Happy New Year 2015

Wishing all our readers a very happy new year 2015. 

Expression of Interest for Agriculture Projects, Department of Agriculture, Tripura

Expression of Interest for Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Documentation, Department of Agriculture, Tripura

Offical Reference #: DNEIT No.01 /No - F.1-A (289)/Agri(SLNA)/2014-15/
Announced Date: Dec 29, 2014
Last date of document submission: Jan 14, 2015
Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Documentation (MEL and D)of the Batch III, IV, V and VI Projects of Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP).
Pre-qualifications: Nationalized MEL and D Firms.

Expression of Interest for evaluation of projects executed under RKVY Tripura

Offical Reference #: No.F.15(134)/AGRI/RKVY/2014-15/Part-II/1893
Announced Date: Dec 16, 2014
Last date of document submission: Jan 08, 2015
Last submission Date: Jan 09, 2015
Tender Opening Date: Jan 09, 2015
Tender Last Date: Jan 08, 2015
Pre-qualifications: Consultancy organizations having NationalGlobal repute, who have under taken at least 5(five) to 10(ten) such assignments.

For details, pl. check the following link

http://agri.tripura.gov.in/Contact.htm

Request for Proposal for Appointment of Consultant for Monitoring & Concurrent Evaluation of Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agril., GoI

Request for Proposal for  Appointment of Consultant for Monitoring & Concurrent Evaluation  of  
Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI - Last Date 15th Jan. 2015

Log on to

agricoop.nic.in/imagedefault/tenders/current/rfpm&t.pdf 

Integrated Farming System - Boon for Farmers in Rainfed Areas

Rainfed agriculture occupies 68% of India’s cultivated area and supports 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population. It produces 44.5% of the food requirement, thus has and will continue to play a critical role in India’s food security. For such rainfed areas, integrated farming system is the only solution that enhances farmers income throughout the year.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Integrated-farming-can-reduce-risk-Experts/articleshow/45500725.cms   

National Livestock Mission

Govt. has recently launched National Livestock Mission with a aim to ensure Qualitative & Quantitative Improvement in the Livestock Production. The mission converges all the schemes of the Govt. of India of The Livestock Sector. For details of the Mission with its' Operational Guidelines, log on to

http://dahd.nic.in/dahd/WriteReadData/NLM%20Geuidelines%20%20Annex%202014-15.pdf

Agriculture Consultancy Services - Strengthening and Transforming Agribusiness

Agriculture Consultancy Services - Strengthening and Transforming Agribusiness

My Recent Article in Business of Agriculture Magazine - Page No. 60-65  

http://www.docdroid.net/j73i/boa-sep-2014-online-edition.pdf.html  

Rising Inflation - Whom to Blame ?

Rising Food Inflation is one of the main worries of Govt. of India. One of the recent paper by ASSOCHAM has found that difference between wholesale price and retail price of essential vegetables have gone beyond 49 % in 2013-14. Generally it is around 30 %. The study was conducted in 33 market centres of India. The centres which were charging more than 50 % of the wholesale prices were Amritsar (120.5 %), Abohar (107.4 %), Agra (90.2%), Nagpur (82.8%), Ahmedabad (69.4%), Delhi (68.9%), Chandigarh (68.5%), Dehradun (67.4%), Jaipur (64.6%) and Mumbai (63.5%).The essential vegetables incorporated in the paper are bitter gourd, Brinjal long, Brinjal round, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic, Ginger, Chilly, Okra, Onion, Peas, Potato fresh, Potato store, Tomato hybrid and Tomato local, highlights the paper. In order to tackle this type of crisis, Govt. policies should be driven at strengthening post harvest infrastructures at wholesale level and strengthening of PPP Models at retail level and promotion of SAFAL type models that will help in checking the prices of essential agro commodities at retail level. 

Compilation of around 400 B2B Portals/ Websites for Sellers & Buyers

BUYER-SELLER/ B2B/ TRADE DIRECTORY

Compilation of around 400 B2B Portals/ Websites for Sellers & Buyers

 From

CAS Agricultural Marketing Services

Chandel Agritech Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

New Delhi   

Chandelagro@gmail.com

Aloe Vera Buyers/ Traders/ Exporters/ Importers Directory

The all-new worldwide Aloe Vera Market Directory is a detailed and comprehensive reference tool developed by CAS Agril. Marketing Services department of Chandel Agritech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi listing major aloe vera product manufacturers, traders, distributors, exporters, importers, cosmetic/ pharmaceutical/ nutritional companies utilizing aloe vera as raw material, national and international organizations working in aloe vera research, trade and marketing and various trade and E-forums related to aloe vera in India and different parts of the world. Especially designed and compiled for producers, manufacturers, processors, exporters and trading firms who wish to expand national and international sales. This directory features over 400 contact addresses and links of firms/ organizations/ groups related to aloe vera in different parts of the world.

