trade negotiations underway with EU and EFTA.

 

The Minister said that high targets must be set in the India-Italy partnership as there is a lot of new potential especially in light of the recently elevated Strategic Partnership. He said that India has witnessed 55% growth in the overall exports in the last 2 years. He said that there are about 700 Italian companies operating in India and this is the most opportune time to be in India. The Minister also mentioned that India will provide a very robust and forward-looking policy framework with retrospective changes.

 

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Italy, Mr. Antonio Tajani also participated in the interactive session and addressed the industry captains. Mr. Tajani expressed that there is a need to work together to create a better line of next generation in both the countries by backing MSMEs and industry.

 

Shri Goyal deeply appreciated Mr. Tajani for the deep engagement and said that there is a tremendous potential for growth in the India-Italy partnership and through this visit new ideas have emerged. He said that the countries are connected by tradition, culture, shared values, rule of law and aspiration to achieve more and to work as one. He also expressed that India-Italy will grow together, achieve together, and conquer together.

 

The CEOs Business Interactive session was organised in Rome, Italy by the Embassy of India in Rome, Italy in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Confindustria. The session had participation from more than 70 CEOs from Indian and Italian companies.

 

The Italian business was represented by giants like Sparkle, Elettronica, Piaggio, Lamborghini, ITA, etc. The CEOs mentioned that India is an important economic player and it is time to step up the cooperation at both the government and industry level. They also mentioned that Italian companies are exploring various investment opportunities present in India.

 

Vice President CII and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Limited, Mr. Sanjiv Puri, emphasised that signing of India – EU FTA could be a catalyst for further enhancing India Italy relationship. Further, Director General CII, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee thanked Confindustria for their cooperation and suggested different areas of cooperation. President FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations), Dr. A Saktivel mentioned that India has achieved US$ 770 billion export in 2022-23 due to the robust policy and Italian businesses should look at India as their export hub. He said that FIEO will ensure support to their establishments in India.

 

Ambassador Raffaele Langella from Confindustria said that India is in a very important economic phase, and it is time to step up the cooperation. Piaggio CEO Mr. Matteo Colaninno mentioned that both Governments are working fast to make Enterprises in both countries to explore opportunities. Mr. Jai Shroff, UPL expressed the strong linkages on Food Sustainability and the importance of collaboration on the same.

 

Shri Goyal during his visit to Italy had very productive one-on-one meetings with Italian CEOs of some prominent companies like SOL, SpA, Piaggio, CIBJO, Nayara Energy and Enel Green Power. He explained to them the investment climate in India, the policy reforms and the potential of investing and expanding in India. The CEOs informed the Minister that they were looking at expanding operations in India for catering to the Indian markets as well as exports. This will not only lead to production expansion and employment generation but also increase exports from India.

 

Shri Goyal met Executive Vice President, Danieli C SpA, Mr. Andrea Diasparro, whose company operates in the steel scrap and energy sector. The Minister also suggested to them that the Indian market is big with many opportunities and India wants to gradually move to Green Steel manufacturing where there will be a great potential for them to expand.

Madhya Pradesh’s popular Sharbati wheat, also called The Golden Grain, has bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Efforts were on to get it the GI tag for a very long time. While Sehore district is the largest producer of Sharbati wheat in the country, Madhya Pradesh is its largest producer and exporter.

 

Flour made from Sharbati wheat  is considered to be of the highest quality in the country. Farmers also get the highest level of prices for the most productive sharbati wheat in the district.

 

As the name suggests, Sharbati variety wheat is slightly sweeter in taste probably due to the presence of slightly more amount of simple sugars like glucose and sucrose as compared to other wheat varieties. 

 

MP's handicrafts get GI Tag

 

Recently, several handicraft products of Madhya Pradesh received the GI tags, including wrought iron crafts of Dindori, batik print of Ujjain, handmade carpet of Gwalior, stone craft of Bhedaghat in Jabalpur and handloom sarees and fabrics of Waraseoni.

Trade ministers of India and France have held discussions related to the ongoing talks for a free trade agreement between India and the European Union, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in Paris to attend India-France Business Summit and CEOs roundtable meet. He held bilateral meetings with several CEOs and French minister for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad Olivier Becht.

