Page 6 - Agriculture Sector

ITC launches app to provide crop advisory, market access to Bengal farmers

ITC Limited on Wednesday launched a mobile application to provide crop advisory, market access and financial services to the farmers of West Bengal. ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri launched the ITCMAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services) application on the concluding day of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) here. He said the application, on which services would be available in Bengali, would offer world-class technologies and services to farmers in partnership with a large number of leading players in the agri sector, besides banks, institutes and technology firms. Puri said ITC aims to reach out to five lakh farmers over time. He said that ITC's agri business already has a significant presence in the state, where it works with nearly 1.7 lakh farmers, introducing new crop varieties, promoting crop development for enhancing quality and improvement in yield, besides providing advisory and other services.

Annapurna Swadisht gears up for 50% CAGR over next 4-5 years to Rs 1,000 cr

Annapurna Swadisht Ltd on Sunday said it aims to double revenue in 2023-24 to over Rs 300 crore and maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of at least 50 per cent over the next 4-5 years. This ambitious growth for the food-focused FMCG company of East and Northeast India will be driven by increased market penetration and expansion into two major categories: biscuits and noodles, a senior company official said. To achieve this, the company has roped in GP Sah, the global CEO of the Nepal-based FMCG company that owns Wai Wai branded noodles, to steer the company into its next phase of growth. Annapurna's managing director, Shreeram Bagla, infused fresh talent into the company with the goal of reaching a topline of Rs 1,000 crore within 3-4 years from Rs 160 crore in FY'23. "A revival in rural demand, driven by greater distribution strategies and the addition of new categories like biscuits and noodles, will help Annapurna achieve robust growth in the coming years. "In FY'24 .

Nabard appoints Goverdhan Rawat, Ajay Kumar Sood as Dy Managing Directors

Rawat has over three decades of experience with NABARD, Ajay Kumar Sood served as the Chief General Manager of NABARD at the Himachal Pradesh Regional Office in Shimla

A new beginning

Startups are showing the way in gender diversity

Kothari Industrial sets up a drone division to serve agricultural lands

Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd, part of the DC Kothari Group, has set up a separate drone division to deploy drone technology in farmlands, the company said on Friday. Under this initiative, Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd has planned to work out a long-term sustainable strategy to reconfigure the agricultural landscape with the use of drones. KICL is likely to invest over Rs 150 crore into the drone division over the next few years, a company statement here said. "We have now embarked on a journey that seeks to combine innovation, sustainability and a commitment to revitalising the agricultural sector," said Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd Managing Director Jinnah Rafiq Ahmed. KICL has ventured into agricultural innovation with the introduction of a fleet of drones that have been designed to spray nano-urea in agricultural lands. Nano-urea effectively fulfills crop nitrogen requirements and increases leaf photosynthesis and root biomass, the company claimed in a ...

Swaminathan brought positive change to food security: Rakesh Tikait

India will always remember the positive changes that MS Swaminathan brought to the country's agriculture and farmers, and his contribution to food security, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said on Thursday, as he remembered the iconic scientist. Swaminathan (98), also known as the father of Green Revolution in India, passed away at 11.15 am at his Chennai residence, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation said. "The news of the demise of famous agricultural scientist Dr MS Swaminathan, the father of the Green Revolution, is deeply saddening," Tikait, the national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Kisan Union, posted in Hindi on X. "This country will always remember his contribution to the positive changes to the condition of Indian agriculture and farmers, and for food security. We will all continue this fight for your ideas together," Tikait added. Swaminathan was the driving force behind the nation's Green Revolution of the 1960s. The celebrated agriculture icon was being treated for ..

Investments in Indian agri-tech startups fell 45% between FY22-FY23: Report

Investments in Indian agri-tech startups fell by 45 per cent between 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years, primarily due to a hike in global interest rates and heightened investor caution amid rising uncertainty, reveals consulting firm FSG's new report. Meanwhile, global agri-tech investments declined by 10 per cent between calendar years 2022 and 2023, it said. Going forward, FSG expects the funding slump to continue into FY24 before springing back in FY25. It expects that startups will continue focusing on profitability to tide over the next financial year. "Investors are likely to continue being cautious and direct their limited funding towards established business models, such as follow-on funding for companies in the mid-stream agri-tech category," it said. Commenting on the trends identified by the firm, Rishi Agarwal, Managing Director, Head-Asia, FSG, said, "The shift in investment dynamics highlights the Indian agri-tech sector's sensitivity to global economic trends. Startup

Extreme weather turns up the heat on long-term investment in agriculture

Rising global temperatures threaten to damage crops that rely on predictable weather, which will likely lead to higher food prices

Decoded: What are essential components of 'National Strategy for Robotics'?

