The Union Ministry's event in Bhubaneswar spotlights millets and MSME empowerment in the agro sector, showcasing over 250 MSMEs and fostering economic growth.

 

In a significant move to bolster the agro and food processing sectors, the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industry (MoFPI) organized a groundbreaking exhibition and conference on millets and food processing in Bhubaneswar. The event, managed by the Knowledge Chamber of Commerce and Industry, witnessed participation from over 250 MSMEs, showcasing the government's commitment to nurturing small and medium enterprises in this domain.

 

Spotlight on Millets and MSME Empowerment

 

The exhibition cum conference, inaugurated by Union MoFPI secretary Anita Praveen alongside Odisha MSME secretary Saswat Mishra and Knowledge Chamber of Commerce & Industry director Dr. Amit Joshi, served as a platform for more than 20 companies, including micro food processing enterprises, self-help groups, farmer producer organizations, and producer cooperatives. These entities displayed a variety of products, highlighting the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit within the sector.

 

Government Schemes and Financial Assistance

 

Anita Praveen emphasized the array of government schemes available to support businesses in the agro and food processing sector. Financial assistance from banks such as SIDBI and NABARD, training at District Industries Centre, and market knowledge from PMFME DRP's are among the key supports offered. She underscored the importance of quality and purity in product manufacturing to ensure effective marketing and transform farmers into entrepreneurs.

 

Future Prospects and Sector Growth

 

The initiative underscores the potential of the agro and food processing sector as a cornerstone of economic development and sustainability. With the government's focus on millets and other key areas within the industry, India's food processing sector is poised for substantial growth. The emphasis on innovation, infrastructure development, and collaboration, as highlighted in the referenced article, is crucial for tapping into the full potential of the industry.

 

This conference not only served as an educational platform but also as a testament to the collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector in fostering a conducive environment for the growth of MSMEs in the agro and food processing industry. The spotlight on millets, in particular, represents a strategic move towards embracing sustainable and nutritious food options, paving the way for a healthier future.

In Madhya Pradesh, Riyawan garlic, renowned for its distinctive bold flavors and higher oil content, has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag as of March 2. This recognition marks the second GI tag for the region's agricultural produce. The initiative, led by the Riyawan Farm Fresh Producer Company, began in January 2022, culminating in this significant achievement. Cultivated in the Riyawan village of Ratlam district, this variety stands out for its robust flavor, pungent taste, and medicinal properties, making it a preferred choice for culinary uses such as pickles and chutneys.

 

The successful acquisition of the GI tag was propelled by the efforts of MLA Rajendra Pandey, with support from the Department of Horticulture and Food Processing. Riyawan garlic, characterized by 5-6 cloves per bulb, not only enhances the taste of dishes but also boasts long-term storage capabilities. Its cultivation spans approximately 200 hectares in Riyawan and extends to around 1300 hectares in neighboring areas, involving over 700 farmers in its production.

Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Monday said the government has launched a mission to boost production of oilseeds and reduce imports of cooking oils. The minister virtually inaugurated administrative-cum-academic building, Manas Guest House, Subansiri Girls Hostel and Brahmaputra Boys Hostel at IARI, Dirpai Chapori, Gogamukh, Assam.

 

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary was present at the inaugural event and visited an exhibition stall at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Assam.

 

According to an official statement, Munda said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has special emphasis on the development of the Northeastern region.

 

He said the central government has done the work of eliminating the gaps in the development of agriculture in the northeastern states and bringing them into the mainstream.

 

Munda said the government is working with the resolve to make the country a developed nation by 2047, in which the role of agriculture is very important.

 

He highlighted that a mission of Rs 11,000 crore is being run to reduce the burden of edible oil imports and become self-reliant in oilseeds.

 

'We have to work with the thought that in the coming days, we will not import but export,' Munda said.

 

India imports about 16 million tonnes of edible oils annually to meet domestic demand. In terms of value, India imported edible oils worth about Rs 1.38 lakh crore during 2022-23 (November-October).

 

The Union agriculture minister also stressed the development of climate-resilient crop varieties.

 

He emphasised linking agriculture education to livelihood and employment opportunities.

 

Munda said biodiversity studies also need special attention. He hoped that in a year, this institute would be the most preferred choice for research.

 

He emphasised that technologies have to be climate-neutral and gender-neutral.

 

Choudhary urged scientists to exploit the natural diversity that exists in the Northeast Region. He stressed focusing on research related to pulses and oilseeds so that the country does not have to spend too much money on the import of pulses.

