India on Tuesday announced the supply of 20,000 MTs of wheat assistance to Afghanistan in partnership with United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) through Iran’s Chabahar Port. The announcement was made at the first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan held here on Tuesday.

 

The meeting was attended by the Special Envoys/Senior Officials of India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Country representatives of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) also participated in the meeting.

 

India also offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking.

 

During the meeting, the Special Envoys/Senior Officials exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the political, security and the humanitarian situation. While emphasizing the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, the sides reiterated support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan, according to a joint statement issued at the end of the meet.

 

They emphasized the importance of formation of a truly inclusive and representative political structure that respects the rights of all Afghans and ensures equal rights of women, girls and members of minority groups, including access to education.

 

India and Central Asians also discussed regional threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalization and drug trafficking and also deliberated on the possibilities to coordinate efforts to counter these threats.

 

They emphasized that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts and reaffirmed that no terrorist organizations including those designated by the UNSC resolution 1267 should be provided sanctuary or allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan, according to the joint statement.

 

The country representative of the UNWFP in Afghanistan briefed the participants on the India-UNWFP partnership to deliver foodgrain assistance to Afghan people and made a presentation on the current humanitarian situation, including the aid requirements for the year ahead. The sides took note of the current humanitarian situation and agreed to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, according to the joint statement.

 

The country representative of the UNODC in Afghanistan highlighted the partnership of India and UNODC in fighting the menace of narcotics in Afghanistan and thanked India for providing humanitarian aid for the Afghan drug user population.

The Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed an AI-based (artificial intelligence) app and website for the identification of pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies in cashew plants.

 

‘Cashew Protect’ app, launched recently for mobile phones with Android and iOS operating systems, can currently detect six pests and one disease; it will eventually be developed to identify around 60 pests that attack cashew plants, besides 20 diseases, and 10 nutrient deficiencies, from uploaded images.

 

Cashew Protect app

The Principal Scientist at DCR in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, Mohana GS, who conceptualised and designed the app, told businessline that farmers approach scientists on WhatsApp, seeking remedies to tackle pests and diseases affecting cashew. To address the farmers’ requirement, DCR decided to launchan AI-based app.

 

Though there are apps for identification of pests and diseases, there was no AI-based app for cashew.

 

How to get info

On the use of the app, Mohana said the farmer can upload photos of the affected part -- whether it is the leaf, fruit, an entire tree, or the stem – on the app/ website.

 

AI technology would identify the pest or disease instantly and provide remedial measures. 'So you will come to know about the management of the whole problem,' he said.

 

Cashew Protect app

For example: If a farmer uploads a tea-mosquito bug (TMB) affected cashew leaf, AI technology would give the similarity percentage of the image with that of the affected plant.

 

'Let us say similarity is 80, or 90 , or 95 per cent. Based on the similarity, you will come to know whether identification is correct or wrong. If it is more than 90 per cent, we can be sure that it is correctly identified and it will also show the image of the TMB-affected plant that is already stored in the system,' he said.

 

About cases where the disease/ pest has been wrongly identified, he said the AI system identifies pests and diseases based on the image that the farmer uploads. It would provide an answer based on its previous experience.

 

If the farmer is not satisfied with the results, he/ she can share it with experts on the website/ app.

 

Data analytics

, .

 

Large-scale use of the app globally will help identify the location of the problem using data analysis, Mohana said.

 

It is important that a large number of farmers used the app since large data sets help AI technology provide solutions in a better manner.

 

Benefits to farmer

The farmer, in whichever part of the world he is, can use this technology to find solutions to manage disease/ pest attacks in time.

 

Stating that timely management is crucial for management of pests such as TMB, he said if it is identified in time, the whole tree can be saved.

 

'If we can identify the problem at the right stage, we can take management measures and definitely it will improve productivity in case of pests and diseases, and also nutrient deficiency,' he said.

 

Languages

The website/ app is available in English, Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Odia and Garo languages.

 

Scientists from DCR and AICRP (All India Coordinated Research Project) - Cashew, from across the country were part of the project, which has been funded by the RKVY-RAFTAAR (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana - Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation) programme of the Karnataka government.

A farmer producer organisation (FPO) based in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Rapthadu Mandala Raithu Utpatti Darula MACS, supported by agri enterprise Samunnati and eFresh Agri Business Solutions, has become the first organisation to receive IndG.A.P certification for foxtail millet. The development comes at a time when the government wants to make India the millet hub of the world.

 

Certification schemes like IndG.A.P are designed to help farmers and exporters meet global food safety standards, essential to access overseas markets.'Adoption of G.A.P verified by a robust certification will enhance value realisation by farmers and make India globally competitive in agri exports,' said Samunnati founder Anil Kumar SG.

