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4 AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Volume 02  |  Issue 11  |  January 2022

Publisher & Managing Editor Sub Editor TOP STORIES
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AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com AGRO EDIT 5

Age of Agritech

The new year rings in new hope and new The International Labour Organisation (ILO)
expectations from all quarters. As for too has highlighted this issue capturing the US
Indian agritech, over 1400 agri startups example where agri labour growth is only 1 per cent
are currently operating in the country deploying while the agri sector growth rate is 1.57 per cent
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things expected to reach 10 per cent. Hence, Drones and
(IoTs) and drones, among other marvels of tech. technologies are a life saviours for farmers, it has
Farmers are being empowered by easy-to-use pointed out. The same logic is applicable to India.
mobile apps that are simplifying their work and
aiding in increasing produce. Considering the expected growing food
demand there will be no option but to have more
Globally, agritech has been a buzzword for technologies. But, while developing and promoting
the last some years as food security has become new agri technologies, this paradox of dependency
and will continue to be the main concern with the on the farm sector and youths turning away from
population estimated to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. it will also have to be always considered for the
Leveraging technology is one way of solution. In balanced development of the sector in view of
2020, world over agri start- ups raised $26 billion, the people’s dependency over the farm sector
a very high jump of 35 per cent over the previous for livelihood. Thanks to IITs, IIMs and several
year. Global agritech market is expected to other prestigious old technology, engineering
continue its stride with a CAGR 12 per cent for the and management institutes, India is a land of
next five years. Sheer Analytics and Insights has technocrats and managers, who are now making
estimated that the Drone market alone is expected big names even in US and other multinationals.
to grow from $0.9 billion in 2020 to $6.5 billion Several of them are trying their high skills in the
by 2031, growing at 19.4 per cent CAGR. agritech field. Acknowledging their importance
even the funds have started flowing in for agritech
India, as a major agritech player, is competing development approximately since the last five
with giants like the US and China. Its potential years. By 2020, the total investment in the Indian
is estimated by Ernst and Young in its report at agritech was estimated to be $ 242 million.
$24 billion in just the next three years. A ‘Make in However, it was more on the side of marketing
India’ startup has announced its plan to produce and distribution than growing.
1,000 agricultural drones.
The technologies developed by starups have
For India, agritech is very important in started showing results in different areas. Food
addressing the needs of the burgeoning wastage is reduced to 4 per cent from 25 per
population. Deloitte has estimated in its study cent in traditional chains through a demand-
‘Future of Food’ that spending on food of driven harvest schedule developed by a start-up.
an average Indian is expected to increase to In another case, logistics optimisation enabled
35.4 per cent in just the next three years and delivery is less than 12 hours at one-third the
technology will be the key enabler to meet the cost of traditional chains. Farmers’ income has
growing demand and ensure affordability. At the increased 20 per cent.
same time, a high number of people depend on
agriculture for their living, but youngsters are Considering the pace at which new technologies
turning away from farm work. A recent study are being developed and the number of startups
has shown that the share of 20 to 29 year olds growing, it will be worth watching what 2022 will
engaged in agriculture has decreased significantly deliver in the agritech space.
from 34 per cent to 14.4 per cent in 11 years. But
agriculture continues to be the main livelihood Dr. Milind Kokje,
source for 40 per cent of the population. Chief Editor

[email protected]

6 CONTENT AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

CONTENT AGROSPECTRUM

COVER STORY 16 WISHES ITS READERS,
CONTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISERS

AND ASSOCIATES

SUSTAINING

AGRI BOOM

in 2022

13 hPoipnensinong

2022-23

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022-
23 on February 1, 2022. AgroSpectrum is covering the views of the industry
people what they expect from the Union Budget 2022-23 to take the agri and
allied sectors to the next level of growth.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com CONTENT 7

CONTENT

30 38

Is the future bright Deciphering potential of
for Agri? Plant-based Meat Industry

Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Amod Ashok Salgaonkar,

Executive Director, Federation of Brand Ambassador, World
Seed Industry of India and Alliance Sustainability Organisation

for Agri Innovation 32 41

Agri Warehousing: Agrochem industry
Towards an Era of Growth
shifts focus from
Sandeep Sabharwal,
products to solutions
CEO, Sohan Lal Commodity
Management Pvt. Ltd (SLCM) Rajesh Aggarwal,

Can Indian Horticulture Managing Director, Insecticides
Industry keep pace? (India) Limited
Pankaj Khandelwal,
34 44
Chairman and Managing
Director, INI Farms Changing Dynamics of

Making Animal Farm Mechanisation
Farming sustainable
in India
Rajeev Murthy,
Hemant Sikka,
Head - DSM South Asia,
Animal Nutrition and Health President, Farm Equipment Sector,
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd & President,
Tractor Manufacturers Association.

36 REGULARS

Editorial.................................................... 05
Your Views.............................................. 08
Policy News............................................ 09
Finance News......................................... 10
Livestock news...................................... 11
Startups News............................................... 12
Technology News.................................. 46
Agri-Inputs news.................................... 48
Supply chain news................................ 49
Let’s talk Agriculture ............................. 50

8 YOUR VIEWS AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

TOP VIDEO

Jyoti Vij,
Dy Secretary
General at FICCI,
informs about the
growth of the agri
exports during the
pandemic.

Scan the QR Courtesy- FICCI Feedback
Code 
Scan the QR Dr Ashok Informative interviews
Code  Dalwai, CEO,
Scan the QR National Rainfed Interviews of Dr M Angamuthu and
Code  Area Authority Padmanabhan RR published in
(NRAA) speaks AgroSpectrum December 21 issue
about role of are very informative and interesting.
sustainability in Information related to floriculture export
agriculture and future opportunities is very useful for
budding entrepreneurs.
Courtesy- FICCI
Samali Burman, Bangalore.
Sujit Sahgal,
Author & Head Useful issue on floriculture
of Equity Sales
at Foreign Bank The issue on floriculture is very
speaks about informative and useful. The information
the role of agri about government schemes for
technology in floriculture industry and inputs required
agri business for growth of floriculture is very useful for
floriculture industry players and flower
farmers.

Medhansh Shirole, Mumbai

Issue on agri-food processing

AgroSpectrum should publish a special
issue on opportunities in agri-food
processing and its current status in
India. The information about agri-
food processing industry, government
schemes and way forward will not only
help farmers but also help the small scale
agri-processing companies.

Krutika Sarfare, Pune

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com POLICY NEWS 9

APEDA holds agri-export conference at
Mirzapur, UP
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export of Purvanchal region for increasing agricultural

Development Authority (APEDA), organised the products exports. Export consignments of Non-

‘Agri-Export Conference cum Buyer Seller Meet’ Basmati Rice to China and Green chillies to the
at Mirzapur, where Union Minister of State of UAE were flagged off by Anupriya Patel and Dr

Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel and more Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA. The country has

than 700 farmers, exporters and farmers attended set a $400 billion target for merchandise exports

the conference. The conference was held to for 2021-22 and $262 billion of exports has already

harness agricultural and processed food products been achieved during April-November 2021-22

exports potential from eastern Uttar Pradesh also period. A record export target of $43 billion has

referred to as Purvanchal. During the conference, been set for agricultural products in 2021-22 and

a Memorandum of Understanding was signed because of efforts by APEDA and farmers, this

between leading exporters-association and FPOs target would be achieved in the current fiscal.

India-US TPF meeting DAHD inks MoU with
discuss ways to boost MoFPI for development
agri trade of dairy entrepreneurs

At the recently held Twelfth Ministerial meeting of The Department of Animal husbandry and
the Trade Policy Forum (TPF), 'the US and India Dairying (DAHD) signed an MoU with
agreed that the TPF Working Groups on agriculture, the Ministry of Food Processing Industry
non-agriculture goods, services, investment, and (MoFPI). The MoU was signed for extension
intellectual property should be re-activated to of benefits to dairy entrepreneurs/ dairy
address issues of mutual concern on an ongoing industries through the convergence
basis. Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush of various schemes of the Department
Goyal and US Trade Representative, Ambassador of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Katherine Tai co-chaired the TPF meeting. The (DAHD), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal
ministers acknowledged the tangible benefits Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD).
accruing to Indian and US farmers and businesses, The objectives of MoFPI & DAHD are
by mutually resolving certain outstanding interlinked and complementary. Hence,
market access issues through increased bilateral the DAHD and MoFPI will work together
engagement. Both sides also agreed to continue to achieve the goal for income generation
working to expand bilateral trade in agricultural for sustainable development of the rural
and food products through the TPF Working Group poor through the extension of benefits
on Agricultural Goods and committed to holding of various schemes to the beneficiaries
technical dialogues on animal health, plant health, whenever they require credit support for
and food safety and other technical issues in 2022. establishment/ extension/ strengthening
of quality control, dairy processing and its
value addition, meat processing and value
addition infrastructure, animal feed plant
and technology-assisted breed improvement
farms without any limitation. Under the
'One District One Product (ODOP)' scheme,
credit link grant assistance will be provided
for dairy, fisheries, poultry and animal feed.

10 F I N A N C E N E W S AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

BASF India PI Industries posts Rs 229.6 Cr
net profit in Q2FY22
registers
PI Industries has posted a net profit / (loss) of Rs 229.6 crore
Rs 34,054.9 M for the period ended September 30, 2021, as against net profit
/ (loss) of Rs 187.2 crore for the period ended June 30, 2021.
sales in Q2FY22 It posted a net profit of Rs 217.6 crore for the period ended
September 30, 2020. The company has reported a total income
BASF India registered sales of Rs 1381.9 crore during the period ended September 30,
of Rs 34,054.9 million for the 2021, as compared to Rs 1221.5 crore during the period ended
second quarter, which ended June 30, 2021. It reported a total income of Rs 1191.3 crore
on September 30, 2021, as during the period ended September 30, 2020. It has reported
compared to Rs 24,597.3 a total income of Rs 2603.4 crore during the half-year
million in the corresponding ended September 30, 2021, as compared to Rs 2259.6
quarter of the previous year, crore during the half-year ended September 30,
representing an increase of 38 2020. The company has posted a net profit
per cent. The company reported of Rs 416.8 crore for the half-year ended
profit before tax (before September 30, 2021, as against a net profit
exceptional items) of Rs 1,831.9 of Rs 363.1 crore for the half-year ended
million as compared to profit September 30, 2020.
before tax (before exceptional
items) of Rs 1,113.8 million Imagindairy closes
in the prior-year quarter. $13 M seed round to
For the half-year ended on advance animal-free dairy
September 30, 2021, the
company registered sales of Rs FoodTech Company Imagindairy has announced the
64,184.1 million, as compared completion of a $13 million seed round. The funding was led
to Rs 42,462.2 million for the by MoreVC, a leading seed-stage investor in Israel managing
corresponding period of the $275 million across three funds. Also joining this round:
previous year, an increase Strauss Group, Entrée Capital, S2G Ventures; Collaborative
of 51 per cent. Profit After Fund, New Climate Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures;
Tax (after exceptional items) Emerald Technology Ventures and Pierre Besnainou. This
stood at Rs 3,346.2 million round includes a pre-seed investment by Strauss Group,
in the second half of 2021, as FoodSparks by PeakBridge, CPT Capital, and Entrée Capital
compared to Profit After Tax earlier this year. Imagindairy is milking new technology to
(after exceptional items) of Rs leave the cow out of the dairy equation. With natural precision
3,816.5 million reported in the fermentation, the company creates true milk proteins that are
corresponding period of the indistinguishable from the real thing. Imagindairy’s proprietary
previous year. technology, based on systems and synthetic biology platform,
allows manufacturers to offer cow-free, sustainable milk and
dairy products with all the nutritional values of dairy milk.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com L I V E S TO C K N E W S 11

Birsa Agriculture University opens
cow urine bank

Jharkhand-based Birsa Agriculture University has launched a cow urine
bank. Farmers of Dublia village have been provided with drums where
cow urine can be stored. Cow urine is a natural fertiliser and supplements
the nutrient value to the soil. It aids in the management of insects, pests
and diseases under the organic production systems. Farmers will be able
to deposit the cow urine to the bank. Farmers can procure the cow urine
which was deposited to the bank.

Suguna Foods NDDB sets up
launches Layer ultra-modern dairy
chicken feed plant in Odisha
variants in Bihar
Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Odisha
Suguna Foods has launched ‘Layer chicken feed’ in inaugurated the newly commissioned ultra-
Bihar. Layer chickens are a breed of hens having modern automated dairy plant of OMFED at
a significantly enhanced capacity for producing Arilo, Cuttack for which technical consultancy has
eggs from 18-19 weeks of age and continue till 80 been provided by National Dairy Development
weeks and above. The conglomerate has launched Board (NDDB). The ultra-modern 5 lakh litres per
four types of Layer feed, each designed to be given day (LLPD) capacity dairy plant with 20 metric
to the hens at various stages during the bird’s life tonnes per day (MTPD) powder plant and other
cycle. Layer Chick Crumble feed is recommended milk products like butter, ghee, flavoured milk,
from 0-8 weeks, which helps in gut development paneer etc. has come up with an outlay of about
and strives to improve growth rate, weight gain Rs 250 crore. A state-of-the-art BSL3 laboratory
and enhances the immunity of the flock. The highly has been set up by NDDB at Bhubaneswar for
nutritive formulation aims to reduce early chick Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to
mortality (ECM) and consequently improves the conduct systematic epidemiological and molecular
liveability of the flock. Layer Grower Crumble feed is epidemiological studies on Foot & Mouth Disease
recommended from 9–17 weeks. It helps to maintain (FMD) with an outlay of about Rs 160 crore. NDDB
the skeletal body frame and organs development. has completed IVF/ ETT Laboratory at Central
This nutritious feed has been meticulously Cattle Breeding Farms, Sunabeda and Chiplima to
formulated to reduce pullet mortality and ensure improve the productivity of milch animals. NDDB
flock uniformity. has also completed a 150 MTPD Cattle Feed Plant
at Khurda with an outlay of Rs 27 crore, which can
produce up to 300 MTPD Cattle Feed with a 20-
hour operation.

12 S TA RT U P S N E W S AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Cornext selected for Samhitha raises
Indo-Israel Cohort $1.5 M in seed fund
Program
India Samhitha Crop Care Clinics, an agri tech
Agritech startup Cornext that offers low-cost, startup offering precision farming advisory,
innovative quality feeding solutions for Indian has raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by
dairy farmers, is one among the seven startups TechStar Group and participated by Quadrant
selected from India for the ‘Indo-Israel Cohort Resource and angel investors. The company
Program’ jointly launched by Startup Nation plans to leverage these funds to accelerate
Central, Israel, TiE Hyderabad and TiE Israel. advisor onboarding and team expansion. The
The first cohort of the programme will focus funds will further boost Samhitha’s plan to
on innovations in the agritech sector, and the solve market linkage challenges for the farmers
shortlisted startups will undergo speaker sessions and amplify their profitability. While Samhitha
and workshops on sensitisation to Indian/ Israeli is focused exclusively on citrus growers in
culture, business culture, perspectives on local Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, currently,
market, consumer behaviour and exposure to the company plans to expand its advisory
high-growth sectors in both countries. Cornext services across the nation. Triumvir Law was
is soon launching a first of its kind mobile app the legal counsel for the transaction who
FeedNext, which offers low-cost quality feeding helped structure the same. Founded in 2020,
solutions such as baled silage, TMR (total mixed Jagan Chitiprolu, Kalyan Enjamoori, and Dr
ration), fortified hay, mineral mixtures, feed Shyamsundar Reddy, Samhitha has pioneered
supplements, etc. to dairy farmers. The new a Digital Tree Health Audit System (DTHAS),
e-marketplace ‘FeedNext’ will be a one-stop shop a unique method of recording, analysing, and
for all feeding requirements of dairies. interpreting the health of individual trees in
a farm through data, telemetry devices, and
Citron app.

