Horticulture crops production at 314.67 million tonnes in 2018-19; higher than past 5 yrs' average

The agriculture ministry released the final estimates for 2017-18 and the first estimates for 2018-19 of area and production of horticulture crops.

India's horticulture production is estimated to rise by 1 per cent to record 314.67 million tonnes in 2018-19 on the higher area, the government said.

The agriculture ministry released the final estimates for 2017-18 and the first estimates for 2018-19 of area and production of horticulture crops. These estimates are based on the information received from different states and Union territories.

As per the final estimates of 2017-18, horticulture production stood at record 311.7 MT, which is 3.7 per cent higher than the previous year and 10 per cent higher than the past five years' average production.

The area under coverage rose to 25.87 million hectares from 25.43 million hectares.

Onion production in the current year is likely to be around 23.62 million tonnes (MT) as against 23.26 MT in 2017-18, while potato output is estimated at 52.58 MT compared to 51.31 MT.

Tomato production is estimated to rise 2 per cent to 20.51 MT as against 19.76 MT in 2017-18.

The production of fruits is estimated at 97.35 MT, while that of vegetables at about 187.5 MT.

Israeli based Centre of Excellence in Bengal state for agri & horticulture by 2019

A Centre of Excellence in agriculture and horticulture with Israeli help is likely to come up in Chinsurah of Hooghly district, six years after the idea was first conceived, a state government official said on 12th Feb 2019.

State food processing industries and horticulture secretary Nandini Chakravorty said the centre will come up by end-2019, but did not give further details.

Chakravorty was addressing a seminar on food processing organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce .

In 2013, an Israeli envoy had first expressed interest to set up a Centre of Excellence in the state. Israel was then involved in preparing action plans in 11 states in India based on an agriculture cooperation agreement in 2006.

As of now, more than two dozen centres of excellence have come in the country with Israeli cooperation.

When the original plan was submitted for the West Bengal centre, it talked of focusing on potato cultivation. The centre would have also adopted Israeli technology in horticulture mechanisation, protected cultivation, nursery, micro-irrigation, and post-harvest management.

All these technological interventions were aimed at increasing the farmers' income in the state.

Chakravorty said West Bengal wants to create three packaging houses in each district under the public-private partnership mode.

The minister of the department Razzak Molla said that adopting participatory farming model is the only way for investors to get large tracts of contiguous land in the state.

Participatory farming is a tailor-made solution for allowing private investors to tie up with the farmers for contract farming. The main difference is that the state government is also a party to such agreements along with participatory farmers' organisations to ensure transparency.

Officials said there is demand for fruit pulp from multinational companies and large brands and investors should look into this area seriously.

India expected to import up to 1 million tonnes of corn in 2019

Below-normal monsoon rains and an infestation of the fall armyworm, which devastated African corn crops in 2017, have slashed India's corn output and boosted prices, increasing the chances the government will grant duty-free corn imports for the first time since 2016.

India is likely to import up to 1 million tonnes of corn this year as lower production and growing domestic poultry consumption boosts demand for overseas purchases.

Below-normal monsoon rains and an infestation of the fall armyworm, which devastated African corn crops in 2017, have slashed India's corn output and boosted prices, increasing the chances the government will grant duty-free corn imports for the first time since 2016.

"India is expected to buy anything between 500,000 tonnes and 1 million tonnes as local crop is lower," said one of the traders while on the sidelines of a grain industry conference in Singapore.

"It will be mainly Ukrainian corn as India imports only non-genetically modified corn."

The shift to imports in the world's seventh-largest corn producer, which typically exports to Asia, highlights the breadth of the crop losses due to the drought and armyworm.

For the summer crop in the 2017/18 crop year ending in June, India harvested 20.24 million tonnes, according data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.

However, between the lower-than-normal monsoon rainfall and the armyworm infestation, summer crop output for 2018/19 crop year is forecast to drop to less than 16 million tonnes.

Target has been set to double area under horticulture in Haryana: Chief Minister

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on 24th Feb 2019 said that a target has been set to double the area under horticulture and to increase the horticulture products by three times by year 2030.

In this direction, 340 villages would be developed as ''Horticulture Villages'' through 140 crop clusters being established in the state.

He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, about 10 lakh farmers of Haryana have been provided Rs 200 crore in their bank accounts today.

The chief minister thanked the Prime Minister on behalf of the farmers of Haryana.

