Budget can be effective means to bring change in agriculture: PM

Emphasizing that the agriculture budget allocation this year is much more than previous years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said it is aimed at the complete modernization of the sector and suggested seven pointers from the budget provisions.

In just six years the agriculture budget has increased manifold and agriculture loans for farmers have also increased by two and half times in the last seven years, the Prime Minister said, and added that the preparation for multiple schemes that have been discussed during this budget need preparation, for which the month of March can be utilized and then, “start rolling out right from day one in the new financial year.”

If all this is done properly, the budget will not just be a numbers game but, in reality, can be an effective means to bring about change in life, change in agriculture,” he said while addressing a webinar on the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the Agriculture sector.

The seven important pointers from the budget that Modi mentioned started with the provision for natural farming along the Ganga banks on both sides up to five kms, including a push for herbal, medicinal plants and also for horticulture; infusion of modern technology for improving agriculture and horticulture practices; focus on Mission Oil Palm and encouragement to other oil seeds too for lessen the import burden on edible oil and incorporating new schemes under PM Gati Shakti for transportation of agriculture goods.

The other three-pointers were how agri-waste management will be better organized, how waste to energy solutions will not just help bringdown carbon emissions but also increase farmers’ income; the regular bank-like facilities that the farmers will get from across 1.5 lakh post offices across India and, last but not the least, the need for changes to be brought in for investment in agri-research along with skill development, human resources development, etc., in the education sector.

Recounting the work done by his government in previous years, Modi recalled how three years ago the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi was started, and it has benefitted almost 11 crore farmers, most of them small farmers, till date, and Rs 1.7 lakh crore has been disbursed till now under the scheme. He also talked about how his government has brought in smartness in all things related to agriculture, ‘Beej Se Bazar Tak’ (from seed stage to market stage) by improving the systems over the last seven years.

The Prime Minister also appealed to the private sector to invest in the agriculture sector and described the multiple opportunities. For instance, soil health cards are prepared by the government and there can be private labs everywhere where the farmer can get his soil tested and work on fertilizers accordingly. “We need a vast network of soil testing labs just as today we have pathology labs for human health,” he said.

Modi also recounted achievements such as micro-irrigation, which is a medium to bring down input cost and improve production and something which also helps the cause of the environment. “Saving water in today’s times is a service to mankind. More crop per drop is our motto. This field too has immense possibilities,” he appealed to the private sector.

Ethanol blending, agri-startups, agri-waste management, logistics, transport of agriculture produce, food processing, drones for agriculture, and farm equipment on rent are some of the fields that the Prime Minister pointed out wherein private investors, especially young entrepreneurs can enter to benefit from immense potentialities.

Digital agriculture is our future: PM Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed digital agriculture as India’s future and that talented youth can play a key role in empowering farmers through digital technology.

Addressing the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru near here, he suggested to the institute and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to expand their partnership for higher productivity and water management in dryland areas to digital agriculture.

The Prime Minister claimed that India has stepped up its efforts in using the latest technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in areas like crop assessment, land records digitization, deployment of drones for spraying of insecticides and nutrients, and providing various services.

“On one hand, we are focusing on expanding production of millets, chemical-free farming while on the other we are using modern technology from solar pumps to deploying drones. This is a key part of our vision for agriculture growth for the next 25 years,” he said.

Modi said the government was trying to develop ecosystems linked to agriculture research and working with private agritech players to provide affordable and high-tech services to farmers.

The Prime Minister said that agriculture has the potential to pull a very large population of the country out of poverty and take them towards a better lifestyle.

Stating that a large area lacking irrigation facilities could not become part of the green revolution, Modi said the government was working on a dual strategy. On the one hand, a large part of the land is being brought under irrigation through water conservation and connecting of rivers while on the other, water use efficiency through micro-irrigation is being encouraged in areas with limited irrigation.

The Prime Minister said India was also focusing on establishing FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) and agriculture value chain. “We wish to create an alert and potent market force out of small farmers by organizing them into thousands of FPOs”, he said.

He said that India’s goal is not just increasing food grain production. India has enough surplus food grain to run one of the world’s big food security programs. “We are focusing on food security as well as nutrition security. With this vision, we have developed many bio-fortified varieties in the last 7 years”.

Noting that ICRIAST has rich experience of working in semi-arid areas, the Prime Minister called for joint efforts with the institute for developing sustainable and diversified production systems by linking farmers.