It is particularly recommended to producers/ traders of aloe vera who will find the contents of great value in their evaluating new potential business contact strategies.

 Following is the index of the directory

Contents

S.No.	Particulars	Page No.
1	INTRODUCTION – CAS	4
2	INTRODUCTION – ALOE VERA MARKET DIRECTORY	7
3	ALOE VERA TRADERS/ EXPORTERS	8
4	COMPANIES DEALING ONLY IN ALOE VERA BASED PRODUCTS	33
5	COSMETIC COMPANIES UTILIZING ALOE VERA AS RAW MATERIAL	44
6	INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES IN ALOE VERA	60
7	PHARMACEUTICAL/ NUTRITIONAL COMPANIES UTILIZING ALOE VERA AS RAW MATERIAL	88
8	NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS / E-FORUMS/ E-GROUPS RELATED TO ALOE VERA	104

Harvest & Post Harvest Losses of Fresh Produce in India

We all know that the fresh produce (especially fruits and vegetables) are prone to harvest and post harvest losses. For  many years, researchers have indicated it to the tune of 30-40 % losses. But one of the recent study (though it has been done in 2005-2007 period) by CIPHET, Ludhiana undertaken by All India Coordinated Research Project on Post Harvest Technology have quantified the losses for 46 different commodities (including F&V) where F&V contributes to the tune of 6-18 % post harvest losses. For details log on to

http://nhm.dacnet.nic.in/NCCD/PDF/Estimate-of-economic.pdf

Business and farmers: A beneficial partnership - Presentation by CAS Agribusiness Services

At one of the sessions of the “Partnering for Rural Prosperity: Farmers as Owners” business and farmers came together to discuss ways in which both can come together in mutually profitable ways.

Farmers and businesses have either often been at loggerheads, but at the conference “Partnering for Rural Prosperity: Farmers as Owners” businesses and farmers came together to discuss models where both gain and prosper. The second session of the day-long conference, “Partnerships with businesses for prosperity: towards shared business benefits in value chain a win-win situation” looked at the role businesses can have in building good supply and value chains while ensuring farmers get their share of the profit.
The session started with the need to connect corporates with farmers, keeping in mind that the corporate sector has a responsibility towards the agriculture sector and needs to step in where the government cannot act. The session tried mulling over the role corporates can play in giving farmers their due.
The panel comprised of BB Singh, GM, Business Development, Tata Chemicals; Manoj Singh, MD, Chandel Agritech Solutions; Ashmeet Kapoor, Founder & CEO, I Say Organic; Vikram Singh “ Senior Executive, SJS; Amar Singh Kafola, Farmer Director, Kincaid; and the session was moderated by Rakesh Sood from OneWorld Foundation.
During the talk, many issues came to the table, which talked about the need for more concrete ways to connect corporate bodies and farmers. BB Singh of Tata Chemicals talked about making the markets more accessible and how organisations should make it a point to know how their work is making an impact on farmers in far-flung areas.
Keeping in with this, Singh put forward his idea of making leasing of land legal in India. Currently only a few states in India have leasing of land legal, namely, Punjab, Bengal, and Maharashtra. This legality issues creates a hurdle with almost 30 per cent of the 132 million acres of farm land illegally on lease.
Manoj Singh of Chandel Agritech Solutions talked about the need to “look at farmers not as leaders but as CEOs.” For Singh, there is a need to change the way farmers think and act. He talked of aspects like upgrading knowledge and thinking of knowledge at a global level in aspects of production, technologies, post-harvest management. And using new technologies and mechanisms like Climate Smart agriculture, where apples are produced which do not need as much chilling, for instance. BB Singh also agreed to this point and pointed out to the need to use better IT technologies to ensure more profits.
The issue of skills picked up after BB Singh talked of the need for more skills development in these villages. He gave examples of projects by Tata Chemicals where employees refused to stay in far-flung areas. His solution for this was to set-up training schools, where various people are trained in myriad aspects of agriculture.
To give the other perspective, that is the urban one, Ashmeet Kapoor talked about the emerging market for organic food, especially in the big cities. Kapoor’s company “I Say Organic” is looking at increasing the consumer movement in India and ensuring farmers get more for their crops.
Kincaid’s Vikram Singh, talked of traditional supply chain set-ups and the problems they face. Singh talked of the need to take out the middle-men from the supply chains and how regulations should be out in place through which the farmers themselves can monitor. For example, he gave the instance of long term storage facilities, which would create systems which farmers can monitor themselves and transparent pricing systems through which the farmers can judge prices themselves.The talk ended a bit abruptly due to lack of time, but judging by the questions and issues raised it seemed the farmer-corporate alliance was well on its way to becoming a mutually benefitting one, if done properly.

