Shri Pawar Lauds Contribution of Scientists in Success of Major Agricultural Programmes

ICAR Releases 104 Varieties, 11835 Tonne Breeder Seed, Opens 5 Kvks, Gets ISO Certification in 2013 

Agriculture and FPI Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar, recently lauded the contribution of agricultural scientists in the success of the recently launched programmes for fast growth in foodgrain production. Talking of the rise in foodgrain production achieved by the National Food Security Mission, the BGREI and Accelerated Pulse Production Programme, the Minister said, “I feel an important factor contributing to the success of these programmes is the active involvement of scientists and the officials of development agencies, right at the level of farmer’s field.” 

Shri Pawar was addressing scientists and policy makers at the 85th Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society. 

Elaborating further, Shri Pawar said, “The efforts of scientists in developing high yielding, input efficient, disease tolerant varieties/hybrids alongwith their widespread adoption by the farmers are visible in increasing the farm productivity, quality and quantity. In the last 10 years, our foodgrain production increased from 198 million tonnes in 2004-05 to 259 million tonnes by 2011-12, at an average of about 6 million tonnes per annum. The two major staple cereals of the country, wheat and rice, registered an increase of nearly 50 million tonnes during this period. Overall it is important to note that the foodgrain production has continuously increased despite a virtual ceiling on cultivable area of 140±2 million hectares. Today, India is among leading rice exporters in the world. A single rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1121 has earned over Rs 18,000 crores through export last year. The active participation of ICAR in the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) enabled us to screen rust resistant wheat germplasm and develop high productivity wheat variety HD 2967 with resistance to yellow rust, leaf and black rust including Ug99. India’s export of agricultural and allied products has increased from Rs. 1,78,800 crore in 2011-12 to Rs. 2,01,000 crore in 2012-13, registering a growth of nearly 11%.” 

The Minister informed that in 2013, the ICAR released 104 new improved varieties/hybrids of different field and horticultural crops with potential for higher yields. These varieties also have enhanced tolerance/resistance to various forms of stress for cultivation in diverse agro-ecological regions of the country. India is amongst the leading exporters of Basmati rice and landmark varieties such as Pusa Punjab Basmati 1509 with moderate resistance to leaf blast and brown spot diseases and HD 3059, wheat variety resistant to all three rusts, including stem rust race Ug99 and its variants are helping the farmers for enhanced production. 


The Council produced over 11,835 tonnes of breeder seeds of major food crops. 

For the first time in India, a variety ‘Swarna Vaidehi‘ of makhana has been developed and released by ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna. This variety has a production potential of 2.8–3.0 t/ha in farmers’ field, almost two fold higher than the productivity of traditional cultivars. 

On the new major research initiatives taken by ICAR with a novel approach, ie. the National Fund for Basic, Strategic and Frontier Application Research in Agriculture (NFBSFARA) and National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), the Minister informed that the NFBSFARA awarded 25 new projects in the last year with a total budget of Rs 50 crore on subjects ranging from climate change to use of nanotechnology for agriculture and RNAi gene silencing technology. The NAIP research and development activities resulted in filing of 72 patent/intellectual property protection applications; commercialization of 82 technologies/products and piloting 51 new rural industries. A first of its kind, Agri-Tech Investors Meet was organized in that brought inventors into direct contact with industry and investors. The investors meet was able to successfully commercialize 58 technologies and earning resources for the Council. 

Among other initiatives and achievements of the agricultural research and education system in India, the Minister highlighted the National Initiative for Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA). ICAR has developed the crop contingency plans for more than 450 districts in the country which were effectively used during 2009 and 2012 droughts moderating the impacts as compared to droughts that struck the country earlier. In the year 2013, states of Uttarakhand, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were struck by natural calamities of differential, but severe intensities. The ICAR prepared doable and location-specific action plans of agriculture and allied sectors for rehabilitation and restoration of the affected areas through technological backstopping. 

Among the major achievements in animal research, the Minister mentioned of development of a crossbred pig and a dual purpose rural poultry variety, Srinidhi. Scientists produced world’s first mithun calf by embryo transfer, test tube yak calf ‘Norgyal’, calf from cloned buffalo mother, etc. Sea cage farming with seabass and cobia added a new dimension in fisheries towards enhanced utilization of coastal production potentials. 

On a need basis, five new KVKs, two in Jammu & Kashmir, and one each in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh, have been approved, thus raising their number to 637 in the country. 

To promote agricultural education in deprived areas, ICAR has moved a bill for establishing a Central Agricultural University in Bundelkhand region. 

The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (ICAR) became one of the first departments in the Government of India to obtain IS/ISO 9001:2008 certification by implementing Quality Management System, the Minister informed. 


Source: Ministry of Agriculture

Major Boost for Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Agricultural Development & Food Security Efforts

FAO and DFID agree on a 4-year, $48 million project on climate-smart agriculture, training, market access and inclusive financing.

The United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and FAO have agreed on a four-year initiative to support Zimbabwe's efforts to address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity, and build resilience against climate change.

The innovative new programme will enable poor vulnerable farming households to improve food security, nutrition and income while strengthening their long-term resilience.

DFID is providing a $48 million (GBP 30 million) package of funding for an FAO-managed programme to increase sustainability of agriculture, contribute to rural employment and improve nutrition - from childhood to maturity - in Zimbabwe.

The programme will reduce poverty in many parts of the country by increasing incomes of poor farming households through climate-smart farming practices that will raise agricultural productivity, along with initiatives that will improve farmer access to markets.

