The Organic Farming market research gives users a comprehensive estimate of CAGR in percentages for the relevant time period, allowing them to make informed decisions based on the predicted chart. The global Organic Farming Market's competitive landscape has been thoroughly investigated, including company profiles, financial status, recent developments, mergers and acquisitions, and a SWOT analysis. This study will provide readers with a clear picture of the overall market situation, allowing them to make an informed decision about this project.

 

In 2015, there were 50.9 million hectares of organic farmland in the world, and throughout the projected period, that number is anticipated to increase by 8.4% by 2026. (2018-2026).

 

The Organic Farming Market research report looks at current policies, rules, and regulations, as well as the global industry chain. Apart from that, the global Organic Farming market research report contains data on the supply chain, key producers, goods, supply and demand for those goods, as well as pricing and revenue.

 

?????????????????????? ??????????????????: Picks Organic Farm, Organic Farmers Co., The Indian Organic Farmers Producer Company Limited (IOFPCL), Bayer AG, Camson Bio Technologies Limited, and ZUWA Organic Farms Pvt Ltd among others...

 

U.S. reports have been made public, According to the Food and Drug Administration, six out of ten Americans think eating organic food is healthier for their health. The US Department of Agriculture also reports that organic products made up 4% of all food sales in the US in 2016.

 

Due to the region's rising demand for organic food, North America accounted for a sizeable portion of the worldwide organic farming market in 2017. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers in the country produced and marketed certified organic goods worth $7.6 billion in 2016. Furthermore, according to the Certified Organic Survey 2016, sales of organic farms climbed by up to 23% in the United States in 2016 over 2015.

 

In this report Organic Farming Market, the impact of ??????????-???? will be examined in the final report.

 

In response to the recent novel COVID-19 pandemic, the current report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global Organic Farming Market. The impact of a new coronavirus pandemic on the Organic Farming Market's growth is examined and depicted in this report.

 

The Organic Farming report contains useful data on market driving forces that are expected to have a significant impact on company portfolios and market share in the industry. In a similar vein, the Organic Farming report examines and categorises all recent market strategies in light of the market's challenges and opportunities in the coming years.

 

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» Technology Innovations

 

» Detailed Report

 

» Historical and Contemporary Scenarios

 

» Market Growth Opportunities

 

» Wide Range of Products

 

» High Concentration of Industry

 

» The Growth Dynamics

 

» Reliable Research Methodology for Value Chain Analysis

 

The report concludes with a growth strategy for the industry, a data source, research findings, an appendix, and a conclusion. The report examines the manufacturing process, competitors, seller and merchant classification, innovation implementation, and business growth strategies in order to deconstruct the market. Customers' concerns about the company's future plans and actions in order to compete with other market players will be alleviated by all of these details. Furthermore, the most recent market gains are shown.

 

Organic Farming Market insights will help businesses in a variety of industries increase their revenue impact:

 

» Providing a framework for assessing the appeal of various products, solutions, and technologies in the Organic Farming Market; assisting stakeholders in identifying key problem areas related to their global Organic Farming market consolidation strategies; and providing solutions.

 

» Examining the ramifications of changing regulatory dynamics in areas where companies want to expand.

 

» Provides knowledge of disruptive technology trends to assist businesses in making smooth transitions.

 

» Assisting leading companies with recalibrating their strategies in order to stay ahead of competitors and peers.

 

» Organic Farmings : supply-side analysis of the market, as well as promising synergies for top players looking to maintain market leadership.

 

» The most recent market research A Organic Farming market survey is also available, which covers 20+ countries and key categories and provides an outlook.

 

» The study also includes insights and forecasts on Organic Farming market drivers, trends, and influencing factors.

 

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'Organic farming is our duty,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, while addressing the nation on the 75th Independence Day on August 15.

 

Modi mentioned organic and natural farming twice in his speech, as he talked about turning to chemical-free agriculture.

 

'Today natural farming is also a way of becoming self-reliant,' he said. 'Today the factories of nano fertilisers have brought new hope to the country. But natural farming and chemical-free farming can give a boost to self-reliance.'