 

'The ministers discussed priority areas related to India - EU FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations where issues related to market access were deliberated,' it said.

 

Goyal also said India is looking to buy 2,000 commercial aircraft in the next 10 years and there is a huge opportunity to make commercial aircraft in India to meet domestic and international demand.

 

With the purchase of Rafale and the recent Airbus order, more value has been added to this partnership, he added.

 

In January last year, India and the EU resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, investment protection and Geographical Indications (GI).

 

Becht mentioned that bilateral trade was USD 15.1 billion in 2021-22, doubled in the last decade; and foreign direct investment (FDI) has been USD 10 billion from France which is a top foreign investor in India.

 

There is a will from French companies to invest in India, he added.

 

Goyal highlighted that by breaking language barriers trade can further be expanded. He also invited the French minister to India along with the French community on the sidelines of G20 Trade Ministers meet in August 2023.

 

Goyal also addressed a CEOs roundtable meet on April 11.

 

More than 50 CEOs from Indian and French companies participated at the roundtable. Sectors such as agriculture, tourism, defence, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, aerospace were represented at the meet.

 

Along with both the ministers, perspectives were shared by Ambassador of India to France Jawed Ashraf; Vice-President, CII and Chairman & Managing Director, ITC Sanjiv Puri; Executive Director, International Energy Agency Faith Birol; and CEO, Danone Antoine de Saint-Affrique.

On Wednesday, the Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rohit Kumar Singh, reviewed the stock disclosure status of tur and urad with major pulses producing and consuming states.

 

Senior officials from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh attended the meeting.

 

According to an official statement, the registered entities and disclosed stock quantities were reviewed individually with the States, and areas requiring attention were identified to ensure that entities like importers, millers, stockists, and traders disclose their stocks.

 

While the number of entities registered in the stock disclosure portal has increased, it was observed that the actual number of stakeholders in certain States could be higher. The quantity of tur stocks disclosed as compared to production and consumption has also been found to be low in certain States.

 

To widen the coverage of market players, State governments were asked to look into the data pertaining to FSSAI licences, APMC registration, GST registration, warehouses and custom bonded warehouses, the statement said.

 

Last month, following a firming trend in prices of tur and urad, the Centre had directed the pulses trade to declare stock availability in a routine transparent manner. The imports of tur and urad are kept open till March 2024 to boost domestic supplies as output of these pulses during kharif 2022 was impacted due to erratic weather.

 

The States informed that they are intensifying surveillance and shared the steps taken to ensure mandatory registration and disclosure of stocks on the stock disclosure portal.

 

The States were directed to conduct verification of stocks held by various entities and take strict action on undisclosed stocks under relevant sections of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the Prevention of Black marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.

 

In order to assess the situation on the ground, the Department of Consumer Affairs has also deputed 12 senior officers to different State Capitals and Districts across major tur producing and trading centres to obtain ground level feedback from various market players, millers and storage operators.

 

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar visited Dungti village on the eastern border of Changthang region in Ladakh under the Vibrant Village Program of the Government of India. During the public dialogue there, Shri Tomar met the residents and patiently listened to their problems and took suggestions, while he also visited the ITBP post and KVK, Nyoma.

 

Interacting with the public at Dungti, Shri Tomar said that the Government of India is committed to the development of this entire region. He said that the border villages of the country are generally known as the last villages, but under the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, these villages are the first priority of the Government of India for development. Shri Tomar said that the aim of the Central Government is to give benefits of all the schemes of the Center while providing facilities to the people of remote areas. He said that whatever proposals the Center will receive for the overall development of this region, those will be worked upon promptly and whatever can be done by the Center from the point of view of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development, will be done. Shri Tomar said that the entire country is getting the benefit of the welfare schemes implemented by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. All the eligible beneficiaries are getting the full money of the schemes with transparency.

 

Shri Tomar also visited the stalls put up by various departments including Ladakh's Health Department, Sheep Husbandry and Animal Husbandry Department, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Nyoma. During the programme, demonstration kits, machines etc. were handed over to many beneficiaries by the Union Minister. Shri Tomar also visited the ITBP post at Dungti, where he interacted with the officers and jawans and encouraged them. The Union Minister also had food with them. MP Shri Tsering Namgyal and DIG Shri Ranveer Singh were also present on the occasion.