FAO will be responsible for the overall management of the programme, including coordination of activities, technical quality and reporting on results. The programme will seek to help nearly 300 000 people in selected districts.

What makes this arrangement unique is the type of collaboration with the resource partner, in which FAO manages a programme, sharing implementation with a great number of partners. The large amount of resources put at FAO’s disposal underlines the trust and confidence that DFID has in FAO’s ability to deliver,” said Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General for Operations.

More than 70 percent of Zimbabweans depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods, but they face a wide range of challenges, including low productivity; limited market integration; low soil fertility in some regions; the impact of climate change; limited irrigation systems; a lack of smallholder-oriented credit systems; and weak agricultural training and services.

The Livelihoods and Food Security Programme will focus on poverty reduction, but also on addressing specific constraints that smallholder farmers, particularly women, face in boosting agricultural productivity and gaining full access to market systems. It will aim, among other things, at:

• boosting short-term employment opportunities through safety-net programmes that will help women and men improve nutrition and invest in their farms;
• improving irrigation infrastructure;
• linking smallholder farmers with markets;
• providing enabling environments through policy support and encouraging public and private investments; and,
• increasing agricultural production and productivity of nutritious foods.

Making farmers resilient against climate change is one of the objectives of the programme. To strengthen food production mechanisms, it will focus on promoting appropriate climate-smart technologies and farming systems, such as greater crop diversity, improved storage, processing and preservation, crop rotations, conservation agriculture and irrigation. Resilient livestock production approaches will be promoted, covering improved feeding strategies, fodder crop production, animal husbandry and breeding practices.

Source: Food & Agriculture Organisation

National Crop Insurance Program being Implemented from Current Rabi Season

A new central sector scheme, ‘National Crop Insurance Programme’ (NCIP) has been introduced by merging Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS), Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) and Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS) throughout the country from Rabi 2013-14.

Administrative Approval for implementing NCIP from Rabi 2013-14 has been issued on 1^st November, 2013.

NCIP has been introduced to provide financial support to the farmers for losses in their crop yield, to help in maintaining flow of agricultural credit, to encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices and higher technology in Agriculture and thereby, to help in maintaining production, employment & economic growth. Besides, farmers are also benefitted due to: -

·         coverage of indemnity for prevented sowing/planting risk and post harvest losses (due to cyclone in coastal areas),

·         higher level of indemnity and more proficient basis for calculation of threshold yield,

·         faster settlement of claims due to provision for making  50% advance of likely claims under MNAIS component for immediate relief to the farmers, etc.

·         To encourage the State Governments to implement the scheme at village/ village panchayat level, a provision to reimburse 50% of incremental expenses on Crop Cutting Experiments has been made in the scheme.

Unit area of insurance has been reduced to the village/village panchayat level in the restructured scheme of ‘National Crop Insurance Program’ (NCIP). 

Continued efforts are made to create awareness about crop insurance schemes by the implementing agencies in coordination with implementing states.   The salient activities under awareness campaign, involve the publicity of features & benefits of the scheme through advertisements in leading National/local News Papers, telecast through audio-visual media, distribution of pamphlets, participation in agriculture fairs / mela / gosti , organization of workshops/ trainings and SMS through Kisan Portal, etc.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

Steps to Support Small & Marginal Farmers

As per Agriculture Census 2010-11, land holdings of less than two hectare, cultivated by small and marginal farmers (many of whom are below poverty line), constitute about 85% of total land holdings in India. Considering the importance of this segment in agriculture sector, due attention has been given to it in formulation and implementation of various schemes/programmes of the Government. Government is taking all possible steps for the welfare of the farming community and to make agriculture sector an attraction vocation. Plan outlay of Centre for Agriculture for XII Plan period has been substantially increased to Rs.1,34,746 crore as against Rs.61,527.90 crore during XI Plan period. The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation has budget provision of Rs.21,609 crore for the year 2013-14. During the year 2011-12 and 2012-13, the budget provisions were Rs.17,122 crore and Rs.20208 crore, respectively. 

Important schemes/programmes being implemented for the welfare of farmers, and particularly the small and marginal ones, are Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, National Food Security Mission, Integrated Scheme for Farmers’ Income Security (including covering risks through insurance cover), Price Support Scheme (PSS), Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), National Horticulture Mission, Funding of Farmer Producer’s Organisations, Self Help Groups of Small & Marginal Farmers for achieving benefits of economies of scale, Augmentation of Extension Services, Crop diversification etc. Small and marginal farmers are especially encouraged to form aggregates to avail the benefits of economies of scale in sourcing the inputs and for marketing their produce. Farmers are being provided inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, farm machinery and implements etc. at subsidized rates. Farmers are also provided Institutional Credit at concessional interest rate of 4% on farm loans provided they repay their loan in time. 

Government has approved, in principle, the restructuring of the schemes/programmes into five Missions, five Centrally Sponsored Schemes and one State plan Scheme for implementation from the year 2014-15 in order to have focused approach and to avoid overlap. 

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

Indian Pesticide Market to Reach INR 229,800 million by FY 2018

According to the report 'India Pesticides Industry Analysis to 2018,' Indian Pesticide market is projected to reach INR 229,800 million with a CAGR of 14.7% from FY 2014-FY 2018.

The Indian crop protection market is expected to witness a growth in its consumption owing to factors such as growing farmer awareness, farmers prosperity, inclining demand for organic food, increased focus on R&D, expansion of the contract farming and GDP growth.