Modi also mooted the idea of ICRISAT, ICAR, and agricultural universities working together in the area of biofuel. “You have been working on sweet sorghum. You can develop seeds to help farmers in drought-prone areas and farmers with limited land resources to grow crops which can yield more biofuel,” he said.

He exuded confidence that with innovative minds at ICRISAT, people’s participation, and society’s commitment the country will be able to overcome all challenges related to agriculture

The Prime Minister also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion. Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy, ICRISAT Director General Dr. Jacqueline Hughes were among those present on the occasion.

Underlining the importance of the next 25 years for both the country and also for ICRISAT, the Prime Minister stressed the need for new goals and working for them.

The Prime Minister lauded ICRISAT for its contribution to helping agriculture in large parts of the world including India. He appreciated their contribution to water and soil management, improvement in crop variety, on-farm diversity, and livestock integration. He also praised their holistic approach in integrating farmers with their markets and promoting pulses and chickpea production in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “Your research and technology have helped make agriculture easy and sustainable”, Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the worst affected by climate change are the people on the last rung of development with little resources. That is why the Prime Minister reiterated India’s request to the world to pay special attention to climate change. He talked of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment; P3 – Pro planet people movements and India’s net-zero targets by 2070. “Pro planet people is a movement that connects every community, every individual with climate responsibility to tackle the climate challenge. This is not limited to just words, but is also reflected in the actions of the Government of India”, he added.

Referring to 15 Agro-Climatic Zones and 6 seasons of the country, the Prime Minister highlighted the depth of ancient experience of Indian agriculture. He pointed out that India’s focus is on the fusion of ‘back to basic’ and ‘march to future’ to protect its farmers from climate challenges. “Our focus is on our more than 80 percent farmers who are small and need us the most”, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said that the National Mission for self-reliance in edible oils indicates India’s new approach. The Mission aims to increase palm oil area by 6.5 lakh hectares in next five years. “This will help Indian farmers at every level and will prove very beneficial for the farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well. I have been told that Telangana farmers have set big goals for palm oil production. The Centre will extend them all help,” he said.

He also dwelled on the steps taken to strengthen post-harvest infrastructures like creating a cold chain storage capacity of 35 million tonnes and creating of 1 lakh crore rupees Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

Earlier, he visited an exhibition displaying various achievements, scientific agricultural breakthroughs, and innovations of the Institute since 1972 which address poverty, malnutrition, and environmental degradation in the harshest dryland regions of the world.

ICRISAT is an international organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia & sub-Saharan Africa. It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.

Reconfigure agricultural producer support: UN report

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Calling for repurposing damaging incentives to the agriculture sector that is price distorting and environmentally and socially harmful, a new United Nations (UN) report has said reconfiguring agricultural producer support rather than eliminating it will help fight climate change better.

The report, ‘A multi-billion dollar opportunity: Repurposing agricultural support to transform food systems’, launched late on Tuesday night by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has found that the current support to producers mostly consists of price incentives. These price incentives such as import tariffs and export subsidies, as well as fiscal subsidies are tied to the production of a specific commodity or input.

“These are inefficient, distort food prices, hurt people’s health, degrade the environment, and are often inequitable, putting big agri-business ahead of smallholder farmers, a large share of whom are women,” the report said.

Global support to producers in the agricultural sector amounts to $540 billion per year, making up 15 per cent of total agricultural production value. By 2030, this is projected to soar up more than three times to $1.759 trillion.

“Yet 87 per cent of this support, nearly $470 billion, is price distorting and environmentally and socially harmful,” said the findings of the new UN report to achieve more of the 2030 sustainable development goals and realise the UN decade of ecosystem restoration.

The report was launched ahead of the 2021 Food Systems Summit (September), COP15 on biodiversity (October) and COP26 on climate change (November). These events will allow governments to make multilateral commitments to rethink outdated agricultural subsidies, build a better future for the post-Covid era, commit to such a strategy and to coordinate and monitor its implementation.

In 2020, up to 811 million people in the world faced chronic hunger and nearly one in three people in the world (2.37 billion) did not have year-round access to adequate food. In 2019, nearly three billion people in every region of the world could not afford a healthy diet.

“While the majority of agricultural support today has negative effects, nearly $110 billion supports infrastructure, research and development, and benefits the general food and agriculture sector,” said a release from UNDP while quoting the report.

“Reconfiguring agricultural producer support rather than eliminating it will help end poverty, eradicate hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, promote sustainable agriculture, foster sustainable consumption and production, mitigate the climate crisis, restore nature, limit pollution, and reduce inequalities,” it added.