According to IVPA, the share of palm oil in total imports is expected to decline from 60% in 2022-23 to 54% due to low spread with soft oils

 

Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) expects vegetable oil import to be at 16.2 million tonnes (mt) during the 2023-24 (October-September) edible oil season against 17.06 mt in 2022-23.

 

Presenting a paper on ‘Competitiveness of Palm Oil in Indian Markets’ at the UOB Kay Hian Palm Oil Outlook Seminar in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Sudhakar Desai, Chief Executive Officer of Emami Agrotech Ltd and President of IVPA, said the share of palm oil in total imports is expected to decline from 60 per cent in 2022-23 to 54 per cent owing to very low spread with soft oils.

 

Stating that India drastically reduced import of soyabean oil in January-March due to a lack of hedging tool, he said it is expected to increase in April-September as many players attempted to lock the negative forward soyabean oil - palm oil spread. If the soya-palm spread continues to be zero for longer , then palm share can drop to 50 per cent. Soya-palm oil spread was more than $400 a tonne a year ago.

 

3.3% consumption rise

 

Consumption is expected to increase by 3.3 per cent due to a price fall and a supportive macro environment in India.

 

 

He said soft oils are expected to increase consumption share due to tight spreads. Supply chain disruptions such as the Red Sea issue and the expectation of good soyabean and rapeseed crops in India slowed down soyabean oil imports in the last few months. This helped palm oil prices to be resilient.

 

Desai estimated crude palm oil (CPO) price outlook at $900-940 a tonne (c&f) for April-June and at $840-900 a tonne (c&f) for July-September. He estimated it at $900-960 a tonne (c&f) for April-September for soyabean oil. For sunflower oil, he estimated it at $890-940 a tonne (c&f) for April-June and $900-950 a tonne (c&f) for July-September.

 

Globally, demand for oilmeals, energy prices, biodiesel policies in various countries, and geopolitical issues are expected to be the key price drivers. With elections at different origins and destinations, government manifestos would keep adding volatility to the markets, he said.

 

Mustard oil to the rescue

 

On palm oil production, Desai estimated that Malaysian production is likely to increase by 2.6 per cent to 19 mt and Indonesian output to be flat at 49.6 mt. The combined carry-out stocks of Indonesia and Malaysia are expected to be tighter by at least 300,000 tonnes in 2024, with March-April being the tightest months, especially in Malaysia, he said.

 

The IVPA president has projected Indian domestic oil availability at 9.23 mt during 2023-24 against 9.07 mt in 2022-23. He attributed this to the good mustard crop with a sizeable carry-out. He said the mustard crop has shown a remarkable 45 per cent surge during the year.

 

He said the Government might have to take the right steps if the rapeseed prices trade lower than MSP (minimum support price) levels, either by government procurement or by a general increase in import duties to support domestic oilseed crops.

 

Indian Industries have been recommending an increase in the duty differential of crude vegetable oils and refined vegetable oils to restrict the high volume of refined palm oil, he added.

Nepal's Ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma on Saturday appreciated the new guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, which allow multiple financial services between the people of India and Nepal.

 

He said that now Nepal citizens can send Rs 2 lakh per transaction to Nepal and walk-in customers can remit Rs 50,000 per transaction.

 

The Nepal envoy also said that Unified Payment Interface-Nepal Clearing House Ltd, which is to be inaugurated soon, will further eliminate any inconvenience of carrying cash.

 

'RBI's updated regulation allows Nepali account holders to send Rs 2 lakhs per transaction (without any limit) to. Walk-in customers can remit Rs. 50,000 per transaction (12 per yr). The soon-to-be-inaugurated UPI/NCHL mechanism will eliminate inconvenience of carrying cash,' Sharma posted on X on Saturday.

 

RBI's updated regulation allows Nepali account holders to send IRs 2 lakhs per transaction (without any limit) to.

Walk-in customers can remit Rs. 50,000 per transaction (12 per yr).

 

The soon-to-be-inaugurated UPI/NCHL mechanism will eliminate inconvenience of carrying cash. pic.twitter.com/MHnCNWY6Rn

 

- Dr. Shankar P Sharma (@DrShankarSharma) March 2, 2024

 

Last December, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, announced that the digital payment gateway between India and Nepal is expected to start in the first phase at the end of February 2024.

 

In June 2023, the NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) joined hands to facilitate cross-border digital payments between India and Nepal by integrating the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and the National Payments Interface (NPI) of Nepal.

 

During Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India, an MoU was exchanged between NIPL and NCHL. As per the MoU, both bodies intend to establish cross-border connectivity for financial transactions between the two countries to ease fund transfers and merchant payments by users.