According to the report, several factors including rising population, inflating agricultural commodity prices, favourable rain pattern, increased adoption of new technologies and growing farmer preference towards high-value and high-quality products and others are some of the factors expected to drive the industry's growth in the future.

Pesticides industry in India has been broadly segmented into six categories including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, bio-pesticides, plant growth regulators and rodenticides. Of the aforementioned, insecticides commanded the highest share of around 45% in the overall pesticides market revenue. In spite of leading the market, the segment's market share has observed a steady decline over the last few years. Followed by the insecticides, the market share of herbicides was recorded to be the second highest. Herbicide is a swiftly growing sector in the overall pesticides market. Bio-pesticide was observed another important segment has an immense potential for growth in the years ahead primarily owing to government support and increasing awareness about use of non-toxic, environment friendly pesticides in the country.

The pesticides consumption in India has been unevenly spread across various regions. While the country's northern region forms majority of the pesticides consumption, the eastern and north eastern region constitute the lowest share. Some of the major pesticides consuming states in India include Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerela and Tamil Nadu. 

Indian crop protection industry is capital intensive and highly regulated industry. The industry has been mainly composed of technical grade manufacturers and formulators. The technical grade producers usually sell premium quality chemicals in the bulk to the formulators, who then prepare formulations by mixing the carriers, solvents, surface active agents and other relevant compounds. 

Source: Agropages (http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---11037.htm)  

UN Joins Forces with Expo 2015 to End Hunger

22 UN agencies will bring the vision of a sustainable hunger-free world to Expo Milan

The United Nations and Expo 2015 signed an agreement recently confirming the UN’s major support for Expo 2015, during which global attention will zero in on the challenge to eradicate hunger and poverty and on producing enough nutritious food for a world population expected to top 9 billion people by 2050.

Expo 2015’s theme, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” is at the heart of the UN’s founding principles to combat hunger and poverty. Expo will run in Milan for six months from May until the end of October 2015.

The Expo theme touches upon food security and nutrition, sustainability, poverty reduction, development and cooperation, said  José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Claudia von Roehl, Director of the Government Partnership Division at the World Food Programme (WFP).

The UN system is closing ranks behind the call to bring the vision of a sustainable, hunger-free world to Expo Milano 2015, FAO, IFAD and WFP stressed.

Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emma Bonino, said, “With Italy being the location of most of the agencies of the UN dedicated to food and nutrition, it goes without saying that for us, [this] active participation and engagement in Expo is considered by my government as one of the most important engagements we wanted to achieve.”

Bonino said, “Expo is not only the promotion of a theme. We would like to have an Expo which will not be remembered because of skyscrapers or architecture, but because of ideas, and because of projects, commitments and ideas that will follow up from this Expo.” 

Italy’s Commissioner for Expo 2015, Giuseppe Sala, said, “Of all the participants in Expo Milano 2015, the UN was the first international organization to show its support and is the first to sign a contract,” said Giuseppe Sala, Italy’s Commissioner for Expo 2015. “I am very proud of this outcome and to see here representatives of all three agencies – FAO, IFAD and WFP – that are responsible for food and nutrition at the global level, and which will guide UN participation in Expo Milano 2015,” he added.

“This synergy shows once again the global interest in the theme of the World Exposition. “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” takes on a challenge that needs us united: assuring healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, with a view toward sustainable development.”

The work of the UN will be on display across Expo 2015, and its themes mirrored throughout the more than 110 hectares of pavilion space, rather than being one among hundreds of exhibitors.

Expo 2015 will allow the UN to spotlight its decades of knowledge and expertise with the aim of ramping up efforts to one day achieve the goal of healthy, sufficient food for every person on the globe.

Expo Milano is expected to draw some 20 million visitors to Italy in 2015. So far, 22 UN agencies have submitted proposals for exhibits, that will all centre on a common UN message. During the signing ceremony, an international competition was also launched for best practices in sustainable development, which will be on display at Expo.

Despite progress made toward achieving Millennium Development Goal #1 on halving the proportion of hunger and poverty, still some 842 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished.

The end of 2015 will mark the deadline for achieving the eight UN Millennium Development Goals . Yet hundreds of millions of people remain mired in hunger and poverty. Faced with the need to produce 60 percent more food for at least 2 billion more people in 2050, while coping with weather shocks and emergencies linked to climate change, the international community is expected to endorse a set of new goals to address sustainable development in the post-2015 era. 

Source: FAO (http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/206481/icode/) 

Shri Anwar Calls For Judicious Use of Technologies and Resources To Achieve Food Security

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Shri Tariq Anwar recently said that use of better technologies can help us to achieve our primary goal of food security even if availability of land and water is kept constant. “We just need to use these resources more judiciously,” he emphasised. 

Shri Anwar was speaking at the inauguration of World Agriculture Congress at Hyderabad. The topic for this occasion is “Congress on Reshaping Agriculture for a Sustainable Future.” Inauguration of the Congress was attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Minister for Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh, Shri K. Lakshmi Narayana, and Chairman of the WAF Advisory Board, Shri James Bolger. Scientists and businessmen also participated in the Congress. 

Stating that Bio-technology is expected to play a major role in improving productivity, the Minister said, “What is needed is Robust Regulatory System, which has scientifically established mechanism for evaluation of GM Crops so that all the issues raised on this matter can be put to rest. On this issue, he reiterated the request made by Hon’ble President wherein he had ex-horted the Scientific Community and ICAR to contribute to the public discourse and provide clarity on this sensitive issue.” 