The Maharashtra Economic Survey 2022-23 has projected that the agriculture and allied sector, which is the mainstay of the state’s rural economy and engages 55 per cent of the population, will register 10.2 per cent growth in the outgoing fiscal year.

 

The projected growth is attributed to the good monsoon and the absence of drought for the past three years. The state recorded 119.8 per cent monsoon rain in 2022. Of the total 355 talukas (excluding those in Mumbai city & Mumbai suburban districts), 204 received excess rainfall, 145 got normal rains and only six received deficient rainfall.

 

As against the advanced estimate (2021-22) pegged at 4.4 per cent, followed by the first revised estimate of 11.4 per cent, the projected growth of 10.2 per cent seems a quantum leap.

 

The sowing for kharif season 2022-23 was completed on 157.97 lakh hectares, which was lower than last year’s 163.79 lakh hectares. The production of cereals, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane is expected to increase by 10 per cent, 19 per cent, five per cent and four per cent respectively. But the overall production of pulses is estimated to sharply decrease by 37 per cent compared with the previous year.

 

The rabi crop sown on 57.74 lakh hectares shows a reverse trend for 2022-23. Though pulses production is expected to rise by 34 per cent, the production of cereals and oilseeds is likely to decrease by 13 per cent.

 

The increased area under sugarcane cultivation is a key contributor to the growth. The average area under sugarcane plantation, which was 12.32 lakh hectares, rose to 14.88 lakh hectares. The average area under sugar plantation in the state till four years ago stood at 9.89 lakh hectares. The rise in sugar plantation and production saw farmers turning to cash crops in larger numbers in drought-hit Marathwada.

 

Cotton, which is the mainstay of the backward regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada, also recorded an increase in both the area under plantation (42. 29 lakh hectares) and production (81.92 metric tonnes) in 2022-23.

 

According to the economic survey, the area under horticulture crops was 23.46 lakh hectares in 2022-23, as against 23.92 lakh hectares in 2021-22. As per the first advance estimates, the total area under fruit crops in 2022-23 is 8.32 lakh hectares, of which the area under mango cultivation is the highest (1.64 lakh hectares), followed by pomegranate (1.56 lakh hectares), grapes (1.19 lakh hectares), mandarin orange (1.20 lakh hectares), banana (0.91 lakh hectares) and mosambi (0.65 lakh hectares). As per the first advance estimates, the total area under vegetable cultivation is 2022-23 is 11.62 lakh hectares, of which onion is the highest (9.18 lakh hectares), followed by tomato (0.60 lakh hectares) and green chilly (0.33 lakh hectares).

 

Although the BJP-Shiv Sena government has pledged to promote millets, both the area under cultivation and production have dropped for the crops. Around 20 years ago, the area under millet cultivation was 72.30 lakh hectares and production was 53.16 lakh metric tonnes. In 2021-22, the area under these crops was 23.07 lakh hectares and production was 22.69 lakh metric tonnes.

 

Under the Maharashtra Millet Mission, innovative concepts like 'millet of the month' and 'shet tithe poushtik trundhanya' are being implemented to popularise millets.

 

The real challenge for the government will be to enhance the irrigation potential, especially in Vidarbha and Marathwada, to draw small and marginal farmers to millet farming. They account for up to 78 per cent of all farmers in the state.

 

The total area under irrigation in 2021-22 was 43.38 lakh hectares. The command area under major and minor irrigation projects was 33.19 lakh hectares, while that under minor irrigation projects was 10.19 lakh hectares.

 

As part of the drought-free Maharashtra mission and providing better infrastructure to farmers to access water, the government has undertaken Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan 2.0. The project, undertaken between 2014 and 2019, has helped increase the irrigation potential.

 

The government plans to carry out soil and water conservation work in eligible villages where the first phase of the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan as well as other development programmes were not implemented.

 

Bridging the gap between the availability and efficient use of water in villages will be part of the project for sustainable development and agriculture.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has notified the standards for Basmati rice (including Brown Basmati rice, Milled Basmati rice, Parboiled Brown Basmati rice and Milled Parboiled Basmati rice) through Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) First Amendment Regulations, 2023.

 

These standards will be enforced with effect from August 1, 2023.

 

FSSAI, in a statement, has remarked, 'In order to ensure supply of standardised genuine Basmati rice in domestic and export markets, the food authority has notified regulatory standards for Basmati rice that have been framed through extensive consultations with the concerned government departments / agencies and other stakeholders as well.'

 

'As per these standards Basmati rice shall possess natural fragrance characteristic of Basmati rice and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances. These standards also specify various identity and quality parameters for Basmati rice such as average size of grains and their elongation ratio after cooking; maximum limits of moisture, amylose content, uric acid, defective/damaged grains and incidental presence of other non-Basmati rice etc.'