 

While switching to organic farming could counter dangers to the environment – such as soil degradation due to increased fertiliser use – and public health, scientists are still divided on whether India can afford the transition to chemical-free agriculture. That’s because organic farming means less intensive agriculture, and in turn, decreased crop productivity. This could put India on the backfoot with regard to food security; altered rainfall patterns caused by climate change are already causing huge losses to farmers, scientists said.

 

Benefits of organic farming

 

Today, India has a surplus of foodgrains. This self-sufficiency came thanks to the Green Revolution in the 1960s, which increased crop production – of mostly rice and wheat – substantially. Foodgrain production rose from 82 million tonnes (MT) in the late 1960s to 264 MT in 2013-14.

 

But along with the increasing area under farming and switching to high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, farmers were also encouraged to use chemicals – fertilisers and pesticides – to facilitate higher yields.

 

This caused 'unintended but harmful consequences on agriculture and human health', according to scientists Daisy John and Giridhar Babu of the Public Health Foundation of India, Bengaluru. The impacts were many and still persist, they wrote. The use of pesticides and fertilisers led to an increase in heavy metals (such as cadmium, lead and arsenic) in the soil. In many areas, soils turned more alkaline; beneficial microbes died, and soils became infertile. Farmers in some major Green Revolution belts including Punjab also burn crop residue, which is a major cause of air pollution in northern India.

 

A recent report by the non-profit Pesticide Action Network India found that there is widespread, unauthorised and unsafe use of four pesticides (chlorpyrifos, fipronil, atrazine, and paraquat dichloride) in India. Of these, three are listed as 'moderately hazardous' by the World Health Organisation based on their health impacts.

 

Organic farming is seen as a safer alternative. Chemicals do not find a place in this farming technique; farmers use only organic products such as cow dung instead. In natural farming, however, no external inputs – including bio-fertilisers – are used (this includes zero-budget natural farming, which is being encouraged by the Indian government).

 

In India, organic and natural farming are being promoted through several schemes including the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and more. According to one definition, organic food production also includes farming techniques that do not use genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, and antibiotics.

 

Apart from public health benefits, studies show that organic farming can benefit biodiversity. As per some estimates, organic farming across the world increases local species richness by ~34% and abundance by ~50%. However, this depends on various factors such as the larger landscape that the farms are located in.

 

Organic farming is catching on in India. India has witnessed a threefold increase in land under organic cultivation: from 5,28,171 ha in 2007 to 1.2 million ha in 2014. India is also home to the highest number of organic producers, as per one estimate. However, this captures only around 2.5% of the total land under cultivation in the country.

 

While organic or natural farming could capture niche markets for export, it cannot be implemented as a nationwide policy, said Sreekumar K.M., an agricultural entomologist with the Kerala Agricultural University.

 

'It would be disastrous,' he told The Wire. 

 

He gave several reasons why. 

 

Converting to organic farming means that we would need to produce a far higher quantity of organic manure, Sreekumar said. And that means more cows. Cattle rearing has been listed as one of the main contributors to climate change, for it produces methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gases. Moreover, conventional farming might be crucial for farmers given the unpredictability of weather with the onset of climate change, Sreekumar said. Altered rainfall patterns and events such as floods and droughts will become more frequent, reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict.

 

Studies also suggest that while organic farming is indeed less polluting than conventional farming, it currently accounts for only 1% of global agricultural land. Yields are lower (a recent study pegged this at ~25% lower on average), as is productivity or the money produced per unit of land (up to 44% lower than in conventional agriculture). If a larger number of farmers were to switch to organic practices, it would require more land to be brought under agriculture. This would be additional pressure on existing natural habitats, due to habitat conversion and loss.

 

More land diverted for organic produce would also mean that the cost of production will rise, making food less affordable for poor consumers in developing countries, the review found. Indeed, organic food is currently accessible only to high-income groups, said Sreekumar. 