Shri Anwar further said, "Contract farming and value addition of Indian food through food processing would play a major role in improving agricultural productivity as well as providing economic return for agricultural produce. Contract farming can provide the close hand holding regarding seed selection, seed treatment, soil testing, fertilizers, pest management and income support through procurement, which Government programme cannot possibly provide."

The Minister also said that Indian agriculture faces a number of serious challenges like shrinking land, depleting water resources & inefficient water use, adverse impact of climate change, ineffective management of energy resources, shortage of farm labour, poor and inefficient market infrastructure, lack of access to appropriate technology, increasing cost and uncertainties of domestic and international markets and the biggest challenge which the country would be facing in the coming years shall be how to ensure food security in face of constantly growing population. 

Underlining measures to tackle impact of climate change on Indian Agriculture, Minister said that steps are being taken to mitigate the impact of climate change. Among the various areas in which interventions are being planned include improved crop seeds, livestock and fish culture, water efficiency, pesticides management, nutrient management, agriculture insurance, market access and livelihood diversification. Shri Anwar further informed that Indian Council for Agriculture Research(ICAR) has initiated a network project “National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture”(NICRA) aiming at enhancing resilience of Indian Agriculture through Strategic Research, Technology Demonstration and Capacity Building. 

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

Manufacturing Pesticide for Export, Export Norms to be Relaxed in India

The norms for pesticides exports and manufacturing of pesticides through foreign technology from India may be liberalized.

According to official sources, the liberalization is aimed at making hub for manufacturing pesticides especially those through buying the technology from foreign companies. After manufacturing of those high end pesticides, these pesticides will be directly exported out of India. These pesticides will not be marketed at all into the domestic India market.

Thus as per the proposal of liberalization, these products will not be put through stringent inspection norms as regards to the quality and procedures. However factories engaged in such technology transfer from overseas and manufacturing in India will have to comply with the safety, environmental norms and labour standards.

A discussion has already taken place between the ministries of agriculture and chemicals and fertilizer with the Ministry of Commerce.

A similar endeavour has also been taken for export of imported processed foods.

While the exports of such product will import the processed food, they will only export it and not market it in the domestic market. Thus these products will not be subjected to stringent inspection of food standards in India.

India is one of the largest producers of pesticides in Asia. In value terms the size of the Indian pesticide industry alone was $3.8 billion in the year 2011 that producers even those pesticides, which are banned in the developed countries.

Key destination markets for Indian exports of agrochemicals are USA, UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore. India is one of the most dynamic generic pesticide manufacturers in the world with more than 60 technical grade pesticides being manufactured indigenously by 125 producers consisting of large and medium scale enterprises (including about 10 multinational companies) and more than 500 pesticide formulators spread over the country.

However, the industry seems to financially constrained, said official sources mainly due to rising costs of inputs, governmental duties and taxes, and the cost of capital. There are also high rates of excise duty both on intermediates and finished products, and excise and sales tax account for nearly 20% of the cost of pesticides.

The pesticide industry is a part of the chemical industry. Reportedly, the global turnover of the chemical industry is more than three trillion US dollars.

The Indian Chemical Industry ranks 12 by volume in the world production of chemicals. With the current size of approximately $108 billion, the Indian chemical industry accounts for about 3% of the global chemical industry.

By 2017, accordingly to the Planning Commission of India, it could reach the size of $224 billion or $290 billion (about 6% of global industry). Indian chemical industry accounts for approximately 7% of Indian GDP and the share of industry i national exports is around 11%. In terms of volume, India is the third largest producer of chemicals in Asia, after China and Japan.


Source: Agropages 

'Increasing Farm Production the Only Long-Term Solution to Food Security World Food Day Focuses on “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security & Nutrition”

Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar on October 16, 2013 emphasized that the only long-term solutions to ensuring food and nutrition security lay in increasing farm production. 

In his message on the World Food Day, the Minister also called for promoting sustainable food systems. Since sustainability of the farm sector depends to a great degree on the performance of small and marginal farmers, the Government has taken a number of initiatives keeping in view these farmers and other beneficiaries especially women and children, the Minister has stated. 

“World Food Day is observed all over the world every year on October 16 to mark the founding of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The basic idea of observing this Day is to raise public awareness about the plight of the hungry and malnourished people all over the world and to encourage all concerned to take concrete action to tackle and overcome the menace of hunger. The theme selected for World Food Day this year is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”. 

“The only long term solution to ensuring food and nutritional security in the country lies in increasing production and productivity in the agriculture sector with diverse and integrated farming systems to provide nutritious diets to each and every citizen. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in the country has reduced the availability of natural resources such as land and water for growing food. It is therefore imperative to utilize the limited resources available for sustainable supply of food to the ever increasing population of the country through efficient and effective policies. While ensuring the sustainability of our food systems, we have to not only produce nutritious food for our present population but also protect the capacity to feed the future generations. Sustainable food systems require a commitment from food producers as well as food consumers to use resources efficiently at every stage – getting the most out of every drop of water, inch of land, grain of fertilizer and minute of labour. Sustainability can also be improved by turning waste products into valuable fertiliser or energy and also by minimisation of food losses and waste. The future of sustainable agricultural growth and food security in India is dependent to a great degree on the performance of small and marginal farmers. Government of India has accordingly launched a number of schemes and initiatives keeping in view these farmers and other beneficiaries especially women and children. 