 

FSSAI added that these standards are aimed to establish fair practices in the trade of Basmati rice and protect consumer interest, both domestically and globally, as being a premium quality rice and fetching a price higher than the non-Basmati varieties, Basmati rice is prone to various types of adulteration for economic gains which may include, among others, undeclared blending of other non-Basmati varieties of rice.

 

Due to its unique quality attributes, Basmati is a widely consumed variety of rice both domestically and globally and India accounts for two thirds of its global supply.

 

The regulation also specifies the broken Basmati rice name(s) including Basmati Rice Tibar, Basmati Rice Dubar, Basmati Rice Mini Dubar, Basmati Rice Mogra, & Basmati Rice Mini Mogra.

 

Also, the FSSAI has notified the regulations related to Blended Rice, which can be mixture of Basmati and/ or non-Basmati rice which resemble with each-other as closely as possible in final attributes.

 

The Regulations say that every package of Blended Rice shall carry a label detailing the rice used for blending with percentage.

US Secretary of Commerce HE Ms Gina Raimondo will be visiting New Delhi, India between 7-10 March on the invitation of Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles.

 

During the visit, India - USA Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on 10th March 2023 to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

 

The Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade, and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors.

 

The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to pandemic and other factors it could not be held. It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with strategic outlook with focus on supply chain resiliency & diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years.

 

Earlier, India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by Indian Commerce & Industry Minister and US Secretary of Commerce on 9th November 2022 via video-conference for which identified key priorities were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security & reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade; and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses.

 

Trade, Commerce and Economy had always enjoyed a place of prominence in the India-US multifaceted strategic bilateral relations. Today, the two countries are leading trading partners of each other. India is the ninth largest trading partner for the US, while the US is India’s largest trading partner and the largest export destination. The bilateral trade in goods saw very robust growth during CY 2022, surpassing $131 billion in goods, thus doubling since 2014 (in 8 years) while total trade in Goods and Services is expected to cross US$ 180 billion. US is also the third biggest source of FDI for India, and USA is one of the top five investment destinations for India. This visit will immensely contribute towards furthering trade and commercial ties between the two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said skilling the youth holds the key to India becoming the third-largest economy in the world from the fifth now.

 

Virtually addressing a 'Rozgar Mela', or employment fair, organised by the Gujarat government at the Mahatma Mandir convention centre in Gandhinagar, Modi said nearly 1.5 lakh youth were given government jobs in the state during the last five years.

 

The PM emphasised on the need to create a skilled workforce on a large scale to tap growing opportunities in various sectors. 'For the new opportunities being created in the country, we need to create skilled manpower on a large scale. India can achieve the target of becoming the third-largest economy only by skilling its youth,' he said.

 

India became the world's fifth-largest economy last year. Modi said nearly 18 lakh youths received jobs through employment exchanges during the last few years in his home state of Gujarat, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 'During the last five years, the Gujarat government gave jobs to 1.5 lakh youths.

 

Moreover, nearly 18 lakh youths received jobs through employment exchanges during the last few years in Gujarat,' said the PM. At the event, attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, more than 2,500 youths were given appointment letters.

A conference of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and its affiliated institutes, agricultural universities and industries was organized in New Delhi today. Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State Shri Kailash Chaudhary participated in this. Through the conference, ICAR aims to work with organizations from industry, research and academia, that are interested in ICAR's technologies, so that while achieving mutual benefits, the tie ups can widely benefit the country including Agriculture sector in the long run. Agriculture Universities along with more than 100 institutes affiliated to ICAR have various agricultural facilities including well equipped research/development facilities, laboratories/infrastructure which can be mutually used for public good.

 

Addressing the conference, Union Minister Shri Tomar said that if feedback is received on how industries can apply the research done by ICAR, how to take it forward by complementing each other, what do the industries working at the grassroots level want, then the delivery will improve. The importance of our agricultural products has increased in the world. It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that the quality of our products is good. The shortcomings or gaps in this sector need to be filled, as well as how India can achieve excellence in the agriculture sector while facing the current international challenges, everyone from farmers to industry should work together in that direction. The importance of such discussions increases even more during the Amrit Kaal. Our thinking should be towards fulfilling the expectations of the world from India. To render India's increasing importance on the political scene of the world and to strengthen it further and to fulfill the goal that India should stand as a developed country by the year 2047 (Amrit Kaal), towards this goal it is very necessary our discussion should be comprehensive and meaningful. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself thinks in this direction and it is his insistence that others should also move in this direction. In the global scenario, the opinion about India is changing rapidly, which needs to be changed and established faster, for this we all need to work together and move at a faster pace.