FAO Director General Qu Dongyu said, “This report released on the eve of the UN Food Systems Summit is a wake-up call for governments around the world to rethink agricultural support schemes to make them fit for the purpose to transform our agri-food systems and contribute to the four betters: Better nutrition, better production, better environment and a better life.”

Agriculture is one of the main contributors to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions from different sources, including manure on pasture land, synthetic fertilizers, rice cultivation, burning crop residue, and land-use change. At the same time, agricultural producers are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the climate crisis such as extreme heat, rising sea levels, drought, floods and locust attacks.

Continuing with support as usual will worsen the triple planetary crisis and ultimately harm human well-being. Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement requires shifting support especially in high-income countries for an outsized meat and dairy industry, which accounts for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In lower-income countries, governments should consider repurposing their support for toxic pesticides and fertilizers or the growth of monocultures.

“Repurposing agricultural support to shift our agri-food systems in a greener, more sustainable direction — including by rewarding good practices such as sustainable farming and climate-smart approaches — can improve both productivity and environmental outcomes,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

“It will also boost the livelihoods of the 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide — many of them women — by ensuring a more level playing field.”

The report highlights cases where such a process began: Andhra Pradesh that adopted a policy of zero budget natural farming; the 2006 reform of agricultural policies in China that supports decreased use of mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides; the single payment scheme in the United Kingdom that removed subsidies in agreement with the National Farmers’ Union; the European Union where crop diversification has been incentivized through reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Senegalese programme PRACAS to incentivize farmers to cultivate more diverse crops, the release added.

Farm subsidies distort prices, degrade environment: UN

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Global support to producers in the agricultural sector amounts to $540 billion per year, making up 15 per cent of total agricultural production value.

By 2030, this is projected to soar up more than three times to $1.759 trillion.

Yet the 87 per cent of this support, approximately $470 billion, is price distorting and environmentally and socially harmful.

These are findings of a new UN report calling for repurposing damaging incentives to achieve more of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and realize the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

The report — A multi-billion-dollar opportunity: Repurposing agricultural support to transform food systems — launched by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that current support to producers mostly consists of price incentives, such as import tariffs and export subsidies, as well as fiscal subsidies which are tied to the production of a specific commodity or input.

These are inefficient, distort food prices, hurt people’s health, degrade the environment, and are often inequitable, putting big agri-business ahead of smallholder farmers, a large share of whom are women.

In 2020, up to 811 million people in the world faced chronic hunger and nearly one in three people in the world (2.37 billion) did not have year-round access to adequate food.

In 2019, around three billion people, in every region of the world, could not afford a healthy diet.

While the majority of agricultural support today has negative effects, about $110 billion supports infrastructure, research and development, and benefits the general food and agriculture sector.

Reconfiguring agricultural producer support, rather than eliminating it, will help end poverty, eradicate hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, promote sustainable agriculture, foster sustainable consumption and production, mitigate the climate crisis, restore nature, limit pollution, and reduce inequalities.

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said: “This report, released on the eve of the UN Food Systems Summit, is a wake-up call for governments around the world to rethink agricultural support schemes to make them fit for purpose to transform our agri-food systems and contribute to the Four Betters: Better nutrition, better production, better environment and a better life.”

Agriculture is one of the main contributors to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions from different sources, including manure on pastureland, synthetic fertilizers, rice cultivation, burning crop residue, and land-use change.

At the same time, agricultural producers are particularly vulnerable to impacts of the climate crisis, such as extreme heat, rising sea levels, drought, floods, and locust attacks.

Continuing with support as usual will worsen the triple planetary crisis and ultimately harm human well-being.

Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement requires shifting support especially in high-income countries for an outsized meat and dairy industry, which accounts for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In lower-income countries, governments should consider repurposing their support for toxic pesticides and fertilizers or the growth of monocultures.

“Governments have an opportunity now to transform agriculture into a major driver of human well-being, and into a solution for the imminent threats of climate change, nature loss, and pollution,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

“By shifting to more nature-positive, equitable and efficient agricultural support, we can improve livelihoods, and at the same time cut emissions, protect and restore ecosystems, and reduce the use of agrochemicals.”

