FAO & OECD released its Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 report, which looked back at the previous year in terms of meat production. According to the report, world meat production rose 5% in 2021 to an estimated 339 Mt, led by a large 34% increase in pig meat production in China following two years of precipitous decline induced by an outbreak of African swine fever.

 

Supplies of poultry, bovine and sheep meat rose only marginally as high feed prices reduced profitability. Bovine meat output in some countries was restrained by a variety of factors such as COVID–19 related disruptions, labour shortages, the on-going shrinkage of the dairy herd in the European Union, and the implementation of an export tax in Argentina. On the other hand, beef output increased 12% in India as slaughter numbers increased following the gradual reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and in response to improving demand from overseas markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

 

World meat imports in 2021 are estimated to have reached 40 MT, led by poultry imports. Leading meat exporters ? including Brazil, the European Union and the United States ? supplied much of this higher import demand.

 

International meat prices quoted in the Outlook trended upward in 2021, reflecting higher demand from economic recovery and higher marketing and transport costs. However, meat to feed price ratios fell significantly, putting pressure on sectoral profitability in intensive feed-grain livestock operations. This will cause markets to tighten further inducing higher prices early in the Outlook period.

India’s decision on international trade via national currencies can be considered a milestone event not only enabling Rupee-Rouble trade but also New Delhi’s trade in the immediate and extended neighbourhood including Iran and Central Asia and South Caucasus.

 

The new decision is expected to boost trade via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). INSTC will not only use Bandar Abbas Port of Iran but also Chabahar Port.

 

The internationalization of the rupee could lead to multipolar financial structure originally envisaged by the BRICS. The Central Asian states and Southern Caucasus have strong links with the Russian systems and India’s trade with this region in national currencies would come handy for businessmen here.

 

Multipolar financial structure could be lead to multipolar world order and could create more complex systems of economic interdependence between major countries, a decrease in interstate conflict due to this and the more equal balance of power between them, and the development-driven policies that this would inspire their governments to promulgate as a result, experts said.

 

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday stressed on Rupee-Rouble Arrangement and BRICS reserve currency amid global economic slump.

The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to rejoin the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) following talks between the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Shri Tomar appreciated this step of the state government. With this important decision, crops of more than 40 lakh farmers of the state will get insurance cover in case of natural calamity.

 

Shri Tomar said that the Central Government has made PMFBY simple and convenient as per the suggestions of the states. The Central Government is working continuously with the States to improve the condition of farmers and make them prosperous and transform agriculture into advanced farming.

 

In the meeting, Shri Reddy thanked the Central Government for re-implementing PMFBY in the state. Shri Reddy said that after discussion with the Center, the State Government has decided to provide the farmers of the State with crop insurance cover under the PMFBY.

 

Andhra Pradesh has decided to implement the PMFBY from Kharif-2022 season. The Central Government is committed to empower the farmers across the country including Andhra Pradesh by securing their income-livelihood and to realize the dream of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's AatmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) and self-reliant farmer. Keeping in view the suggestions of Andhra Pradesh and other states, the Central Government revamped the scheme in February-2020 with new features, such as voluntary enrolment for all farmers, wider use of technology in yield estimation, risk coverage to choose for payment of sum insured to the States as per the option and prevailing risk profile and a provision of 3% was made for administrative expenses.

 

On July 7, a team headed by the Union Agriculture Secretary Shri Manoj Ahuja also gave a presentation to the Chief Minister regarding the scheme.

 

PMFBY and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) have been successfully implemented in Andhra Pradesh from Kharif-2016 to Kharif-2019.

 

Special Chief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Smt. Poonam Malakondaiah, Additional Secretary, Union Agriculture Ministry, Shri Abhilaksh Likhi also addressed today's meeting. The CEO and Joint Secretary of the scheme, Shri Ritesh Chauhan, gave welcome speech and presentation. Senior officials of Central and State Government were also present in the meeting.

To give boost to the export of horticulture products grown in North-Eastern (NE) states, the overnment is now up with a robust strategy to promote locally produced agricultural products to the international markets. The NE region is geopolitically important as it shares international boundaries with China and Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh making it the potential hub for the export of agricultural produce to neighbouring countries as well as other foreign destinations.

 

As a result, there has been a significant increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in the last few years. 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.

 

To provide potential market linkages, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development and Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, organised field visits of importers to have first-hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers. Importers were mostly the Middle East, far Eastern countries, and European nations and Australia, etc. 

