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APEDA inks MoUs with various organisations for implementation of AEP
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Thursday, 05 March, 2020, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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The Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been focussing on a collaborative approach to bring synergy with number of organisations and institutions having inherent professional and specialised expertise in different areas for capacity building of various stakeholders and providing solutions for addressing some of the identified interventions for the development of agriculture and its export enhancement in consonance with the objectives set under the Agri Export Policy (AEP) announced by the Government of India, according to a statement issued recently by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently.
The AEP was framed with a focus on agriculture-export oriented production, export promotion, better price realisation to farmer and synchronisation within policies and programmes of the Government of India.
It focusses on a farmer-centric approach for improved income through value addition at source itself to help minimise losses across the value chain. Policy, therefore, suggests to adopt the approach of developing product specific clusters in different agro climatic zones of the country to help in dealing with various supply side issues, viz., soil nutrients management, higher productivity, adoption of market-oriented variety of crop, use of good agriculture practices, etc.
APEDA has relentlessly been engaged with state governments for the implementation of AEP. The states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan have finalised the State-specific Action Plan, while the action plans of other states are at different stages of finalisation.
Twenty-six states and two UTs (Union Territories) have nominated nodal agencies. State-level monitoring committees under the chairmanship of the state chief secretaries have been formed in 18 States.
Thirteen cluster-level committees have been formed in the cluster district(s) for potatoes in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (two separate districts), Isabgol in Rajasthan, orange, pomegranate and grapes in Maharashtra, bananas in Tamil Nadu, mangoes in Uttar Pradesh, dairy products in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, rose onion in Karnataka and fresh vegetables in Uttar Pradesh.
Some of the important interventions identified in consultation with local government officials and other stakeholders are required to be addressed for the development of these clusters.
It is in this perspective, APEDA has signed MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) with specialised institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), the Quality Council of India (QCI) Delhi, ICFA, SGT University and Pearl Academy at its office in New Delhi recently to utilise their expertise by mutually working together to synergise the activities in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders.
A brief about the institutions and salient features of the area of cooperation with each one of them is as follows:
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)
IITD is one of the premier academic institutions of the country, possessing a team of highly competent, motivated scientists/engineers, engaged in teaching and carrying out basic and industrial research of significance to develop cutting-edge technologies have agreed to pursue joint opportunities for research and development through its Industrial R&D Unit (IRD).
Areas of cooperation
- Need assessment, technology development and dissemination at cluster level identified for export promotion by APEDA, and develop early detection techniques for detecting spoilage of agri-produce to boost agri exports
- To identify the cause and suggest low-cost mitigation technology and to develop IoT- (Internet of Things) based technologies in areas of early warning systems, efficient and precision farming related to international food exports
- Executive development programme for APEDA executives
- Sharing laboratories of IITD with APEDA for research
- To develop and/or improvise farm machineries for low-cost, user-friendly and energy-efficient tools for small scale farmers
- Development of horticulture export-related protocols especially through sea transport: developing ripening indices, harvesting indices and protocols of exporting horticultural produce through sea for long-distance international markets
Quality Council of India (QCI)
QCI, set up by the Government of India in partnership with India’s leading industry bodies, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), is an independent, non-profit body has developed and launched accreditation and certification schemes for the food and agriculture sector such as Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), product certification, inspection, INDGAP certification, IND-GHP certification, IND-HACCP Certification, etc.
Areas of cooperation
- To develop training material on various QCI certification schemes such as INDGAP in consultation with APEDA
- Design and operationalise capacity building programme in the form of workshops to disseminate the certification schemes such as INDGAP amongst various stakeholders across various commodities
- To implement INDGAP standards and certification of required projects as per APEDA mandated species
- To implement the benchmarking process as per global GAP requirements
Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA)
ICFA is a society registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860, established in 2015, is an industry body working on business, policy and development agenda and serving as global platform for trade facilitation, partnerships, technology and agri-business services.
A proactive approach helps ICFA in discerning critical challenges emerging in agriculture along with creating opportunities for development, value addition and international trade to accelerate growth in food and agriculture sector globally. With its 21 industry working groups and sector specific business councils, ICFA represents the interests of key stakeholders at the national level and through its international platforms and partnerships facilitates India’s global engagement in food and agriculture sector.
Areas of cooperation
- To work with the clusters identified by APEDA in enhancing the capabilities of various stakeholders in the supply chain for higher value realisation for exports
- Identify the gap areas in quality and production of different exportable agricultural produce to plan and recommend effective support programme to boost agricultural exports
- To coordinate with concerned authorities/institutes (ICAR institutions like IIHR, CISH, etc.) for the development of sea protocol in a time-bound manner
- To support agri-startups in scaling up their businesses and commercialising their products and conduct capacity development programmes for large-scale GAP certification in agriculture
- To network with various trade and industry bodies to mount Indian delegations to and from the targeted countries, to help APEDA in organising commodity-specific trade events, conferences, fruit festivals and exhibitions in India or in other countries
Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University (SGT)
SGT University came into existence by the Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Act No 8 of 2013. With a firm step forward to attain academic excellence, several centres of excellence, laboratories, incubation cell, and industry-academia associations have been set up at the SGT University in association with global leaders.
The university has associations with corporate giants such as Apple, Laerdal-Jhpiego, SAP NextGen, UNESCO Bioethics, IBM, Oracle, University of California -Berkley, Nobel Biocare, Trimble, Intel, NSE, Tally India, OISTAT, SMC India, CIMA and German Academy for Digital Education.
It is committed to developing naturally confident young innovative leaders who will weave career advancement opportunities through continuous learning and development support and experience they gain.
Areas of cooperation
Develop suitable export worthy varieties of potatoes, groundnut, high TSS onion varieties, Moringa plantation, etc. for successful cultivation in Haryana, etc. through a pilot project at SGT University agricultural fields.
To work in partnership to develop disease-resistant and drought resistant varieties of crops
Pearl Academy
Pearl Academy, India’s leading institution in design, fashion, and media, has been a catalyst for success of the students across creative industries for 26 years. The institution offers over 30 uniquely designed under-graduate, post-graduate and professional development programmes through its campuses in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur and Mumbai.
Since its inception in 1993, the academy has evolved into a globally renowned institution of higher learning with a focus on internationalism; entrepreneurship and employability; catering to the needs of business and retail industry.
Pearl Academy has metamorphosed into an industry leader that develops courses with a pulse on the needs of the entire spectrum of the industry, and is a pioneer in the Indian market, combining hybrid blended learning and real-time lectures in a structured manner, thus making learning more effective and engaging.
Areas of cooperation
Develop appropriate media and marketing strategies for promotion of agriculture and processed food export through digital marketing, content creation and social media support, photo shoots promotion campaign, etc.
Informative and promotional updates in the form of relevant text, pictures, audio, unique and interactive content, interviews, news, quiz, etc.
Signing of these MoUs is expected to bring skill enhancement of various stakeholders, use of technology in agri farming, improved production and quality upgradation of agri produce, greater processing and value addition, involvement of progressive entrepreneurs and agri-start-ups and overall development of clusters, thereby witnessing an increase in agri export from India.
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