 

Switching to organic farming would not be a good idea for India’s nutritional or food security either, he added. That’s because India’s soils are extremely diverse. For example, many parts of Kerala have lateritic soil; high levels of iron and aluminium in the soil make it acidic. Adding lime or dolomite as a fertiliser to make the soil less acidic makes crops more productive. Similarly, if calcium in the soil is low, flower rots are common in tomato crops, Sreekumar said. Adding conventional fertilisers to the soil based on context-specific needs would ensure that farmers’ yields are not affected.

 

According to him, the move to recommend organic farming may stem from the government’s move to cut down on fertiliser subsidies that are given to farmers. With fertiliser prices surging internationally, the Union government has over the years been reducing the budget on subsidies. In 2020-21, the actual spending on fertilisers was Rs 1,27,921.74 crore; this decreased to Rs 79,529.68 crore in the 2021-22 Union budget, reported Down to Earth. Though this was revised to Rs 1,40,122.32 crore to tackle the farm crisis it was again decreased by ~25% to Rs 1,05,222.32 crore in the Union Budget 2022-23, the news report said.

 

Sri Lanka’s cautionary tale

 

When it comes to fertilisers and crop production, there’s much to learn from Sri Lanka’s sudden move to switch to organic farming. More than a year ago, the Mahinda Rajapakse government banned the import of fertilisers and pesticides out of the blue, hoping to rely on domestic bio fertilisers. It didn’t work out as planned. Crop production saw a huge drop. For example, seasonal paddy yields in 2021-22 dropped by half, while maize decreased by 70%, as per a news report. Sri Lanka was not producing enough organic waste to use as manure. In June this year, Sri Lanka planned to borrow $55 million from India to buy urea, reported?? The Print.

 

Adopting natural farming in a 'knee-jerk fashion' – as Sri Lanka did – should not happen, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand told Financial Express in June. India can double the acreage of chemical-free farming to 15% immediately, and to 30% by 2030, 'without hurting national food security as any resultant loss in output and exports could be compensated by [the] reduction in fertiliser subsidies', he said.

 

Incidentally, a report commissioned by the NITI Aayog in 2020 found that while farmers perceived natural farming to be climate resilient, less water-intensive and better for soil quality, it could lead to exhaustion of nutrients from the soil in the long run if monocropping patterns are followed.

 

'NF [natural farming] may not be a substitute for conventional farming for large scale food production. Rather it may be promoted in low-input region for smallholders,' the report, put together by scientists at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, recommended.

 

A middle path may indeed be the way out, as scientists noted in a review: 'Organic farming is not the paradigm for sustainable agriculture and food security, but smart combinations of organic and conventional methods could contribute toward sustainable productivity increases in global agriculture.'

India’s wheat production is projected to have declined nearly 3% to 106.8 million tonnes (MT) while the overall foodgrain production is estimated at record 315.7 MT in the 2021-22 crop year, higher by around 5 MT than the 2020-21 output.

 

Wheat production is estimated to have declined due to heatwave during its maturing phase that resulted in shrivelled grains in the north-western states of Punjab and Haryana.

 

Releasing the fourth advance estimates for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June), the agriculture ministry on Wednesday said a record production is also estimated of rice, maize, gram, pulses, oilseeds and sugarcane. The output of coarse cereals is, however, likely to marginally decline to 50.9 MT in 2021-22 from 51.3 MT in the previous year.

 

Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar attributed the record output of so many crops to the 'farmer-friendly policies of the central government', hard work of farmers, and diligence of the scientists.

 

The government during a crop year (July-June cycle) releases four estimates before the final one. The fourth estimate is generally closer to the final figure.

 

According to fourth estimates data, wheat production is pegged lower at 106.8 MT in the 2021-22 crop year as against 109.6 MT in the previous year. Rice production is, however, projected at record 130.3 MT in 2021-22 as against 124.3 MT in 2020-21. Pulses output is estimated to be at record 27.7 MT compared to 25.4 MT in the 2020-21 crop year.

 

In the non-foodgrain category, the oilseed production is projected to be record 37.69 MT in the 2021-22 crop year as against 35.94 MT in the previous year. Sugarcane production is estimated at record 431.8 MT compared to 405.3 MT in the previous year while cotton output is expected to drop to 31.2 million bales (170 kg each) from 35.2 million bales.

