As a part of its strategy to give a boost to the export of organic agricultural products of Mizoram and North Eastern Region (NER),Centre through  Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized Workshop-cum-Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) at Mizoram University in Aizawl.

 

After the BSM, a consignment of Hatkora (local variety of citrus) sourced from farmers of Mamit district of Mizoram was exported to London and another consignment of Hatkora is being exported to Bangladesh.

 

APEDA, which is the apex agricultural products export promotion organization under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, organized the buyer seller meet in association with Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce & Industries, Govt of Mizoram and North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC).

 

The BSM was organized to promote the exports of the potential agri-horti products from Mizoram and provide market linkage to farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Farmer Producer Companies from the north-eastern state. 

 

The potential crops for the export from Mizoram are pineapple, hatkora (citrus), dragon fruit, oranges, passion fruit, squash, anthurium flower, Mizo Ginger, Mizo chilli and grape wine.

 

Seventeen exporters and 58 FPOs participated in the BSM while 14 exhibitors representing the state government, coffee board, spices board, NABARD and NERAMAC attended the meet.

 

The exclusive BSM provided an opportunity to the producers and processors of Mizoram to showcase their products and promote the exports as well as their wholesale and retail sales.

 

The workshop-cum-buyer seller meet was inaugurated by Hon’ble Agriculture Minister Pu C Lalrinsanga of Mizoram. 

 

With the intervention of APEDA, there is a tremendous increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. NE region witnessed an 85.34 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22. 

 

The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.

 

To provide potential market linkages, APEDA organised field visits of importers to have first hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers by inviting the importers from the neighbouring countries, the Middle East, far Eastern countries, European nations and Australia, etc. The field visits were carried out in all eight states of NER.

 

APEDA, in association with the Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of Assam, organised an export promotion conference-cum-buyer seller meet at Aizawl, Mizoram in March 2021.

 

Besides, APEDA organized international buyer seller meet (BSM) in Guwahati, Assam on March 10, 2022 wherein exhibitors from across the state displayed a wide range of agri-horti products, including GI  products such as fresh fruits, vegetables, processed food products, black rice, red rice, joha rice, spices, tea, coffee, honey, processed meat, spices & organic products. Importers from Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bangladesh, Oman, Netherlands, Singapore and Greece participated along with exporters from NER and other states.

 

A national buyer-seller meet was organized by APEDA in Guwahati on June 24, 2022, to promote the export of organic products grown in Assam. APEDA also signed an MoU with Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat to conduct various training programmes on pre-harvest and post-harvest management and other research activities for the promotion of export from the region.

 

Even during the Covid-19 period, APEDA continued to push its export plans through Virtual Buyer Seller Meet in association with the Embassy of India located in different countries with exporters and FPOs/FPCs from NER regarding the sourcing of pineapple, ginger, lemon, orange, etc. APEDA also organised Virtual Trade Fairs during the pandemic and facilitated the export to foreign countries.

 

APEDA has also planned to undertake several other projects like capacity building of 80 budding entrepreneurs and exporters from the region, the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and the state govt. officials, organize skill development and training in food processing, value addition on horticultural produce, etc.

 

APEDA also extended its support to NER to undertake branding and promotion of North East products such as KIWI Wine, processed foods, carrying out a wet sampling of Joha Rice Pulao, Black Rice kheer, etc.

 

As a part of capacity building, APEDA organised skill development programmes for manufacturers, exporters and entrepreneurs to utilise the local produce for value addition and export. Training programmes are being held in different states of the Northeast in association with the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore (CFTRI) and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), for five days.

 

APEDA, in association with the Industries and Commerce Department, Govt of Assam, organised an Export Conclave on February 19, 2021, in Guwahati.

 

With the APEDA’s intervention, Tripura’s Jack fruit was exported to London, and Nagaland’s King Chilli to London through a local exporter for the first time. Also, Assam’s local fruit called Leteku (Burmese Grape) was exported to Dubai and Assam’s Betel leaves have been regularly exported to London.