 

In the last three years, APEDA organised 136 capacity building programmes on export awareness across the different parts of NER. Highest, 62 capacity building programmes were held in NER in 2019-20, while 21 in 2020-21 and 53 such programmes were organised by APEDA in the year 2021-22. Apart from capacity building initiatives, APEDA facilitated 22 International Buyer-Seller Meets as well as trade fairs in NER in the last three years. 

 

APEDA also organised organized conference on the Export Potential of Natural, Organic and Geographical Indications (GI) Agro Products in Guwahati on June 24, 2022 to tap the abundant export potential of organic agricultural products from Assam and neighbouring states of NER.

 

APEDA aims at creating a platform in Assam for the exporters to get the products directly from the producer group and the processers. The platform will link the producers and processors of Assam and exporters from other parts of the country that would expand the base of the export pockets in the North-Eastern states, including Assam and increase the employment opportunities among the people of the state.

 

APEDA signs 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.

 

The APEDA promoted GI products from NER like Bhut Jolokia, Assam Lemon, etc drew the attention of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who had mentioned it during his Maan Ki Baat programme. Assam Lemon is now exported regularly to London and the Middle East and as of now, more than 50 MT of Assam Lemon has been exported. Several consignments of litchi and pumpkin have also been exported by APEDA from Assam to different countries.

 

'Assam and the other states of North East Region have a favourable climate condition and the soil type for growing almost all agricultural and horticultural crops. As most of NER’s boundaries are shared with nations like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China, there are possibilities of enhancing exports from the region,' APEDA Chairman Dr M Angamuthu said.

 

During 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 has also planned to facilitate capacity building to officials of the Assam Agriculture Department and selected officials would be sent in batches to Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

 

APEDA also extend its support for 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).

 

APEDA also facilitated a workshop on Food Quality and Safety Management for Export of Processed Food Products from NER at Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya and Dibrugarh in Assam for boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products from NER through sustainable food value chain development.

 

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.

 

Tapping the export potential of pork and pork products, APEDA assisted the Assam Govt in setting up a modern pork processing facility at Nazira which has a slaughtering capacity of 400 animals per day. The unit is ready and set to be commissioned soon. 

 

APEDA organised a training programme on the promotion of organic pork export from Sikkim, which is an organic state of India, in association with the State Animal Husbandry Department. APEDA has also developed guidelines for the export of fresh and processed pork with the help of NRC on pigs located at Rani, which is near Guwahati. In the NER, Sikkim is the first state to have an organic certification agency, which was established in 2016 with the support of APEDA.

To give boost to the export of horticulture products grown in North-Eastern (NE) states, the overnment is now up with a robust strategy to promote locally produced agricultural products to the international markets. The NE region is geopolitically important as it shares international boundaries with China and Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh making it the potential hub for the export of agricultural produce to neighbouring countries as well as other foreign destinations.

 

As a result, there has been a significant increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in the last few years. 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.

 

To provide potential market linkages, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development and Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, organised field visits of importers to have first-hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers. Importers were mostly the Middle East, far Eastern countries, and European nations and Australia, etc.

 

In the last three years, APEDA organised 136 capacity building programmes on export awareness across the different parts of NER. Highest, 62 capacity building programmes were held in NER in 2019-20, while 21 in 2020-21 and 53 such programmes were organised by APEDA in the year 2021-22. Apart from capacity building initiatives, APEDA facilitated 22 International Buyer-Seller Meets as well as trade fairs in NER in the last three years.

 

APEDA also organised organized conference on the Export Potential of Natural, Organic and Geographical Indications (GI) Agro Products in Guwahati on June 24, 2022 to tap the abundant export potential of organic agricultural products from Assam and neighbouring states of NER.

 

APEDA aims at creating a platform in Assam for the exporters to get the products directly from the producer group and the processers. The platform will link the producers and processors of Assam and exporters from other parts of the country that would expand the base of the export pockets in the North-Eastern states, including Assam and increase the employment opportunities among the people of the state.

 

APEDA signs 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.

 

The APEDA promoted GI products from NER like Bhut Jolokia, Assam Lemon, etc drew the attention of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who had mentioned it during his Maan Ki Baat programme. Assam Lemon is now exported regularly to London and the Middle East and as of now, more than 50 MT of Assam Lemon has been exported. Several consignments of litchi and pumpkin have also been exported by APEDA from Assam to different countries.

 

'Assam and the other states of North East Region have a favourable climate condition and the soil type for growing almost all agricultural and horticultural crops. As most of NER's boundaries are shared with nations like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China, there are possibilities of enhancing exports from the region,' APEDA Chairman Dr M Angamuthu said.

 

During 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 has also planned to facilitate capacity building to officials of the Assam Agriculture Department and selected officials would be sent in batches to Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

 

APEDA also extend its support for 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).