The fourth advance estimates of production of major agricultural crops for the year 2021-22 have been released by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The production of Foodgrains in the country is estimated at 315.72 million tonnes which is higher by 4.98 million tonnes than the production of foodgrain during 2020-21. The production during 2021-22 is higher by 25 million tonnes than the previous five years’ (2016-17 to 2020-21) average production of foodgrains. Record production is estimated of rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed and mustard, oilseeds and sugarcane. Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that, this record production of so many crops is the result of the farmer-friendly policies of the Central Government under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as well as tireless hard work of the farmers and the diligence of the scientists.

 

As per 4th Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major crops during 2021-22 is as under: Foodgrains 315.72 million tonnes, Rice 130.29 million tonnes (record), Wheat 106.84  million tonnes, Nutri / Coarse Cereals 50.90 million tonnes, Maize 33.62 million tonnes (record), Pulses 27.69 million tonnes (record), Tur 4.34 million tonnes, Gram 13.75 million tonnes (record), Oilseeds 37.70 million tonnes (record), Groundnut 10.11 million tonnes, Soyabean 12.99 million tonnes, Rapeseed and Mustard 11.75 million tonnes (record), Sugarcane 431.81 million tonnes (record), Cotton  31.20 million bales (each of 170 kg), Jute  & Mesta 10.32 million bales (each of 180 kg).

 

Total production of Rice during 2021-22 is estimated at record 130.29 million tonnes. It is higher by 13.85 million tonnes than the last five years’ average production of 116.44 million tonnes.

 

Production of Wheat during 2021-22 is estimated at 106.84 million tonnes. It is higher by 2.96 million tonnes than the last five years’ average wheat production of 103.88 million tonnes.

 

Production of Nutri / Coarse Cereals estimated at 50.90 million tonnes, which is higher by 4.32 million tonnes than the last five years’ average production of 46.57 million tonnes.

 

Total Pulses production during 2021-22 is estimated at record 27.69 million tonnes which is higher by 3.87 million tonnes than the last five years’ average production of 23.82 million tonnes.

 

Total Oilseeds production in the country during 2021-22 is estimated at record 37.70 million tonnes which is higher by 1.75 million tonnes than the production of 35.95 million tonnes during 2020-21. Further, the production of oilseeds during 2021-22 is higher by 5.01 million tonnes than the average oilseeds production.           

 

Total production of Sugarcane in the country during 2021-22 is estimated at record 431.81 million tonnes which is higher by 58.35 million tonnes than the average sugarcane production of 373.46 million tonnes.

 

Production of Cotton and Jute & Mesta is estimated at 31.20 million bales (each of 170 kg) and 10.32 million bales (each of 180 kg), respectively. 

 

The assessment of production of different crops is based on the data received from States and validated with information available from other sources.The estimated production of various crops as per the 4th Advance Estimates for 2021-22 vis-à-vis the comparative estimates for the years 2007-08 onwards is attached.

The country's oil meal exports increased 19 per cent to 2,27,247 tonnes in July this year due to rise in shipments of rapeseed meals, according to Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) of India. Oil meal exports during July 2021 stood at 1,91,663 tonnes, SEA data said.

 

The overall export of oil meals during April-July jumped 35 per cent to 12,48,512 tonnes compared to 9,27,555 tonnes in the same period of the previous year.

 

Exports of rapeseed meal during April-July showed a quantum jump of 77 per cent at 8,51,212 tonnes compared to 4,79,572 tonnes following a record crop and crushing which led to high processing, availability and exports, SEA said.

 

Currently, India ships rapeseed meal to South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and other Far East Countries at USD 295 FOB (Freight On Board) India, while rapeseed Hamburg ex-mill is at USD 376.

 

FOB is used when liability and ownership of goods is transferred from a seller to a buyer.

 

SEA further stated that soybean meal export is at the lowest level as Indian shipment is still outpriced in the international market.

 

Current price of soybean meal FOB Kandla (Gujarat) is quoted at USD 675 per tonne, while soybean meal Argentina CIF Rotterdam is quoted at USD 548 per tonne and Brazil at USD 534 per tonne.