Jaipur-based AgriTech startup launches
Freshokartz Saarthi
Jaipur-based AgriTech startup Freshokartz Agri 3-5 Saarthi per village, giving the potential to earn
has launched India's first social commerce platform Rs 15,000-20,000 per month by working part-
for farmers - Freshokartz Saarthi through which time through the Saarthi platform. The startup is
they are giving entrepreneurship opportunities having the vision of on boarding 10,000+ Saarthi,
to lakh’s of aspiring micro-agripreneur not only which will be serving more than one million
in Rajasthan but in multiple states. The platform farmers by March 31, 2022. The startup is also
offers to earn not only in selling agri products like tying up with various organisations likes UPL,
seeds, crop protection, fertilisers, agri tools and BASF, Axis Bank, ICICI Lombard, Dvara etc.
machinery, soil testing but also offers essential
services like bank account opening, crop, health,
vehicle and cattle insurances etc. The platform is
based on Machine Learning and data intelligence-
based algorithms. Freshokartz plans to onboard

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com U N I O N B U D G E T 13

Pihnonpinoengs

2022-23

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022-23

on February 1, 2022. AgroSpectrum is covering the views of the industry people

what they expect from the Union Budget 2022-23 to take the agri and allied sectors

to the next level of growth. subsidies on input resources across the farming
value chain and enhancing their social security
India is growing at a rapid pace and so is the conditions.
use of technology in the growing sectors of
the country. A major mass of the population Farming in India is plagued by micro land
is still dependent and practicing agriculture holdings that also limit any farmer’s scope and
as its primary source of income. India has been scale to adopt mixed farming or shift to growing
in a continuous tryst with its farming infra, multiple crops simultaneously or even take up
practices and associated communities since innovative approaches to grow a crop.
independence. With the sector still contributing
around 15-20 per cent to the national GDP of the AI & Blockchain
country over a few decades, and its diverse cum
changing needs across its regions, India has been In current times, startups have penetrated
driving necessary and timely interventions at throughout the farming value chain from
Industry, Institution, and individual farmer level sourcing quality seeds to providing mechanised
for its constant manifestation. tools for farming, logistics support for movement
of crops and improving access to new markets.
As agriculture is a sector that emotionally In recent years, with application of new age
appeals to the masses, Indian agencies were technologies like blockchain and AI in the
prompted to undertake policy measures to farming ecosystem, entrepreneurs have been able
stimulate industry landscape by improving access to provide farmers with advanced and futuristic
to credit and widening scope of crop insurance. solutions to improve their output. Usage of such
Setting up and enabling institutions to mobilise advanced technologies have also provided the
essential Agri services and new age technology startups with new funding opportunities as they
production inputs further, empowering are now trying to concentrate and solve the major
individual farmers through incentives like

14 U N I O N B U D G E T AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

challenges faced by farmers. and allied activities like quality assaying and
fumigation are exempted from GST. Therefore,
Crucial Funding & Tax Breaks Doraiswami said “It is suggested that these
services should be taxed as “zero rated” instead of
To overcome the issues related to climate exemption from GST to ensure that GST input tax
change, Navneet Ravikar, Chairman & credit is available to warehouse service providers
Managing Director, LeadsConnect Services to reduce the cost of warehousing services.”
urged the government to have a climate change
fund and said “A climate change fund needs Doraiswami also suggested “Encourage
to be introduced to promote climate smart adoption of scientific warehousing by linking
agriculture practices. Dedicated research and priority sector lending to mandatory storage
development funding should be allocated for in professionally managed, digitally-linked
private companies to encourage private research warehouses. This will also help improve visibility
labs working in the specific area of Agriculture, to stocks of food grains in India and help better
Disaster Management and Climate Change.” inflation management.”

Sharing his views on Union Budget 2022- Having similar views Anand Chandra,
23 expectations, Sunoor Kaul, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Arya.Ag urged “We are
Director, Origo Commodities said “There is a also looking forward to some rationalisation
need for tax breaks and attracting investors for a in the GST. For example, Agri warehousing is
progressive agricultural sector. There is a need to exempted from GST whereas the services have
focus on the liquidity across various levels for a GST applicable on them. There needs to be some
seamless Agri supply chain.” parity on this and we have been hoping for it
since the inception of the GST regime.”
Despite the challenges faced during the last
two years due to the pandemic, Ankur Aggarwal, Addressing challenges of Dairy sector
Managing Director, Crystal Crop Protection
Limited said “Agriculture growth has been on Referring to the issues of dairy sector
track. It is critical that more resources and Hitesh Rathi, Founder, Aadvik Foods urged the
funding be devoted to agriculture in the next government to ramp up infrastructure and said
budget to ensure sustainable growth. This will “We want the government to focus on building
act as a driving force for positive development. infrastructure to support dairy and agriculture
To foster innovation and the introduction of in the country, especially cold chain logistics
new technology, the government should grant is the need of the hour. A lot of approvals
incentives to agrochemical and agriculture-based that are needed to run daily operations of the
enterprises. Efforts should be made to encourage companies can be made online and hassle free.
agricultural research and development for further Proper guidelines for quality should be easily
growth of Indian agriculture and Indian farmers.” accessible to every producer and manufacturer.
International relations and agreements with
GST rationalisation is key countries can also help a lot in creating a
sustainable market globally.”
Talking about the issues related to
warehousing Ramesh Doraiswami, Managing Talking on affordability of Biogas, Yogesh
Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Gopal Godbole, Managing Director, Kolhapur
Bulk Handling Corporation Pvt Ltd said Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd
“Warehousing being a service industry, the suggested “The GST rate may be reduced on
Warehouse Space Reservations (WSPs) also Biogas plants, which has been increased to 12 per
outsource specialist services like security, quality cent from 5 per cent. With this reduction in GST
assaying, hiring of warehouses from warehouse rate, Biogas will become affordable to the large
owners, supervisory resources etc. from time to population located in rural India and depend
time on which GST needs to be paid. Such GST on Dairy. Indirectly help for Green Energy and
paid on input services adds to the cost when the Climate change missions.”
output service is exempt. This leads to addition
of cost to the final agricultural output and the Godbole also urged to exempt GST for milk
common consumer ends up bearing it.” packaging activity, which will be a big relief to
the Dairy Industry. He further requested the
Currently, warehousing storage services government to consider offering soft loans with

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com U N I O N B U D G E T 15

low interest rates, special policy for dairy co-ops present state of data accessibility in the country
and Grants for the dairy co-operative sector. is very opaque. The data still sits in silos and
we are hoping that the government will bring in
Agri Infrastructure Fund & Carbon some transparency in data accessibility in the
Credits upcoming budget.”

With the upcoming Union Budget, Anand “Subsidies and schemes supporting
Chandra said “We hope for a focus on the digitisation in agriculture, can help make
creation of an Agri Infrastructure Fund (AIF). technology available and accessible to many
With AIF, the government has already set their farmers and agri-stakeholders. Today we need to
intentions which is encouraging. However it acknowledge and support technology in order to
would be beneficial to replace low cost funds for uplift the agriculture sector as a whole,” Sanjay
the creation of AIF with some capital subsidy to Borkar, CEO & Founder FarmERP urged.
set the ball rolling.”
Sinha further suggested financial support to
“The government should focus on Carbon farmers through Extensions to current schemes
credits, offer better schemes to help farmers in the upcoming budget, Providing with subsidy
while announcing Union Budget 2022-23,” said or cutback on taxes to farmers on agritech
Arvind Godara, Founder, AgriBolo. products, Focus on encouraging investments
by both local and global fresh supply chain
Sharing his thoughts on Budget 2022-23 companies to ensure safe and nutrition locked
expectations, Amit Sinha, Co-Founder, Unnati vegetables and fruits.
said “We expect the budget to keep farmer
upliftment as one of the key focuses keeping The government has taken a big step forward
rural growth and development at the centre. in recognising the need to focus on the agri value
Increase in investments of rural infra, MSME chain, particularly the forward value chain, rather
development, digitising of agri-ecosystem, and than only on production and yield. The agri supply
farmer productivity. “ chain needs more players to emerge, who can
lock hands with the FPOs and take their output
Talking about agritech, Sinha said “In order to forward. The challenge in this space, besides
fund early-stage startups that are disrupting the regulatory bottlenecks, has been inadequate
agricultural economy, the budget might consider formal working capital for value chain players, and
a larger startup growth fund. Also, support is inadequate private equity to encourage the growth
expected in terms of tax benefits, eligibility of private players, among others.
criteria, etc. Allocation of funds to promote
digitalisation in the agricultural ecosystem could Focus on Agri-food value chain
be a focus area. Promotion of collaboration
between district governance and agritech “The government has shared its intent to set
startups in order to bring innovative solutions to up seed and angel funds for incubating players in
the farmers.” this space. In addition, if the government could
encourage large global impact investors, private
Innovative agritech adoption equity players and others to invest in this space
through capital gains tax exemptions and the
The Union Budget 2022-23 should be more like, that would make the sector attractive for
focused on supporting the startup ecosystem investment. There are substantial CSR monies
and be more focused towards implementing with large corporations. If investments into the
innovative technological solutions to farms. agri-food value chain could be treated as deemed
There is a lot of potential for innovation in CSR, this would unlock substantial capital to
agriculture using satellite imagery, drones, water flow into this sector, “urged Avinash Kasinathan,
efficiency, irrigation cycle etc. and these start-ups Chief - Strategy & Tech, WayCool Foods.
can go to the ground level and do those changes.
If the government implements the suggestions
Other than this Pradeep Bisen, Technical made by the industry leaders this will improve
Director “Geospatial”, SatSure said “More the growth and efficiency of the agri value chain
emphasis on research and development in India by encouraging private investment by
departments by increasing the funding, greater professional service providers and also growth of
extension of support to the universities and the agriculture sector at large.
better demand creation for the startups. Also, the

16 C O V E R S TO RY AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

SUSTAINING

AGRI BOOM
in 2022
India has the second-largest arable tonne (MMT) in 2020-21 (an increase of
land resources in the world. With 20 agro- 5.81 million metric tonne over FY20. The
climatic regions, all the 15 major climates production of fruits, flowers, spices and
in the world exist in India. The country also honey is expected to rise. India has the
has 46 of the 60 soil types in the world. largest livestock population of around 535.78
India is the largest producer of spices, million, which translates to around 31 per
pulses, milk, tea, cashew, and jute, and the cent of the world population. Milk production
second largest producer of wheat, rice, in the country is expected to increase to 208
fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton, MT in FY21 from 198 MT in FY20, registering
and oilseeds. Further, India is second in the a growth of 10 per cent year-on-year.
global production of fruits and vegetables
and is the largest producer of mango and India can be among the top five exporters
banana. During the 2019-20 crop year, food of agro-commodities by shifting its focus
grain production reached a record of 296.65 on cultivation and effectively hand holding
million tonnes. In 2020-21, Government of farmers, according to the World Trade
India is targeting food grain production of Centre. The total agricultural and allied
298 MT. Consumer spending in India will products exports stood at $41.25 billion in
return to growth in 2021 post the pandemic- FY21. The Agriculture Export Policy, 2018
led contraction, expanding by as much as 6.6 had aimed to increase India’s agricultural
per cent. Total area sown with rabi crops was export to Rs 4,19,340 crore by 2022. The
34.8 million hectares by November 27, 2020, government aims to raise fishery exports
4 per cent more than the previous season, from India to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2024-25.
and 2 per cent above the average of the last
five years. India is expected to achieve the ambitious
goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, The agriculture sector in India is expected
44 per cent of wheat and other rabi crops to generate better momentum in the next
were harvested out of a total of 97 lakh few years due to increased investment in
hectares sown area in the 2020-21 rabi agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation
season. As of October 6, 2021, the total facilities, warehousing and cold storage.
kharif area stood at 34.79 lakh hectares. A Furthermore, the growing use of genetically
total of 50.90 lakh hectares of kharif crops modified crops will likely improve the yield
will be sown in the kharif season of 2021-22. for Indian farmers. India is expected to be
In the rabi marketing season 2021-22, the self-sufficient in pulses in the coming few
government purchased a record 43.33 MT years due to concerted effort of scientists to
of wheat. In case of pulses and oilseeds, the get early maturing varieties of pulses and the
government, through the nodal agencies, has increase in minimum support price.
procured a total 1.04 million tonne at MSP
value of Rs 5662.82 crore so far in 2021. In the next five years, the central
government will aim for $9 billion in
Production of horticulture crops in investments in the fisheries sector under PM
India reached a record 326.6 million metric Matsya Sampada Yojana. The government is
targeting to raise fish production to 220 lakh

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tonnes by 2024-25. billion in FY21 and it is likely to reach the
Gross Value Added by agriculture, target of $ 60 billion by 2022. In the coming
pages we will cover the views of industry
forestry, and fishing was estimated at Rs captains and leaders from sectors such as
19.48 lakh crore in FY20. Share of agriculture seed, agrochemicals, fertilisers, supply chain,
and allied sectors in gross value added livestock, dairy and startups; as to how they
(GVA) of India at current prices stood at
17.8 per cent in FY20. The total agricultural foresee the various sectors in 2022.
and allied products exports stood at $41.25
- AGS team

“India on track to become “Govt needs to promote

next R&D Powerhouse of GM seeds by granting

seeds industry” approval for field trials”

“The seeds sector in India has a bright “Currently there is a need to develop
future, with the potential to develop to sustainable seed varieties which are
above Rs 24,000 crore per year. The Indian seed drought and flood resistant and also resistant
market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8 per to different types of viruses and fungal diseases
cent during the forecast period (2020-2025). for the growth of the seed industry in India.
This is supported by the fact that the private Cost –effective and more yield seed varieties are
sector's share of seed production increased important for the agriculture sector in India.
from 57.28 per cent in 2017-18 to 64.46 per cent
in 2020-21. According to the Department of Private seed companies and research institutes
Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers Welfare, should collaborate for the development of
80 of India's 540 private seed companies genetically modified seeds. The flow of Research
have their own research and development and Development in the seed industry has been
programmes, indicating that India is on track to choked in the last few years because of current
become the next R&D powerhouse for the seeds seed policies. Many seed companies are investing
industry. in R&D in order to develop sustainable seed
variety in India. But this research needs strong
We intend to be among the leading firms in policy support from the government. Government
Cotton, Mustard, and Pearl Millet hybrids after needs to promote Genetically Modified (GM)
completing our acquisition of Bayer's seeds seeds by granting approval for research and field
business in India. These acquired crops have an trials of GM seeds. This will pave the way for the
excellent strategic fit in our seeds portfolio and growth of the seed industry in 2022. There is an
will support us in improving our footprints in the extreme need to make changes in current seed
Indian seeds market positioning us as a powerful policy to bolster the growth of seed industry.”
integrated Agri-Input company. ”
Madhav Shembekar,
Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director,
Crystal Crop Protection Limited Managing Director & Founder member ,
Ankur Seeds Pvt Ltd