He said that in the last four years, the horticulture area has increased from 4.39 lakh hectare to 5.28 lakh hectare in Haryana.

At present, the area of horticulture in Haryana is 8.17 per cent of the total agriculture sector and the target is to increase this area up to 15 per cent.

The chief minister said that under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs 1,140.98 crore has been given as compensation to 98,000 farmers of Haryana.

Khattar said that in order to promote organic farming in the state, the state government has sent a scheme of Rs 450 crore to the central government.

Khattar announced that the Haryana government will bear the amount of monthly share to be paid by workers of the state under the Pradhan Mantri Shramjivi Mandhan Yojana.

Addressing the ''Vikas Rally'' organised on the launch of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana organized at Khudana in district Mahendragarh, the chief minister said that under the Pradhan Mantri Shramjivi Mandhan Yojana, the Haryana Government will bear the amount of monthly share of Rs 50 to Rs 200 of beneficiaries of the age group between 18 and 40 years of age.

Khattar on Sunday inaugurated one project andlaid the foundation stones of 12 projects amounting to Rs 452.45 crore for the development of district Mahendragarh.

He said that the state government has carried out equitable development in the state.

Maharashtra govt plans centre to promote cell-based meat research, production

The centre will be set up by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai. In its first phase, a lab is expected to come up in the city next year. The second phase, a greenfield project, is expected to come up on 203 acres of land owned by ICT in Jalna by 2021, said GFI India Managing Director Varun Deshpande.

In an effort to promote cell-based meat research and production in the country, the state government and the India arm of Washington-based NGO Good Food Institute (GFI) signed an MoU on Monday to set up a ‘centre for excellence in cellular agriculture’ in Maharashtra. Cell-based meat or “cultured meat” is produced from cells taken from an animal and grown outside its body in a petri dish.

The centre will be set up by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai. In its first phase, a lab is expected to come up in the city next year. The second phase, a greenfield project, is expected to come up on 203 acres of land owned by ICT in Jalna by 2021, said GFI India Managing Director Varun Deshpande.

GFI will offer expertise and guidance in setting up the lab through its network of scientists. “The concept of cell-based meat is still in an early stage in the country. However, the size and demand of the meat industry is growing rapidly. It is estimated that in the coming years, meat consumption in India is going to rise with the rise in population,” said Deshpande.

He added that the current Indian meat industry is valued at an estimated Rs 20,000 crore and the project is expected to benefit 9.7 billion people in 2050, a sixth of which will be Indians.

Two types of research will be conducted at the lab — open access research to be utilised by the entire sector and contract research opportunities with entrepreneurs. Animal welfare organisation Humane Society International India and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad are also partners of GFI.

A statement issued by Dr Rekha Singhal, Dean, research, consultancy and research mobilisation, ICT Mumbai, said, “As the foremost university engaged in research in the area of chemical technology in the country, we are proud to announce a MoU with industry leaders, to set up the world’s first dedicated centre on cellular agriculture. This centre will pioneer innovation allowing Indian business a chance to create products using our breakthrough research.”

Major Expectations For The Food Processing Industry From Budget 2019

On Friday 25 January 2019, the Prime Minister of India forecasted that "New India" is on the way to becoming the fifth largest economy in the world. This growth in the Indian economy is primarily consumer driven and the export needs to outpace its current growth rate to make India the fifth largest economy in the world. With this view, the Government of India has introduced "Agriculture Export Policy" in December 2018. The policy is aimed at doubling the agricultural exports, and farmer's income by 2022, and enable farmers to benefit out of export opportunities in the international market.

As food processing industry is gaining strong ground in India, the sector has high expectations from the government for the upcoming budget. Government too recognizes that the growth of food processing industry and job creation in associated sectors will bring down the rural distress as well as reduce farmer's loan waiver hunt. Some of the prime areas that need to be covered in the forthcoming budget are discussed here.