 

The initial engagement was for inward and outward transfers between the banks in India and Nepal, which will be achieved by integration between the UPI of India and the NPI of Nepal to enable existing instruments for cross-border transactions, which will be subsequently extended for other merchant payments.

 

Designated by the Nepal government, the Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) has a 10 per cent investment from Nepal Rastra Bank -- the Central Bank of Nepal and 90 per cent from other different commercial banks.

The Indian government’s recent decision to permit onion exports to Bahrain and Mauritius has stirred controversy within the exporting industry. Despite these countries’ limited historical imports of Indian onions, the government’s move has left larger importers feeling neglected and frustrated, according to the industry players. 

 

Critics within the industry argue that the government’s favouritism towards smaller countries such as Bahrain and Mauritius could harm India’s trade relationships with larger importers. They suggest that exports should be opened in a measured way for all countries or not at all, to avoid appearing biased.

 

The decision to export to Bahrain, in particular, has raised eyebrows. Despite Bahrain’s minimal onion requirements, some selected exporters have capitalised on its strategic location, with access to Saudi Arabia and the UAE by land. Some exporters are reportedly planning to import to Bahrain and then transport onions by road to neighboring countries to maximize profits. This would help exporters earn significant profits.

 

Critics question the rationale behind supporting such countries, which import from other sources like the Netherlands and Egypt. They argue that these countries have not supported India in times of surplus, and therefore, India should reconsider its export strategy to ensure fairness and reciprocity in trade relationships.

 

Rubbing the wrong way

According to industry reports, some countries, including Indonesia, have refused to open their quotas for Indian onions, citing India’s export ban. This could potentially halt exports to Indonesia until March 2025.

 

'Countries like Malaysia and UAE, which have an average import share of 10 per cent, have not utilized their quotas in the current year,' said one of the industry players. 'It would be more ethical to support these larger importers.'

 

The industry has also expressed disappointment with some countries which refused to request onions from India through official channels.

 

Despite a ban on onion exports, India allowed the sale of 54,760 tonnes to Bangladesh, Mauritius, Bahrain, and Bhutan last month.

 

However, onion exporters and farmers in Maharashtra are still waiting for the export notification. The Onion Traders Association in Nashik has urged the government not to delay the notification, warning that any further delay will adversely affect farmers and exporters who have already suffered due to the export ban.

 

The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, organised a meeting of State food secretaries on February 28, 2024, at New Delhi to discuss the procurement arrangements for rabi crops in rabi marketing season (RMS) 2024-25 and in kharif marketing season (KMS) 2023-24. The secretary, DFPD, Government of India, chaired the meeting.

 

Various factors impacting procurement such as forecast of weather conditions, production estimates, and readiness of States were reviewed. After deliberations, the estimates for wheat procurement during ensuing RMS 2024-25 were fixed in the range of 300-320 LMT. Similarly, the estimates for paddy procurement in term of rice during KMS 2023-24 rabi crop were fixed in the range of 90 - 100 LMT.

 

A quantity of around 6.00 LMT of coarse grains /millets has also been estimated for procurement by the States during the KMS 2023-24 (Rabi crop). States/UTs were advised to focus on procurement of millets for diversification of crops and enhanced nutrition in dietary patterns.

 

Besides, State Government of Telangana shared the good practices adopted in respect of Supply Chain Optimisation and an indicated a saving of Rs 16 crore annually through this environment friendly initiative by Government of India. Government of Uttar Pradesh shared the successful initiative regarding linking of e-PoS with electronic weighing scale which has effectively ensured supply of foodgrains to the beneficiaries as per their entitled quantity.

 

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare presented their evaluation study on Digital Maturity of State MSP procurement applications. State Governments were advised to adopt or improvise their existing applications in line with the standard and core features of AgriStack portal, for bringing about transparency and efficiency in the procurement system, before start of KMS 2024-25.

 

During the meeting, issues relating to Supply Chain Optimisation for transportation of foodgrains from designated depots to Fair Price Shops, improving infrastructure in Procurement Centres, Good Milling Practices and On-boarding Fair Price Shops on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) were also discussed.

 

Chairman & Managing Director, FCI, Principal Secretary/Secretary (Food) of States, officers from Indian Metrological Department, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd. attended the meeting.

In the fiscal year 2021-22, India marked a significant achievement in its agricultural exports by shipping 3.9 million tonnes of Basmati rice, valued at $3.54 billion. Over 81% of these exports were directed to major markets including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, the US, Yemen, Kuwait, the UK, Oman, and Qatar. To further boost export opportunities and reduce pesticide reliance, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has launched three innovative basmati rice varieties with inherent disease resistance during this kharif season.