18 A G R O C H E M I C A L AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

“We believe innovation is “Tech will be the driving

a way of life” force for future growth”

“The Indian market has attracted the “Some of the latest technologies that we can
attention of foreign investors and envision with the rapid developments
manufacturers due to the government’s growing taking place in the agrochemical industry
emphasis on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar for coming years will be drip irrigation to
Bharat’. Moreover, the prominence of India as counter the water scarcity and unpredictable
a manufacturing hub has also garnered interest monsoon. There will be more utilisation of
in the country. We believe it will act as a great soluble complex fertilisers, nano fertilisers.
advantage for India as well as our company in Drone technology is likely to be implemented in
the coming years. Far from sitting on our laurels, the spraying mechanism. The industry will be
we are continuing to evaluate opportunities for witnessing advancements in Farm machinery,
growth in the international business through new molecules for ultra low dosages in farm
portfolio expansion, realignment of the chemicals. In consonance with our PM’s Make
distribution network and geographical expansion In India vision, value added IP related premix
in new markets. Our strong brand recognition farm chemicals to address local problems will be
and proven track record also provides several the newest additions. Post-harvest and new agro
opportunities for strategic expansion. The produce storage techniques for protection and
International business and R&D teams enhancing longevity of the crops. Last but not
continue to work on new product strategies for the least, more inclusion of E-commerce in agri
existing and new markets and we are exploring inputs will be a game changer for the industry.”
alternatives to expand our operations in key
markets like United States and Africa.” “Our aim will be to launch our own new
patented products to add the freshness in the
“We believe innovation is a way of life. During product portfolio which shall boost the financial
the COVID-19 pandemic, we adopted innovative growth of the company significantly. The
thinking and unique measures to overcome company is looking forward to spreading its
several challenges. Agriculture has always been an wings beyond domestic centric by registering its
on field business but, we realised the importance products in key global markets- focusing to boost
of introducing technology to ensure the safety and exports. Our other unique endeavors will include
security of people. We adopted online modes of the manufacturing of export substitute molecules
communication to interact with internal teams as which are off-patented but making their maiden
well as farmers and other stakeholders and began venture in the Indian market. To further
live telecasting from the fields to help farmers. accelerate growth propositions for BAL, the team
Virtual meetings were conducted regularly and will be focused on inorganic growth – scouting
changes were monitored efficiently to combat for acquisition in domestic and international
challenges posed by the pandemic.” spheres.”

Narendra Rane, Chief Operating Officer, Vimal Alawadhi,
Indofil Industries Ltd
Managing Director, Best Agrolife Ltd (BAL)

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“India’s crop protection “Dependence on China is a

market needs to be major impediment that must

explored” be overcome”

“The global crop protection market is “The Indian agrochemical industry has huge
expected to reach about $75 billion by unrealised potential for growth due to
2027, expanding at a CAGR of over 3 per cent. very low levels of agrochemical consumption as
The Indian crop protection market is one of compared to global norms. Therefore, its role in
the largest in the world, only behind Brazil, achieving the government’s vision of a $5 trillion
the United States, China and Japan, with an economy by 2025 cannot be undermined, as
estimated size of about $6 billion, split almost it not only ensures food security and provides
equally between domestic and export business. livelihoods but also provides impetus to the
Indian agrochemical business is expected to grow growth of industries and service sectors. The
to about $8 billion by 2025 and India's position key factors guiding the growth of the industry
may get even better if the industry rises to the in India include increasing investment in the
occasion by investing in production capacities, protection of crops, and the development of
development capabilities and sustainable integrated farming practices and their growing
practices. India has a large, mature and acceptance among the farmers in the region.
diversified chemical industry and the enterprise It is expected that plentiful opportunities
to be able to accelerate its way to the global will be available to the Indian Agrochemical
industry high-table.” industry as the world’s focus shifts from China
to India. However, the dependence of Indian
“With per acre use of crop protection products companies on China for basic materials is a
still quite low, India has considerable potential major impediment and that has to be overcome
to grow by raising the bar on education of safe by building basic raw material infrastructure in
and effective use, quality and range of product our country, if we were to become an alternative
solutions, environmental stewardship and manufacturing hub to China. BCIL is confident
others. With policy support, infrastructure and that it will reap benefits from the opportunities
market access, win-win intermediation and other created on account of these major developments,
favourable conditions backing agriculture in given its R&D capabilities, low turn-around time
becoming more remunerative and competitive, for developing new processes and excellence in
input quality and quantity is only going to go up quality it has established over the years.”
in agricultural practices.”
S Chandra Sekhar, Managing Director,
-M Pavan Kumar, Managing Director & Bhagiradha Chemicals & Industries Limited (BCIL)
CEO, NACL Industries Limited

20 F E RT I L I S E R AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

“Providing effective and “PSUs made strong

affordable crop protection contribution in making

solutions” fertilisers available”

“India is a country with the second largest “Fertilisers being covered under essential
farm output. But, shrinking farmland, commodities, this sector, to a great
rising population, shifting food patterns and extent, remained immune to the COVID-19
increased per capita consumption of farm pandemic triggered lockdown in the country
produce are necessitating higher agricultural except minor disruptions in the initial period
yields. In addition, there is also a growth in of lockdown. Moreover, timely action initiated
demand for better quality and higher nutritional by the industry in collaboration with Central &
food products due to shifts in food consumption State Governments and local district authorities
patterns. As a responsible company operating helped to keep all the Urea Plants in the country
in the Agri-inputs sector, Coromandel too has running along with movement of the fertilisers
strived to play an active role in bringing about except minor disruptions due to shortage of
adoption of modern agronomic practices over the labour and trucks. Fertiliser PSUs made a strong
years. Providing effective and affordable nutrition contribution in making fertilisers available to
and crop protection solutions to our farmers’ farmers by keeping their manufacturing units in
needs is critically important. Coromandel is operation and ensuring distribution of urea and
committed to bring in the right products and agri other fertilisers across the country. I am pleased
technologies to help the farmers achieve the best to share that during 2020-21, our company has
possible yields.” registered the Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs
343.46 crore as against Loss Before Tax (LBT) of
“The financials of Coromandel continued its Rs 252.71 crore during CPLY. PBT has increased
strong trajectory despite a pandemic year. The mainly due to increase in contribution from Urea,
EBITDA and net profits for the company clocked increase in profit from traded goods, Industrial
impressive double-digit growth rates of 17 per Products and Bentonite Sulphur, one time
cent and 25 per cent respectively on top of a 8 per conversion cost of AFCP, decrease in finance cost
cent revenue growth as well. The consolidated and which was partially offset by reduction in
total income reached Rs 14,257 crore during the energy norms.”
year 2020-21. However, as we enter the year
2021-22, we are witnessing serious challenges “As a result, this was a hat-trick year when
in terms of availability and prices of our key raw our sale of fertilisers was more than the sale of all
materials. Although the Government of India the other fertiliser PSUs put together during the
has rendered timely help by announcing a higher year. The company is constantly working towards
subsidy for the phosphatic sector, the situation is changing the business strategy to diversify its
quite challenging.” product range. ”

A Vellayan, Virendra Nath Datt, Chairman &
Managing Director, National Fertilisers Ltd
Chairman, Coromandel International Ltd

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com F E RT I L I S E R 21

“Focusing on Atmanirbhar “Strengthening the digital

Bharat” footprints”

“Under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, our company “In order to get our size right, we had taken
has started a Methanol plant at Trombay. up a Capex to triple our NPK fertiliser
Sale of Methanol will improve our turnover capacities to help enhance our operational muscle
and profitability. Enhancement of existing power as well as attain a respectable market share
production capacity of AN Melt & improved in the fast growing fruits and vegetable segment
energy consumption has been proposed. Sale of in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. As a
high volume products like Ammonia, AN (Melt) first step towards providing differentiated NPK
& DNA will facilitate improvement in turnover as fertilisers, we came up with a technologically
well as profitability. Maximising sale of SNA 72 superior coating that enhances the nutrient
per cent & 68 per cent will support in improving uptake and provides a unique boost to crop
Profitability.” yields. In FY 2020-21, we moved 100 per cent of
our NPK capacity to Smartek, the differentiated
“Rural demand and markets have been NPK adding a 198 per cent year-on-year growth.
buoyed and are very promising despite the We also launched ‘Super-fast Bensul’ our unique
pandemic and macroeconomic uncertainty. This specialty fertiliser product, which too was well
has translated into improving the underlying received by the farmers''
macros for the Indian fertiliser industry.
Agricultural operations have been well placed “Unleashing the digital powers, the year saw
and supported by a bumper Rabi harvest and an introduction of an end-to-end IT enabled
good monsoon during the Kharif season. With Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) system
surplus reservoirs levels, record high kharif connecting demand planning right up to raw
crop sowing and plentiful rainfall during the material sourcing along with the required
monsoon season, demand for the procurement product mix manufacturing coordination. Our
of fertilisers has been promising till date. With total operations migrated from SAP to SAP
the forecast of normal monsoons and the rollout (Hana) with Dashboard-based Decision Support
of COVID vaccination programme in the coming Systems. To overcome the COVID-19 impact,
months, we expect the economic activities to we utilised various social media platforms and
normalise during the financial year 2021-22. conducted over 18,000 webinars and connected
Currently, IMD is forecasting a normal monsoon. with over 2.22 lakh farmers to walk them
This will lead to the acreage being favourable through our unique Product Value Propositions.
as well. So from that standpoint, we should see Through our Mahadhan App and other efforts, we
the consumption and the growth in demand to connected with over 10 lakh farmers.”
continue.”
S. C. Mehta
S. C. Mudgerikar,
Chairman & Managing Director,
Chairman & Managing Director, Rashtriya Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals
Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd
Corporation Ltd

22 S U P P LY C H A I N AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

"The future is clearly more "Tech advancements continue

digital, modular and flexible" to transform the agri sector''

“The demand for agri-warehousing will “Technological advancements continue
continue to increase in line with the to transform the agricultural sector.
increase in the total production of food grains in From production, storage, transportation, and
the country. Though some states have sufficient distribution to financing, the industry is leveraging
warehouse capacities, many still continue to tech-enabled solutions. The emerging technology
have a shortage. I think 2022 will be will further unify commerce, creating more
about catching up to match the warehousing liquidity in the agriculture ecosystem. For instance,
needs. our eMandi platform is a tech-driven platform
that helps in seamless commodities trading and
Another shift we are seeing at Arya.Ag, trade finance. It gives the agricultural stakeholders
is that our warehouses are like a mandi, the a transparent and digital way to procure and sell
hub for all activities and market interactions. Agri commodities and avail financing. Currently,
A farmer gets his commodity digitised and Agri trade finance or commodity finance is only
builds an electronic balance at the storage supported by banks which caps the liquidity of
facility assessing quality and availing financing, the Agri commodity sector to approximately Rs
if necessary, almost immediately. Decision 30,000 crore. As of now in the agriculture sector
making such as if to sell, when to sell, finding in India, due to the liquidity constraints, more
market linkages and access to service providers than $100 billion of capital is currently tied up in
and advisories, for farmers and farmer producer the commodity supply chain. Therefore, the sector
organisations would all be possible at this hub needs to devise ways to improve liquidity.
alongside the digital platforms. Emerging
technologies can be a game-changer in building Emerging technologies and financial
a strong logistics foundation which can ensure engineering are giving rise to new channels
proper mapping of supply with demand. The of Agri investments, including pass-through
future of warehousing is clearly more digital, certificates (PTC) and covered bonds. It allows
modular and flexible, bringing in traceability wealth managers, financial institutions, and retail
to each farmer's grain and transparency with investors to diversify their investment portfolios.
regard to quality of the produce. With the tech-enabled Agri platforms and
increasing popularity of the Agri commodity, the
There is a lot left to do in building trade finance is expected to unlock the tied-up
optionality for farmers for a much-needed shift capital worth $100 billion. An increase in trade
in value chain towards the producer. A farmer finance and tech-driven approach will further
should have the freedom to choose when to sell, improve the supply chain operations while
where to sell, whom to sell to and how to realise bringing liquidity to the agriculture sector.”
the best value for her produce. ”
Sunoor Kaul, Co-Founder and Director,
Anand Chandra, Origo Commodities India Pvt Ltd

Executive Director, Arya.Ag

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com S U P P LY C H A I N 23

“We’ve set a goal to touch lives of 5 lakh farmers by 2025”

“With India’s agricultural production Organisations (FPOs) have generated interest
increasing and the crops getting among private investors to encourage
increasingly diversified, the need farm gate procurement and also
for scientific warehousing will market various agri- inputs along
remain robust. The government with finance for direct marketing of
through the Rs 1 lakh crore agri produce. Such groups will create
infrastructure fund, has been more competition in the market,
rightly promoting the development improve bargaining power and
of warehousing infrastructure. ensure better prices to member
Warehouse Service Providers could producers. Cluster based approach
potentially create an important for procurement, storage and
alternative distribution model for processing of agri commodities should
farmers and FPOs providing them better
market access and price discovery. also be incentivised.
With the more global economy and EXIM
The Government of India has correctly agri – trade, market participants are likely
identified the need to improve farm gate to tend towards the informal way of Quality
infrastructure which will reduce logistics costs, Standards. Introduction of Quality standards
wastages during transportation thereby improve and monitoring of the same with the help of
farmers’ realisation. Farm gate infrastructure Private Sector Professional services to prohibit
would include beyond creation of state of the poor grade quality procurement will also spread
art warehouses, investment in laboratories for awareness and encourage farmers to bring
quality checks, technology that too in several quality produce for the right prices. Therefore,
hundred locations proximate to farmers. there is a need to create awareness about MSP,
Technology will enable capturing of data by FAQ standards, system of procurement, etc.
digitising records to estimate production and In India, the largest Agri Warehousing
storage. With the help of these grants, grading Capacities are with the CWCs, SWCs, FCI
and sorting facilities should be created near and State Co-Operatives etc. Considering the
the farm gate and quality testing laboratories current status of majority of the Warehouses
should be set up in the APMC mandis to reduce and Storage Facilities, there is a dire need for
subjectivity in quality assessment and rejection upgrading and modernising the Government
of produce. With the help of e-Mandi Licences Owned Warehouses to make them state of the
by State Governments like Rajasthan, Madhya art warehouses having all the required facilities
Pradesh etc, these infrastructure can be created for a procurement, storage and fulfilment centre.
as a potential farm gate procurement centre These kinds of facilities along with technology
which will enable Digitisation of data at the infrastructure will enable efficiencies in the whole
procurement level, direct payment to farmers value chain with transparency and accountability.
in JAN-DHAN Account thereby eradicating the In the year 2022, the government should allow
red-tape and also facilitate inter-state trade private sector WSPs to manage these warehouses
which will also open farmers to market /price to bring efficiencies in the value chain with their
opportunities across India rather than be tied know-how.
to local mandis/markets which may not be able As a part of vision, we will support the
to absorb supply especially during the harvest development of FPOs and other farmer
season. collectives to dis-intermediate the post-harvest
value chain by facilitating direct procurement,
This will promote Private Investment in agri credit etc. We have set ourselves a goal to
infrastructure supported by the government touch directly or through Farmer collectives, the
and create multiple opportunities for allowing lives of five lakh farmers by 2025!
private Warehouse Service providers to improve
efficiencies of procurement and storage which Ramesh Doraiswami, Managing
could help manage the mounting food subsidy Director & CEO, National Bulk Handling
bills of the government. Farmer Producer
Corporation Pvt Ltd