 

Meanwhile, export of castor meal has marginally declined at 22,401 tonnes and rice bran extraction is maintained at the same level at 45,225 tonnes compared to the same period of last year.

 

South Korea was the major importer of oil meals from India during April-July with 4,24,719 tonnes compared to 2,77,034 tonnes during the same period of last year, which included 3,55,280 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 55,719 tonnes of castor seed meal and 13,720 tonnes of soybean meal.

 

Vietnam imported 2,26,606 tonnes of oil meals compared to 1,64,115 tonnes last year, consisting of 1,36,014 tonnes of rice bran extraction, 88,569 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 1,575 tonnes of soybean meal and 448 tonnes of groundnut meal.

 

Thailand imported 1,56,821 tonnes of oil meals compared to 1,17,388 tonnes during the first four months of 2021, consisting of 1,55,835 tonnes of rapeseed meal and 986 tonnes of soybean meal.

 

Bangladesh sourced rapeseed meal and rice bran extraction from India and imported 1,44,667 tonnes of oil meals compared to 1,23,741 tonnes, including 31,672 tonnes of rice bran extractions and 1,12,991 tonnes of rapeseed meal.

 

Taiwan imported 50,582 tonnes of oil meals during April-July compared to 32,823 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2021, which included 37,569 tonnes of castor seed meal, 10,915 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 1,569 tonnes of groundnut meal and 529 tonnes of soybean meal, the data add.

 

India’s rice exports are projected to increase to a record 22 MT in 2022-23 and account for 40% of global shipments despite a possible dip in domestic production during the period, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated.

 

While stating that India has large supplies of exportable rice and very competitive prices, USDA has projected that country’s projected exports exceed the combined shipments of the next three-largest exporters — Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan.

 

India’s rice production in the 2022-23 crop year could decline to 128.5 million tonne (MT) mainly because of deficiency in monsoon rains especially in the eastern regions, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated.

 

'Uneven distribution of the 2022 southwest monsoon that reduced rice planting across the eastern states of the Indo-Gangetic plains and Peninsular India,' according to the rice outlook for August released by USDA on Tuesday.

 

Reduction in the rice production forecast is based on 1 million hectare reduction in harvested area to 46 MH. 

 

It stated that ‘this is the first decline in India’s rice production since 2015- 16’. USDA has projected India’s domestic rice consumption at 108.4 MT for 2022-23.

 

India’s rice production rose to a record 130.29 MT in 2021-22 crop year (July-June), an increase of close to 5% compared to previous crop year.

 

Out of 21 MT of rice shipment in 2021-22, India exported more than 17 MT of non-basmati rice and the rest of the volume was aromatic and long grain Basmati rice. In terms of volume, Bangladesh, China, Benin and Nepal are five major export destinations of rice.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved to restore Interest Subvention on short term agriculture loans to 1.5% for all financial institutions. Thus, Interest Subvention of 1.5% will be provided to lending institutions (Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Bank, Small Finance Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Cooperative Banks and Computerized PACS directly ceded with commercial banks) for the financial year 2022-23 to 2024-25 for lending short term agri-loans upto Rs 3 lakh to the farmers.

 

This increase in Interest Subvention support requires additional budgetary provisions of Rs 34,856 crore for the period of 2022-23 to 2024-25 under the scheme.

 

Benefits:

 

Increase in Interest Subvention will ensure sustainability of credit flow in the agriculture sector as well as ensure financial health and viability of the lending institutions especially Regional Rural Banks & Cooperative Banks, ensuring adequate agriculture credit in rural economy.

 

Banks will be able to absorb increase in cost of funds and will be encouraged to grant loans to farmers for short term agriculture requirements and enable more farmers to get the benefit of agriculture credit.  This will also lead to generation of employment since short term agri-loans are provided for all activities including Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Poultry, fisheries.

 

Farmers will continue to avail short term agriculture credit at interest rate of 4% per annum while repaying the loan in time.