For details: http://southasia.oneworld.net/news/business-and-farmers-a-beneficial-partnership#.UZm3aKCKnCI


 

HORTICULTURE IN INDIA – OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUROPEAN COMPANIES

HORTICULTURE IN INDIA – OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUROPEAN COMPANIES

Manoj Singh, Chandel Agritech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, chandelagro@gmail.com

Present Status of Horticulture in India

India's diverse climate ensures availability of all varieties of fresh fruits & vegetables. It ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China. As per National Horticulture Database 2011 published by National Horticulture Board, during 2010-11 India produced 74.878 million metric tonnes of fruits and 146.554 million metric tonnes of vegetables (Impressive 30 % rise during the last 5 years). The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 6.383 million hectares while vegetables were cultivated at 8.495 million hectares.

Growing of fruits, flowers and vegetables has received an impetus in India under the programme of the National Horticulture Mission. This has become a vital sector contributing 24% of India’s Agriculture GDP. India produces almost 11% of global vegetable output and 15% of global fruit production. It also ranks among the lowest cost producers of fruits and vegetables, However, the country’s share in international trade remains low — almost 1.7% in vegetables and 0.5% in fruits. Some of the major constraints faced by the horticulture sector in India are as follows:

·         Low productivity of most of horticulture crops

·         Low availability of latest varieties of fruits and vegetables

·         Dearth of good planting material

·         Outdated Agro practices / Lack of modern agro-technologies (including mechanization)

·         A weak post harvest management infrastructure for fruits & vegetables

Country	Horticulture products in temperature-controlled conditions (%)
India	2
China	15
Europe & North America	85

Source: Yes Bank

·         Poor Processing Capabilities: The level of processing perishable products is 6 % (China has got 30 %). The $70-billion Indian food processing industry is dominated by small and medium enterprises, which do not have the capacity to undertake large-scale processing of fruits and vegetables.

Advantage India from European Agribusiness Companies Perspective

Despite various factors that affect the horticulture sector in India, the country offers immense potential for various agribusiness companies in this sector due to:

Robust Demand

Rising urban and rural income has aided demand growth. According to the Mckinsey Global Institute, India's aggregate consumer spending will quadruple to $1.4 trillion by 2025 and the country is set to become the world's fifth largest economy in terms of consumption, up from twelfth place in 2010. India's per capita fruit consumption is one of the lowest in the world, with health becoming a key driver for urban consumers, there is a huge potential for growth of this sector.

Attractive Opportunities

With a Increase in horticulture production, there is a increase demand for agricultural inputs such as hybrid seeds/ quality planting material, fertilizers etc

Promising opportunities in storage capacities as adequate cold storage facilities are available for just about 10 per cent of India’s horticulture production.  There is a potential storage capacity expansion of 35 million tonnes under 11^th five year plan.

Foreign Direct Investment

FDI up to 100 per cent equity is permitted under the automatic route in food and  infrastructure like food parks and cold chains. There are many areas for investment in this sector which include mega food parks, agri-infrastructure, supply chain aggregation, logistics and cold chain infrastructure, fruit and vegetable products, animal products, meat and dairy, fisheries and seafood cereals, consumer foods/ready to eat foods, wine and beer, machinery/packaging.

FDI policy for agriculture was amended to allow 100 per cent FDI in agriculture sector including seeds, plantation, horticulture and cultivation of vegetables.

Organized Retail Space

The Indian retail industry has experienced high growth over the last decade with a noticeable shift towards organised retailing formats. On an average 10-15% of the total organized retail space is captured by imported food produce in India. Since the margin is better, so is the acceptance; Washington apples, Australian Kiwifruit, Swiss chocolates, French cheese, Italian wine & pastas, are no more a niche for the Indian shopper. As per 2010-11 Indian Import data (, Dairy (163 %), Wine (58 %), packaged food (45 %) and Fruits & Nuts (11%) have shown good growth.

Horticulture Sector (especially fruit sector) Specific Opportunities for European Companies  

1. Imported Fresh Fruits

With a rising and changing consumer demand, Imported fruit market is gathering steam. Imports of fruits and vegetables soared 70 percent to $1.6 billion during the last fiscal year ended in March 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Fruit imports have been growing at 25 percent for the last few years, according to industry estimates and are expected to double to $464 million this year ending March 31, according to government data. The demand for imported fruits is growing not just in metros (15 % growth) but in tier two and three cities of India as well at faster growth rate (25-30 %).  

As per the data of the last 3 years, amongst the imported edible fruit segment, apple, pear, frozen fruits, nuts, provisionally preserved fruits and nuts have shown consistent growth rate (Own Analysis).