24 L I V E S TO C K AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

“Steep rise in soya price “Govt’s policies striking the

hampering the trade” right chord for the sector”

“The financial year 2020-21 has been “As the industry was breathing a sigh of relief
largely challenging with frequent in 2019-20 after a serious setback in 2018-
disruptions due to the pandemic and 19, the COVID-19 broke out as a pandemic posing
subsequent lockdown measures. Several states a big challenge to humanity. The Corona Virus
in India had enforced local restrictions to which unfolded in a big way during the second
tackle the second wave, affecting mainly the half of 2019 in China spread like a wildfire almost
hospitality industry. Despite these factors, the entire world with India being no exception.
I am pleased to note that Venky’s rose to As an initial reaction to the pandemic, the shrimp
the occasion to deliver a reasonably better culture stocking slowed down during April and
performance. For the financial year 2020- May 2020, apprehending a fall in export prices
21, though the sales turnover was slightly and export market. Q1 i.e. Apr-May-Jun 2020,
lower as compared to the previous year, the are the months during which stocking takes
profitability has vastly improved due to better place intensively and the production levels are
realisations from the sale of day old chicks forecasted depending on the stockings and extent
and grown up broilers. The overall financial of culture area which missed in Q1 of FY21.”
position of the company has also improved.
As a result, the total borrowings have been “We can also take heart from the recent
further reduced.” Government’s Policy of ‘Economic Revolution
through Blue Revolution’ giving shape to the
“The poultry industry is currently facing scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’
a challenge in the form of steep increase (PMMSY) for fisheries in May 2020 with an
in soya price, forcing nearly 30 per cent of investment of over Rs 20,000 crore in next 5 years.
small farmers to go out of their business. An This scheme aims at increasing fish and shrimp
increase of nearly 75 per cent in soya prices production in India at an annual growth rate of 9
in one year is not affordable. The industry as per cent from 137.58 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) in
a whole is struggling to deal with this crisis 2018-19 to 220 LMT by 2024-25. Hopefully, if this
situation. A normal monsoon scenario and a scheme is implemented in earnest, it will go a long
modest increase in soya cultivation is expected way in the growth of seafood Industry. Looking
to bring relief to the poultry industry. back at fiscal 2019-20, I can say with satisfaction
Therefore, I am hopeful that our country will that we effectively countered every business
be able to overcome the pandemic situation challenge that came our way, and emerged stronger
soon rather than later. And this will help and profitable. Our success without a doubt is owed
us to focus our efforts on the future growth largely to the unstinted patronage by the farmers
opportunities.” and committed employees across the board.”

Anuradha Desai, Alluri Indra Kumar, Chairman and
Managing Director, Avanti Feeds Ltd
Chairperson, Venky's (India) Ltd

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com L I V E S TO C K 25

“We are setting up a fish “Exploring untapped

feed plant in UP to cater to potential of shrimp

the NE markets” farming”

“Financial year 2020-21 was one of the “The global market for seafood was valued at
toughest years due to the COVID-19 over $110 billion in 2020 and is expected
pandemic and has led to many challenges for to reach $133 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR
the corporate sector. It forced companies to run of 2.9 per cent. To this end, rising per capita
differently along with testing the resilience of consumption and growing consumer awareness
the business to the unprecedented disruptions. are two long term industry drivers. Within the
However, our company swiftly adapted to global seafood industry, shrimp is one of the
changing situations and executed operations most important segments. The global shrimp
ensuring limited interruptions.” market is expected to exceed $32 billion by 2021,
growing at a CAGR of more than 5per cent, partly
“For Godrej Agrovet, it was an outstanding due to the high nutritional content of shrimp,
year in terms of profitability, as consolidated which is creating a demand for ready-to-eat
profit before tax (excluding non-recurring and and ready to cook shrimp recipes and products.
exceptional items) grew by 59.7 per cent year- Amidst a tough macro environment, the company
on-year. Growth was led by strong performances yet again showed positive performance in terms
in our Animal Feed business segment, our of reporting a Consolidated Revenue of Rs 214
subsidiaries - Astec LifeSciences Limited, Godrej crore, EBITDA of Rs 16.85 crore and a Profit
Tyson Foods Limited and our joint venture - ACI After Tax of Rs 5.91 crore for the year ended
Godrej Agrovet Private Limited, Bangladesh. The March 31, 2021.”
company was able to achieve stellar profit growth
because of the relentless efforts of our employees “With supply exceeding demand it's a "Buyer's
and the management team. The construction of Market" now. Due to the lack of a domestic
new manufacturing facilities has been delayed market, we are constrained to remain dependent
by a few months due to the lockdown, however, on exports. Furthermore, the elimination of
projects are expected to commercialise in the tariffs on seafood imported from Vietnam to the
Financial Year 2021-22. The new herbicide plant EU and the withdrawal of the benefit under the
in Astec LifeSciences will help us diversify into Merchandise Export from India Scheme, have
new products and the new R&D lab will enhance dealt a double blow to India’s shrimp exports.
our capabilities to undertake new projects. We That said, India’s 8,000 km plus-long coastline
are also setting up a fish feed plant in Uttar and abundant inland water resources offer vast
Pradesh to cater to the northern and eastern untapped potential for shrimp farming – and at
markets. We continue to invest in other R&D Waterbase, we will continue to support farmers
projects which will help us improve our product in harnessing this.”
offering and also contribute to profitability.”
Vikramaditya Mohan Thapar,
Nadir Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Agrovet Ltd.
Chairman, Waterbase Limited

26 L I V E S TO C K AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

“Aquaculture witnessing “Business operations finally

green shoots of recovery” coming back on track”

“After a challenging fiscal 2019 that saw a “During the pandemic, seafood exports
contraction in demand and the attendant were affected in the first half of the
impact on prices and overall shrimp production year, but showed good signs of revival in the
in India, the past fiscal, that is, fiscal 2020 started last quarter of 2020-21. It may be mentioned
on a positive note with the Aquaculture industry that during the pandemic, Andhra Pradesh
seeing green shoots of recovery in the form of seafood sector contributed over 38 per cent of
improving demand and stabilising international total export revenue in 2020-21. During the
prices of shrimp. Primary producers too, seeing pandemic, the financial results of our company
this stability, regained confidence and ensured were affected as expected. However, given the
consistent supply of shrimp almost throughout the scientific & strategic planning made by the
year. The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw global management and supported by the skill and
economic activity being impacted, however, put the dedication of the employees, our company has
brakes on this recovery. The Indian Aquaculture boldly weathered all the turbulences that were
Sector, which is mostly export focused, faced encountered during the year, with their usual
challenges on account of lockdown restrictions resilience and dedication.”
imposed by its customer countries a few weeks
ahead of India, where the lockdown began on “I am confident that by the end of the current
March 25, 2020, resulting in logistical difficulties financial year, with the tapering of the pandemic
both domestically as well as internationally.” impact, our company will definitely emerge
stronger and is expected to have growth with
“Over the past 2-3 years, we have made better business and financial indicators.”
strategic choices like utilising equity for
expansion, maintaining a strong balance sheet We will be setting up an Integrated Cold
and focus on cost rationalisation. Further, with Chain project at KSEZ, Kakinada, Andhra
our Ready-to-Eat products complementing our Pradesh that is spread across 10 acres and will
Ready-to-Cook range of products, we believe commence production in January 2022. The
that we are well positioned to navigate these company is quite confident that this greenfield
challenging times. The two new hatcheries that unit will take the company to the next level
were added in the fiscal 2019 are operating well of growth by almost doubling its production
and the output – shrimp seed, has been well from the existing 23-25 tonnes per day levels
received by our shrimp farmers’ network. The to around 45-50 tonnes per day. It is also
path to becoming a fully integrated player is now setting up a new Shrimp processing facility at
complete with the company being present in Haridamada, Khordha, Odisha at an estimated
most parts of the supply chain.” capex of Rs 40 crore."

K Satyanarayana Murthy, Chairman Emandi Sankara Rao,
and Managing Director, Apex Frozen Food Ltd
Chairman and Independent Director,
Coastal Corporation Limited

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com D A I RY 27

“Summer season of 2022 will still likely be
tough for dairy industry”

“With the evolution being such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
witnessed in the 21st and Bihar from the current Delhi
century, almost all industries are NCR operations. We are also
embracing the technological exploring avenues to enhance
revolution and dairy industry is manufacturing capacities for
no exception to it. There have some of the focus product
been many advancements in the categories. Within our dairy
past and going ahead, there will products portfolio, we plan
certainly be technologies that to tap into new and evolving
will further enhance the dairying consumption occasions to entice
ecosystem of the country. consumption round the year, rather

In 2022, we anticipate enhanced than offering a summer centric portfolio.
technological intervention across the entire Our efforts will be aligned with an intention of
value chain. At the procurement level, there having a national footprint in the next couple of
will be greater usage of health tracking of cattle years.
by way of using GPS enabled chips. In terms
of processing, manufacturing and logistics, we The challenges within the dairy sector are
expect technologies like membrane filtration very dynamic in nature. For e.g., the inflationary
to concentrate milk to reduce water usage pressure in prices of various commodities
and go towards water neutrality and AI based impacts various cost-heads such as logistics,
monitoring of storage conditions of milk packaging materials, etc. Also, since most of
and milk products during transport to play the dairy products are temperature sensitive,
a vital role within the industry, coupled with robust and contemporary infrastructure is a
advanced supply chain technology for more must-have for the overall sector. Many-a-times,
cost-effective cold chain warehouses, phase such infrastructural issue result in a longer
changing material (PCM) pads, temperature transit time which may impact the quality of
controlled cold chain packing, etc. Even at the both raw produce and final product. Hence, it
packaging level, there may come technologies is imperative to keep upping the ante on the
in order to make packaging of milk and milk desired infrastructure.
products more environment friendly. Whereas
on the product front, in 2022, enhanced Of late, disruption caused by two waves of
technologies will help in delivering better the ongoing pandemic have severally impacted
immunity benefits to consumers (for e.g., the institutional & bulk demand and also the
probiotics) in addition to digestive benefits consumer demand in a number of markets.
and high protein delivery in different dairy With such challenges, the demand recovery is
products. Additionally, product traceability likely to be slow and more time may be taken
through blockchain technology is also expected for recovery. Continuous disruption during
to grow leaps going ahead. summer seasons of last two years has also
adversely affected the animal productivity due
Going ahead, we at Mother Dairy, are to sub-optimal feeding and has also caused
focused towards achieving a CAGR of around disruption in animal health and breeding
15 per cent, thereby enabling us to nearly activities. Therefore, overall milk production
double our turnover from the current, by the and the milk availability may be hampered in
fiscal of 2024-2025. The targeted growth will the coming winter. If things remain normal, the
be led by our dairy business and amongst the summer season of 2022 will still likely be tough
non-dairy business we foresee a significant for the Indian dairy industry with impact on
contribution from our edible oil portfolio by overall milk production and prices.
the said period. We will be working towards
expanding our operations across major states Manish Bandlish,

Managing Director,
Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd

28 D A I RY AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

“We have planned to expand the facility up to 10 LLPD.”

“Currently, Kolhapur Milk Union is having packing and distribution unit at Vashi,
Navi Mumbai. The capacity of unit is 4.5 lakh litres/day (LLPD). Presently we
have demand of 10 LLPD at Mumbai. Hence, we have planned to expand the dairy
facility up to 10 LLPD. We also have planned for implementation of solar project at
our dairy and bulk milk coolers. Besides we are in the process of installation of Bulk
Milk Coolers. However, this needs to be more speed up for better quality of raw milk.
Present our Cattle Feed Plant is 450 Metric Tonnes (MT)/day capacity. Considering
the requirement, we need to expand this capacity to 600 MT/day. For Backward
integration, we are considering setting up of a slurry project (Manure Management). By
2022, we will have a high speed milk pouch packing machines to reduce timespan.
We have many issues to address such as high electricity charges, availability of coal and its prices,
availability of raw material for cattle feed and increasing prices of fuel (coal, petrol, and diesel). We urge
the concerned to act immediately to support the dairy industry.”

Yogesh Gopal Godbole,
Managing Director, Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dudh Utpadak Sangh Ltd

“We are currently working on special formulations.”

“We are planning to expand our current product portfolio and add a lot of value-
added products made from camel milk and goat milk. We will also be doing
aggressive awareness campaigns for unique dairy products in the country and globally
as well. We are currently working on special formulations like Height Growth
Formula, Diabetes Management Formula, Flavoured Milk Products, Products for
Lactose Intolerance or Gut Health, Camel Milk Chocolates with freeze-dried fruits,
Colostrum Chocolates, Personal Care Range, etc.”
Hitesh Rathi,
Founder, Aadvik Foods & Products Pvt Ltd

S TA R T U P

"Focused on better farming, higher incomes"

“Precision farming in India is altering the face of agriculture by incorporating
new, revolutionary technology such as IoT sensors, satellite, drone imagery,
GPS location data, robotics, and analytics. It can assist them in more precisely
predicting weather patterns, adopting more sustainable irrigation strategies,
reducing wastage, and, as a result, enjoying better harvests and higher incomes.”