“On this day, let us all resolve to use the scarce and limited resources at our disposal to ensure complete eradication of malnutrition and hunger in our country. On this occasion, I urge renewed commitment from all stake holders to ensure food and nutrition security of the people of this country through concerted action for sustainable food systems.” 

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

IFAD and FAO Target Small-Scale Agricultural Projects Facing Challenges

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have launched a new joint project to help developing countries, particularly fragile states, manage public investments in small-scale agriculture more effectively.

The UN food agencies will co-finance the $2.6 million initiative focusing on countries where a lack of strong national governance means development projects can face serious challenges in delivering results.

Up to 15 projects in ten countries will be targeted over a two-year period, with priority given to projects that are already under way but that are encountering difficulties.

FAO’s Investment Centre Division, which leads the Organization’s efforts to generate increased investment in agriculture and rural development, will work with countries to improve their ability to plan and implement investment programs funded by IFAD.

Kevin Cleaver, IFAD Associate Vice-President, Programs, said: “Fragile states host the greatest proportion of poorly performing agriculture projects, and IFAD has found that the major problems consist of weak local institutions and weak local management. This co-financed project will address both the capacity-building and institution-building requirements of these poorly performing projects.”

Laurent Thomas, FAO Assistant Director-General, Technical Cooperation Department, said: “This initiative presents a more strategic approach to collaboration which will enable both UN agencies to better plan and significantly enhance the effectiveness and quality of their services to member countries. It will lead to better results and, ultimately, to a greater impact on the livelihoods of those targeted by the programs.”

IFAD's Executive Board approved a $2 million grant for the project in September 2013, while FAO and participating countries will each add another $300 000 to the initiative.

FAO regularly works with its sister agency through the FAO-IFAD Cooperative Program, which has seen over 300 joint operations worth almost $9 billion between 1977 and 2012.


Source: FAO (http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/200906/icode/)

Continuation of ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme - National Food Security Mission during 12th Plan period

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs recently gave its approval for continuation of the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Food Security Mission (NFSM) during 12^th Five Year Plan with an allocation of Rs. 12,350 crore.

This would help in increasing additional food grains production of 25 million tonnes consisting of 10 million tonnes of rice, 8 million tonnes of wheat, 4 million tonnes of pulses  and 3 million tonnes of coarse cereals by 2016-17.

The Mission’s main focus will be on cropping systems instead of individual crops and inclusion of coarse cereals through development of Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs), creating value chains and providing market linkages.

NFSM would be implemented in 27 States including the North-Eastern and Hill States. The Mission would be implemented in selected districts as per the criteria laid down for NFSM, giving the priority to the districts that have yields lower than the State average.

The outlay for the first two years of the 12^th  Plan is as follows:(Rs. in crore)

Year	Outlay
2012-13	1850.00
2013-14	2250.00

The basic strategy is to promote improved technologies, i.e., adoption of quality seeds, enhancing farm efficiency through improved agronomic practices like line sowing, SRI, direct seeding, soil amendments, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, water use efficiency and resource conservation technologies. Proven crop production technologies developed by the National Agricultural 

Research System would be made available to the farmers through a series of planned interventions and financial incentives.

Background:NFSM was launched in 2007-08 with an outlay of Rs. 4,882.48 crore for 11th Plan and succeeded in meeting its objective of increasing food grains production by 20 million tonnes by 2011-12.  The average annual production of about 202.5 million tonnes of food grains during the 10th Plan rose to the level of about 237.5 million tonnes during the 11th Plan.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture

Global Agrochemical Companies Eye India Deals

With billions of dollars worth agrochemical patents expiring by 2020, global players keen to make the most of the situation are looking to buy or tie-up with Indian companies known for their low-cost manufacturing expertise. 

At least $9 billion (about Rs 61,000 crore) worth of patents for more than 50 agrochemical products are expected to be taken off the patent list and manufacturing is likely to move to emerging markets like India. 

First off the mark has been Japan. Its agrochemical firms have already begun fordging alliances with Indian firms. While Sumitomo Chemicals acquired Mumbai- based New Chemi in 2010 for an undisclosed amount, Otsuka Agritechno formed a joint venture in R&D with Insecticides IndiaBSE 3.10%. Another Japanese ISK is conducting field trials of new pesticides with United PhosphorousBSE -0.59% in India. Many Indian manufacturers are also in talks with companies from other regions and deals are likely to be announced soon.

"We see the trend," said Aditya Jhawar, an analyst with the Mumbai-based Espirito Santo Investment Bank. "Global players focus on India for two broad reasons: lower cost of production and environmental issues." He said increasing environmental issues and ban on production on certain products in some countries were pushing manufacturers to look at India, which currently exports over Rs 3,000 Crore worth of agrochemicals every year to the United States, Europe and other regions.

Another advantage that India has over other countries is that its companies offer better data protection. The Rs 13,000 Crore Indian agrochemical sector, which has been growing at 8 to 10% annually,  has about 130 companies making active ingredients and intermediates. Globally, the agrochemical market size is about 45 to 47 billion dollars, with Japanese companies making up a tenth of it. 

Source: Agropages (http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---10410.htm) 

Farmers Struggle to Adopt Climate-Smart Methods

Preliminary results from a project aimed at helping Malawi, Vietnam and Zambia make the transition to a "climate-smart" approach to agriculture show that some farmers are struggling to adopt the new methods, while others are finding ways to cope well with climate-change problems like late rains.