We believe, rationalization of tax rates, improvement in the food value chain and a higher budgetary allocation for the food ministry are some of the key expectations that every stakeholder in this sector is hoping to be addressed in the upcoming budget. SKP budget wish-list for food processing sector are as follows

Upstream

• Increase and expansion of minimum selling price to some new crops as well, if not all food crops across the country,
• The government has launched e-NAM however there is no significant impact on the income of the majority of the farmers due to the lower adoption rate of e-NAM. Currently, total food grain distribution through e-NAM stands at only 5.8% on an average since its inception in April 2016. Therefore, we believe, the government is likely to provide additional measures to increase the farmer's income through this initiative,
• Currently, contract farming is largely done through informal agreement and there is a need to create a framework for contract farming and create formal linkages with farmers which will increase the farmer's income,
• As the election is due this year, we believe, the government is likely to take a populist view in the food processing sector and propose insurance coverage of crops by the government and/or partial waiver of farmer's loan,
• Higher incentives for contract and group farming to help farmers and contractors move up in the value chain.

Downstream

• To promote – "Make in India" and compliment "Agriculture Export Policy, 2018", the government is likely to provide export incentives grant for food processing companies,
• Reduction in the corporate tax rate in line with expectations from other industries.

PepsiCo India to add production line, aims to double snack business

PepsiCo India will expand its operations in the state of West Bengal with a new potato chip production line at its manufacturing facility in Kolkata. The company said the investment aligns with its plans to double its snack business in India by 2022 and has the potential to generate more than 300 jobs.

As part of the site’s development, PepsiCo India also will increase its potato sourcing from West Bengal by 50% through its Farmer Friends program.

“Agriculture is at the heart of PepsiCo and our farmer friends are the backbone of our business,” said Ahmed ElSheikh, president and chief executive officer of PepsiCo India. “As we grow, we look forward to further strengthen our relationship with the farmer community in the state.”

PepsiCo India currently works with more than 24,000 Indian farmers to source ingredients. All the potato used in the company’s Lay’s and Uncle Chipps brands are locally sourced. Through its initiatives for potato cultivation, the company offers training, advanced plant protection programs and assured buy-back with reasonable returns.

Dairy industry hails Budget 2019, says measures would increase farmers' income

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced 2% interest subvention for farmers engaged in animal husbandry and fisheries who take loan through the Kisan Credit Card scheme.

The dairy industry hailed the proposals of the 2019-20 interim budget for the sector saying the measures would lead to an increase in farmers’ incomes.
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced 2% interest subvention for farmers engaged in animal husbandry and fisheries who take loan through the Kisan Credit Card scheme. Further, in case of timely repayment of loan, they will get an additional 3% interest subvention.

“The increased outlay for Rashtriya Gokul Mission to Rs 750 crore will give a further push to milk productivity and production in the country,” said RS Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (Amul). “We expect milk production, which is currently at 176 million tonnes, to grow 6.5% in 2019-20.”

Lactalis India CEO Rahul Kumar welcomed the proposal for setting up of a Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for sustainable and enhanced productivity of cows. “India has 150 million indigenous cows with extremely low productivity. The setting up of a Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will boost milk productivity of indigenous cows,” he said.

Large number of farmers, especially women working in dairy and fisheries, would be able to benefit from the proposed 2% interest subvention for loans taken through the Kisan Credit Card scheme which was earlier applicable only to crop loans, said Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, chairman, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Govt plans 'One Health' to check antibiotics use in animals, humans

With reports on use of antibiotics in feed and feed supplements of livestock and poultry in the country as the backdrop, the Centre has planned to launch 'One Health' initiative where it can deal with human and animal health together by regulating use of antibiotics in animals as well as human.

Under this plan having multiple regulatory components, the department of biotechnology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will join hands to launch a "compulsory" national immunisation programme for livestock to address vaccine preventable disease.
Estimates of global antibiotic used in poultry, swine and cattle in 2010 indicate that India accounted for 3% of global consumption and the country was among the top consumers worldwide, along with China, the US and Brazil.

Projections for 2030 estimate that the use of antibiotics in animals in the BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - is expected to double.

"Use of antibiotics in chickens, in particular, is expected to triple in India by 2030 and therefore it is important to regulate the use of antibiotics in animals as well as humans to tackle the issue," said Union science & technology minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday, while referring to the plan to launch compulsory 'national immunisation programme for livestock'. He was addressing a conference on plan to launch 'One Health' initiative - an inter-sectoral approach for tackling the most urgent health threats in India.

The latest report of World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which analysed data submitted by 155 countries as of 2017, noted that 45 countries (29%) reported use of antimicrobials for growth promotion. It said 18 out of these 45 countries had a regulatory framework that either provided a list of antimicrobials that can be used as growth promoters or provided a list of those that should not be used as growth promoters.