Pradeep Bisen,
Technical Director, Geospatial, SatSure Analytics India Pvt Ltd

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com S TA RT U P 29

"Educating farmers & “Rigorous R&D, intervention of
promoting digitalisation is key"
disruptive technologies
“Introducing new
technology on the are required for developing
consumer's side is less
challenging than introducing people centric agri solutions”
it on the farmer's side.
Startups working on the “Ibelieve that rigorous
farmer's side are facing many R&D, and intervention
challenges like technology barriers, of disruptive technologies are
time and money intensive training programmes required for developing people
and farmer's lack of awareness about capitalising centric agricultural solutions.
online markets. Allocation of funds to promote And such push will certainly
digitalisation in the agricultural ecosystem help in creating a sustainable
should go parallel with educating farmers and agricultural ecosystem. By 2022 we will be
helping them to adapt new technology. 2022 will coming out with a comprehensive framework
surely bring some concrete changes in the Agri- for connecting the farm value chains, entering
tech startups and ultimately in farmer's life.” aggressively into value chain financing and
Gajanan Avhale, Co-founder, post-harvest risk management. We would keep
expanding in the pre-harvest risk management
Cynosure Greens space, focus would be to increase presence from
100 districts in 7 states to 150 districts pan India.”
“AI and robotics is the future" “Agricultural sustainability is completely
dependent upon accurate, precise and
“The technologies that are timely measures. Hence, it would not be a
likely to be available in surprising development if we see huge spike in
2022 in the startup industry implementing Space Technology Analytics such
in India are Blockchain, as Satellite Remote Sensing & GIS Analytics,
cloud computing, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Drone-AI Analytics, IOTs,
security and others. Overall, Agent Based Analytics Frameworks, SaaS, ML
the technologies would help Ops & Auto ML frameworks, and Blockchain for
drive innovations. AgriBolo is for construing agricultural dynamics. We will also see
the farmer, by the farmer and with the farmer. more digital platforms coming into existence for
We are planning to scale swiftly to fulfil our market linkage and selling Agricultural Produce
mission of building India's largest network of directly from the farmers. Technology would be
digitally enabled ruralfranchisees that will drive playing a huge role in that regard as sales and
enormous value of Agri-commerce. market analytics has to be the integral component
- Arvind Godara, Founder, value chain for ensuring Sustainable Agriculture,
AgriBolo, (Initiative of AgriLife Technologies making the agriculture ecosystem dynamic.”
Navneet Ravikar, CMD, LeadsConnect
Private Limited)
Services Private Limited

"Future agriculture will continue using sophisticated tech"

“Modern farms and technical advancements will work differently primarily
because of further involvement of machines, devices, sensors, and information
technology. Future agriculture will continue using sophisticated technologies which

will enable businesses to be more profitable, efficient, safer, and environment
friendly. We expect to produce differently using new techniques like Hydroponic
or aeroponic growing methods. The company will continue to expand in UP, Bihar,
Maharashtra, Haryana, AP/TS by increasing its current network of 20K+ uStores and
will be focusing on increasing the number of 3L+ current farmers impacted.”
- Amit Sinha, Co-Founder, Unnati (Akshamaala Solutions Private Limited)

30 A G R I C U LT U R E AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Is the future bright for Agri?

DR SHIVENDRA BAJAJ,

Executive Director, Federation
of Seed Industry of India and
Alliance for Agri Innovation

Indian agriculture had emerged as a bright spot and It registered a positive growth of 3.4
per cent in the first quarter, thus justifying the adage that agriculture is the backbone of the
Indian economy. The success of the farm sector continued irrespective of the pandemic
crisis. In 2020-21, the share of the farm sector in Gross Value Added (GVA) increased to
20.2 per cent from 18.4 per cent a year ago. All this could be achieved due to the hard work
of farmers and the government's farmer-friendly policies and timely aid.

The Government's ambitious target of vegetables. This year, India may export a record
doubling farmers' income has led to a 22 million tonnes of rice, accounting for 45 per
series of schemes and the formulation cent of the total global exports.
of relevant policies. These are aimed
at enhancing crop output, reducing expenses Slew of proactive steps
on the input material, bringing innovation and
entrepreneurial skills in farm operations, creating The Indian agriculture sector largely remained
market and transportation linkages, setting up unorganised all these years. However, now
cold storage, warehouses, logistic hubs, and efforts are being made to look at it holistically.
boosting exports. The Indian farm sector is taking Special focus is being given on reducing post-
long strides due to the government's innovative harvest losses and processing. This has made
approach and dedicated efforts, coupled with the the government build effective market linkages,
resilience shown by the farm sectors during the cold storage, warehouse and transportation
COVID-19 crisis. facilities. The transport and marketing assistance
(TMA) scheme has proved quite beneficial for
Export of agriculture commodities saw a the growth of the farm export sector as it helped
strong growth of 17.34 per cent to $41.25 billion mitigate the high expenses on freight and logistics.
in 2020-21 year-on-year. For only agricultural Moreover, it facilitated the promotion of Indian
products, which do not include marine products farm commodities in different global markets. The
and plantations, the growth was 28.26 per cent successful outcomes of the scheme have led the
year-on-year. India has been trying to tap new government to include dairy products under its
markets to export agricultural commodities. purview.
This made it possible to export fresh vegetables
and mangoes from Varanasi, and black Rice Under the doubling of farmers' income, the
from Chandauli. This opened up a window of government has focused on different aspects-
opportunities for Indian commodities to get new from crop production to marketing to exports.
international markets, and thus increase the This includes enhancing crop productivity,
share of farm exports. In the current year, the increasing cropping intensity and diversion to
export is expected to go up by 20 per cent thanks high-value crops, boosting livestock productivity,
to rising demand for sugar, non-basmati rice and bringing about resource use efficiency or saving
in cost of production. Besides, reducing expenses

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com A G R I C U LT U R E 31

on transportation, protection from market Promoting biofortified crops
volatility and reduction of post-harvest wastage
are essential components. There are visible Growing mechanisation, availability of good
signs of these things and are being taken care of quality seeds, strong agriculture extension
through policy, implementation on the ground, programmes are some of the important points.
involvement of technology and innovation. Acceleration of digitisation and penetration of
Agritech is crucial and luckily there has been a mobile technologies in rural areas are keeping
buzz in this area. There has been an investment farmers updated with the latest and useful
of $1 billion in agritech between 2017 and 2020, information about farm operations, market
and it is expected to reach $30-35 billion by 2025. forecasts. The government has allocated
To see rapid growth and sustainable farming, significant funds for entrepreneurs, who can
India has to switch from conventional ways of come up with innovative models to boost crop
farming to advanced, sustainable, mechanised and production, diversify cropping, build a mechanism
productive farming. to make farming climate-resilient, and facilitate
precision farming. Moreover, biofortification
Push for digital of crops to ensure adequate nutrition levels is
being discussed in the country. Recently the
Awareness to adopt digital and mechanised Government of India dedicated 35 biofortified
farming is growing in rural areas. Farmers are crop varieties to the nation to address climate
themselves thinking about taking measures change and malnutrition. And there has been
to address the problems of inefficient farming a positive atmosphere for the research and
practices, conventional ideas, overuse of water conducive policies on gene editing crops.
and pesticides. Things are changing now. Indian
agriculture has emerged strong, sustainable Adopting Precision Farming
and resilient despite COVID-19 crisis and
climate change. India has witnessed record crop These are quite encouraging developments
production in the past few years. In 2020-21, food in the recent past, which show farmers,
grain output is going to touch a new record of entrepreneurs, and the government are making
308.65 million tonnes, an estimated hike of 3.74 efforts to find technological solutions. In
per cent year-on-year. The PM- Kisan scheme Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, farmers ensured
came to farmers' rescue when the COVID-19 30 per cent higher output of citrus fruits through
pandemic disrupted the sector and drained precision farming advisory, which also helped
financial resources in rural areas. them find 52 on-field defects. Farmers in India are
now trying precision farming as it is helping them
Cluster Farming to increase output, preserve soil, conserve water
as well as stay economically profitable. Innovation
India's biggest challenge is small landholdings. and technological solutions are reinventing Indian
About 86 per cent of farmlands are either small or agriculture. India has been spending $3 billion
marginal, which means each of them is under five every year on agriculture innovation. While there
acres. There have been efforts made to consolidate is more to be done, the government has sought
small land parcels and do cluster farming, which private investment in the agriculture sector.
can have various benefits. The crop output can be
of uniform and better quality, which means big The last few years have seen big, varied,
traders pitch in. Also, big machinery can be hired innovative efforts in the entire agriculture
and used, which can translate into faster and less supply chain. They ranged from enhancing crop
expensive farm operations, efficient utilisation production, creating markets, boosting food
of capacity and resources. The ultimate result is processing and exports. India's farm sector
better farm remuneration. The cluster farmings not only withstood the negative effects of the
have huge potential to transform the Indian COVID-19 pandemic but also saw crop output and
agriculture sector by allowing our farmers to go its contribution to the economy going up. These
for mass production like their counterparts in are clear indications that the Indian farm sector
the US and Europe. The new farm laws intend to has emerged stronger and is going to have a bright
achieve this goal as it takes care of cluster farming, future. Agriculture is still a source of livelihood for
contract farming. a majority of Indians, which makes it a sustainable
and viable component of economic growth.

32 WA R E H O U S I N G AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Agri Warehousing: Towards
an Era of Growth

SANDEEP in these uncertain times. Technology adoption
SABHARWAL, especially came in handy when we were required
to manage our operations remotely in the best
CEO, Sohan interest of our employees.
Lal Commodity
Management Pvt. Ltd Sky’s the limit
(SLCM)
Agri warehousing constitutes approximately 15
Proactive adoption of new and disruptive per cent of the warehousing market in India and is
technologies will not only result in worth anywhere in the range of Rs 80-85 billion.
Indian agri warehousing players At present, the agri warehousing capacity in India
achieving unparalleled growth but also is more than 120 million metric tonnes (MMT)
enhance their competencies to provide and has grown at 4 per cent CAGR since 2017. The
warehousing solutions to the world. exponential growth and innovations like scientific
warehousing, GPS tracking, geo-fencing, real-
India’s logistics & warehousing industry has time monitoring, etc., have all instilled confidence
amply proved its capability by successfully amongst stakeholders involved in the sector that
withstanding the force majeure COVID-19 has, in turn, brought in a lot of interest from
pandemic. Since March 2020 when India private equity (PE) investors as well.
announced the world’s largest lockdown,
the sector, particularly the agri logistics and The segment can contribute in a big way
warehousing segment, has managed to rise to the in helping the Indian economy achieve the
occasion by performing its role seamlessly. ambitious $5 trillion target. Typical storage
losses for agricultural produce in India account
Just like the yeoman service performed by the for approximately 10 per cent – only for the dry
nation’s corona warriors during the pandemic, food grains – of the entire production, which is a
agriculture workers and people engaged in agri staggering Rs 1 trillion. It is, therefore, important
warehousing and supply chain management have that technological solutions are adopted at a rapid
worked 24x7 in tandem to ensure a disruption- pace to help reduce the post-storage losses.
free agricultural supply chain and safety of the
produce by facilitating its storage, transportation The announcement by the Central
and warehousing. Government of 11 steps for the agriculture sector
as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative is
It is not that the agri logistics & warehousing indeed a welcome development. The allocation
sector has not faced obstacles arising out of the of Rs 1 trillion for farm gate infrastructure,
pandemic. However, proactive deployment of including affordable and viable post-harvest
the solutions offered by emerging disruptive management, clearly reveals the country’s
technologies has enabled players like Sohan intent to develop and enhance post-harvest agri
Lal Commodity Management Pvt. Ltd (SLCM) infrastructure.
to quickly remodel and adapt their day-to-day
working to continue providing their services 24x7 Implement scientific warehousing

As emphasised earlier, storage losses for
food grains result in a huge burden on the
economy. Firstly, this leads to inflation as
additional supplies could have helped keep food
price inflation stable and, secondly, the agri
commodities thus wasted could have instead been
utilised to ensure food security for the poor. SLCM

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com WA R E H O U S I N G 33

has done pioneering work to implement scientific In a marketplace model, intelligent call
warehousing in the country. Presently, all our centres have an extremely important role to play
warehouses are integrated with real-time data particularly during a crisis like COVID-19. Smart
embedded in artificial intelligence (AI) enabling SAP-enabled call centres integrated with real-
real-time tracking of the facilities to provide error- time data embedded in artificial intelligence (AI)
free results on the site’s status and the products help us with real-time tracking of the facilities
stored within as well as in transit. providing error-free results on the status of the
warehouse and the products stored within as well
A patent-pending algorithm named AgriReach as in transit.
developed by us combines a series of processes,
audits and real-time tracking of the facilities to Due to our embedded digital approach, we
give error-free results and minimise the risk of at SLCM have been able to double our assets
crop damage. Techniques like geofencing, bar- under management (AUMs) from the previous
coded storage receipts and 79 internal audits Rs 2,000 crore daily to Rs 5,000 crore daily. And
along with a ‘Maker and Checker’ policy at every that has happened at a time when the country
level are utilised for instantaneous tracking and faced one of the world’s largest and strictest
preventing pilferage. Simply put, AgriReach is an lockdowns, wherein all services were severely
aggregation of defined processes that are executed affected including mobility of people who are key
sans any deviation for monitoring stored goods. to the physical movement of food grains. Unlike
This distinctive technological innovation allows in the information technology-enabled industry
SLCM to establish a new warehousing facility 48 (ITES), where work can be managed virtually,
hours irrespective of the available infrastructure, consumption of agri produce can only be ensured
weather or geography to provide a standard through the physical movement of goods.
operational experience at all facilities even while
maintaining the highest standards of quality Warehousing for the World
control.
With increased focus on part of policymakers
Since April 2021, SLCM has also started on scientific warehousing, our outlook for
executing its warehousing contracts using the warehousing remains positive. We are quite
AgriSuraksha solution that incorporates the optimistic that this will eventually help trigger the
latest internet of things (IoT)-based surveillance much-needed momentum in the sector. Successes
technology, enabling real-time monitoring as in domestic operations along with increasing
well as interaction with the personnel at the site confidence and depth of domain expertise and
without the use of mobile telephony. A result operational competence have also emboldened
of years of painstaking research, AgriSuraksha Indian agri warehousing companies to look at the
enables audio/video monitoring of produce in overseas markets for expansion. In keeping with
faraway locations from the command and control the Central Government’s outreach to countries of
centre at the group’s corporate headquarters SouthEast Asia, we launched holistic warehousing
in New Delhi. As of October 2021, over 200 operations in Myanmar in 2014.
warehousing facilities were tracked using
AgriSuraksha. By the close of FY2021-22, we The country’s South Asian neighbours like
expect to bring 80 per cent of our warehouses Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka also present
under its coverage. an opportunity for homegrown players to
establish an overseas presence owing to their
With the help of AgriReach, SLCM has geographical and cultural proximity. In addition,
reduced these post-harvest losses from 10 per cent the African Continent also presents a lucrative
to merely 0.5 per cent. As per our as well as third- market for expansion because of its untapped agri
party calculations, if rolled out on a countrywide warehousing potential.
basis, the AgriReach process management system
could translate into saving a staggering Rs 995 In preparation for the future, the Indian
billion every year to the country. Agriculture sector needs a modern and
professionally managed agritech mechanism that
We were also the first company to introduce is capable of successfully addressing the demands
SAP-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in of a growing population, a rapidly expanding
the agri warehousing space and implement it in a economy and capable of competing with the
record time of six months. world’s best.

34 H O RT I C U LT U R E AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Can Indian Horticulture
Industry keep pace?

PANKAJ KHANDELWAL,

Chairman and Managing Director,
INI Farms

Horticulture crops make up a significant portion of the total agricultural output in India.
They are distinguished by their high value, higher profitability per acre, higher productivity,
larger investments and higher risk. With diverse agro-climatic conditions and an
abundance of genetic diversity in crops, India produces a wide range of horticultural crops
throughout the year and is hence the second-largest producer of horticulture crops in
the world. For instance, India produces tropical fruits like mango as well as temperate
fruits like apples. The outlook for promoting sustainable agriculture practices in India
is improving. Modern agri-tech companies can play a substantial role in empowering
farmers, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, reducing crop losses, improving
farmers' income, and deepening domestic and international markets. We shall examine
what the future holds for the industry.