 

APEDA under its Agricultural Export Policy is encouraging states to harness the potential of Agri produce exports. APEDA aims to create a platform for the buyers to get the products directly from the producer group and the processors.

The high-yielding wheat varieties DBW 222 and DBW 187 produce 60 quintals per hectare, compared to 35-37 quintals for existing varieties. Around 23,000 quintal seeds of these two varieties have been distributed to farmers at a 50% subsidy, according to Rajiv Minhas, a subject matter specialist at the Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Department.

 

DBW222 (Karan Narendra) has high rust resistance and lodging tolerance, as well as better agronomic characteristics and adaptation to sowing time. In contrast, DBW 187 (Karan Vandana) is rich in protein and iron.

 

According to director of agriculture B R Takhi, the new varieties were sown on time (October 15 to November 15) in the lower hills of Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Solan, Bilaspur, and Sirmaur districts because rains provided needed moisture in the soil and paved the way for timely sowing of wheat even in rainfed areas.

 

Wheat is grown on 3.30 lakh hectares in the state, with a production target of 6.17 lakh MT (metric tonne), and total foodgrains production is estimated to be 1649.97 thousand MT in 2022-23.

 

During the current fiscal year 2022-23, a target of 687.41 thousand tonnes for Rabi and 962.56 thousand MT for Kharif has been set. The main foodgrains are wheat, paddy, maize, barley, and oil seeds.

 

Aside from foodgrains, the state's main commercial crops are potato, vegetables, and ginger, with an area of 82,000 hectares proposed for vegetables, 15.10 thousand hectares for potato, and three thousand hectares for ginger (green).

 

Farmers diversify into commercial crops for higher returns and cultivate high-yielding and exotic vegetable varieties. According to agriculture officials, Himachal Pradesh, known as the apple bowl, is also emerging as a vegetable hub.

 

For the year 2022-23, the production target for vegetables, potato, and ginger (green) is 1759 thousand MT, 195 thousand MT, and 34.00 thousand, respectively. The production of vegetables in the state is rapidly increasing, and it has already surpassed the production of foodgrains.

The central government has extended the deadline to export sugar till December 31. The earlier deadline was November 30.

The Centre issues export release orders for mills, and Maharashtra tops the chart of sugar export to foreign countries. However, this year, due to logistical and transportation issues, the mills and exporters could not ship more than 2 lakh tonne of sugar, for which the export release orders were issued.

 

Vijay Autade, a sugar industry exporter from Kolhapur, said, 'Last year, 120 lakh tonne of sugar was produced, of which nearly half was exported. This time, the mills have stock and the export agreements have been done with the exporters. Around 2 lakh tonnes of sugar needs to be exported immediately as the production of new sugar has started and for the current season, the export quotas too have been allocated. The centre should not just extend the deadline, but also facilitate the mills in getting the sugar stocks to the docks.'

 

Meanwhile, the centre has allowed the mills from across the country to bring 22 lakh tonne of sugar in the open market for sale in December. As compared to last year, the limit to bring sugar into the open market has been exceeded by around 50,000 tonne. The demand for sugar increases as Christmas nears and the celebrations for New Year start. Also, consumption increases during winter.

 

'This year, the quotas for the mills have been fixed. Last year, the limit was imposed during the end of the crushing season, which led to the highest-ever export of sugar from India. We estimate that the quota will be increased,' said Autade.

Investment in technology startups in the agriculture and food sector jumped over twofold to $4.6 billion during the last fiscal on the back of higher inflow in restaurant marketplace and e-grocery, according to a report by AgFunder and Omnivore.

 

'Total investment in agrifoodtech startups for India’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 stood at $4.6 billion, up 119% from FY2021. Deal volume also increased to 234 in FY2022 as compared to 189 deals in FY2021,' according to the report titled 'India AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2022'.

 

AgFunder is foodtech and agtech venture capital firm, while Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in India, which funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems.