The report highlights cases where such a process began: Andhra Pradesh in India that adopted a policy of Zero Budget Natural Farming; the 2006 reform of agricultural policies in China that supports decreased use of mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides; the Single Payment Scheme in the United Kingdom that removed subsidies in agreement with the National Farmers’ Union; the European Union, where crop diversification has been incentivized through reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Senegalese programme PRACAS to incentivize farmers to cultivate more diverse crops.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for repurposing agricultural producer support, the report recommends a broad six-step approach for governments.

The approach is measuring the support provided; understanding its positive and negative impacts; identifying repurposing options; forecasting their impacts; refining the proposed strategy and detailing its implementation plan; and finally, monitoring the implemented strategy.

“Repurposing agricultural support to shift our agri-food systems in a greener, more sustainable direction — including by rewarding good practices such as sustainable farming and climate-smart approaches — can improve both productivity and environmental outcomes,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

“It will also boost the livelihoods of the 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide — many of them women — by ensuring a more level playing field.”

The report is launched ahead of the 2021 Food Systems Summit (September), COP15 on biodiversity (October) and COP26 on climate change (November).

These events will allow governments to make multilateral commitments to rethink outdated agricultural subsidies, build forward better for the post-Covid-19 era, to commit to such a strategy and to coordinate and monitor its implementation.

All eyes on Ministry of Cooperation to dock agri-reforms with global best practices

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Indias farm sector needs critical but rational reforms. But a lot will now depend on the newly formed Ministry of Cooperation under the aegis of Home Minister Amit Shah to streamline and modernise the agri sector, in tune with India’s unique and specific conditions.

“The new ministry needs to figure out ways which would allow the government to take the reform process forward in the agriculture sector,” an insider said. How to strike the balance between farmers aspirations and agri-modernisation in tune with global best practices will be the challenge.

While the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism has been in place since 1965 with a twin objective of preventing agriculture prices from crashing and protecting poor farmers, only 6 per cent of the farming community in the country has benefitted from this system, a recently published study by RIS (Research and Information System for Developing Countries) noted.

Not just that. The benefits of the existing MSP system have mostly been reaped by the large farmers besides the middlemen.

Amul’s managing director RS Sodhi earlier told India Narrative that while new farm laws are the need of the hour, the government needs to communicate better on the benefits. Besides, adequate tweaking is also required to ensure that the big corporates neither reap all the benefits nor monopolise the situation.

“Government’s intention is good. These farm laws are good. But yes, there are some apprehensions and they need to be removed,” Sodhi said.

The RIS study pointed out that though in the last 50 years, India has evolved to be a food surplus country, with adequate food security, the changing aspirations of farmers have remained unaddressed.

“The recent Farm Bills by seeking to liberate agriculture markets, can achieve twin objectives of providing a larger cover of protection to farmers by ensuring rightful remuneration while at the same time reviving the vast untapped potential of Indian agriculture to be a food basket of the world,” the study said.

The study also pointed out that India’s share in the global agricultural trade in 2019 was a mere 2.3 per cent and the most obvious reason for its low penetration in the global markets is due to a highly regulated export-import trade practised for several years, “robbing India’s potential to be an agricultural powerhouse of the world.”

Even as judicious use of import restrictions is considered necessary for preventing unfair competition due to possible dumping by global cartels, excessive use of import restrictions could end up in speculative trade, hoarding and price distortions, the study said.

At present, about 23 crops are covered under the MSP of which rice and wheat enjoy maximum support.

$30-$35 bn of value pool will be created in agri-logistics, offtake, and agri-input delivery by 2025

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The Indian agricultural sector is at the cusp of a disruption based on technology, regulation, investment, and stakeholder behavioral changes across consumers to farmers.

Agritech and agri-ecosystem sectors have received significant interest from the investor community, making India the third-largest nation in terms of agritech funding and the number of agritech startups.

Estimates indicate that approximately $30-$35 billion of the value pool will be created in agri-logistics, offtake, and agri-input delivery by 2025. These are among the findings of Bain & Company’s; Indian Agriculture: Ripe for Disruption’, the report, released on Wednesday.

Agriculture’s contribution to the country’s gross value added (GVA) is about 20 percent, however, it continues to be dominated by small and marginal landholdings. Additionally, close to 55 percent of the Indian population still depends on agriculture for their livelihood.

Commenting on the report, Prashant Sarin, partner and leader of the Advanced Manufacturing & Services, Energy & Natural Resources practices in Bain & Company, India said, “The traditional form of agriculture will be disrupted and overhauled over time, and $30-35B value will be created in new value pools across the agricultural value chain, over the next few years.”