During the last few years, India's Uptick in exports
horticulture area has continued to
expand. The estimated total area under The increase in production has also led
horticulture crops in 2020-21 is 27.59 to an expansion of exports of fruits and
million hectares, up from 26.48 million hectares vegetables, especially to Europe, the Middle East,
for 2019-20. In India, fruit and vegetable Bangladesh, and South East Asian countries.
production comprise 90 per cent of total Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19
horticulture production and their production has pandemic, there has been significant growth in
increased at an annual CAGR of 4 per cent during the export of horticulture crops during 2020-21.
the past ten years. According to the Department Indian fruits and vegetables exports rose to Rs
of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the 2020-21 11,019 crore ($1487 million) in 2020-21 from Rs
(Third Advance Estimates) show an estimate of 10,114 crore ($1408 million) in 2019-20. Though
331.05 million tonnes of produce from different India's share in the global market is still ~ 1 per
horticultural crops over the next two years cent only, there is an increasing acceptance of
out of which production of fruits is estimated horticulture produce from the country.
to be 103.0 million tonnes and production
of vegetables is estimated to be 197.2 million As of 2021, fresh fruits are the leading export
tonnes. Both sectors have shown remarkable from India, accounting for over Rs 5600 crore in
growth compared to 2019-20. value. In terms of production, India dominates
the market for bananas, mangoes, guava, lemons,
and papaya. States like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka,

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com H O RT I C U LT U R E 35

and Andhra Pradesh produce 40 per cent of technologies can reduce the constraints that
India's mango. In Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and limit smallholder farmers' ability to produce
Maharashtra, banana production is the most high-value horticultural products with
abundant, while in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and maximum profitability. As food safety standards,
Odisha, papaya production is the highest in India. compliances, and certifications become
In addition, the country is third in the production increasingly important, exporters need to work
of oranges and citrus fruits. India is the largest closely with farmers to assure the product meets
producer of bananas, with an annual output of the required standards. Therefore, it takes
about 30 million metric tonnes, accounting for extensive knowledge to successfully manage this
about 28 per cent of global production. While work. Global climate change is a major threat
grapes have been the most exported fruit from to horticulture throughout the world as well.
India, fresh bananas have secured the second To take advantage of the available resources,
position for the past two financial years. hi-tech interventions like precision farming,
which manages resources in a time and space-
Focus on Quality Products based manner, are necessary. It is imperative
that these technologies be widely adopted so as to
As per the Agriculture Export Policy improve crop production and returns to farmers.
announced by the Government of India, the goal Integrated cold storage units and packing houses
is to double agricultural exports to $60 billion by should be made available for all post-harvesting,
2022. An important strategy for achieving this sorting, and packaging needs. The outlook for
goal is to increase governmental engagement by promoting sustainable agriculture practices in
focusing on clusters capable of export-oriented India is improving. Modern agri-tech companies
production. can play a substantial role in empowering
farmers, promoting sustainable agricultural
Close coordination between farmers with practices, reducing crop losses, improving
supply chain organisations is imperative to farmers' income, and deepening domestic and
produce high-quality, world-class products. international markets.
In addition, acquiring and promoting GI tags
will benefit Indian horticulture exporters. Interventions required
Establishing farm-to-fork traceability will
boost the reputation of Indian horticultural In order for the sector to grow and expand
exporters and also support the development of into the global market, private investments
credibility and trust in the production process. are urgently needed. It is important that the
Educating fruit and vegetable cultivators on government encourages farms to produce third-
pesticide misuse and adherence to food standard party certified products by providing them with
parameters set by various nations is key as well. necessary technical and financial support. In
Setting up effective agricultural brands will response to the COVID-19 induced pandemic,
also help Indian horticulture exporters gain a people around the world are increasingly looking
competitive edge in global markets: branded for fresh and high-quality food. We must take
commodities usually fetch higher prices and advantage of available technology to ensure
can lead to profits for Indian farmers along with that we meet the safety and quality standards
elevating brand loyalty. demanded by global consumers.

In light of the complexity of horticulture,

36 A N I M A L H U S B A N D RY AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Making Animal Farming
sustainable

RAJEEV MURTHY,

Head - DSM South Asia,
Animal Nutrition and Health

Animal protein is among the top sources of protein, and its consumption is increasing by
the day. The World Resources Institute predicts growth to 445 million tonnes per year by
2050 to meet the needs of a population of 9.7 billion. In line with figures published by the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), this means approximately
70 per cent growth compared to today. However, the world’s population will increase by
only 40 per cent during this period. This growth in animal production places tremendous
demands on the world’s natural resources. The industry must therefore become
more efficient, use less land, and reduce its environmental footprint. Thus, improving
and sustaining the animal husbandry sector is critical to advancing the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, especially SDG #1 (No Poverty), SDG #2
(Zero Hunger), SDG #6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG #13 (Climate Action).

Ill-resourced, poor and small landholders of GHG Emissions in India
developing countries like India dominate
the animal farming sector. While a report Animal husbandry as a form of agriculture
by Statista claims that there were 989 occupies 45 per cent of the global land area under
million cattle in the world in 2020, the 20th agriculture and contributes to a major proportion
Livestock Census of India shows the number of of agricultural emissions. A report by the World
cattle in India is 535.78 million. With a total of Resource Institute suggests that there would be
302.79 million bovine population, India has the an 88 per cent growth in demand for ruminant
maximum number of cattle globally. However, meat products (beef, lamb and goat) between 2010
at the growth rate of 4.6 per cent, it would not be and 2050. Beef, the most commonly consumed
able to retain the position for long. Integration ruminant meat, is resource-intensive to produce,
of animal farming with other agricultural and requiring 20 times more land and emitting 20
forestry-based practices is lagging in the country. times more Greenhouse Gas (GHG) per gram of
Also, the ill-equipped and unaware farmers rarely edible protein than common plant proteins, such
deploy scientific farming methods and rely on age- as beans, peas and lentils. Livestock uses eight per
old animal feeding and rearing practices. Scientific cent of the global water withdrawal in addition
and sustainable animal farming is the need of the to being a major source of Nitrous Oxide (N2O),
hour, as it can help protect the environment while Methane (CH4), and other GHGs.
meeting the rising demand for animal protein.
Livestock rearing is the major contributor
to GHG emissions in India. With 212.1 million

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com A N I M A L H U S B A N D RY 37

tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), is slowly reaching the farmers. Technology
animal husbandry accounted for 63.4 per cent of can address most of the challenges faced by
the GHG emission from the agriculture sector. farmers. It can help them reduce their reliance on
The agriculture sector on the whole accounts for resources and climatic conditions. Farmers can
17.5 per cent of total GHG emissions, livestock now receive timely updates, relevant information
rearing itself accounts for 11.1 per cent of the and monitor their crops with the help of their
total GHG emissions in the country. While the smartphones. While small landholders are slowly
global GHG emission from enteric fermentation learning to utilise advanced technology, some
is about 7186.3 teragrams (Tg) of the C02e, India farmers have started leveraging solutions that
produces around 214.5 Tg of CO2e from such use the latest technologies such as Artificial
emissions. Ruminants contribute to 98 per cent Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and
of the total enteric methane emissions in India. Cloud to achieve greater climate resilience,
However, manure management contributed only higher crop yield, and better price control.
2.4 Tg of CO2e emissions in India.
In terms of animal husbandry, farmers
Efficient use of natural resources are now using advanced feeding systems that
offer tangible, measurable means to improve
The need to provide enough animal protein production. Feed enzymes are an established
for a growing population, while reducing the and evolving technology that is helping them
environmental costs of farming will require smart move towards sustainable and improved
science and innovative solutions. To address farming. These enzymes improve feed ingredient
this challenge, we at DSM launched a strategic digestibility. They substantially reduce the
initiative ‘We Make it Possible’ to accelerate amount of feed required by the farm animals
solutions for a worldwide transformation in and enable greater use of alternative, local feed
sustainable animal protein. By improving lifetime ingredients and by-products, thereby reducing
performance of farm animals, reducing food loss the reliance on major crops.
and waste, reducing emissions from livestock,
making efficient use of natural resources, Enzymes like phytase, carbohydrase, protease
reducing our reliance on marine resources and and gut health enzymes improve the gut health
helping tackle antimicrobial resistance, we can of farm animals which results in improved
unlock the true value of animal production digestibility and absorption of nutrients from
sustainability. animal feed. This scientific feed has led to
significant improvements in the efficient use of
Since sustainable livestock farming is a natural resources, helping to reduce pressure
relatively new practice in India, the strengthening on land use for crop production, reducing our
of the knowledge and evidence base of these reliance on finite rock phosphate resources while
practices is necessary for success. It is essential helping greater circular use of by-products.
to understand the impact and utilise successful
models in new regions. Assembling datasets and Meeting the growing requirement of animal
analysing them can help in creating a sustainable protein is possible only with the help of sustainable
livestock agri-food system. farming practices. Resource intensive farming
will not only drain the earth of its resources but
Tech integration will also prevent the farmers from achieving a
better yield. Furthermore, site-specific sustainable
The majority of farmers in India are small livestock production can reduce emissions. A
landholders who rely on traditional resource- judicious integration of crops with livestock
intensive practices. They are not aware of can address the challenges faced by farmers. It
technological advancements that can alter their can increase the quantity and quality of food
productivity by leaps and bounds. A limited production and economic returns while also
understanding and access to modern machinery, reducing the pressure on land and water resources.
logistics and storage facilities, and information The government is taking several measures to
on soil health, weather patterns and protection promote sustainable farming; however, further
of crops and livestock prevents them from steps are needed to educate the farmers about
upgrading their yield. the new scientific developments and technology
integration to achieve desired results.
With the digitisation of India, technology

38 P L A N T- B A S E D M E AT AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Deciphering potential of
Plant-based Meat Industry

AMOD ASHOK Plant-based Meat Segment in India
SALGAONKAR,
The category is yet slowly developing in the
Brand Ambassador, Indian market. Among the global leaders of
World Sustainability Plant-based meat; the products of Beyond Meat
Organisation have been launched in India by the subsidiary of
Allana Group – Tiffany Foods through import.
The plant-based meat category is Imagine Meats has made a partnership with
growing fast globally and emerging ADM for sourcing the raw ingredients and
well in India. Many startups are at their recently launched various plant-based meat
experimentation stage but showing products in the Indian market.
positive results. Most important is how
consumers react to this novel category The major brands in India
and to understand the same, deep studies
need to be done based on which one can GoodDot: GoodDot is one of the largest
come to a conclusion. The category is companies in the Indian world of plant-based
evolving slowly and seems to be growing meat. They have various products in their range viz
at the required pace. Veg chicken, Veg mutton, kebabs, burgers etc. It is
perhaps among the few companies having spread
Globally plant-based meat retail sales their wings through the Franchise besides keeping
reached a new height by crossing the the presence in modern trade and on e-commerce
$4.2 billion mark by the end of 2020. sites. The company has partnered with various
The lion share in this retail sales is companies in different geographical regions of the
from the U.S and for the first time, it has reached world namely Middle East, North America, Asia
beyond $1.2 billion in 2020. The category of and Africa expanding its footprint at global level.
plant-based meat is showing positive growth • Blue Tribe Foods: The main products
trends. The research firm Markets and Markets
projected the plant-based meat category to reach this company offers are plant-based chicken
the market size of $28 billion by 2025 globally nuggets and plant-based chicken keema. They
whereas J.P. Morgan projected the market size have launched these products in the modern
of $100 billion by 2035. According to Research trade and e-commerce segment.
and Markets, India’s meat substitute market is • Evo Foods: The company is known for
expected to reach $47.57 million by 2026 with an supplying plant-based liquid egg products
average annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent during with no cholesterol & antibiotic free.
2021-2026. The Good Food Institute India has • Ahimsa Food: They offers vegan nuggets,
done significant research which indicates 62.8 vegan whole fish, vegan meat etc
per cent of consumers are very or extremely • Imagine Meats: The startup is founded
willing to buy plant-based meats regularly. by Bollywood couple Riteish & Genelia
Deshmukh. They have introduced various
products which include biryanis, kebabs,
nuggets, keema and burger patties. Consumers
can shop online through websites and products
are available in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane,
Pune, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad and Bangalore
etc. The products are also available in 43 other
cities through offline presence.
• Mister Veg: Provides plant-based meat and
seafood

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• Greenest Foods: Serves the Indian market scale and may be not afford the listing fees
for the products like plant-based shami kebab • Margin expectation is High when the brand is
and plant-based keema
new
• Evolved Foods: Offers plant-based meat • Stock return policies if reached to expiry level
substitutes • Getting a right product placement for display
• Consistent right temperature in Freezers
• Wakao Foods: Perhaps the first company
in India to have made plant-based meat E-com or selling through an online platform is
products from Jackfruit. One of the key items one of the fast-picking options by the majority of
of them is Jack Burger Patty the brands these days. The E-com players cover
maximum pincodes in various cities and hence
• Vezley: It offers plant-based meat products advantageous however major obstacle is whether
made from soy proteins all the E-com players do have the right cold chain
supply in place or not as by the time the product
• Urban Platter: It offers various meat is reaching at customer; if the temperature is not
substitutes including through its e-commerce maintained then there are probable chances of
website returning the product. This is applicable if the
product is in the frozen category. The advantage
Major Modern Trade, E-com & other of a good E-com player is if they have a large
entities promoting Plant-based Meat: subscriber base then right offerings may help the
brand reach maximum customers.
• Amazon India, • Flipkart Wholesale
• Big Basket, • Godrej’s Nature’s Basket Successful Case study of Amazon
• Vegan Dukan, • Swiggy India & Blue Tribe Foods
• Urban Platter, • Jio Mart, • Vvegano
Successful training of all the category
Advantages of launching the Plant- managers for Amazon India have been done
based meat products in Modern Trade by the Good Food Institute India team in the
month of July 2021. In the workshop, the
• Greater visibility because of walk-ins overview of Smart Protein, global trends in the
• Sampling during heavy footfall time (e.g. sector, learnings from the various markets and
especially US, Insights for India Framework
weekends) will give customer a chance to taste have been discussed thoroughly. Later, as an
the product and hence may lead toward the action – Category Leader Rajesh Kumar Prasad
buying from Amazon India has taken a lead to try for a
• Promoters/Merchandisers of the brands do case study along with Plant-based Food brand
have the access to interact with customer Blue Tribe and they run a very successful Offer
directly hence getting the true feedbacks for the Mumbai Market in October 2021. Blue
about the product can help taking right Tribe’s plant-based chicken nugget (250 gm) &
decisions for making appropriate changes plant-based chicken keema (250 gm) were the
• Plan the sales basis the historical data two products which have been selected for the
available with the Retailer promotion - at an unbelievable offer of Rs 11 per
SKU on Amazon Fresh, which has given a price
Probable hurdles while launching
the Plant-based meat products in
Modern Trade