 

Innovative Varieties to Transform Basmati Cultivation

Positioned to revolutionize basmati rice cultivation, the PB1847, PB1885, and PB1886 cultivars distributed by IARI exhibit resistance to bacterial blight and blast diseases. These new varieties are expected to gradually replace the dominant PB1121, PB1509, and PB6 cultivars, which currently account for over 90% of the basmati rice cultivation area. The Director of IARI, AK Singh, highlighted the problem of existing varieties developing resistance to diseases, leading to increased pesticide use and subsequent export rejections due to pesticide residue.

 

Reducing Pesticide Dependency

Field trials have shown promising results for the new basmati varieties, with seeds now being distributed to farmers for further multiplication. This move is especially significant in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, pivotal regions in basmati cultivation. By introducing these disease-resistant varieties, India aims to curb the unsustainable practice of relying on antibiotics and fungicides, subsequently reducing instances of export rejections. Former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association, Vijay Setia, expressed optimism about the potential of these new varieties to lessen pesticide use and improve rice quality.

 

Implications for the Future

The introduction of these new basmati rice varieties could herald a new era in Indian agriculture, with significant implications for export earnings, farmer income, and sustainable farming practices. An analysis by IARI between 2010 and 2019 showed that the PB1121 and PB1509 varieties contributed significantly to export earnings and domestic sales, benefiting approximately 1 million farmers. As India continues to dominate the global basmati rice trade, these innovative cultivation practices could further solidify its position while addressing critical environmental and health concerns.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is working to increase productivity so that India can account for one-third of the global milk production by 2030, its chairman Meenesh Shah said. He said breeding, nutrition and health of animals are the main focus areas for achieving the target.

 

'Currently, India accounts for 24 per cent or one-fourth of total world milk production. This contributes to 4-5 per cent of our GDP. Our plan is to increase the share globally to 30 per cent or one-third of world milk production by 2030,' he said.

 

Increasing the productivity of animals is crucial to achieving it, Shah said, pointing out that though India is the largest producer of milk, animal productivity is less than in developed countries.

 

'The Government of India and NDDB are working together on its mission to increase productivity. Breeding, nutrition and health of animals are the crucial areas in this regard,' he added.

 

'Our milk production has been growing at 6 per cent per annum for the last five-six years, while the global growth rate is 2 per cent. We have to maintain it,' Shah said.

 

In Assam, the NDDB has formed a joint venture company with the state government to work for holistic development of the dairy sector, he said.

 

'In the next seven years, the plan is to increase procurement of milk and bring more farmers under the cooperative movement,' he said.

 

The installed capacity of West Assam Milk Producers Cooperative Society (WAMUL), which operates the popular brand Purabi, is being also increased with the opening of a new plant, Shah, who is also the chairman of WAMUL, said.

 

The NDDB is also working on using more solar and renewable energy sources, he said.

The government on Friday said almost 5,000 out of 8,000 registered Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have been onboarded on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) portal for selling the produce online to consumers across the country. Around 8,000 FPOs have been registered against the government's target of 10,000 under a central scheme launched in 2020 with a budgetary provision of Rs 6,865 crore. FPOs facilitate farmers with access to improved technology, credit, better input and more markets to incentivise them to produce better quality commodities.

 

'Almost 5,000 out of 8,000 registered FPOs have been registered on the ONDC portal...,' the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

 

The onboarding of FPOs on ONDC to reach out to their buyers in any part of the country is in line with the Central government's objective of providing growers with better market access, it said.

 

The move aims to empower FPOs with direct access to digital marketing, online payment, business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions.

 

The ministry said the formation and promotion of FPOs is the first step for converting 'Krishi into Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Krishi.' The initiative enhances cost-effective production and productivity and higher net incomes for the members of the FPO.

 

It also improves the rural economy and creates job opportunities for rural youths in villages itself. This was the major step towards improving farmers' income substantially, it added.

 

Under the central scheme, FPOs are provided with financial assistance of up to Rs 18 lakh per FPO for a period of three years. In addition, a provision has been made for matching equity grants of up to Rs 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs 15 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility of up to Rs 2 crore of project loan per FPO from the eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs.

 

So far, the credit guarantee has been issued to 1,101 FPOs worth guaranteed coverage of Rs 246 crore covering more than 10.2 lakh farmers. Matching equity grant amounting to Rs 145.1 crore has been transferred directly to the bank account of the eligible 3,187 FPOs, the ministry added.