"To broaden the options available to farmers, we believe that increased investment, coming from both traditional agricultural finance, as well as emerging climate finance such as the Green Climate Fund, may be required to help farmers make the needed transition," said Leslie Lipper, leader of FAO's Economics and Policy Innovations for Climate-Smart Agriculture (EPIC) Programme, which houses the project.

Launched in January 2012, the €5.3-million three-year FAO-EC project promotes a climate-smart agriculture approach in each country, with supporting activities ranging from research to policy support and investment proposals.

Climate-smart agriculture explained

Agriculture and the communities who depend on it for their livelihoods and food security are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. At the same time agriculture, as a significant producer of greenhouse gases, contributes to global warming.

"Climate-smart agriculture" is an approach that seeks to position the agricultural sector as a solution to these major challenges, prioritizing food security and the adaptation needed to achieve it, while reaping potential mitigation co-benefits.

It involves making changes in farming systems that achieve these multiple goals, as well as in supporting institutions and policies.

African project experience

One of the main activities of the project is identifying which agricultural practices are "climate smart" for specific conditions. 

For example, the project has studied conservation agriculture (CA), which involves reduced tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotation. The practice has been promoted by the governments of Malawi and Zambia. 

Conservation agriculture can, at least potentially, increase productivity through better soils and help farmers adapt to climate change through better water retention. It also can help mitigate climate change by trapping carbon in the soil.

Project analysis indicates that many farmers in the two countries have difficulties adopting the full CA package, because, for example, they need crop residues for animal feed instead of soil cover. Sometimes the problem is that farmers are too poor to wait several seasons for the benefits of the practice to materialize. 

But the project is also finding that climate change is already altering which agricultural practices work best for farmers, which could increase the appeal of CA. 

In Zambia, analysis of climate data shows an increasingly late onset of rains in some areas. Since crops are only planted after the first rains, late rains mean late planting, which can seriously shorten the growing season. 

Project research shows that farmers in these areas of variable rainfall and late onset of rains are the most likely to maintain CA practices, which has the advantage of preparing the land before rains arrive.

Vietnam project experience

In Vietnam, at the project site in the northern part of the country, maize is planted on sloping land all the way to the tops of mountains, which in theory should be covered only in forest. Once the maize is harvested, the rains come, washing away the soil. The erosion has led to landslides, with loss of life.

Project researchers studying Vietnamese climate data have found that climate variability is increasing, which will exacerbate the erosion problem.

In response, the project is looking at more sustainable land management practices but also the use of perennial crops such as coffee and tea, which unlike maize can stay in the ground for 30-40 years. However, coffee and tea production require years to generate high returns, which is a challenge for farmers currently growing maize, which has strong demand and fetches a high price.  

Other project activities

The project works to identify areas of potential conflict between climate change and agricultural policies and supports high level policy dialogues to resolve them. It also brings together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss what climate change may mean for the future and the options available to confront it. 

At the international level, the project supports participation of ministry of agriculture staff on negotiating teams at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings. 

Taking the needed action to address climate change requires investment and that is why building investment proposals that can link agriculture and climate finance is a key function of the project

Cross fertilization of ideas

While the three project countries have different physical, economic, social and cultural characteristics, the project has found opportunities for the countries to learn from each other. For example, Vietnam is focusing on building climate smart value chains for key commodities, which could hold lessons for Malawi and Zambia. How the African countries are moving to link climate change and agricultural issues at the policy level may hold lessons for Vietnam.

The project also found that variances in how the weather is changing from country to country — as well differences in the capacities of famers, institutions and economies — mean that no there is no single “one size fits all” CSA blueprint solution, although the approach to identifying appropriate measures is universally applicable.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/181017/icode

Indian Agchem Market to Grow at 12-13% to $ 6.8 bn by FY17

The pesticides industry in India is expected to grow at 12-13 percent a year to touch Rs 39,000 crore by 2016-17, a Tata Strategic Management Group recently said. 

"Indian crop protection market was estimated at USD 3.8 billion in fiscal 2011-12 with exports constituting 50 per cent of the market. The market is expected to grow further at 12-13 percent to reach USD 6.8 billion," Tata Strategic Management Group and FICCI said in a report on agrochemicals. 

The report was presented at Third National Agrochemicals Conclave 2013 here. 

"This report focuses on agro-chemicals and highlights the future trends with focus on opportunities and challenges along with strategic imperatives for the industry players," Tata Strategic Management Group CEO Raju Bhinge said. 

The industry has shown an inclination towards adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches and use of biopesticides. Biopesticides currently represent only 4.2% of the overall pesticide market in India and are expected to grow at ~10% annually in the coming years.

The Indian crop protection market is supported by strong drivers of growth, the report said. 

"Current low consumption of crop protection products in India is 0.6 kg/hectare against world average of 3 kg/hectare, offers immense opportunities for future growth," said Manish Panchal Practice Head Chemicals at Tata Strategic Management. 

He added that to gain market share product availability and speed to market would be key to success. 

The report stated that despite strong growth drivers, agro-chemicals industry faces challenges in terms of low awareness among farmers, wide geographic spread of end users, managing availability and distribution cost. 

Apart from this, leading industry players believe that the rising sales of spurious pesticides and spiked bio-pesticides pose a major threat to industry growth.

