Indo-Australian trade is on a great trajectory owing to the recently floated free trade agreement — the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) — and exports from India to Australia have gone up substantially, said Australian High Commissioner Philip Green. He said that Australia is actively exploring the possibilities in building Amaravati capital city in Andhra Pradesh.

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) with focus on viticulture area expansion in Tamil Nadu has introduced high-yielding, export potential, coloured grape varieties under open and protected cultivation to boost grape growers.

The coloured grape varieties are: Jyoti seedless, Krishna seedless, Saritha seedless, A-18, Manjari Medika, Red Globe and Sharad seedless. The university is collaborating with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Indian Council of Agricultural Research-All India Coordinated Research Products (ICAR – AICRP) (Fruits), Bengaluru and National Research Centre for Grapes (NRCG), Pune, to strengthen research. Seven technologies have been developed and transferred to farmers to enhance production, according to a press release.

h Institute, Periyakulam, organised a training-cum-demonstration programme at Cumbum valley recently.

The state-wise list of agriculture start-ups in the country supported under 'Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development' programme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

The government will procure the entire production of tur, urad, and masur dal from farmers, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Through e-Samridhi platform, on which farmers have to get themselves registered, the government will make the procurement, he said.

The Union government is racing to register 10,000 farmers’ producer organisations that can help boost their income with improved market access, advanced technology, and enhanced collective bargaining power.