 

Background:

 

Ensuring hassle-free credit availability at cheaper rate to farmers has been the top priority of Government of India. Accordingly, Kisan Credit Card scheme was introduced for farmers, to empower them to purchase agriculture products and services on credit at any time. To ensure that the farmers have to pay a minimal interest rate to the bank, the Government of India introduced Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS), now renamed as Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), to provide short term credit to farmers at subsidized interest rates.

 

Under this scheme, short term agriculture loan upto Rs. 3.00 lakh is available to farmers engaged in Agriculture and other allied activities including Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Poultry, fisheries etc. at the rate of 7% p.a. An additional 3% subvention (Prompt Repayment Incentive - PRI) is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans. Therefore, if a farmer repays his loan on time, he gets credit at the rate of 4% p.a. For enabling this facility to the farmers, Government of India provides Interest Subvention (IS) to the Financial Institutions offering this scheme.  This support is 100% funded by the Centre, it is also the second largest scheme of DA&FW as per budget outlay and coverage of beneficiaries.  

 

Recently, under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, over 3.13 Crore farmers have been issued new Kisan Credit Card (KCC) against the target of 2.5 Crore. Special initiatives such as the KCC Saturation Drive for farmers enrolled under PM-KISAN scheme have also simplified the process and documentation involved for getting the KCC sanctioned.

 

Keeping in view the changing economic scenario, especially increase in the interest rate and lending rates for the financial institutions especially Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks, The Government has reviewed the rate of Interest subvention provided to these Financial Institutions. It is expected that this will ensure adequate credit flow in agriculture sector to the farmer as well as ensure financial health of lending institutions.

 

To address this challenge, Government of India has proactively decided to restore Interest Subvention on short term agriculture loans to 1.5% for all financial institutions.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given the green signal to begin formal negotiations for signing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with India in what can also boost trade and investments in eastern and north-eastern India in a big way.

 

This will be Dhaka’s first trade pact with any country, and it has given preference to India despite requests from China and Japan to have free-trade agreements, ET has learnt. Pacts with Japan and China are still at an assessment stage.

 

The CEPA will figure high on the agenda during Hasina’s proposed visit here on September 6-7.

 

The proposed deal is expected to boost Bangladesh's export earnings by 190% and India's by 188%, and gross domestic product by 1.72% and 0.03%, respectively, as revealed by a Dhaka-Delhi joint feasibility study.

 

The CEPA will cover trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights and ecommerce.

 

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh's exports to India rose to nearly $2 billion for the first time. Imports from India totalled $14 billion.

 

Officials from Dhaka said Bangladesh already enjoyed duty-free and quota-free benefits for the exports of all but 25 products, including tobacco and alcohol, to India, as a least developed country under the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement.

 

During the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in March 2021, he and Hasina issued instructions on concluding the joint feasibility study relating to the signing of the CEPA.

 

Accordingly, Bangladesh's Foreign Trade Institute and India's Centre for Regional Trade conducted the detailed joint feasibility study. In May this year, they sent the study report to their respective commerce ministries. The report suggested launching negotiations for the signing of the CEPA.

 

Once the trade deal is signed, Bangladesh's export earnings will go up by $3-5 billion and India's by $4-10 billion in the next 7-10 years, according to a final draft report of the joint feasibility study.

 

It will also open new investment windows for both countries, the study claimed.

 

'It may be concluded that the estimates and analysis of this study indicate that the proposed CEPA between India and Bangladesh is not only feasible but also mutually beneficial in terms of possible gains in the realms of trade in goods and services, and investment,' according to the study.

 

Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia, and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh.

 

Chandigarh-based IG Fresh Produce, a subsidiary of IG International, one of the leading fresh fruit importers, has planned to invest Rs 100 crore in the next five years in Arunachal Pradesh for the cultivation of exotic fruits like kiwi and stone fruits.

 

The company has entered into an agreement with the Arunachal Pradesh Agricultural Marketing Board (APAMB) and the farmers of Namshu village in West Kameng district for the cultivation of kiwi and stone fruits.