 

Shri Tomar also visited KVK, Nyoma and said that this area is favourable for both agriculture and animal husbandry projects. He said the KVKs have a very important role in this sector, which is trying to advance agriculture. He stressed on converting agriculture into advanced agriculture, so that the farmers get more profit, besides mentioning the agriculture and farmer-friendly schemes of the Center in the interest of the farmers of the area. Shri Tomar later inaugurated the Micro-Irrigation Unit and Mushroom Lab and inspected the Green House Unit. He visited the house of a beneficiary of Nal-Jal Yojana and discussed with them about the benefits of the scheme.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Foreign Office, Government of Italy, H.E. Mr. Antonio Tajani yesterday to review the entire gamut of bilateral trade and economic relations. Shri Goyal arrived in Rome yesterday for his two-day visit to Italy.

 

The Ministers exchanged views on how the India-Italy trade & economic partnership can be leveraged for growth across diverse sectors. During the meeting, both Ministers expressed happiness over elevation of the bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership following the recent state visit of the Prime Minister of Italy, Ms. Giorgia Meloni to India.  Mr. Tajani suggested the formation of a Joint Working Group in the strategic areas such as space, technology, defence, agriculture, etc. to follow up on the important developments under these areas. 

 

Both Ministers further expressed satisfaction at the high growth in bilateral trade between India and Italy, which has reached around US$ 16 Billion in 2022 and resolved to expand it further. Shri Goyal briefed Mr. Tajani on the progress made on India-EU FTA negotiation. The Ministers underlined the importance of achieving a free, balanced and fair Free Trade Agreement and hoped that it would be concluded soon. They also agreed to the convening of the next session of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Rome in the last week of September 2023. 

 

Mr. Tajani suggested strengthening the Parliamentary friendship group diplomacy between the Parliaments of the two countries and exploring scope for having a cyber dialogue. Shri Goyal briefed Mr. Tajani about India’s G-20 priorities and extended an invitation to him for the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in India in August 2023. Mr. Tajani  assured of his full support to make India’s G20 Presidency successful.

 

Shri Goyal emphasized on enhancing the bilateral cooperation in the field of clean energy to achieve sustainability  to mitigate the negative impact of climate change. He stated that  developed countries make the low cost climate financing and technology available to the developing countries to deal with the climate change issue effectively. 

 

Mr. Tajani gave the guided tour to Shri Goyal of the art gallery of Farnesina, the office of Foreign Ministry, Government of Italy.

Indian grape export to Europe for the 2022-23 season (December to April) has soared despite initial concerns about global freight bottlenecks and two spells of unseasonal rains. Till April 10, India has exported 7,932 containers (each container has 15 tonnes of grapes), up from the 7,626 containers shipped out during the same period last season.

 

Over the last two seasons, Indian exports, especially agri exports, have suffered due to the global bottleneck in freight and shipping. Grape exporters were wary of lower-than-normal demand from Europe due to the fear of recessions at the start of the 2022-23 season. Vilas Shinde, chief managing director (CMD) of Nashik-headquartered Sahyadri Farms (the largest grape exporter of the country), had talked of around 10-15 per cent lower exports due to the dual whammies they expected this season.

 

Exporters were in for a surprise as demand from European markets picked up right at the start of the season. Maharashtra, the country’s largest producer and exporter of grapes, did not witness any unseasonal rains in the crucial growth months from September to November. 'Thus, we were able to meet the export demands from Europe and the United Kingdom as quality produce was easily available,' Shinde said.

 

Pointing to the data, Shinde said had it not been for the unseasonal rains in March and April, Indian exports would have touched an all-time high. Nashik, Pune and Ahmednagar, the three main grape producers in the state, saw unseasonal rains in March, with grapes, pomegranate and vegetable crops bearing the brunt. Shinde said the rains in March reduced expected export figures by 15 per cent.

 

The state is under the spell of another season of rains and hailstorms, which have resulted in extensive damage to the harvest-ready crops. 'The last 10 per cent of the crop has reported berry cracking due to the hailstorms,' he said.

 

Fresh or table grapes from India have made their mark in the European and other international markets thanks to them being available when produce from South Africa and South America is not otherwise available. European Union countries are the biggest destination for Indian grapes in terms of quantity and monetary value. In the 2021-22 season, India exported 2.63 lakh tonnes of grapes and the total earning from the shipment was $305 million.

