The survey showed: a) Finger millet is the most commonly cultivated and consumed millet in Koraput district, b) Local processing is limited to household-level dehusking/cleaning and at the most, grinding to a flour, c) The whole grain is more commonly marketed, with limited value adding due to the lack of processing infrastructure, d) Though consumers have high preference for millet-based products, they have limited access to value-added products such as millet flakes or millet-based Ready-to-cook (RTC) or Ready-to-eat (RTE) products.

With support from the Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM), AIP is aiming to strengthen the millet value chains in the state to improve rural livelihoods by establishing millet processing units that can in turn foster sustainable local entrepreneurship and promote health and nutrition of the local communities.

These processing units licensed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will have efficient processing equipment (RTC dry mix processing line and a bakery line) to enable localized production of “Nutri-Food products”. AIP-ICRISAT’s first unit is being established in the Semiliguda block of Koraput district. Similar millet processing units are being planned for other millet-growing districts of the state.

Ms Susmita Samantaray, District Project Manager (DPM), OLM, Koraput, said, “High nutritional value is hidden in millets, especially finger millet grown in the tribal areas of Koraput. To attract the younger generations to continue growing finger millet and other millets, this initiative of OLM to strengthen the finger millet value chain in Koraput is a very significant initiative.”

AIP’s first-hand experience with similar interventions in southern India has shown that local enterprises are effective forces of change as they work hand-in-hand with public sector agencies to organize and channel resources to smallholder farmers. In the best of cases, local enterprises have proven to shape the trajectory of an entire industry. With some creative thinking, collaborative partnerships and a great deal of hard work, better livelihood opportunities can be a reality for thousands of beneficiaries in the target districts of Odisha. Thus, the proposed intervention is aimed at enhancing the sustainability and resilience of tribal households to: realize optimum price for their produce without the compulsion of selling immediately at meager rates, enhanced income through access to technology value adding and market linkages.

In addition, a capacity building program “Nutrition and value addition to Ragi (Finger Millet) grown in Koraput” was conducted by AIP-ICRISAT on 8 October 2021 for 35 members of the local “Viswa Durgeswar” self-help group from Rajput gram panchayat. These members will be involved in managing and operating the processing unit being established at Koraput.

“This is the first of a series of trainings to be conducted as part of the OLM-funded initiative to enhance tribal farmers’ incomes by establishing small business enterprises and linking them to markets,” said Dr Saikat Datta Mazumdar, COO, NutriPlus Knowledge Program. He also highlighted that ICRISAT is recognized by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, as a Center of Excellence for Tribal Development.

The training program focused on following aspects: Importance of nutrition and dietary diversity; concept and principles of health, hygiene and food safety; value addition to ragi through product development and local processing; details on plan and layout of the ragi processing unit being established by AIP-ICRISAT at Koraput; key aspects of processing of ragi-based food products and FSSAI regulations; nutritional quality and marketing aspects of ragi-based food products.

The trainees learned about the nutritional importance of ragi-based products such as upma mix, khichdi mix, sweet mix, malt powder, idli mix, dosa mix and cookies developed by NutriPlus Knowledge Program of AIP- ICRISAT. The program also included a demonstration of RTC food products, followed by a tasting. All participants were provided detailed training manuals on the above aspects and hands-on training on preparation of the products as per the FSSAI protocols. Feedback from the group was positive, including that from mothers who appreciated the health benefits and convenience of cooking of the ragi-based RTC products.

Ms Priyanka Durgalla, Senior Scientific Officer, and Mr Harshvardhan Mane, Officer-Partnership Development, from ICRISAT, conducted the training program. The district project team of Dr Aviraj Datta, District Project Coordinator, Koraput; Ms Sucharita, Scientific Officer, ICRISAT; Mr Manoj Kumar Lima, Research Technician, ICRISAT; OLM officials Mrs Mansi Batra, Ms Bindya Guntha, MBK, Rajput; Mr Divyendu (YP), Mr Amit, Mr Karunakar, BPM, Semiliguda; Mr Pradip Kumar Mishra and his team from Foundation for Ecological Security (FES); Mr Abhisek Pradhan, Scientific Officer, AVRDC, participated actively in the program.