 

Shri Tomar said that India has made a lot of progress in the agriculture sector, but there are many challenges in the field of agriculture, identifying them and working towards their solution, so that the agriculture sector should play a bigger role in strengthening the country's economy. There should be more discussion in the direction. There is a need to work in a planned manner, moving beyond traditional agriculture, as well as making full use of technology from lab to land. Scientists associated with ICAR have done a lot of remarkable research, which is useful for the country and the world today. There was a time when we wanted to learn from the world but today the world wants to learn from India in agriculture sector. There is a need to work faster in this direction so that the farmers get the benefit of good inputs and technology, production quality improves, post-harvest losses are reduced and private investment in the agriculture sector multiplies. Although the Government of India is working on all these at its own level, the results of which are evident before all of us, but we all know that the farmers, their produce, along with research & technology besides industries, if all of them come together then this will make the economy strong. We have to ensure the farmer gets a fair price for his produce, hence the contribution of Industry assumes significance.

 

MoS (Agriculture) Shri Kailash Choudhary; Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICAR; coordinator of the conference, Dr. Praveen Malik, CEO, Agrinovate India Ltd, - the commercial arm of ICAR; along with industry representatives Shri Hemendra Mathur and Shri Salil Singhal also spoke on the occasion.

India’s fresh onion exports jumped 49 per cent in volume to 1.72 million tonnes (mt) and gained 15 per cent in dollar terms at $394 million during the first nine months of the current fiscal compared with the same period a year ago on robust demand from South-East Asian countries and West Asia.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Exports Development Authority (APEDA), which has taken several steps including the creation of an Onion Export Promotion Forum, is confident that the shipments for the financial year 2022-23 will exceed last year’s levels on higher supplies and rising demand from key buyers such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia among other countries.

 

'As per the trade feedback at present, the demand for Indian onions is increasing in the international market and we expect the shipments to exceed last year’s levels,' said APEDA Chairman, M Angamuthu. India exported onions worth $460 million in 2021-22 and major destinations were Bangladesh, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Qatar, Vietnam, Oman, Kuwait, Singapore, Saudi Arab, Bahrain, Maldives and Mauritius.

 

Special initiatives

India, which accounts for about a fourth of the global onion output, is the third largest exporter after Netherlands and Mexico. In a bid to give further impetus to onion shipments, APEDA has taken up initiatives such as regular interaction with the trade for addressing the issues in supply chain, sensitisation of trade towards compliance of standards prescribed by the importing countries and regular follow-up with concerned stakeholders including government agencies, Indian missions abroad, exporters, R&D institutions among others, Angamuthu said.

 

Ajit Shah, President, Horticulture Produce Exporters Association, said while the exports are good, the growth in overseas demand is not in sync with the rise in our production. 'Due to the impact of the ban on exports imposed by India in 2019-20, countries such as Turkey, Egypt and Bangladesh among others, which are key buyers of onions, have started growing their own product, affecting the demand. Moreover, countries like the Philippines tend to favour Chinese onions and are not importing from us,' Shah said.

 

Further, Shah said though the exports may grow in volume terms, in value terms the shipments are likely to hover around last year’s levels as prices have come down this year.

This is despite a delayed start to the export season and negative factors such as a duty increase by one of the major buyers, Bangladesh, and slower shipments to Russia due to the war situation, according to exporters.

 

'Demand from Europe is strong. We expect this year's exports to exceed those of 2019,' said Vilas Shinde, Chairman and Managing Director of Sahyadri Farmers Producer Company Ltd (Sahyadri Farms), a major fresh grape exporter.

 

India's grape exports reached an all-time high of $335 million in 2018-19, but have since fallen due to factors such as a Covid-related lockdown, soaring freight rates caused by global logistics challenges, and a drop in output due to inclement weather. Despite the fact that the export season was delayed by a fortnight this year and began in the third week of January due to the impact of unfavourable weather, shipments have picked up and gained pace.

 

Europe accounts for over one lakh tonnes of the nearly 2.4 lakh tonnes of fresh grapes exported from India, followed by Bangladesh at around 60,000 tonnes. The remainder is accounted for by other geographies such as West Asia and Russia.

 

According to the most recent APEDA data, India shipped out grapes worth $69.65 million during the April-November period of the current fiscal year, a 23% increase over the same period last year. Because grapes are a short-season fruit, the majority of fresh grape shipments occur between January and March. India is currently the world's 11th largest grape exporter, with shipments increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6% over the last decade.

 

'This year will be good for grape exports. We will do very well,' said APEDA Chairman M Angamuthu. 'Because of our strong traceability system, upgraded with blockchain technology, we have managed to tap the high-value European market, which has given a boost to grape exports. 'APEDA is attempting to enter new markets while also improving product diversification and value addition,' Angamuthu added.

 

India's grape exports in 2021-22 were $305.7 million, a 2.6% decrease from the previous year's $314 million. During 2021-22, the top ten grape export destinations were the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Grape production is expected to be 3.47 million tonnes in 2021-22, up from 3.358 million tonnes in 2020-21, according to the third advance estimate.