The report highlights three Bills passed in September 2020 by the Indian Parliament on agriculture-focused reforms. All these are intended to encourage investment in direct farmer purchase by corporates, free movement of food items from production to consumption centers, and private investment in storage. A host of new business opportunities can be uncovered when these reforms come into operation.

The APMC reforms will enable corporates to buy directly from the farmer while the ECA reform incentivizes investment in storage and transportation infrastructure, resulting in supply chain efficiencies. Firms can save 5 percent to 10 percent or more on procurement costs of food items through a concerted national strategy.

Parijat Jain, the partner, and leader of Bain’s Agribusiness practice in India said, “Indian agriculture is at an inflection point. The $370 billion sectors will undergo a complete transformation in the coming years on the back of significant technology interventions, regulatory support, and behavioral changes across consumers and farmers. Digital disruption across the agricultural and agritech value chain is enabling ‘suberization of services, converting capital investment assets to pay-per-use models and creating online communities along with online input & output marketplaces.”

Increasingly, many young entrepreneurs are entering the agriculture startup space. Adopting technology-friendly practices across the agricultural value chain is critical to transforming this critical sector of India’s economy, the report said.

Government to distribute 20 lakh seed kits of pulses

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has formulated a special strategy for the ensuing Kharif 2021 season and has proposed to distribute 20,27,318, almost 10 times more, seed mini kits than the 2020-21 season costing Rs 82.01 crores. The total cost for these mini-kits will be borne by the Central Government to boost the production and productivity of Tur, Moong and Urad. The following mini-kits will be distributed:

13,51,710 mini kits of arhar containing certified seeds of HYVs of arhar released during the last ten years and productivity not less than 15 qtl/ha- for inter-cropping.

4,73,295 mini kits of moong containing certified seeds of HYVs of moong released during the last ten years but productivity not less than 10 qtl/ha for inter-cropping.

93,805 mini kits of urad containing certified seeds of HYVs of urad released during the last ten years but productivity not less than 10 qtl/ha for inter-cropping.

1,08,508 mini kits of urad containing certified seeds of urad HYVs of urad released during the last 15 years and productivity not less than 10 qtl/ha for Sole Crop.

The above mini-kits used for inter-cropping and urad Sole Crop will cover an area of 4.05 lakh hectare in the Kharif season 2021 to be funded by the Central Government. In addition to this, the usual programme of inter-cropping and area expansion by the states will continue on a sharing basis between the Centre and the States.

Through consultations with the state governments, a detailed plan for both area expansion and productivity enhancement for Tur, Moong and Urad has been formulated.

Under the strategy, utilising all the high yielding varieties (HYVs) of seeds that are available either with the Central Seed Agencies or in the States will be distributed free of cost to increase area through inter-cropping and Sole Crop.

Tur inter-cropping will be covered in 11 states and 187 districts. The states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Moong inter-cropping will be covered in 9 states and 85 districts. The states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Urad inter-cropping will be covered in 6 states in 60 districts. The states are Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Urad Sole Cropping will be covered in 6 states.

For effective implementation of the Kharif mini kit programme, a massive outreach with the concerned district will be held both through a series of webinars by the central and state governments to ensure that there are no hiccups. District level training programmes during the crop season will be organized through the District Agriculture Office and the ATMA network for good agriculture practices and the use of new seeds in subsequent seasons as well. The Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) and Krishi Vigyan Kendras will also be roped in for effective implementation and training to the farmers.

The mini kits will be supplied by the Central and state agencies to the destination at the district level approved under the strategy by June 15, with the total cost of Rs 82.01 crores to be borne by the Central government. India is still importing around 4 lakh tonnes of tur, 0.6 lakh tonnes of moong and around 3 lakh tonnes of urad for meeting its demand. The special programme will increase the production and productivity of Tur, Moong and Urad to a great extent and will play an important role in reducing the import burden and propel India to become ‘Atmanirbhar’ in the production of pulses.

Looking at the production of 14.76 million tonnes in 2007-08, the figure has now reached 24.42 million tonnes in 2020-2021 (2nd advance estimates) which is a phenomenal increase of 65%.

Mango museum to come up in Lucknow

Mango, the king of fruits, will soon have its own museum.

The Mango Museum is coming up at the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) office at Rehmankhera in the Kakori block of Lucknow.

It is likely to be ready by the end of the mango season.

The museum will help the visitors learn about the varieties, medicinal value, products, history and other little-known facts about the fruit.