Project: Sustainable improvement of rural livelihood and restoration of coconut-based livelihood through specific science-based interventions
Component 7: Establishment of FSSAI licensed Food Processing Unit to foster localized value addition of local produce leading to local Entrepreneurship
Partners: Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Odisha
Funder: Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM)
CGIAR Research Program: Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC)

This article was featured in ICRISAT Happenings #1931

“The food products being produced in these units have very good nutritive values. Both children and adults can consume them. These will be supplied to children in schools, ashram schools and anganwadi^* centres to keep them healthy and help them grow. Plus, the units are providing employment to tribal women,” the minister said during the inauguration.

ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) established the unit in collaboration with partners and has implemented two other programs as part of the collaboration – Nutri-Food Basket program (March 2017) and Giri Poshana (September 2018). The collaboration aims to transform tribal women into entrepreneurs, localize production and address malnutrition. Accordingly, 80 tribal women farmers from Bhadrachalam, Utnoor and Eturnagaram in Telangana were trained by ICRISAT in Hyderabad. After training, ICRISAT helped the women form Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) to manage the food processing units. With the latest opening, four food processing units of this type have been opened in Telangana.

The women will produce hygienically packed, safe and nutritious foods in the units, which are designed and equipped with machinery as per guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The food products will be sold under the Girijan Co-operative Corporation (GCC) brand as well as in the open market.

“ICRISAT cherishes the successful partnership with the Department of Tribal Welfare in this significant move towards women empowerment. This project has leveraged locally available nutritious dryland crops to support the economic independence of tribal women while ensuring means of nutrition for their communities,” said Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT.

The project brings together key aspects of ICRISAT’s mandate: nutrition, food safety, sustaining small businesses and gender equity. Turning dryland crops that are locally available and consumed into healthy smart food products helps promote dietary diversity, address malnutrition and create sustainable livelihoods. The project also spurs creation of local value chains that are key to making vulnerable communities sustainable, especially post COVID-19. To continue empowering Telangana’s tribal communities, more food processing units will be established and the communities will be supported to run them.

“The ready-to-cook Jowar (sorghum) meal (Upma mix) and ready-to-cook multigrain meal (Khichidi mix) made in the dry mix unit provide balanced nutrition and energy through local nutritious crops such as millets and pulses. The ready-to-cook format is convenient for cooking in anganwadis and homes, and the foods have been an emergency ration during COVID-19 lockdown,” Dr Saikat Datta Majumdar, Chief Operating Officer, NutriPlus Knowledge (NPK) Program, ICRISAT.”

“Equipped with state-of-the-art leaf cleaning, drying and packing equipment, the moringa powder processing unit will produce high quality powder from moringa leaves grown by the tribal community without fertilizers or pesticides. The moringa powder will be marketed as a health supplement. Moringa is said to provide as much as seven times the vitamin C in orange, 10 times the vitamin A in carrot, 17 times the calcium in milk besides being a rich source of potassium, iron and protein. The unit will thus provide substantial value addition to locally grown moringa and bring additional income for farmers in the area,” he added.

Project: Setting up of eight processing units in ITDAs of Utnoor, Eturnagaram and Bhadrachalam through Joint Liability Groups (JLs) of Telangana.
Partners: Integrated Tribal Development Agencies, Tribal Women-led Joint Liability Groups, Girijan Cooperative Society, Anganwadis (Ministry of Women and Child Development) and ICRISAT
Funders: Department of Tribal Welfare, Government of Telangana
CGIAR Research Program: Grain Legumes and Dryland Cereals (GLDC)

This article was featured in ICRISAT Happenings #1892

“This round of funding will be used to further enhance product features and scale up operations to newer states in India. Our unique product offering has been well accepted by farmers on a large scale. We are among the few agri-tech companies in India that have been able to monetize advisory at scale, that too digitally, with over 43,000 farmers using our premium service package,” said Mr Siddharth Dialani, CEO and Co-Founder of BharatAgri.

Founded in 2017 by Ms Sai Gole and Mr Dialani, alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, BharatAgri offers farmers season-long plans that are customized to the crop and field conditions to improve farm yield and quality of produce. The plans include real-time actionable insights that cater to weather-related changes during the season, backed by data science and real-time monitoring using satellite imaging.

“It is heartening news when agtech start-ups win investor trust. Farmers and agriculture in the drylands need all the support they can get and organizations like BharatAgri have a critical role to play. Such developments attract youth to agriculture to solve problems, bridge gaps and create opportunities to increase incomes and improve livelihoods,” said Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT.