• Many brands as of now are startups at small

Representation of various brands in different channels

40 P L A N T- B A S E D M E AT AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

discount of 96 per cent for the nuggets (original The FSSAI has drafted the Food Safety and
MRP Rs 295) & 97 per cent for the keema Standards (Vegan Foods) Regulations, 2021
(original MRP Rs 325). The brand Blue Tribe which covers
Foods have given all support to Amazon India
and E-com player also push the products and • Definitions of the ‘Vegan Food’
offerings at a right time in the right way which • General Requirements
has created a very good awareness among the • Vegan Food Compliance
consumers for the plant-based meat category. • Labelling and Display Requirement

The business professional Amod Ashok Environmental Importance of Plant-
Salgaonkar played the key role to brought based Meat category
Amazon India and Good Food Institute India
together to discuss various meetings about A study done by BCG Group & Blue Horizon
building this category in a systematic manner. in 2021 says, “The adoption of alternative
This can be considered among one of the best- proteins will have a measurable positive
case studies where scientific inputs have been impact on the environment. Emissions from
given to the Category Team about plant-based conventional animal farming stem mostly from
meat category which later resulted in trying out the production of methane and nitrous oxide
an on ground action plan by E-com player with during animal digestion, from manure, and
the support timely from the plant-based meat from the use of chemical fertilisers, fuel, and
brand. All stakeholders involved did their job electricity. By 2035, the shift to plant-based beef,
right and good results have been achieved. pork, chicken, and egg alternatives will save
more than 1 gigaton of CO2-e (Carbon dioxide
Sustainable Certification for Plant- emissions), about as much as Japan currently
based Meat emits annually. Compared with conventional
animal-based proteins, production of plant-based
Consumers are becoming aware more and alternatives emits one-eighth the CO2-e per
more demanding most healthy and sustainable kilogram for chicken, one-third for eggs, one-
food. Plant-based meat is a new category in the twelfth for beef, and one-ninth for pork. By 2035,
food. World Sustainability Organisation (WSO) the transition away from animal agriculture
in collaboration with Good Food Institute (GFI) will also save 39 billion cubic meters of water,
launched World’s first sustainable standard enough to supply the city of London for 40 years.
for plant-based meat category. The standard is Likewise, more than 240,000 square kilometers
based on SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of of farmland will not be needed to grow animals
Food & Agriculture Systems) guidelines set by and their feed, equal to the area of the UK. This
UN-FAO. The Friend of the Sea Golden Standard space will be freed up over the next 15 years,
for plant-based meat & seafood will assure increasing biodiversity as land formerly used for
consumers that products have been made by intensive agriculture reverts to a more natural
adopting sustainable practices without harming state.”
the environment.
Upbeat outlook
Vegan Food Regulations India 2021
The plant-based meat category is growing
Food Safety and Standards Authority of fast globally and emerging well in India. Many
India (FSSAI) has defined the ‘Vegan Food’ as startups are at their experimentation stage
those foods or food ingredients that have not but showing positive results. The Good Food
made use of any ingredients, additives and Institute India is playing a key role in developing
processing aids of animal origin including milk the smart protein mission in India by involving
and milk products, fish, poultry and meat, egg all the required stakeholders. Most important
or egg products, honey or honey bee products, is how consumers react to this novel category
materials of insect origin like silk, dyes, chitin/ and to understand the same, deep studies need
chitosan etc or ingredients that are clarified to be done based on which one can come to a
using animal sourced products e.g., bone char conclusion. As of now, the category is evolving
used in sugar bleaching, isinglass in clarifying slowly but steady and seems to be growing at the
beer etc. required pace.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com A G R O C H E M I C A L S 41

Agrochem industry shifts focus
from products to solutions

RAJESH sales to solution providing is the new change that
AGGARWAL, is coming. All the companies are working hard
on the farms along with the farmers for their
Managing Director, education and training. If the farmers are well
Insecticides (India) versed with the latest technology and the benefits
Limited from it, they themselves will come forward to take
the products as per their suitability. Companies
Agrochemicals are an integral part are sweating it out in the fields and explaining to
of agriculture in India and the world the farmers about the solution they can provide
and the association dates to the post- which will help them to reduce cost and maximise
independence era when the country was output.
struggling with a severe food crisis. With
the establishment of manufacturing Increasing focus on Technicals
plant of chemical compounds
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Pesticides have two main components: Active
and benzene hexachloride (BHC) near ingredients and the inert ingredients. The active
then Calcutta in 1952, a journey began ingredient, also known as technicals, gives the
that eventually led to India becoming one compound its pesticidal action while the inert
of the largest producers of pesticides in ingredients (solvents, adjuvant and fillers etc.) do
Asia. Today, India is also among the top- not have any pesticidal action and are used for
grossers when it comes to harnessing the ease of handling, spraying and coating on plants.
export market. With the help of a dynamic Pesticides are first manufactured as technical
support provided by the agrochemical grade products with active chemical ingredients
industry in India, India has not only been
able to provide food security to its people
but also exporting a large amount of food
grains and cash crops like cotton.

According to a recent report by the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), on
the world agricultural trade in the past
25 years, India entered the list of the
world’s top 10 agricultural produce exporters in
2019 riding on its sizable share of the rice, cotton,
soya beans and meat export. Amid all these, there
is a subtle and steady change happening within
the agrochemical industry. From the product

42 A G R O C H E M I C A L S AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

How vital is R&D for Crop
Protection Sector?

With a population of 1.3 billion people, India is the second most populous country
in the world and is also the world's largest producer of milk, pulses, and jute. With
the Green revolution, it also became the second largest producer of cereals like rice,
wheat, as well as vegetables, groundnut, fruit, sugarcane, and cotton. Agrochemicals
have played an important role in bringing this change from subsistence farming, low
growth in crop and grain production to the green revolution that propelled surplus
production in the 1980s. However, not much is said about the important role played
by the backend R&D in the agrochemicals sector, which is playing an important role in
making this transition possible.

Agrochemicals, with a market size facilities to harness its power independently.
of approximately Rs 30,000 crore, In the process, they are not only bolstering
plays a key role in enhancing Indian manufacturing but are reorienting
India’s agricultural capability. themselves from being manufacturer to
Agrochemical sector thrives on a purely solution provider.
scientific basis that gels well with the
traditional farming practices. While in Formulations offer performance,
the initial days, collaboration was a part technicals offer expertise
and parcel of this scientific journey, with
the pandemic, Indian companies are fast Agrochemicals are of two types – a)
becoming interested in upgrading their technicals, and b) formulations, either generic
research and development capabilities and or new generation. Technicals are the primary
chemicals or active ingredients that form the

as it has a higher commercial purity. The
technicals of the pure pesticide is rarely applied
in the fields in its pure form and is readied
by adding inert ingredients for better storage
and handling, as well as improved application,
effectiveness and safety.

Until a decade ago, Indian agrochemical
companies were highly dependent on imports
for the technicals or only manufactured the
formulation of a foreign agrochemical company
who had the patent of the technical. While this
augmented India’s manufacturing capability and
made it the hub of agrochemical manufacturing,
the upstream activities remain a weak link.
However, in the last few years and especially with
the pandemic causing large-scale disruptions,
many agrochemical companies have realised the
importance of investing in R&D and developing
technicals. This will help the farmers address

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basis of an insecticide, herbicide, fungicide or operations. Estimates show that the Indian
plant growth regulator (PGR). They are available agrochemical industry is expected to record a
in raw form and hence, are not suitable for direct CAGR of 8 per cent by FY22. This is a major
use. This is where formulations come to the movement towards attaining self-reliance of
play. Formulations are usually a different type of the industry.
combination of various proportions and varieties
of technical products, mixed with a suitable Recognitions & Certifications help
and compatible carrier. The carrier helps the build credibility
concentrated mix of technical to dilute and make
the technical available as per the recommended Being recognised or certified by the
dosage of the same, to be used by the farmer. government and other related agencies
ensures that the R&D Centre meets standards
While the collaborations are instrumental in set for the research in the industry. However,
introducing world class agrochemicals to India, getting certified can be a long haul and though
today the new generation formulations made it does not remove the necessary checks and
in India have also been proven to be equally balances required as part of the regulatory
efficient and cost-effective too. They are easy to framework for the industry. The certifications
spray or easy to broadcast with low dosage and issued by Department of Scientific and
effective control. For example, earlier one acre of Industrial Research (DSIR) under the
wheat cultivation on heavy textured soil usually Ministry of Science and Technology, and the
required 500 grams of the generic formulation of National Accreditation Board for Testing and
Isoproturon, while the same amount of land will Calibration Laboratories (NABL) certification
require only 13.5 grams of Sulfosulfuron. Hence, by Quality Council of India are two crucial
it is obvious that agrochemical companies will certifications along with GLP for research and
increasingly focus on introducing new generation QC labs in India.
formulations in their R&D capabilities and
product mix to have an edge. IIL started its research with its first
R&D Centre at Chopanki in 2005 which is
Indian agrochemical companies are also recognised by DSIR and is NABL accredited
making significant strides in developing and is in process for GLP accreditation.
technicals, especially in the wake of the pandemic
when its main exporter China had to shut down Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director,
Insecticides (India) Limited

the issues that are typical to the Indian agri Providing ground support
system with the help of agrochemical companies
focusing more on solutions. For a long time, Indian companies were
perceived as the sellers of the traditional products
Technicals manufactured in India in the only. That scene has started to change with better
past few years have helped farmers with the R&D and production of active ingredients. At the
reduction of the prices and have brought the same time, agrochemical companies are innovating
products within the reach of even small and ways and means to provide ground support to
marginal farmers. As per estimates, the Indian farmers to promote judicious use of agrochemicals
agrochemical industry is expected to produce – they are no longer a marketing wing of foreign
246,000’ tonnes of technical grade agrochemicals companies. This is necessary as though in the
by FY22 and record a 3.7 per cent compounded past few decades, with some help from these
growth rate. There is little doubt that it is a major specialised products, agriculture in India has
stride towards self-reliance of the industry and become more resilient to vagaries of both weather
the country. The proposed production-linked and market conditions, sustained campaigns
incentive (PLI) scheme under the Government of against agrochemicals affecting people’s health have
India’s plan to help recover the economy from the maligned it a lot. Besides, the government’s push for
pandemic stress should be fast-tracked to help promoting judicious use of agrochemicals have also
speed up the process, if agro chemical industry is motivated them to provide ground support such as
brought in the purview. crop advisors to farmers to help meet that aim.

44 FA R M M A C H A N I S AT I O N AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Changing Dynamics of Farm
Mechanisation in India

HEMANT beyond tractors, mechanisation is largely skewed
SIKKA, President, toward land preparation. For many other
operations, simple implements are used, or the
Farm Equipment work is done by manual labour. Mechanisation
Sector, Mahindra also varies greatly by region, with states in north
& Mahindra Ltd & India having high levels of mechanisation due to
President, Tractor the highly productive land in the region, as well as
Manufacturers declining availability of labour force.
Association.
At the global level, including India, growth in
Even though farm mechanisation in population, food security and malnutrition are
India has taken strong strides in recent posing serious challenges. Although investments
years and with India amongst the and technological innovations in agriculture over
largest tractor markets in the world, the past few decades have boosted productivity
being highly organised, there is still a considerably, the pace of increase in farm yields
long way to go. While there is some has not been rapid enough to meet these emerging
level of mechanisation beyond tractors, challenges and future requirements.
mechanisation is largely skewed toward
land preparation. Let's try to fathom the Having said that, India is one of the largest
ground realities of mechanisation and agricultural economies in the world and
what the future holds. mechanisation of farmlands holds the key for
the sustainable and efficient development of this
Identified as a key tool to increase agri sector. This growth has been on account of several
production globally, several studies positive factors in the rural economy leading to
suggest a direct correlation between farm growth of the domestic tractor industry and farm
mechanisation and increased yield. This leads mechanisation overall. However, to further build
to several economic and social benefits for farmers. on this there are some KEY MEGA TRENDS that
are playing a role in the Changing Dynamics of
Looking at India from a broader lens, about 85 Farm Mechanisation in India.
per cent of Indian farmers are small & marginal
ones, having less than two hectares of land, but Pace of Agri Mechanisation
own just 47.3 per cent of the total crop area.
These small farmers are simply unable to afford The overall mechanisation level of Indian farms
mechanisation technologies due to cost, low yield stands at about 40-45 per cent as compared to over
and income issues. As a result, there is a low 80 per cent rates in some major economies. With
overall rate of mechanisation for 35-50 per cent the pandemic having triggered increased adoption
lower yield against global benchmarks. of mechanisation in India due to labour migration
resulting in good growth in farm machinery sales
While farm mechanisation in India has made in F’21.
strong strides in recent years and with India
amongst the largest tractor markets in the world, Up until now, the farm machinery industry in
being highly organised, there is still a long way India has largely been focused on low technology
to go. While there is some level of mechanisation implements mainly manufactured by unorganised
workshops in rural areas. Hence it needs to grow
rapidly like that of the tractor industry. Besides
Indian and global brands furthering efforts in this
space, it will drive manufacturing employment,
technology development, improve farm incomes
and create export opportunities for India.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com FA R M M A C H A N I S AT I O N 45

Also, while India is the fastest growing Some critical shifts observed
tractor market in the world, tractors will undergo in India
technological changes in the future to comply with
new and upcoming emission norms. Technology • Information gathering is increasingly
changes include fuel injection systems, modified happening online for huge amounts of
air management systems and exhaust after data collection.
treatment systems. These would ensure that farm
mechanisation continues to be sustainable in the • Besides typing-in search words, rural
future. And dealer networks and employees are users also navigate the web using voice
gearing up to be future ready to be able to adapt to search on their mobile phones – e.g. via
the requirements that these new technologies will the Voice search button on the Jio phone.
bring in.
• Clear preference for visual content
Digital push in rural setting (videos & images) over text.

Sophisticated communication technologies and • Emergence of social media influencers
networks provide monitoring and precise control for local sources of knowledge & advice.
on equipment today. Cutting-edge connectivity
technologies are already transforming agriculture. • Easily downloadable app-based advisory
Companies like Mahindra have developed services in local languages.
technology solutions aimed at empowering
owners, fleet operators, drivers, dealers and service intelligence and machine learning will help
teams to access information about tractors on generate commercial benefits for the small farmer,
a real-time basis. Farmers thus have the ability opening up many possibilities for farming in the
to remotely collect and manage information future. Hence, precision farming is expected to
from their field equipment by using telematics grow at a faster pace.
technologies connected to their smartphones.
While there is an acceleration of digital adoption Platformisation & Ecosystem of
in rural India, it can be primarily attributed to Startups
affordable smartphones, cheaper data plans and
Government’s thrust on ‘Digital India’. The future of farming lies in ecosystems which
creates value for all the stakeholders. Excellent
Clearly, the 3 Vs which is Voice, Video & collaboration opportunities exist in the Ag
Vernacular along with the increased digital thrust ecosystem where there is so much heterogeneity
is going to reduce the information irregularities and complexity along the farm value chain. With
among farmers as we go ahead. agriculture increasingly becoming technology
intensive, collaboration with startups will bring
Increased adoption of Precision the necessary speed and innovation, which
Farming when combined with the wisdom of traditional
firms can provide powerful solutions to the
The future of precision technologies in India farming community. Product centric firms are
is being built on two components Automation of continuously striving to utilise platform-centric
farm activities with smart machines and Remote models to compete in the digital age. Platforms
sensing of detailed farm parameters that enable facilitate interaction between producers and other
these machines to act with precision to create businesses along value chains and value networks
desired outcomes besides boosting performance of the farm as a
unit. Layering up the platform with intelligent
This can be achieved through hyperspectral algorithms including AI/ML will better facilitate
imagery analytics which will help interpret producer activities, digitisation of payments,
imagery, to give farmers information about their monitoring of inventory, etc.
land and crops, with field video cameras, sensors
and drones used to collect crop information in real Tractor and Farm equipment companies in
time. I am glad that the agri industry is one of the India, today, are already engaging farmers more
few industries to have received permissions for the deeply, thereby not only restricting themselves
use of drones by the Aviation Ministry. as farm equipment brands, but brands that will
become solutions providers across the complete
Power of imagery analytics, artificial agri machinery value chain.