 

APEDA also facilitated a workshop on Food Quality and Safety Management for Export of Processed Food Products from NER at Ri Bhoi in Meghalaya and Dibrugarh in Assam for boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products from NER through sustainable food value chain development.

 

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.

 

Tapping the export potential of pork and pork products, APEDA assisted the Assam Govt in setting up a modern pork processing facility at Nazira which has a slaughtering capacity of 400 animals per day. The unit is ready and set to be commissioned soon.

 

APEDA organised a training programme on the promotion of organic pork export from Sikkim, which is an organic state of India, in association with the State Animal Husbandry Department. APEDA has also developed guidelines for the export of fresh and processed pork with the help of NRC on pigs located at Rani, which is near Guwahati. In the NER, Sikkim is the first state to have an organic certification agency, which was established in 2016 with the support of APEDA.

The Department of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Government of India in association with Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized a conference on 'Scope of Public Private Partnership in Agriculture’ in New Delhi today.

 

Shri, Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India delivered the Keynote address on Government’s expectations from Industry, focussing on incorporation of the private sector expectation in the formulation of architectural framework for sector development, shared understanding, knowledge & resources for overall development.

 

In her address Smt N. Vijayalakshmi, JS (Marketing) laid emphasis on strengthening the four I’s namely Inputs, Infrastructure, Investments and Institutions for developing a conducive ecosystem for PPP projects in Agriculture. 

 

Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary (Extension, AIF and I&PS), Dept. of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare mentioned about de-risking of agriculture and stressed the need for developing scalable, viable and replicable business models while leveraging the strengths of public and private sectors to have a 'win-win' situation.

 

Shri Pravesh Sharma, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on FPOs, in his address referred to the need for developing synergy between government and private players for a focused approach for investments towards Technology, Capital and Market Linkage.

 

Several Industry experts highlighted the various gaps such as ‘Knowledge gaps to farmers, lack of basic infrastructure, quality of Inputs etc as the major areas of concern. Some of them also highlighted the issue of Ministries/Departments and stakeholders working in silos.

 

The session on States perspective on PPP in Agriculture was chaired by Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar and moderated by Shri Hemendra Mathur, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Start-ups.

 

States pointed out issues like need for Farm gate Infrastructure for Grading, Sorting and primary processing of produce to reduce Post harvest losses, logistic services to work in sync with the producers, Infrastructure to meet export requirements, Open network to collect data directly for the farmers & Knowledge distribution.

 

The consultation was attended by more than 100 participants comprising of diverse stakeholders including state government representatives, Agritech start-ups, Private sector players, FPO members, Agri industry experts & Investors.

To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India is organizing a two days’ National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers in Bengaluru on 14-15th July, 2022 in the presence of Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministers of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Sushri Shobha Karandlaje and Shri Kailash Choudhary and Ministers of Agriculture & Horticulture of the States.

 

Technical sessions would be conducted during the conference focusing on nine thematic areas, viz. Digital Agriculture, Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Natural Farming, FPO, e-NAM, Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, National Food Security Mission, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, New Technology by ICAR. A separate session on the best practices in the agriculture & allied sector adopted in various states across the country would be integrated with the technical sessions during the conference. One of the major interventions of this conference would be launching of e-NAM Platform of Platform by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to promote trade & marketing of agriculture produce for getting better prices of agriculture commodities to farmers.

 

Government of India has taken a novel initiative for participation of the all stakeholders through this 'Platform of Platforms (PoPs) under e-NAM' towards next level revolution in Agri- Produce Marketing which will facilitate the Indian Farmers to sell their produce beyond their state boundaries. This will enhance farmers’ accessibility digitally to multiple numbers of markets, buyers, service providers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanism for better price realization of farm produce to the farmers. The e-NAM as Platform of Platforms will pave way to create an efficient and effective 'One Nation One Market' ecosystem.

 

This conference is being organized to commemorate 75 Years of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ which is a step forward towards building a self-reliant India.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed between the Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare (DA&FW) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) today on commencement of Phase -2 activities of IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) to scale up the existing partnership for food and nutrition security in the South Asian region. The Agreement was signed by Shri Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, DA&FW and Dr. Jean Balié, Director General, IRRI in the presence of the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar.

 

The ISARC was established following the Union Cabinet approval five years ago. ISARC also set up a Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA) that includes a modern and sophisticated laboratory with capacity to determine quality and status of heavy metals in grain and straw. One of the critical achievements of CERVA is the development of one low and one intermediate glycaemic index (GI) rice varieties: IRRI 147 (GI 55) and IRRI 162 (GI 57), respectively, through the joint efforts of the CERVA team and IRRI HQ. Since most rice varieties are high in GI and most of the Indians consume rice, the popularization of low GI rice varieties will reduce or even reverse India's increasing trend of diabetes.