 

'Downstream investments continue to boost overall funding into the agrifoodtech space. Downstream startups raised $3.8 billion in FY2022, a 115% increase from $1.77 billion in FY'2021. This significant growth is due to Swiggy which raised $1.2 billion accounting for 26% of total investment in the agrifoodtech space,' the report said.

 

Restaurant marketplace and eGrocery emerged as the most funded downstream categories, with funding of $1.9 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.

 

The capital raised by restaurant marketplace and eGrocery accounts for 66% of total funding in the agrifoodtech space.

 

Farmtech startups raised $1.5 billion across 140 deals, a 185% increase year-on-year.

 

Mark Kahn, Managing Partner, Omnivore, said, 'The investment trends are proof that the agrifoodtech space can no longer be called niche. It has caught the attention of generalist VCs the world over who understand that agrifoodtech is key to the transformation of India’s massive agricultural sector and rural economy.'

 

Michael Dean, founding partner, AgFunder, said: 'India has always been a leading agrifoodtech ecosystem...but to see investment levels surpass all other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and compete on the global stage is indicative of the impressive range and depth of innovations coming from the country and potential to impact the agrifood industry as a whole.'

 

the Union ministry of commerce and industry on Thursday felicitated the trial export shipment of GI-tagged Khasi Mandarin orange of Meghalaya to Dubai in association with Meghalaya's ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare.

 

The project is a part of its initiatives to promote exports of locally-sourced Geographical Indications (GI) tagged agricultural products,

 

The Union ministry of commerce and industry has taken the initiative through its apex agricultural export promotion body Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

 

The trial shipment started with one tonne of the organic juicy citrus fruit sourced from Jirang-based FPC (farmer producer company) under the Ri Bhoi district, Meghalaya. The Khasi Mandarin oranges are grown under the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), which is a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).

 

The shipment was flagged off by S Sadhu, agriculture secretary, Government of Meghalaya, while APEDA chairman M Angamuthu addressed the gathering virtually and stressed on making the North Eastern Region a hub of organic products’ export.

 

'It’s a fact that the North Eastern Region is a leader in organic products. The time is apt to promote Meghalaya’s purest form of organic oraanges in the country as well as across the globe. So, let us work together and promote horticulture, value-added organic products and other products of Meghalaya,' he underscored.

 

'With the intervention of APEDA, there is a tremendous increase in the export of agricultural produce from North Eastern states like Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Due to the initiatives taken by APEDA, the NE region witnessed an 85.34 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22. The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe,' an official statement said. 

Human civilization carries a number of similarities and diversities so far as the food, clothing, habitation, language, culture, rite, religion etc. of a locality / region / tract are concerned. Local proverb (kosa kosake pani, tin kosake bani) says that water changes after three kilometers (1 kosa) and dialect changes after 10 kilometers (3 kosa). It is the people who adopt a particular thing for their food, language, religion etc. after interactions among the biotic, abiotic agents and human beings themselves over a long span of time.

Gondia is a revenue block of Dhenkanal district of Odisha. The river Brahmani flows from west to east dividing the district laterally into two halves and the river bank of Gondia, Bhuban, Kamakhyanagar and Sadar is full of grass vegetation. Besides this, both hilly terrains of the Eastern Ghat, forests, range lands and valleys have huge grass and fodder tree vegetation. It is reported that thousands of people were earning their livelihood through animal husbandry, especially buffalo rearing during British – Royal era, i.e. long before independence. This region was the hinterland of buffalo milk production. Cheese was the third largest produce after milk and curd. People had a number of value added products produced from cheese and Magji is one of them. The Mandar – Sadangi area of Gondia block is believed to be the centre of origin of the sweet stuff 'Magji'. But, as of now, it has spread to the entire Dhenkanal district. Many confectioners of Bhuban, Mandar, Kashipur, Sadangi, Gondia, Bidharpur, Deogaon and Dhenkanal town are now preparing the sweet. As the preparation and sale of the sweet is spread over the whole district, the geographical area of production is considered to be entire Dhenkanal district of the state.