 

The undertaking within its purview would ensure cultivation, research and development, and post-harvest activities in a phased manner. The project will also generate gainful employment (technical and non-technical) for 500 youths over a period of 5 years in the Agri-Horti Sector in West Kameng District and from the rest of the state. This will not only boost the production of kiwi in the state but also increase the sale and export of kiwi and other fruits from the region.

 

Articulating about the historic agreement, Mr. Gautam Jha, President of IG Fresh Produce Private Limited, said, 'Arunachal Pradesh is a state which has the blessing of nature’s bounty in abundance. The region is full of friendly people and farmers who are adept at growing and nurturing their produce in the best possible manner. We at IG Fresh Produce are very confident of creating a natural lab for the cultivation, careful curation, research and development, and post-harvest treatment of the first-grade produce done in the orchid paradise of India.'

 

Speaking about the potential of this investment and trust for Arunachal Pradesh to be the home for superior exotic produce, agriculture minister, Mr. Tage Taki, said, 'This is a very big investment, not only in terms of the financial value but also in the context of the trust shown towards Arunachal and its farmers, for which I thank IG Fresh Produce, APAMB and the Invest India team. This project has the potential to make India into an independent nation when it comes to feeding top-notch Kiwis to its fruit-loving population. The state government will provide everything the farmers and IG Fresh Produce need to grow the best and most delicious fruits in our country.'

 

The Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Marketing Board is the premier agency of the state government that is exclusively responsible for the marketing of agriculture and allied sector products. The IG Fresh Produce Private Limited is one of the top fresh fruit importers in the country and a major supply chain player in the country. It has developed an efficient supply chain for providing high-quality fresh fruits like apples, kiwis, citrus, pears, blueberries, avocados, stone fruit, grapes, etc. to 27 cities across India.

 

With the sowing season nearing its end, experts have warned that kharif crop output could be significantly lower this year as the area under cultivation of rice, urad and tur is down by an average of 52.98% from last year. Erratic rainfall has also caused crop damage in several areas, they said.

 

'The lag in kharif sowing may be difficult to make up in the second half of the season,' said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA NSE -0.01 %.

 

Reducing the scope of a pickup in sowing is the problem of labour shortage, as farm hands have moved to the urban centres with the revival of labour-intensive sectors such as manufacturing and construction. 'We expect the kharif acreage to lag last year's sown area,' Nayar said.

 

There is a 52.98% % deficit in the sowing area, from 99.73 million hectares in 2021 to 46.897 million hectares as on August 12, according to data on the agriculture ministry's National Food Security Mission website.

 

The drop in acreage under rice as on August 5 was 13%. In the case of tur, it was 11.67% as on August 12, while that for urad was 4.57%.

 

RAINFLL DEFICIT

The shortfall in sowing of rice is mainly on account of rainfall deficit in the major rice producing states, such as Gangetic West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. While rainfall deficit in east and west Uttar Pradesh is 47% and 40%, respectively, it is 40% in Bihar and 35% in West Bengal, according to data from India Meteorological Department. Jharkhand has a deficiency of 36%.

 

As per traders' estimates, rice output may drop by about 10 million tonnes in 2022-23 to 120 million tonnes.

 

However, some believe that the fall in acreage may not necessarily mean shortage of rice. 'Rice is grown across the country, so even if there is a slight fall in acreage the situation will not be as bad as wheat,' said Rajiv Kumar, executive director, Rice Exporters' Association. 'The government also has a huge stock of rice.'

 

RISING PULSE

The prices of tur and urad increased in July and early August on account of a fall in acreage in the ongoing kharif season, prompting the government to make it mandatory for stockholders to disclose stocks of tur.

 

'Heavy rains in the major pulses producing regions such as Maharashtra and Karnataka and standing water in the fields may affect plant development,' said Rahul Chauhan, director of agriculture research firm iGrain India.

 

While the area under tur is less than last year, heavy rains in Rajasthan can damage the crops, he said. Moong and urad need clear skies for flowering and are heavily dependent on weather conditions.

 

SOYA STABLE

The acreage under soyabean is 11.874 million hectares as compared with 11.793 million hectares last year. In addition, it is a sturdy crop and can withstand erratic rainfall, so the overall production could be the same as last year, said Chauhan.