BharatAgri has a user base of over 400,000 farmers in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It offers both free and premium paid services. Besides advisories, premium users get annual soil and water quality checks. The users can use BharatAgri to connect with the market and access other value chain essentials like inputs, machinery, insurance, etc. In terms of impact, farmers have seen over a 40% increase in yield and a significant reduction in costs, the organization claims.

“ABI-ICRISAT accepted us in 2017 into their program and we got very good support from their team in research work guidance, access to facilities for experiments, and our discussions on various issues and ideas ranging from revenue model to field trials that helped to grow the company,” Mr Dialani said. ABI-ICRISAT was also the incubation partner for BharatAgri when it was selected for the Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) of Biotechnology Industrial Research & Action Council (BIRAC). Dr Harikishan Sudini was the scientist-mentor from ICRISAT for this project that involved the development of algorithms for pest and disease detection in groundnut.

The robustness of the start-up’s model was proven when the organization emerged from challenges in the initial weeks of COVID-19 lockdown with digital campaigns to help farmers with harvesting schedules and connect them to leading farm-to-market companies. Its 21 Jugaad (21 Smart Tips) to fight pests and nutrient deficiencies using home remedies and live Shetishalas (agri-school) on the BharatAgri app helped keep operations running while supporting farmers in preparing for Kharif 2020. The efforts resulted in an increase in premium subscriptions during the period.

“We are very happy for the BharatAgri team. It has been phenomenal to see their growth since inception. This is a testament to their business model and trust established with farmers. We will continue to support BharatAgri in their scaling-up journey to equip smallholder farmers with tools and knowledge to address various challenges in the sector and beyond,” said Dr Kiran K Sharma, Head of ABI-ICRISAT and Deputy Director General-Research, ICRISAT.

021 Capital is backed by noted entrepreneur Mr Binny Bansal. BharatAgri’s existing investors Better Capital and Mr Ajay Prabhu (COO, Quest Global) also participated in this funding round.

This article was posted in ICRISAT Happenings # 1882, 27 November 2020

Computers, satellites, sensors, automated machines, Internet of Things (IoT), drones and a wide range of technologies allow us to reach levels of precision that were unimaginable a few years ago. Key to driving innovation in smart agriculture is the ability to enable researchers, scholars and innovators to access up to date information and research partnerships.

With India’s focus on smart agriculture, it is critical that researchers and innovators understand the current trends in agricultural innovation. When compared with journals or publications, patent databases are much more advanced and informative. “At the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell at ICRISAT (IPFC), we always advise researchers to refer to patent literature search for latest information while writing a thesis or a proposal, in addition to manuscripts and journals,” said Dr Surya Mani Tripathi, Legal Counsel at ICRISAT.

Patent databases give researchers access to patents documents that can help them learn more about innovations or options to replicate them. “A patent document contains all the technical, legal and business information pertaining to the innovation,” said Mr Ricardo Oltra Garcia, Team Manager – Operations, European Patent Office (EPO).

• The technical information included in patent documents are linked to each other that allow to access everything around that innovation or field of technology.
• The legal information includes the scope of claims that describe the legal scope of the patent, that is, which part of the innovation has been covered by the particular patent and which isn’t.
• The business information includes who the applicant is, companies that are investing in it and allows one to track trends.

Another big advantage of a patent database is the access to global patent information. Patent landscapes help to see and forecast trends in innovations and help build global partnerships. Patent landscapes also help organizations take informed decisions about their IP strategy.

Espacenet

“This is where the European Patent Office comes in. It has the largest patent database in the world, it has over 120 million documents available free of charge via its tool Espacenet,” said Mr Gerard Owens, Country Coordinator, EPO. All patent information in Espacenet is classified, indexed and easily searchable. Espacenet is linked to another free tool called Patent Translate that helps to translate from English to 33 other languages. It is interesting to note that India happens to be the sixth largest user of Espacenet. Ms Ankita Tyagi, Senior Manager IP, European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC) demonstrated how the Espacenet website works and the various features it includes.

The webinar was jointly organized by the EPO, EBTC and IPFC at AIP of ICRISAT on 10 November 2020. A total of 125 participants including scientists, researchers, and innovators took part in the webinar.