Manish Panchal, Practice Head of Chemicals added “Current low consumption of crop protection products in India, 0.6 kg/ha compared to world average of 3 kg/ha, offers immense opportunities for future growth. To gain market share, product availability and speed to market would be key to success. To achieve this, companies need to relook at their SCM strategies”.

The Special Feature as part of the report, titled - Strategic Supply Chain Management for Agrochemical Companies, raises vital questions about the effectiveness of current SCM practices in agrochemicals and uncovers innovative ways and new practices from within the industry adopted by a select set of more nimble, progressive companies who are setting new benchmarks in supply chain performance.

Tata Strategic Management Group recommends simplified registration norms for pesticides exports and increase scope of regulation to include all types of pesticides (including biopesticides).

Regulators should increase their inspection staff to ensure regular checks to contain the growth of spurious products. There is also a need to encourage R&D and ease registration process for development of new molecules.

Large MNCs can look at strategic alliances with Indian counterparts to increase their marketing and distribution presence. Smaller Indian companies can look at tie-ups with MNCs to explore opportunities in contract research and manufacturing.

Key highlights of the Agrochemicals 2013 report:

1.Indian crop protection market estimated at USD 3.8 Bn in FY12 with exports constituting 50% of the market and expected to reach ~USD 6.8 Bn by FY17

2.Current low consumption of pesticides in India, 0.6 kg/ha compared to world average of 3 kg/ha offers significant opportunity for growth.

3. Biopesticides, which currently account for 4.2% of the market are expected to grow at ~10% p.a.

4. Industry to face challenge from the high sale of spurious/ spiked products

5. Large availability of technically skilled labour and patent expires in near future to stimulate the contract manufacturing and research in agrochemicals

6. Strategic alliances and M&As to be the trend in near future

7. Regulations need to be simplified and its scope should include all types of pesticides (including biopesticides)

8.Effective Supply Chain management to become a key success factors for the industry players.


Source: Agropages (http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---10173.htm)

Government Calls upon Industry to Invest in R&D in Agrochemicals Sector

The Government has called upon agrochemicals industry to invest in Research & Development and innovations in agrochemicals sector. Delivering the inaugural address at a two-day Third National Conference on July 30, 2013, the Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Indrajit Pal said that in order to remain globally competitive, the industry needs to innovate in products, for which innovative state-of-the-art R&D laboratories and financial resources would be required. Shri Indrajit Pal said that the Indian chemical sector spends 1-2% of their total turnover on R&D as compared to around 5-10% by the chemical industry in the developed countries. One of the emerging areas for R & D is green agrochemicals and the Indian industry is the development of eco-friendly green agrochemicals, he added. 

The Secretary informed that for ensuring quality of agrochemicals, the Government has set up 71 pesticides testing laboratories across the country that include 68 state laboratories, 2 regional laboratories and 1 central laboratory. Manufacturing units should adopt GMP (good manufacturing practices) and take all such measures that are necessary to ensure delivery of quality products to the farmers. Shri Indrajit Pal also informed that the Institute of Agrochemicals Formulation Technology (IPFT), an autonomous body of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, has been developing state-of-the-art user and environment friendly formulations for the agrochemicals industry. During the last 5-6 years, IPFT has developed many formulations and transferred them to the industries. He urged the industry to take full advantage of the facilities offered by the institute. 

The Conference has been organised jointly by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Departments of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Department of Fertilizers and the Department of Agriculture & cooperation, Government of India. Tata Strategic Management Services (TSMG) are Knowledge and Strategy Partners and a Knowledge Paper on the sector was also released. 

With nearly a 1.2 billion population, India requires a robust, modernized agriculture sector to ensure the food security for its population. Scope for further increasing cultivable land is limited. In order to meet the food grain requirements of the country, the agricultural productivity and its growth needs to be sustained and further improved. Pesticides or Agrochemicals are recognized as an essential input for increasing agricultural production and preventing crop loss before and after harvesting. Their judicious usage is very important for the sustained growth of Indian agriculture and economy. 

India has low crop productivity as compared to other countries. Average productivity in India stands at 2 MT/ha as compared to 6 MT/ha in USA and world average of 3 MT/ha. At the same time, India’s pesticide consumption is also low at 0.60 kg/ha as compared to the world average of 3 kg/ha and for Japan 10.80 kgm. Hence, increased usage of pesticides could help the farmers to improve crop productivity. This also portrays the huge growth potential as the Indian economy moves forward. 

The two-day conference will cover topics of relevance to the sector, incl. new developments, innovations, export potential as also issues such as spurious pesticides, regulatory regime etc. A large number of Captains of the chemical industry, academia, policy makers as also the end-users viz: the farmers were present. 

Source: Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Linking farmers to moving markets

In a new report, FAO is calling for more nuanced policy-making to boost smallholder farm output, requiring better knowledge of individual farm households and the constraints they face, to be able to target investments and policy support where they are needed to ensure that they can sell surpluses from their harvests.

"Smallholder farmers need to be better integrated into markets in order to reduce hunger and poverty," said David Hallam, Director of FAO's Trade and Markets Division. 

"Only with greater market integration and more inclusive value chains will they adopt the new technologies required to achieve productivity growth.

No one-size-fits-all solution

"Policy interventions that aim at encouraging greater levels of smallholder production for sale in markets need to take better account of the heterogeneity of smallholder households. 

Encouraging semi-subsistence producers to participate more in local markets and supporting more commercialized producers to better access sophisticated value chains raise different issues with respect to both their ability and willingness to increase production for sale. There is therefore no ‘one size fits all' solution to encourage greater market participation," Hallam said.