46 T E C H N O L O G Y N E W S AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Bayer conducts Syngenta launches
PLINAZOLIN tech for
first drone trial in insect control

Hyderabad Syngenta Crop Protection has announced the launch of
PLINAZOLIN technology, a new and innovative active
Bayer conducted its first ingredient with a novel Mode of Action (IRAC Group 30) for
drone trial at its multi-crop insect control that will help growers protect the crops from a
breeding centre in Chandipa, wide range of pests. PLINAZOLIN technology delivers a new
near Hyderabad. The on- standard of performance, particularly against pests for which
ground event, showcasing a existing products no longer can provide effective control.
field demonstration on the It provides an effective solution in resistance management
use of drones in agricultural strategies and replaces older, less effective chemistries.
operations, was attended by The sunlight stability and rain-resistant properties of
eminent partners and industry PLINAZOLIN technology allow for longer spray intervals and
stakeholders, including fewer applications aimed at improving crop productivity and
representatives from the quality. PLINAZOLIN technology
Ministry of Agriculture, will deliver unprecedented
Ministry of Civil Aviation, insect control on stink bugs,
Indian Council of Agricultural mites, thrips, caterpillars,
Research. Bayer has partnered flies, and beetles. It will be
with innovative drone commercialised in more than
startup, General Aeronautics 40 countries and in over 40
and conducted several in- crops, including soybean, corn,
house and external R&D rice, coffee, cotton, and a wide
trials with universities and range of fruits and vegetables.
central research institutions
to generate data to make HAU, IFDC collaborate to
drone-based services available develop organic fertiliser from
to farmers. With the recent sugarcane distillery fly ash
encouraging announcement
made by the Ministry of Civil Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University’s
Aviation, all stakeholders (HAU) has signed an MoU with International Fertilizer
related to the segment are Development Centre (IFDC) to develop organic fertiliser from
eagerly looking forward to sugarcane distillery fly ash and spent wash. The end-product
the swift adoption of drone will be rich in potassium and phosphorus. The MoU was signed
technology. Bayer has now in the presence of Vice-Chancellor BR Kamboj, Research
secured approvals to conduct Director SK Sehrawat and HR Director MS Sidhpuria on behalf
R&D and agriculture spraying of HAU, along with Yashpal Sehrawat, Country Director and
operations to make the drone Consultant Sai Dass from IFDC India. Kamboj, Vice-chancellor
technology available for mentioned that Sugarfed Haryana will grant Rs 7.5 crore to the
smallholders. collaborating agencies in the first year.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com PA R T N E R C O N T E N T 47

Moringa Farming turns
profitable bet

SANJAY SHINDE,

Chairman, Green Island Energy Recourse (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
Proprietor, GIER Traders -
Importer & Exporter of Moringa Bi-Products, Nashik
8975050668 / 8087148843
[email protected]

According to reports, the Global Moringa of Moringa Bi-Products, Nashik, has been
product market is anticipated to convey manufacturing and exporting various products
a CAGR of 9.20 per cent and touch of Moringa since last few years. GIER TRADERS
$9.4 billion by 2027. India is one of is a Manufacturing company. They are planning
the top exporters of Moringa powder, soaps, to manufacture Drumstick/ Moringa Products
chocolates, tea, snacks, and tablets. Moringa like Moringa Powder, Moringa Biscuit. Moringa
oleifera or drumstick, is a drought-resistant tree Noodles, Moringa Soap, Moringa Thalipeeth,
belonging to the family Moringaceae. It is native Moringa Snack Bar and Moringa Tea. The factory
to tropical regions of South Asia and India is the is located at MIDC, Malegaon, Sinnar in Nashik.
largest producer of the drumstick with an annual “Moringa powder is extracted from the leaves
production of 1-1.3 million tonne of fruits. It is that are sun dried, crushed and finally ground.
also grown in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Interestingly, the Moringa leaves contain three
Indonesia and Taiwan, the World Centre of times more iron than spinach. They are also very
Vegetable Research. rich in Vitamin A. Moringa Biscuits are one of
the foods with which society has been familiar,
Moringa goes by several common names because they belong to the category of a practical
such as drumstick tree (refers to the long, slender, food that can be consumed at any time. Biscuits
seed-pods), horseradish tree (refers to the root are also a food product that has been widely
which is similar to horseradish), and ben oil tree developed, one of which includes the addition
(refers to oil which is obtained from the seed). of substances to improve the nutritional value",
Drumstick is a fast-growing tree and widely Shinde added.
cultivated for its tender seed pod, leaves used
as vegetable heaped with vital nutrients and Shinde revealed that to improve the nutritional
as a medicine in Siddha for its indispensable value of the noodles products, wheat flour is used
medicinal properties. as the raw material and an appropriate amount
of Moringa powder is added. Organic Moringa
Drumstick is praised as a tree of life as almost Noodles are made with organic wheat flour and
all the parts of the tree are beneficial and used organic Moringa leaf powder. We also make
for various purposes. The mature seeds yield Moringa Soap from Moringa seed oil that makes
edible oil called ben oil, which is odourless, clear skin soft and hydrated. Moringa snack bars are
with high strength of behenic acid and resists an easy way to consume greens. It is a complete
rancidity. Seed cake, after oil extraction, is used plant protein which contains all types of nine
as manure or as a floc to purify water. The essential amino acids. Moringa tea is just one
shredded root with a distinct flavour is used as drink that this superfood craze has spawned. The
a condiment. Furthermore, the bark, sap, roots, tea that is prepared from the leaves of Moringa
leaves, seeds and flowers find a prominent is now a popular beverage with several food and
place in traditional medicine. Sanjay Shinde, drinks manufacturers cashing-in on the trend.
Proprietor, GIER Traders - Importer & Exporter

48 A G R I I N P U T S N E W S AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Mahindra sells 26,094 tractor units in
India during Nov 2021

Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) Farm Equipment at 1,587 units. The company mentioned that de-
Sector (FES), a part of the Mahindra Group, growth over November 2020 is due to the high
announced its tractor sales numbers for base of last year and incessant rains in some states.
November 2021. The domestic sales i n Rural sentiments continue to remain positive on
November 2021 were at 26,094 units,
as against 31,619 units during account of good Rabi sowing and
November 2020. Total tractor high reservoir levels. Escalation in
sales (Domestic + Exports) during procurement for Kharif crops will
November 2021 were at 27,681 bring steady cash flows, which is
units, as against 32,726 units
for the same period last year. expected to boost tractor demand
Exports for the month stood going forward. In the exports
market, it has sold 1587 tractors, a
growth of 43 per cent over last year.

Sonalika Tractors CCFI felicitates
sells 11,909 units in
Nov 2021 Padma Bhushan

Sonalika Tractors has continued to stay ahead of awardee RD Shroff
industry performance to register the highest ever
November market share of 16 per cent and has Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) has
been among the leading market share gainers with felicitated R D Shroff, Chairman Emeritus,
1.4 per cent. Overall, the company has clocked CCFI. Shroff was conferred the Padma
11,909 overall tractor sales in November 2021. Bhushan award for Trade & Industry 2021 by
During the month, Sonalika further increased its the President of India. The CCFI had recently
lead in exports and strengthened its position as organised a congregation of who's who of
the No 1 exports brand. The company has clocked the industry. Among prominent speakers
year to day (YTD) tractor exports of 22,268 were Deepak Shah, Chairman and Rajesh
tractors and surpassed entire FY’21 sales in just Aggarwal Vice-Chairman, CCFI who lauded the
eight months. This includes a whopping 72.2 per achievements of Rajju Shroff as he is popularly
cent YTD growth over 12,937 tractors sold in the known, who has registered several molecules
corresponding period last year. Overall, Sonalika for the Indian crop segment, undertook large
has sold 3,225 tractors in the month of November scale demonstrations and set up manufacturing
against 1607 tractors exported in the same month plants not only in India, but also, abroad.
last year and registered a growth of 100.7 per cent. Rajju Shroff and Sandra Shroff were honoured
with shawls and presented with mementoes
and bouquets by Nirmala Pathrawal, ED
& Harish Mehta, Senior Advisor, CCFI.
Ravindra Boratkar, MD, MM Activ Sci-Tech
Communications; Publisher, MMA publications;
and Chairperson, Agrovision Foundation
felicitated Rajju Shroff on this occasion. Other
distinguished speakers included Dr C D Mayee,
Ashish Shelar and Ashwin Shroff, who praised
his passion for chemistry besides being the
second-highest contributor in corporate social
responsibility activities.

AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com S U P P LY C H A I N N E W S 49

Kisan Rail services transport 5.2 LT of
perishables since Aug 2020

Since the launch of the first Kisan Rail service on August 7, 2020, and up to November 19,
2021, Indian Railways have operated 1,586 Kisan Rail services, transporting approximately 5.2
lakh tonnes (LT) of perishables including onion, banana, potato, garlic, pomegranate, oranges,
capsicum, cabbage, cauliflower, and other fruits and vegetables. These services have operated from
the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Kisan Rail trains were introduced by Indian
Railways to enable speedy movement of perishables including fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry,
fishery and dairy products from the production of surplus regions to consumption of deficient
regions. The services are timetabled as well as demand-based. Potential circuits for movement
of Kisan Rail services are identified in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers
Welfare and Agriculture/Animal Husbandry/Fisheries Departments of State Governments as well
as local bodies and agencies, mandis etc.

Landmark Capital India registers 15%
launches warehousing rise in export of
fund worth Rs 500 Cr agricultural products
in FY 2020-21: DGCI&S
Landmark Capital has launched Landmark
Warehousing & Logistics Fund. The fund is In a major boost to export prospects of agricultural
targeting a corpus of Rs 500 crore, including a produce, India has registered a significant surge
green-shoe option of Rs 200 crore. The fund is in export of agricultural and processed food
targeting investment in Grade-A assets with 60 products in the April-October period of the
per cent in warehousing and 40 per cent in other current Financial Year, 2021-22, in comparison
industrial assets across key markets Mumbai, to the corresponding seven-month period of
Kolkata, Bengaluru, NCR and Chennai. The fund is last fiscal, 2020-21. According to the Quick
launched to generate superior risk-adjusted returns Estimates released by the Directorate General of
by investing in high-quality Grade-A warehousing Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S),
and logistics opportunities. Landmark Capital is the overall export of Agricultural and Processed
focusing on non-speculative built-to-suit assets and Food Products Export Development Authority
diversification across geographies to ensure effective (APEDA) products witnessed 14.7 per cent growth
risk mitigation. The fund’s deal pipeline accounts in terms of USD during April-October 2021 over
for over 400 acres of land with marquee names as the same period of the previous year. The overall
potential anchor tenants. export of APEDA products increased from $10,157
million in April-October 2020 to $11,651 million
in April-October 2021.The export of rice, which
recorded a positive growth of 10.5 per cent,
increased from $4,777.35 million in April-October
2020 to $5,278.95 million in April-October 2021.

50 LSEUTP’ SP LTYA LCKHA GI NRNI CEUWLST U R E AGROSPECTRUM | JANUARY 2022 | www.agrospectrumindia.com

Uphill Sustainable Agri Targets
Agriculture is an important sector of the
Indian economy employing the largest report titled ‘India Beyond 75: Envisioning Smart
share of the workforce and providing & Sustainable Agriculture’ by FICCI along with YES
food and nutrition security to the nation. Bank, has identified 5 core themes for sustainable
agriculture development, namely - sustainably
It is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 boosting productivity; promoting sustainable
per cent of India’s population. natural resource management; strengthening
The cereal-based Green Revolution brought food security sustainably; sustainable adaptation
about significant progress in Indian agricultural to climate change; and promoting technology,
production. While this was driven by increased digitalisation and sustainable innovation.
use of fertilisers, water, agrochemicals, machinery, Agriculture sector in India has shown
and pesticides, the equation of these inputs unfettered growth during the pandemic which
to productivity remains non-linear. With signifies its resilient nature. The total GHG
intensification of inputs use, decreasing per capita emissions from agriculture, non-judicious use
arable land and a cereals-dominated agricultural of Agri inputs, lack of knowledge about good
production, India has been witnessing depletion agriculture practices presents an enormous
and degradation of its natural resources. The challenge to agriculture sustainability.
current agricultural practices present a formidable The Government of India has brought
challenge to agricultural sustainability. According significant reforms in the agriculture sector
to a report on ‘Sustainable Agriculture in India which will go a long way in building efficient
2021’ by Council on Energy, Environment and value chains and ensuring better returns for
Water (CEEW), sustainable agriculture is far farmers. The government has also adopted several
from mainstream in India. Barring a couple of developmental programmes, schemes, reforms
exceptions, most sustainable agriculture practices and policies that focus on higher incomes for the
and systems (SAPSs) have less than five million farmers and to promote Sustainable Agriculture
(or four per cent) farmers practicing them. For and farmers prosperity. All these policies and
many, the practicing farmers are less than one programmes are being supported by higher
per cent of the total Indian farmers. Based on the budgetary allocations, non-budgetary financial
gathered insights, CEEW proposes steps toward resources by way of creating Corpus Funds like
an evidence-backed scale-up of sustainable Micro Irrigation Fund and Agri-marketing scheme
agriculture in India. The steps include training to strengthen eNAM and GrAMs, as also in the
focus on knowledge exchange and capacity Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and
building, restructuring government support to Dairying. These will go a long way in creating
farmers, supporting rigorous evidence generation, Sustainable Agriculture and supporting doubling
broadening perspectives of stakeholders across farmers’ income. Marginal and small farm sizes
the agriculture ecosystem to consider alternative constitute more than 85 per cent of the operational
approaches, adopting transition support and holdings in India. It’s time to develop impactful
making sustainable agriculture 'visible'. programmes to support and empower them with
Sustainable farming requires access to the knowledge for sustainable and climate resilient
right inputs at the right time, efficient farm production. With independent India turning 75,
production techniques and an efficient supply Indian agriculture also needs to be transformed
chain to deliver quality produce at reasonable price and reoriented to be smart and sustainable.
to the end consumers. Access to quality inputs, Towards this, there is an immense need to promote
finance and insurance, along with improvement interventions that help in achieving the sustainable
of logistics and marketing infrastructure assumes development goals target.
greater significance to provide farmers adopting Narayan Kulkarni,
sustainable farming measures, a sustainable Editor
income and a sustained market. A knowledge [email protected]