Source: ICRISAT Happenings | 21 Nov 2020 | #1881

Dr Neeti Wilson, a subject expert and partner at the law firm Anand & Anand, and Dr Surya Mani Tripathi, legal counsel at ICRISAT, took the participants through each step in the plant variety registration process during the webinar, which was moderated by Ms Ankita Tyagi, Senior Manager IP, European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC).

Dr Wilson began described the legal scenario and legislative framework for plant protection in the country. She emphasized that, besides the rules and regulations, there were several public notices issued by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FR Authority), Government of India. Some of these public notices include regulations and must be paid close attention to. “For example, last year a public notice was issued on hybrid varieties as to why the hybrids would be registered in a combined manner with their parent line so the notices are very important when we are looking at plant protection variety in India,” Dr Wilson added.

Preparing to file plant variety protection application

Dr Wilson described the criteria for a plant variety to be registered under the PPVFR Act. Currently there are 4,098 registered varieties under the PPVFR Act and 158 species up for registration. She noted that Indian legislative framework was still ‘young’ and evolving in phases. This is because India is developing testing guidelines for each species and that process is time-consuming.

The speakers discussed various milestones in the registration process, noting that the process begins two years before the actual application. They also provided a brief overview on the gamut of applications, forms and fees that need to be planned for, and addressed for a registering a new plant variety. For the pre-application phase, collating all the information on the breeding history and data related to uniformity and stability is a very critical part. “Apart from the forms, the statement of distinctness is the most critical aspect of the application process. This is statement that compares your plant variety with other varieties and shows distinct traits with the support of declarations you submit,” said Dr Wilson.

Plant variety registration procedure

The registration of a plant variety contains four main processes and each process has several steps. The process begins with the application to the Registrar, PPV&FR Authority. “While registration seems looks long and confusing, it can get easier once you become familiar with the processes,” Dr Wilson said. The details of the registration process, the testing phase and the validity of the certificate were also discussed during the webinar.

This webinar, part of a series jointly organized by the European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC) and the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC) at AIP of ICRISAT, was organized on 30 October 2020. A total of 240 participants including scientists, researchers, breeders and farmers took part in the webinar.

A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.

This food processing unit is part of a successful collaboration between the Tribal Cooperative Finance Corporation Limited (TRICOR), Tribal Welfare Department of Telangana State, Government of India’s Ministry of Tribal Affairs and ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP). This collaboration aims to localize production and address malnutrition, besides improving economic conditions of tribal communities.

“I am delighted to inaugurate the Komaram Bheem Peanut Chikki Industries in Utnoor today. This unit is a testament to Telangana government’s commitment to development and welfare of tribal populations in the state. That the unit is owned and run by women is another reason for celebration,” the minister said.

Mr. Indrakaran Reddy and Ms. Ajmera Rekha inaugurate the unit.

The food processing unit is designed and equipped with machinery as per Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines. It will ensure production of nutritious food products meeting national and international market standards. ICRISAT has trained 80 tribal women farmers from Utnoor, Eturnagaram and Bhadrachalam in Telangana to manage food processing units that are being set up in these blocks.

The training covered food safety management systems, machine operations and maintenance, and quality control. The women will produce hygienically packed, safe and nutritious foods for their communities. ICRISAT has enabled the women to form Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) to manage the food processing units.

“This is a great example of the values that form the basis of ICRISAT’s work – empowering women and the less privileged. Such success is only possible through partnership, and working with the Department of Tribal Welfare has been a wonderful opportunity and their leadership is greatly appreciated,” said Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT.

This project brings together key aspects of ICRISAT’s mandate: nutrition, food safety, sustainable small businesses and gender equity. The project has leveraged locally available dryland crops to create healthy value-added Smart Food products that promote dietary diversity and in the long run address malnutrition in vulnerable communities.

“ICRISAT will continue to support the project towards sustainably scaling up this unique initiative to promote economic independence of tribal women and ensuring the nutritional security of their communities,” said Dr Kiran K Sharma, Deputy Director General-Research, ICRISAT.

The project trains tribal women to be “Nutrition Entrepreneurs” and is critical to ensure evolution of local value chains around local food production and consumption to make vulnerable tribal communities sustainable, especially post COVID-19. Going forward, this initiative will empower tribal communities by establishing more units and build their capacity to run the units in a sustainable manner, contributing towards not only health and nutrition, but sustainable livelihoods as well.