One of the report by the consulting firm Belrose Inc., mentioned that over the next decade the markets of China and India could triple their international demand for Apples. The study was carried out in 16 Asian cities and looks at the potential consumption of apples, pears, kiwi and cherries, up to the year 2020. The main conclusion is that China and India will have to resort to importing considerably large numbers of products such as apples, pears and kiwis. This surge in imports is despite the fact that India imposes a 50 percent duty on apples and 33 percent for most other fruits with a view to protect local producers. India imported 188,072 tonnes of apples in 2011-12 valued at Rs. 1,044 crore — a 44% rise in value-terms and 40% in terms of volume.

2. Farm Technologies

i) Planting Material

India is now focusing on improving the productivity of the Horticultural farms. Seeds import w.r.t. vegetables and floriculture is already taking place. For further improvement in the productivity of fruits, various farms have started importing planting material from foreign companies especially for apples, pear, peaches, plums, grapes etc. One of the Italian company “Griba” have started their business operations in India recently for Import of Apple Varieties.

i) Organic Inputs for Organic Farming

With a steady annual growth of 40% on rising population, higher disposable incomes and rising health consciousness, India's organic farming industry is set to grow to Rs 10,000 cr, according to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). As per the latest data of FiBL and IFOAM, India leads in the world in terms  of number of producers (1.6 million) involved in organic farming and the leading countries by area are China (1.4 million hectares) and India (0.8 million hectares). This offers immense potential for certified organic bio-fertilizers and bio-manures companies (like  CBF China Biofertilizers AG (Germany), Novozyme (Denmark)) to expand their operations in India

ii) Farm Mechanization

With an increase in commercialization of horticulture sector in India and focus on improving the farm productivity, farm mechanization has picked up the momentum.

The Govt. of India is giving a due importance to this sector. In this regard a dedicated Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization has been proposed for the XIIth Plan which includes custom-hiring facilities for agricultural machinery as one of its major components. Companies like John Deere have initiated PPP partnerships in Gujarat as part of market expansion program. European companies can make alliance with Indian machinery manufacturers for mass production of farm automation systems. There is immense scope for the following farm machineries in India:

·         Land Preparation systems – Tractors etc.

·          Harvesting machines

·         Germination Chambers

·         Sorting, Grading machines

·         Quality control equipment

·         Packaging for bulk and retail

·          Packaging for export

·          Testing and Measurement

·          Productivity enhancement through Climate control systems

As per the latest figure of ITC, 2013, there has been consistent growth for Imported Machineries used in manufacturing of wine/ fruit juices and other horticultural machineries for the last 3 years (2009-11).

iii) Cold chain infrastructure

This has occurred due to concurrent developments in the areas of state-of-the-art cold chain infrastructure and quality assurance measures. Apart from large investment pumped in by the private sector, public sector has also taken initiatives and with APEDA's assistance several Centers for Perishable Cargoes and integrated post harvest handling facilities have been set up in the country some with the help of imported equipments. The Indian cold chain sector will expand at a faster rate in the near future. The total value of India’s cold chain industry is currently estimated at USD 3 billion and reportedly growing at an annual rate of 20-25 per cent. The total value for the industry is expected to reach at USD 8 billion by 2015 through increased investments, modernization of existing facilities, and establishment of new ventures via private and government partnerships. The Indian Govt. has accorded infrastructure status to post-harvest storage, including cold chain industry in India. Some of the foreign companies have already started their businesses in this sector in India in the areas of: 

·         Pre-Cool Chambers

·          Reefer Trucks

·          Cold Storages

·          Controlled Atmosphere Storages (European Companies like Isolcell)

·          Retailing Systems

·          Food Processing machinery

·          Food Packaging machinery

3. Fruit and vegetable extracts market

Indian fruit and vegetable extracts market is set to touch $690.5 million in 2017 from $400.5 million in 2011, according to an analysis by Frost & Sullivan. Consumers’ health consciousness and inclination towards health foods would drive the growth. During the past four years, the food and vegetable extracts market has witnessed robust growth and product types have changed rapidly based on consumer preferences. Several companies, which were selling aerated beverages, have been compelled to shift to fruit juice based products, or are selling the both simultaneously, according to the analysis by Frost & Sullivan.The report also pointed out that the booming retail sector has benefited the food processing industry, including the fruit and vegetable extract market, in India. Lack of variety and insufficient infrastructure for managing agricultural waste would hit growth rate. Raw-material storage system in India is inadequate for the projected growth in production. This offers the potential for European Machine Companies to start searching for the markets in India.

4. Capacity Building

Though India has got more than 40 Agril. Univerisities where large no. of horticultural professionals are coming out every year but the practical aspects of Post Harvest Management, Marketing and International Trading is generally lacking. In this regard, European Institutions can build the capacities of the Horticultural Professionals. Like a  joint 2+2 and 3+1 cooperation programmes 4--‐year Bachelor’s programme in International Horticulture & Market Specialization and International Agribusiness & Trade Specialization between Baramati Agricultural College (India)  and Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands). More such Institutions and Companies can work together in the area of skill building.