The draft NSR proposes a policy framework for the implementation of robotics in various sectors, with the aim of making India a global robotics leader by 2030

How plant sensors are improving Indian agriculture, checking waste

Sensors that monitor plant health, irrigation, nutrient use and weather are improving productivity, checking waste at farms and greenhouses

India's agri growth reaps harvest of rabi at 3.5% in June quarter

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest forecast released today though held out some hope

Neo-liberal policies cause for crisis in agriculture sector, says Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the agriculture sector and the farming community are going through tough times and blamed the neo-liberal policies being implemented in the country for the crisis. Despite all the difficulties, the LDF government in the state is adopting diverse measures to strengthen the agriculture sector, he said. Efforts should be made for further interventions to reach its benefits to maximum number of people, he wrote in his Facebook page on the occasion of the Malayalam new year Chingam today, which is considered auspicious by the Kerala people. 'Chingam 1' of the Malayalam calendar is also observed as Farmers' Day in the southern state to recognise the services rendered by peasants to the society. He said the beginning of the Malayalam month is an occasion to remember the state's rich agricultural heritage and legacy. The CM also stressed the need for evolving new projects in tune with the changing times for the prosperity of the farm

LT Foods, ICAR-NCIPM ink initial pact to give sustainable farming training

LT Foods on Monday said it has signed an initial pact with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Research Centre for Integrated Pest Management (ICAR-NCIPM) to train 10,000 farmers in four states on sustainable farming practices. As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the training would be provided to farmers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the company said in a statement. The farmers will be trained to make optimum use of resources like water, pesticides and fertilisers, to keep the agricultural process regenerative, and support the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals of reducing GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption, it said. ICAR-NCIPM will prepare written content on the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) in rice as a component of Sustainable Rice Production (SRP) and provide consultancy in managing key pests and diseases in the crop. It will also help disseminate rice-ICM technology as a component of SRP to .

India agri-based sector to get opportunities amid EU's deforestation norms

The European Union's (EU) stringent deforestation regulation would provide new opportunities for domestic agro-based industry players, as against their global competitors, as forest cover in India is increasing significantly, an official said. While several countries in Latin America and Africa have cleared their forests for agricultural purposes, India's forest cover is increasing and there is no practice here in the country to cut forest for agri activities. The government official said these regulations provide an opportunity for "our industry because our forest cover has increased, our reserve forest is strong and it is increasing. "Our forest land is different from agri land. We can demonstrate these facts to the EU and converge to some kind of understanding on this regulation". According to a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India's exports of products like coffee, leather hides and paperboard worth USD 1.3 billion annually to the European Union w

Agri sector can scale new highs with AI, other emerging technologies: WEF

The agriculture sector in India can be transformed by promoting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, according to a new World Economic Forum report. Releasing the phase-1 report of the 'Saagu Baagu' ('agriculture advancement' in the Telugu language) being implemented by the Telangana government in collaboration with it, the WEF said its AI for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) initiative has helped more than 7,000 chilli farmers get access to agritech services in the first phase. These agritech services include AI-based advisories, soil testing, produce quality testing and e-commerce -- all in the project's pilot phase. The state government plans to scale existing and additional agritech services in phase II (from 2023 onwards) to 20,000 chilli and ground nut farmers in three districts. The digital public infrastructure will also be introduced in phase II, while in phase III (by 2025), the target is to reach 1,00,000 farmers in the state. The projec

India to cut import duty on Washington apples to 50% by September end

An import duty of 70% is imposed on Washington apples, which is 20 percentage points more than the 50% import duty applicable for the apples imported from Iran and Turkey

Diesel sales fall in June as monsoon sets in, cuts demand in agri sector

Diesel sales dropped in June as the arrival of monsoon cut demand in the agri sector and reduced vehicular movement, preliminary industry data showed. Demand for diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country -- accounting for about two-fifths of the total demand, fell 3.7 per cent to 7.1 million tonnes in June compared to the year-ago period. Diesel had soared 6.7 per cesalesnt and 9.3 per cent in April and May, respectively, as agriculture demand picked up and cars yanked up air-conditioning to beat summer heat. Month-on-month sales were almost flat compared to 7.09 million tonnes of diesel consumed in May. Petrol sales, however, rose 3.4 per cent to 2.9 million tonnes in June 2023 compared to the year-ago period. Sales were unchanged month-on-month, the data showed. Petrol and diesel sales have been on the rise since the second half of March on the back of a pick-up in industrial and agriculture activity. But the arrival of monsoon has cooled temperatures and reduced demand for

Govt spending over Rs 6.5 lakh cr annually on agriculture, farmers: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and farmers and asserted that the Centre is delivering rather than just talking about promises, in an apparent dig at the Congress party over poll guarantees. Addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here, the prime minister asked cooperatives to become carriers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way. Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils. Speaking at the event, the prime minister highlighted achievements of his government in the last nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors. Modi said the government has ensured supply of fertilisers at cheaper rates compared to other countries, bought large

Rs 250 cr agriculture fund launched in Assam to boost agribusiness

A Rs 250 crore fund has been created in Assam by multiple stakeholders, including World Bank, to promote small and medium units in the agriculture sector, officials said on Tuesday. Venture capital fund Caspian Impact Investment Adviser said it has joined hands with the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society to roll out the agribusiness investment firm. The Hyderabad-based company said that according to the agreement, ARIAS will be the nodal agency for establishing and implementing a contributory and determinate investment trust -- the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF). "With a corpus of Rs 250 crore, AAIF is a unique sector-specific fund, focusing on boosting agricultural productivity and employment generation in the state. It will mainly invest in small and medium enterprises in the agribusiness and allied sectors to achieve accelerated growth," it said in a statement. ARIAS is designated as the anchor investor for the AAIF, which will be ...

Monsoon has arrived, agri sector looks healthy: CEA V Anantha Nageswaran

CEA Nageswaran said that India is 'well covered' in handling the impact of monsoon on output and prices