A recently initiated end-line survey concluded the first phase of the intervention in Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs) of Bhadrachalam and Eturnagaram.

Before start of the program, a baseline survey showed that a quarter of the children in the surveyed group were stunted and wasted while a similar number of pregnant women were anemic.

To promote dietary diversity and ultimately improve nutritional outcomes, ICRISAT designed and implemented the diet intervention program by providing a combination of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat meals to 7,400 children and women attending 416 Anganwadi centers (childcare centers in rural India where mothers are also involved) in the three ITDA areas. The meals include multigrain meal, sorghum (jowar) meal, multigrain sweet meal, nutri-cookies, energy bar and Jowar Bytes (a sorghum snack).

The supplemental food that was introduced in Telangana to combat malnutrition. Photo: ICRISAT

Dr Saikat Datta Mazumdar, Chief Operations Officer, NutriPlus Knowledge (NPK) Program, which is a part of ICRISAT’s Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP), stated, “We found that children aged 3 to 6 in the target group were improving their wasting (low weight-for-age) and stunting (low height-for-age) scores. The percentage of mildly anemic pregnant women was also reduced significantly. This was observed during a midline survey of the project beneficiaries in January this year.”

“I was unable to go to the Anganwadi center or the market due to the lockdown. So, we got the Giri Poshana food as take-home ration. Every day, I serve the food to my children. It is nutritious and keeps them healthy,” said Ms Sudi Gowthami, mother of a Giri Poshana beneficiary from Bhadrachalam.

After COVID-19 hit and lockdown began, the ready-to-cook foods were replaced with ready-to-eat foods (ragi jaggery cookies, peanut fried gram chikki and millet flakes mixture) in order to continue the feeding program.

“Children are having holidays due to the pandemic. Ravva (semolina), sweet meal and peanut chikki was delivered to our homes directly. Our children are healthy and gaining weight,” said Ms Choulam Ramadhevi, a mother of beneficiary children in Kannaigudem village.

Ms Ramadevi, a pregnant woman in Allapally block who used to attend the Raipadu Anganwadi center, said that the nutritious food has helped remain healthy during pregnancy. “There are six types of food viz. khichidi (porridge), sweet meal, peanut chikki, jowar kukure (crisps) and multigrain cookies. I gained weight and health by eating them. Cooking instructions for each type were explained by the Anganwadi teacher,” she said.

Foods for the intervention were developed based on consumption and cooking preferences, ease of production, ease of handling and distribution especially in emergency/pandemic situations. The need for products with enhanced shelf lives in remote tribal locations and availability of crops locally to ensure that the tribal communities are self-reliant in producing these foods also guided the development of the meals.

With the intervention showing improvement in dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes among tribal children and women, the Department of Tribal Welfare, Government of Telangana, and ICRISAT have now planned to scale up the intervention to cover additional populations in the ITDA areas. ICRISAT is also operationalizing eight food processing units to be run as sustainable business enterprises by tribal women-led collectives in the ITDAs to locally produce and supply these nutritious foods as part of its scale-up strategy.

For more on our work in the area of nutrition, click here.

This article was first published in ICRISAT Happenings October 23, 2020.

The journal will start publishing DUS data from its August issue. “The passport information in the journal will provide a hyperlink that can be used to check DUS data online. The photographs will also be published,” Dr Nagarathna said. She was speaking at a webinar organised by the European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC) and the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC) at AIP of ICRISAT on ‘Legal framework for Protection of Plant varieties in India: Challenges and Opportunities’.

Speakers at the webinar introduced Indian law governing intellectual property in crops research, focusing on the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (PPVFR). They also stressed the importance of registering varieties – both extant and new – to safeguard intellectual property rights. Practitioners of IP law, the regulatory authority, and researchers participated in this first-in-a-series webinar.

Dr Kalpana Sastry, a well-known researcher from the ICAR system who has worked extensively with scientists and entrepreneurs noted pendency in clearing registration applications and lack of awareness of legal rights and guarantees among farmers as challenges faced by users, specifically public sector institutions.

Dr Neeti Wilson, a lawyer specializing in IP management and a partner at the law firm Anand & Anand, provided an overview of international treaties and laws. She discussed CBD, TRIPS, ITPGRFA and statutes in Indian legal system for IP management with respect to plant varieties, farmers’ and breeders’ rights. Dr Wilson noted that the 15-day period given by the Plant Variety Authority to respond to queries raised is often inadequate for scientists or institutions. She recommended a reconsideration of timelines during the application filing process.