 

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated state-of-the-art Speed Breeding Facility (SpeedBreed) at ISRAC in Varanasi on December 23, 2021. The facility is devoted to expedite the plant growth cycle of crops and enable advancing rice plants for five generations per year against only one to two under normal conditions. This plays a crucial role in transferring important traits (e.g., low GI, biotic and abiotic stresses) to popular Indian rice varieties in a shorter time.

 

The second phase of the ISARC programme proposes to increase farmers’ incomes, improve food and nutrition security, health, and well-being of small/holder farmers through increased system productivity, reduced yield gaps, enhanced climate resilience, mechanized and digital farming, improved market linkages, modernized value chains enabling entrepreneurship for women and youth, and capacity development.

 

In his brief remarks, Shri Ahuja said the Agreement will pave the way for undertaking further work towards the improvement of the welfare of farmers and ensuring food and nutrition security in India and the rest of South Asia. IRRI, especially ISARC, has long been an ally of the Indian government in addressing the most pressing issues concerning the agrifood sector, he said.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Balié said the ISARC is the first and biggest research Centre of the IRRI across the world outside Philippines. He said the continuation of the Agreement will help the capacity of rice-growing countries in South Asia, including India, and Africa in crop production, seed quality, and to enhance farmers’ income. It will also mitigate environment and climate change challenges in rice cultivation, help fight global hunger and eradicate poverty, he added.

 

Activities toward meeting the objectives of the 2nd Phase will be carried out through a trans disciplinary approach and leveraging cutting-edge technologies in three thematic areas over 5 years viz., (1) Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition (CERVA); (2) Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture (CESA) and (3) Center for Education in Innovation and Research for Development (CEIRD).

 

Main objectives include the development, dissemination, and popularization of high-yielding stress-tolerant and bio-fortified rice, particularly high zinc and low glycemic index rice; supporting national and regional rice breeding programmes to advance rice lines of specific and certified grain quality to increase producer and customer acceptance of new varieties to increase genetic gain; promotion of climate-smart varieties, natural resource management practices, and resilient agriculture through integrated geospatial data systems and tools, robust seed systems, dynamic agro-advisory systems, and scale-appropriate mechanization; improvement of nutrient use efficiency (NUE), soil health, and water productivity in diversified rice agri-food systems for increased productivity and reduced environmental footprints; development of inclusive value chain-based business models (including farmer producer companies, business linkages, and entrepreneurship) for premium quality traditional varieties and value-added by-products; development of evidence-based strategies to improve women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurial  engagement in rice-based systems and engaging  youth in sustainable transformation of these  systems; and enhancement of local capacities, knowledge, and skills of all stakeholders through  innovative human capital development solutions.

 

The Phase II activities follow the long-time cooperation between the Government of India and IRRI. In 2017, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the establishment of ISARC at the campus of the National Seed Research and Training Center (NSRTC) in Varanasi. The Cabinet, in its meeting held on 12th July, 2017, had approved the establishment of the ISARC and the operation of IRRI in India. Subsequently, the Memorandum of Agreement was signed on August 2, 2017 between the DA&FW and IRRI.   The agreement was for 5 years from 2017-22 with a provision to extend for another 5 years subject to both sides mutually agreeing for the same.  

 

For the past five years, the Center has played a major role in harnessing and sustaining food production in the region as it has been delivering research for development services for members of the private and public sectors through its state-of-the-art laboratory facilities for grain quality, crop production and nutritional quality. ISARC has also enabled knowledge transfer through short courses on rice-based agrifood systems.

 

ISARC also provides training on grain quality, nutritional quality and food safety. Broader Programme for Research and Partnership (BPRP) was launched for undertaking breeding for climate resilience, bio-fortification, improvement of traditional landraces, seed systems to enhance varietal replacement, natural resource management, organic agriculture, digitalization, and mechanization of agriculture for small/holder farmers, use of geo-spatial technology in agriculture and women and youth empowerment. IRRI Research and Education Programme (IREP) was also launched for capacity development, including scholars, extension workers and farmers; and promoting South-South cooperation and networking with key stakeholders to support and capacitate NARES.

 

In the second present phase of the agreement, ISARC proposes to extend its research and development with the aim to accelerate the equitable development of sustainable and inclusive rice-based systems across India and South Asia to meet the producers’ and consumers’ demand. ISARC also plans to facilitate further improvement of system productivity and farmers’ income through digital agriculture, agro-advisory services, knowledge sharing and capacity development that will promote sustainable and ecofriendly agriculture through business models that attract the youth back into agri-entrepreneurship.