According to Shailendra Rajan, CISH Director, “The museum will have more than 800 varieties as a model or a photograph with interesting descriptions. Not only Indian, but also the varieties dominating the international market will be displayed at the museum.”

The institute has one of the largest live collections of mango varieties, but one cannot see them after the fruiting season.

The museum will have over 800 varieties as models or photographs with interesting descriptions so that people can know more about them.

“Mango (tree) is considered to provide certain anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic bioactive compounds and a few of them have been found to be reported effective in immunity-boosting against the Corona virus,” he said.

“A database containing details of the medicinal properties of phytochemicals can be accessed in the museum. A description of important products made from mango and the nutritive value of the king of fruits will also be depicted,” Rajan said.

India is considered to be the richest in mango varieties and efforts made by farmers, nurserymen and mango lovers have helped in conserving varieties.

About 80 countries have issued stamps on mangoes. The upcoming museum will also have a corner showcasing stamps for people interested in philately.

The museum will provide information on such products and their nutritive value along with details of recipes made from raw or ripe mangoes.

“Mango is the heritage tree of India. It has historical and mythological relevance and enjoys a connect with social, religious and cultural ethos of the country. The museum will also have material on this aspect,” he added.

Using audio-visual means, CISH will develop the museum as a storehouse of information on major mango-producing areas of the country and the world.

A portion of the museum will depict the numerous pests and diseases that attack the mango.

The CISH Director further said that the museum will be of interest, not only to children, but also to the farmers.

Tea crop prospect looks bleak in Assam, Bengal: Industry body

The crop prospect in the current season for the tea industry in Assam and West Bengal looks bleak due to the drought-like situation prevailing in both the states, a leading industry body said.

Tea Association of India (TAI) Secretary General P.K. Bhattacharya said that after the aftermath of prolonged period of lockdown and losing around 140 million kgs of made tea last year, the tea industry in north was hopeful for a fresh start in 2021, but is again foreseeing grim days ahead, faced as it is with the onslaught of natural calamities resulting in lesser crops.

In a statement, TAI said that the situation has worsened due to the recent massive hailstorm in the tea-growing regions of north Bengal.

According to the TAI, Assam has harvested only 0.23 million kg during the period of January-February this year as against 0.27 million kg last year and 0.44 million kg in 2019. It said that while the crop figure for the month of March is yet to be released by the Tea Board, the figure is expected to lower by around 10-15 percent in March and April this year as compared to 2019.

“Similarly, north Bengal has harvested only 1.92 million kg this year as against 4.04 million kg in 2019 during January-February,” Bhattacharya said.

He said that there is huge less rainfall recorded during January and February both in Assam and in north Bengal and the situation has worsened during the months of March and April as reported by the tea estates of both the states.

The TAI statement said that due to a shortage of supply during the lockdown, tea prices witnessed a surge in prices for a brief period in 2020.

However, the price rise could not be sustained for a long period and auction prices subsequently declined sharply in the last few auction sales in 2020. However the increase in tea prices in 2020 has been largely offset by the loss in production.

The TAI said that Assam produces around 4.5 percent of its total crop in the month of March and around 6 percent in April which is around 32 million kg and 44 million kg, respectively. Similarly, West Bengal also produces around 5.5 to 6 percent of its total crop in March and April amounting to around 23-25 million kg.

“The figure is expected to be lower by around 10-15 percent in the month of March and April as compared to the corresponding period of 2019,” the tea industry body said.

Telangana, Wadhwani AI team up to benefit cotton farmers

Hyderabad, April 5,(Telugu Bullet)  Telangana agriculture department has signed an agreement with Wadhwani Institute of Artificial Institute (Wadhwani AI) to deploy solutions for the benefit of cotton farmers on Saturday.

“Wadhwani AI has developed an AI solution that equips smallholder cotton farmers with scientific knowledge of an agriculture expert with the help of a simple smartphone,” said an official.

The solution, delivered through an app provides real-time localized advisory and surveillance, enabling farmers to catch pest infestations early to take correct and immediate action to avoid significant crop damage and subsequently improve the quality of the crop and incomes.

“The solution is based on the scientific concept of action thresholds and is able to predict pink bollworm and American bollworm infestation, two of the most devastating pests for the cotton crop,” he said.

In 2020 kharif, the solution was deployed with 700 lead farmers and 17,000 cascade farmers across the four states of Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka through agricultural programs managed by better cotton initiative (BCI) partners.