Dr Nagarathna noted that a new time-targeted system has been implemented after September 2018 which has expedited the registration process. The new system has helped clear applications faster in the last two years and has also reduced pendency, she said. She added that the government will soon roll out an online system for filing applications which will help expedite the process.

A panel discussion followed the presentations. Dr Surya Mani Tripathi, Legal Counsel, ICRISAT, and Ms Hana Onderkova, Head, IP, EBTC, moderated the discussion. Dr Tripathi highlighted matters including infringement while discussing rights under PPVFR. Dr Wilson noted that in case of infringement, all data and evidence of infringement should be gathered. Having up-to-date certification and testing data, including a DNA test and other lab tests results, is useful to counter infringement, she said.

Other takeaways from the webinar:

• The deadline for sending applications for registration has been extended by three months (until October 2020) due to the pandemic.
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the PPVFR website were updated in the last week of August. They are now open to public.
• To protect the interest of plant breeder, the Plant Protection Authority has provided provisional protection for breeders for the period between date of application and date of grant.
• DNA fingerprinting is now added to the DUS testing of a plant variety along with the regular field testing protocols.
• PPVFR’s has revised its focus on Post-PVP registration scenario, including plans to assist commercialisation and bring monetary benefits to the registered varieties.

A recording of the webinar can be viewed here . 

Incubated at the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) and the iHub at ICRISAT, the startups recently showcased technology-backed solutions for Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) management systems, last-mile digital learning and extension services, personalized crop advisories and management, agribusiness convergence platforms, on-demand farm machinery and service management, optimized fertilizer application units to reduce input costs and impact on the environment, deep learning solutions for quality check at farm-gate and low-cost community-owned post-harvest processing units for value addition. The technologies and business ideas were presented through an online showcase event, which had 68 participants including Chief Executive Officers of FPOs, agencies promoting FPOs, civil society organizations, banking institutions and corporates from 17 states of India.

With their forays into new technologies, startups are favorably positioned to help farmers and farmer collectives, and with the right support, FPOs can significantly benefit their members. AGNIi is looking to bringing the two together in a relevant and timely manner, providing institutional support and ensuring sustained connect. AGNIi is India’s Technology Commercialization Initiative and is executed by Invest India, the India’s Investment Promotion Agency.

Collectivization models such as FPOs have long been considered a potential solution for addressing challenges such as low rate of technology adoption, lack of access to quality inputs, inadequate farming and extension services, lack of capital and business avenues, poor post-harvest infrastructure, and low market efficiency.

India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) notes that there are over 6,000 FPOs in India. However, there are challenges with the FPO model and, as noted by NABARD, most of them need extensive handholding of its management teams, improved access to capital and infrastructure, risk mitigation strategies as well as continuous market support to take off and sustain operations to benefit its farmer members. These issues need to be addressed quickly, given the government’s plans for setting up another 10,000 FPOs in the coming five years. In the short term, functioning FPOs are better poised to scale up operations through the recently announced major agricultural market reforms and the US$ 14 billion funding to support infrastructure development at the farm-gate and aggregation points.

“Effective solutions to the troubles of small farms like lack of mechanization support, access to credit or markets, extension services and other support services like access to quality inputs, is easier to provide to farmer collectives. However, FPOs need help and at scale to avail such support,” said Aneesha Bali, Lead – Institutions & Partnerships at NAFPO, a non-profit, multi-stakeholder owned platform that supports institutional development and business stabilization of FPOs.

“FPOs and startups have gained a lot of attention, especially in the past few months, for their potential to address smallholder farm challenges and spur rural economic growth,” said Jonathan Philroy, Manager at ABI-ICRISAT, which has supported 104 ag-tech startups so far.

“COVID-19 has been a test for both sets of organizations. However, in the present crisis, startups have shown that they can contribute to making the value chain more resilient. Our incubatees have already provided FPOs and their members in Telangana with affordable solutions to their problems. Connecting them with FPOs and FPO-promoting agencies across India was the next step, which was made possible with the support of AGNIi-Invest India and NAFPO,” Jonathan added.