The Indian Food Authority, FSSAI has issued a draft of the norms related to Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, and Prebiotic and Probiotic Food) Regulations, 2022.

 

This regulation would replace the previous regulations of 2016 for these products.

 

According to the FSSAI, it was done to overhaul the entire segment and make it more ‘stakeholder’ friendly and as articles of food falling under these regulations are specially processed or formulated for specific nutritional or dietary purpose and  should be clearly distinguishable from foods intended for normal consumption, these regulations will benefit the nutraceuticals sector to have clear guidelines and will also enable field functionaries to ensure better compliance at the ground level.

 

Categories covered under these regulations include, (a) Health Supplements (HS) (b) Nutraceuticals (Nutra) (c) Food for Special Dietary Use (FSDU) (d) Food for Special Medical Purpose (FSMP) and (e) Prebiotic food and Probiotic food (Pre-Pro).

 

FSSAI added that there was not much fundamental change in the provisions and only a reorganisation of clauses was done for ease of understanding and objections or suggestions, which may be received from any person with respect to the said draft regulations before the expiry of period so specified, shall be considered by the Food Authority.

 

About ingredients, the regulations lay that (a) The products shall contain approved ingredients as applicable to different categories of foods to be specified separately by the Food Authority in the form of Schedules including Schedule I: Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients), Schedule II: Plant or botanicals, Schedule III: Molecules/isolates/extracts other than Schedule II, & Schedule IV: Prebiotics and Probiotics.

 

'In addition, categories covered under these regulations may also contain such additional ingredients, other than additives, which are either standardised or permitted for use in preparation of the other standardised foods,' reads the draft.

 

Further, according to the draft, products covered under these regulations may also contain cereal grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables mentioned in the latest edition of the Indian Food Composition Tables (IFCT) published by ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) and spices included in the list published by the Spices Board of India either as such or as processed ingredients including extracts while non-specified foods including novel foods and non-specified ingredients, even if intended for use as any of the above categories, are not covered under these regulations and such ingredient/product shall need approval in accordance with Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specific Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations, 2017.

More than 150 students from Class IV to Class XII participated and learnt the basics elements of paddy cultivation at the training farm of APEDA promoted Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) which is situated at Modipuram in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. Students visited the training farm on three different days and learnt the basics of paddy cultivation such as puddling, transplanting, processing, production and export process. The students also learnt the activities like the process of making rice from paddy, de-husking, making steamed rice, production of rice meant for export and extraction of oil from rice and fodder for animals.

 

Besides, BEDF scientists explained to them the process of Basmati production, processing, storage, the volume of business and export activities. They also learnt about soil health cards management, including green manure crops and experienced the nodules in leguminous crops, including Moong bean and Sesbania and transplanted Basmati crops in the field.

 

Shri M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said that the objective of this initiative is to impart practical knowledge to students as well as  enhance their understanding of the entire value-chain of rice production to exports, was to support the government’s attempt to . He informed that similar field visits of students will be organized in other parts of the country for imparting practical knowledge on agricultural production systems.

 

In line with the objective of the NEP, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), organised farming demonstrations and farm training to hone the skills and inculcate practical knowledge of paddy cultivation among students, start-ups and others.

 

As per the National Education Policy (NEP), institutions have been asked to give special impetus to practical knowledge and skill development instead of theoretical learning. In a tweet, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that NEP aims to bring education out of narrow limits, and integrate it with 21st-century modern ideas.

 

APEDA through BEDF is assisting state governments in the promotion of Basmati rice cultivation. Through the awareness creation programme, farmers were informed that the Basmati rice cultivation is an Indian tradition and it is a collective responsibility to maintain this tradition as there is huge demand for Basmati rice in the global market. The farmers have been requested to get themselves registered on basmati.net through the State Agriculture Department. APEDA, through BEDF, has been assisting the state governments in promotion of Basmati rice cultivation.

 

As part of the initiatives, BEDF in collaboration with the rice exporters associations of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi, state agriculture universities and state agriculture departments, has organised 75 awareness and training programmes to encourage farmers for growing high-quality Basmati rice in the seven states. BEDF is also involved as technical partner for different FPOs, exporter associations, etc in the key growing states.

 

India has exported Basmati to the tune of close to USD 12 billion in the last three years. In 2021-22, India exported Basmati rice valued at USD 3.54 billion. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Kuwait, United Kingdom, Qatar and Oman have a share of close to 80 per cent in total shipments of aromatic long grained rice from India in 2021-22.