As per local information, this sweet has originated since time immemorial, may be more than 100 years. It was found from records that Magji was one of the famous food items of Dhenkanal in ancient times. During 1300 – 1400 AD, a saint namely Sridhar Swami was staying in Kapilas and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had visited Sridhar Swami and learnt about the Bhagabat from Sridhar Swami. During his stay, Sridhar Swamy had offered sweets prepared from buffalo milk cheese to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which became famous as Magji later on and local confectioners continued to prepare it. It is also found that the eminent story writer and odia Vyasakabi Fakirmohan Senapti had offered Chhatri of Mahima dharma & Magji to John Beames (the then Collector of Baleswar) during his visit to Dhenkanal.

 

Magji is prepared from buffalo milk cheese, sugar and small cardamom.At the outset fresh cheese is placed in a cotton cloth and pressed / squeezed to the extent so that maximum water is drained out from the stuff. Pan is placed on furnace with mild flame. Sugar @ 400 g / kg of cheese and cardamom (10-12 nos. / kg of cheese) powder is mixed into it. Then the optimally dewatered cheese is added to it i.e. poured into the pan. The entire stuff is mixed thoroughly and fried to the desired level. Then the fried stuff is placed on a flat surface, kept for 30-40 minutes and allowed to cool down to warm condition. At the optimum temperature the stuff is prepared in the form of small balls of desired diameter with palms. The sugar acts as the binding material and the balls become hard on being cooled down. Now these balls are called 'Magji' and become ready for consumption / sale.

'Dhenkanal Magji' is a famous and unique sweet of Dhenkanal district. Its taste, flavour and method of preparation has made it as a unique sweet of the district. The skill of the local confectioners has made it more unique. The buffalo milk cheese adds unique flavor and cardamom powder adds unique aroma to it. Proportion of sugar and cheese, optimum period of frying, method of preparation of cheese to make it more tough, draining water from cheese to get optimum moisture content suitable for preparation of this sweet are some of the important points which make it unique.

Keeping in view of the uniqueness of Magji sweet, information was collected and documented for application of GI tag by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhenkanal (OUAT). Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), being the authorized body of Govt. of Odisha, applied for it on behalf of Dhenkanal Sweets Association. After preliminary examination, the case was accepted and on further examination, GI registry authorities raised a series of queries and OUAT submitted compliance. Now, the case is in advanced stage of consideration and GI registry authority from Chennai are coming to Bhubaneswar on 6th December, 2022 to listen to the applicant / producers and verify the correctness of information. All citizens, people’s representatives, district administration, intellectuals and above all, common man of the district are quite hopeful for Dhenkanal Magji to bag GI tag. Apart from name & fame for the district & the state, GI tag to Dhenkanal Magji will certainly attract a huge business opportunity for the local confectioners, sweet stalls; bring change in the livelihoods of thousands of milk producers of the district and hence would add a new chapter to the development scenario of the district.

Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department, today informed about the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New Zealand. He stated that the sheep husbandry sector is going to be developed with world-class technology and expertise under the MoU between India and New Zealand.

 

He made the remarks while inaugurating a one-day Technical Workshop-cum-Seminar on ‘Latest Technical Interventions in Sheep and Goat Husbandry Sector in the Union Territory at Kisan Bhawan. Prof JP Sharma, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST Jammu was the guest of honour at the occasion.

 

In his address, Atal Dulloo emphasised the need for breed improvement for increasing mutton production to meet the 40 per cent deficit in the union territory, according to the press release issued by Jammu and Kashmir’s Department of information and public relations. He also called for improvements in germ plasm production through artificial insemination and embryo transfer technologies.

 

The ACS called for increasing healthcare outreach in alpine pastures and other remote regions of Jammu and Kashmir. He highlighted the significant role of the development of new vaccines. Atal Dulloo spoke about fodder scarcity in the union territory and called for providing farmers with wool aggregation facilities and helping with the formation of farmers producers organisations.