In the recent event, each startup received, on an average, 17 expressions of interest, mainly for product orders, pilots in new locations, business development and funding, and rural development project partnerships. Discussions are underway to cement collaborations and deploy technology solutions in the field. Another event is expected to be held later this year featuring a second set of incubatees.

Featured startups

• BharatAgri: Supporting farmers with customized advisory solutions
• Distinct Horizon: Fertilizer deep placement to reduce costs and improve the environment
• Intello Labs: Deep learning solutions to assess the quality of farm produce
• Farmringg: SMART platform offering a one-stop solution for all farming needs
• Kalgudi: Agribusiness convergence platform
• Kuza: Taking digital agri-extension to the last mile
• Perfura: Creating value-addition opportunities at the farm-gate
• eFresh: Digital transformation for efficient management of FPOs

An Anganwadi teacher providing Giri Poshana food to beneficiaries at their homes in Sarvai Village, Eturunagaram, Telangana

To ensure nutrition sufficiency in children, pregnant women and lactating mothers of tribal communities in Telangana, India, during times of lockdown, ready-to-eat foods containing millets, sorghum and pulses produced by ICRISAT are being provided at their doorstep.

“The food products are scientifically formulated to promote dietary diversity and are produced using locally available nutritious millets and protein rich pulses. These foods are also rich sources of dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and bioactives beneficial for boosting immunity and keeping the tribal population healthy,” said Dr Saikat Datta Mazumdar, Chief Operating Officer of the NutriPlus Knowledge (NPK) Program at ICRISAT’s Agribusiness Innovation Platform.

The foods are distributed under Giri Poshana, an initiative in which ICRISAT and Tribal Welfare Department of Telangana State have been collaborating to improve dietary diversity and nutritional status of tribal populations. The initiative targets beneficiaries in three Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDAs) of Utnoor (Adilabad district), Eturnagaram (Jayshankar Bhupalpally district) and Bhadrachalam (Bhadradri Kothagudem district) of Telangana.

The local farmers are also benefited as they now have demand for their crops, he added.

The initiative, which began in 2019, was being implemented through select Anganwadi centers (community centers for education, health and other purposes) in the ITDAs. The beneficiaries were being provided three ready-to-cook and three ready-to-eat products as supplementary food, served as breakfast and evening snack, in addition to the governments ICDS mid-day meals. However, after COVID hit and lockdown was imposed, the Anganwadi centers closed and nutrition of the beneficiaries became a matter of concern until the program team worked to change the model of implementation.

“The team has explored different ready-to-eat products from dryland crops, which can replace the ready-to-cook products so that the beneficiaries can easily consume at their households without the need for much cooking. While identifying the products, it was ensured that nutritional values of the new food products are similar to the ready-to-cook products, which have been temporarily discontinued during lockdown,” Dr Mazumdar explained.

Accordingly, millet flakes mixture, peanut – fried gram chikki (energy bar) and ragi (finger millet)-jaggery cookies were added to three other ready-to-eat foods – Energy (Peanut) bar, Nutri-Cookies and Jowar bytes. In April and May, 2020, 7421 beneficiaries received Giri Poshana food, which is being distributed by Anganwadi teachers at the doorsteps of beneficiaries.

Beneficiaries and the teachers are also being sensitized about nutrition and hygiene through instructional videos and brochures. “They are eating on time and are eating healthy food. In the lockdown, it was difficult for us to go to the market and buy food. Also, children liked eating this food and as a mother it is assuring,” Ms Sudi Gowthami, a mother of a beneficiary child in Bhadrachalam, said.

Further, eight food processing units in ITDA areas managed by tribal women-led Joint Liability Groups (JLGs), will soon become operational to produce nutritious convenience foods using locally grown crops. This move is also set to boost local employment while ensuring healthy food supply. The construction of these units has been nearly completed in all the three ITDA locations and a few of them have commenced dry runs.

Pointing to capacity building of 75 tribal women to be “Nutrition Entrepreneurs”, Dr Mazumdar argues for urgent evolution of local value chains around local food production, local value addition and local consumption to make vulnerable tribal communities sustainable post-COVID. Post restrictions when the threat from virus is better manageable, tribal women, with their newly acquired skillsets in the areas of food processing, food safety and business development, would be ready to start their enterprises and promote local dryland crops while contributing to building of healthier tribal communities, he added.