Food processing sector is sub-sector for the Indian Agriculture. India holds the number one position for producing spices, pulses, in milk productions & number two position for growing food grains such as wheat, rice, dryfruits, fruits, and vegetables.

 

However, when it comes to the value addition and processing then we are far behind even in comparison with the small countries in the world.

 

This sector is vital for the developing countries for job creation, reduce wastage, increase global trade, curb migration and most significantly providing better price realisation to farmers.

 

Likewise any other sector, there were serious impacts of Covid-19 on food processing sector. The complete value chain was disturbed due to lockdown in many parts of the country.  On the other hand, people have become more conscious about health, eating habits and products.

 

They are also conscious about sugar, salt, adhesive, nutrition in the products. There is significant growth for natural ingredient products made from haldi, tulsi and other medicinal plants.  There are no doubts that the trend will continue for next few years.

 

Job creation in food processing industry: Ideally the growth in the food sector should directly help job creation. Small processing units setup in the rural part of India are helping generate jobs and lower migration to urban cities. As per 'Human resource & skill gap requirement report', 13.4 Lakhs job will be generated by the food processing industry from FY 2020 to FY 2023.

 

The maximum jobs are created by a few sub-sector such as milling, dairy and aquaculture.

 

Big organisations have a strong focus on automation processes. This is the reason that more than 60% of employment is generated by the medium and small enterprises in the food sector.

 

    • Ready-To-Eat (RTE)- food market in India is projected to grow by $751.43 million during 2022-2026, progressing at a CAGR of 18.63% during the forecast period. The market is driven by the growing preference for convenience food products in working population and expanding retail chain market in India. Both ready to eat and ready to cook have significant growth rate for next 5 years.

 

Indian frozen foods market size has reached Rs 144.3 billion in 2022. Looking forward, the frozen food market will reach Rs 353.3 billion by 2028. The growth rate (CAGR) of 16% during 2023-2028. This segment is dominated the frozen vegetables and frozen meat.

 

The Indian soup market is primarily driven by the urban consumer. This sector is projected to grow from Rs 7,230.8 million in 2019 to Rs 9,023.2 million in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate of 4.5%, says Global Data, a leading data and analytics company.

 

Opportunities in Millet Products Development: United Nation has declared year 2023 Millet Year. India is world leader in millets production in the world with share of around 41% of total world production in 2020. India produces around 12 million MT of millets annually, according to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare data.

 

There are 3C benefits from the millets i.e  a) Cultivation b) Consumer c) Climate Change.

 

Looking from the consumer point of view, people are becoming aware of the health benefits of millets. It has opened up opportunities to develop different products from millets.

 

Government Schemes & Subsidy: Government is aware about the importance and potential of the food sector. Considering it, they have already allowed 100% FDI permitted for food processing, 100% FDI under Government approval route for trading, including the same through e-commerce, with respect to food products manufactured and/or produced in India. There is flagship scheme under the Central Government umbrella with the total outlay of Rs 4,600 crore will continue till March 2026.

    • Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure

    • Agro -Processing Cluster

    • Creation/Expansion of Food Processing/Preservation Capacities

    • Operation Greens

    • Scheme for setting-up/ up-gradation of Food Testing Laboratories

Apart from Ministry of Food Processing and Industry, National Bank for Rural Development & Agriculture Processed Food Product Export Development Authority also has a number of schemes for the food processing sector and exporters. This incudes on-farm and off-farm projects such as for agri-infrastructure development, and dairy sector.

 

Benefits of Free Trade Agreement (FTA): India has recently signed Free Trade Agreement with a couple of countries. This will help exporter to get more duty benefits and identify new market for products. However, its also important to identify competitors in the international market and follow labelling/packaging norms of the importing countries to avoid rejections.

 

Action Plan –

    • Government should give more incentive to FPOs & SHG groups for setting up the small & medium processing units.

    • More collaboration is needed between industry & academic / research institution’s

    • Federation of FPOs should get more subsidy & credit guarantee from financial institutions

    • Synergies between State Governments & Central Government schemes

 

All these measures can help to boost the sector.