First and foremost, Hallam underlined, is the need for better links to buyers. Farmers will not expend more time, money and energy in producing more, if any surplus they produce will likely go to waste because there is no storage, no transport or, possibly, no market within a reasonable distance, he explained. The risk that any money spent to produce more will be lost is too great a risk for poor farmers to run.

In addition, smallholder farmers are usually the ones investing their own money, with little access to credit or insurance should something arise, such as unfavourable weather conditions.

"Just as smallholders are a heterogeneous group, the markets in which they participate are also diverse in terms of their size, geographic location, connectivity to other markets, power relations between market players, and institutional setting," the report states.

This combination of complex factors means that approaches to smallholder farmers' participation in markets have to be suitably nuanced. 

Closing the yield gap

"Small-scale agriculture is the main source of food in the developing world, producing up to 80% of the food consumed in many developing countries, notably in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia," the report states. "Smallholders and small family farms are therefore central to an inclusive development process and their contribution is crucial to food security," it adds.

Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa, the yield gap between farmers' yields and potential yields is estimated at 76%, meaning farmers produce less than one quarter of what they could. In Central America and the Caribbean, the yield gap is 65%, meaning smallholders produce less than a third of their potential yield. In developing countries, the yield gap is often higher than 50%.

High food prices

High food prices are seen by many policy-makers as an opportunity for smallholders to produce more and earn more income. But experience shows that, often, smallholders have failed to respond as expected.

"High levels of price, production risks and uncertainty, and limited access to tools to manage them deter investment in more productive new technologies that would enable smallholders to produce surpluses for sale in markets. Inadequate infrastructure, high costs of storage and transportation, and non-competitive markets also militate against production of a marketable surplus," Hallam said.

"Given these constraints, it is not surprising that the supply response of many small producers to recent high food prices has been muted."

Beyond an enabling environment

According to the report, the public sector, together with international development partners, should have a strong role as moderator among different public, private and civil society actors, promoting what is in the best interests of the smallholder agricultural sector while encouraging development of markets.

Given the limitations of the public sector in many developing countries and reductions in foreign development aid, foreign direct investment (FDI) is also seen as a potential source of funding. 

This sort of investment can take many forms -- not just controversial land acquisitions -- and should ensure sustainable and equitable use of land while strengthening food security for indigenous populations, FAO emphasizes. 

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/179362/icode/

New UN food safety and nutrition standards will benefit consumers

The UN food standards body Codex Alimentarius has agreed on new standards to protect the health of consumers worldwide. These include standards on fruit, vegetables, fish and fishery products and animal feed.

 

Codex also adopted codes on the prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A, a carcinogenic contaminant, in cocoa, guidance on how to avoid microbiological contamination of berries and on use of claims for food that is labeled "non-addition of sodium salts" including "no added salt" on food packages, to assist consumers in choosing a healthy diet. 

 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly run by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), sets international food safety and quality standards to promote safer and more nutritious food for consumers worldwide. Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation, and provide the food safety benchmarks for international food trade.

 

At its annual meeting last week, Codex celebrated its 50th anniversary. The session was attended by 620 delegates from 128 member countries and one member organization, one observer country and 41 international governmental and non-governmental organizations, including UN agencies.

 

Safe limits on contamination

 

One of the important work areas for Codex is setting safe limits and giving guidance along the food chain on prevention or reduction of contamination. Food can become contaminated by heavy metals, fungal toxins or bacteria and viruses.

 

The Commission adopted two important codes: prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A (a carcinogenic contaminant) in cocoa and of hydrocyanic acid in cassava, both important products for developing countries. 

 

Fresh berries can be a healthy part of the diet but are also prone to microbiological contamination and have been associated with several foodborne illness outbreaks caused by viruses (Hepatitis A, Norovirus), bacteria (E.coli) and protozoa. The new Codex text gives advice to producers and consumers on how to prevent this contamination.

 

Fair practice in food trade and protecting consumers' health

 

The Commission adopted a number of commodity standards that will protect consumers from fraud and ensure fair practices in the food trade: fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (e.g. avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, table olives, date paste, and tempe) and fish and fishery products (smoked fish, abalone). The standards help buyers and sellers establish contracts based on Codex specifications and make sure that the consumers get from the products what they expect.

 

The Commission also adopted the nutrient reference values on sodium and saturated fatty acids, which are nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), to be included in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling.  This is part of Codex's on-going efforts to promote healthy dietary practices and address the increasing public health problem of diet-related NCDs. 

 

The Commission also adopted the revised and updated guidelines on formulated supplementary foods for older infants and young children to ensure the health and nutrition of the vulnerable population group. Furthermore, the Commission adopted hundreds of safe maximum limits for pesticide residues and veterinary drugs and provisions for food additives.

 

Guidance on control for food and animal feed

 

As animal feed can cause contamination in eggs, meat and milk products, the Commission adopted guidance to countries on how to control animal feed and assess the risk of contamination. The Commission also adopted guidelines for National Food Control Systems to assist countries in implementing food control.

 

Into the future

Because of the volume of trade  and need to harmonize national standards, the Commission agreed to create a new Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs, which will be hosted and chaired by India.

 

The Commission approved its Strategic Plan 2014-2019, which will guide the work on protecting consumers' health and ensure fair practices in the food trade over the next six years.

 

 

Source: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/179663/icode/