 

Atal Dulloo announced a plan of action under which improvement of germ plasm, augmentation of animal health facilities, increasing fodder production and availability and post-production initiatives like meat processing etc for increasing exports could be undertaken.

 

Dulloo underscored that the integrated Sheep Development Scheme has benefited many farmers and called for continued assistance under the scheme. Prof JP Sharma said that the sector provides livelihood to poorer sections of society. Furthermore, he also highlighted the requirement of value addition and post-production processing to increase the income of people involved in the sector.

 

Meanwhile, Director Sheep Husbandry Jammu, Krishan Lal in his welcome address informed that veterinarians and paramedics of the sector will be provided information about the latest developments in disease investigation, animal nutrition, embryo transfer technology and artificial insemination etc.

 

Krishan Lal stressed that the department intends to enhance the production of mutton and promote cross-breeding with superior breeds. He informed that seven departmental farms were working for increasing the quality of germ plasma. Those present at the occasion included Director Agriculture Jammu KK Sharma, Managing Director JK Agro Dr Arun Manhas, Joint Director Farms Jammu, Joint Director Extension Jammu among other senior officers and staff of the department. 

India's economy grew by 6.3 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal, official data released on Wednesday showed.

 

The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 8.4 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2021-22, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

 

Analysts had projected the Indian economy would expand at half of the growth rate of 13.5 per cent recorded in April-June quarter this fiscal.

 

According to rating agency Icra, the GDP was likely to grow at 6.5 per cent while State Bank of India in its report, projected the growth rate at 5.8 per cent for July-September, 2022.

 

Earlier this month, in an article published in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin, the GDP growth was pegged at 6.1-6.3 per cent in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

 

China registered an economic growth rate of 3.9 per cent in July-September, 2022.

The Centre will likely bring on board states that are not a part of the National Single Window System by March next year, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said on Thursday.

 

National Single Window System (NSWS) accepts applications for 248 G2B clearness from 26 central ministries and departments, and 16 states and union territories.

 

'It may be noted that the Know Your Approvals (KYA) service is live on NSWS with 544 approvals across 32 Central Ministries/ Departments and 2895 approvals across 30 States/ UTs,' the ministry said.

 

'National Single Window System is expected that the onboarding of remaining 8 Ministries/Departments of Govt of India would happen by 31 December 2022 and the balance states/UTs by 31 March 2023,' it added.

 

NSWS was soft launched for stakeholders and the public in September 2021 by Union minister Piyush Goyal. 'The portal is rapidly gaining traction among the investors community and as of date has about 3.7 lakh plus unique visitors. 44,000+ approvals have been facilitated through NSWS and 28,000+ approvals are currently under process,' the ministry said.

 

NSWS was created by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as per the budget announcement of creation of an Investment Clearance Cell (ICC) to provide a single platform to enable the identification and obtaining of approvals and clearances needed by investors, entrepreneurs, and businesses in India.

 

The system is envisioned to reduce duplicity of information submission to different ministries, reduce compliance burden, promote sector specific reforms and schemes, reduce gestation period of projects, and promote ease of starting and doing business.

 

NSWS enables the identification, applying and subsequent tracking of approvals for all integrated states and central departments, making it a true National Single Window System.

Despite being the largest producer of bananas in the world, India is ranked 20th in exports and has a paltry 0.6 per cent share in the global banana trade. Industry sources claim that, if India adopts an export-oriented strategy to upgrade the value chain, the country can increase its exports four-fold.

 

India's exports of bananas in FY22 was $160.52 million against global exports of $14.5 billion—a share of 0.6 per cent. Even, the world's fifth largest producer Ecuador has a 24 per cent share.

 

According to K. Unnikrishnan, Joint Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, (FIEO), India can reach at least $500 million exports within five years to grab a 3 per cent share in global trade and be one of the top 10 exporters if it improves production, post-harvest handling and phytosanitary standards.

 

The government should encourage major retailers and department stores in India to invest in post-harvest channels to procure bananas and sell through stores with specified standards, branding and packaging.