Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been focusing on 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 Agri Export Policy (AEP) announced by Government of India. The Agriculture Export Policy was framed with a focus on agriculture export oriented production, export promotion, better price realization to farmer and synchronization within policies and programmes of Government of India. It focuses on “Farmers’ Centric Approach” for improved income through value addition at source itself to help minimize 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 Govts. for the implementation of AEP. The statesofMaharashtra, U.P., Kerala, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan have finalized the State specific Action Plan while the action plans of other states are at different stages of finalization.  26 States & 2 UTs have nominated Nodal agencies. State level Monitoring Committees under the Chairmanship of State Chief Secretary have been formed in 18 States.

Thirteen Cluster level committees have been formed in the cluster district(s) of Potato in Punjab, U.P. (two separate districts), Isabgol in Rajasthan, Orange, Pomegranate, Grapes in Maharashtra, Banana in Tamil Nadu, Mango in U.P., Dairy products in Gujarat, U.P., Rose onion in Karnataka and Fresh vegetables in U.P.Some of the important interventions identified in consultation with local govt official and other stakeholders are required to be addressed for the development of these clusters.

It is in this perspective, APEDA has signedMoUs with specialised institutions like Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), Quality Council of India (QCI) Delhi, ICFA, SGT University and Pearl Academy on 4^th March, 2020 at its office in New Delhi to utilise their expertise by mutually working together to synergize the activities in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders. A brief about the institution and salient feature of 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 & development through its Industrial R&D Unit (IRD).

Areas of cooperation:

1. 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.
2. To identify the cause and suggest low cost mitigation technology and to develop IoT Based technologies in areas of early warning systems, efficient & precision farming related to international food exports.
3. Executive Development program for APEDA executives
4. Sharing laboratories of IITD with APEDA for research.

5.   To develop and/or improvise farm machineries for low cost, user friendly and energy efficient tools for small scale farmers.

6.   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 - Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and 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, Product Certification, Inspection, INDGAP certification, IND-GHP Certification, IND-HACCP Certification etc.

Areas of cooperation:

1. To develop training material on various QCI Certification Schemes such as INDGAP in consultation with APEDA.
2. Design and operationalize Capacity Building program in the form of workshops to disseminate the Certification Schemes such as INDGAP amongst various stakeholders across various commodities.
3. To implement INDGAP Standard and certification of required projects as per APEDA mandated species.
4. To implement the Benchmarking process as per GLOBALG.A.P. 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 agribusiness 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:

1. To work with the clusters identified by APEDA in enhancing the capabilities of various stakeholders in the supply chain for higher value realization for exports.

2. Identify the gap areas in quality and production of different exportable agricultural produce to plan and recommend effective support program to boost agricultural exports.

3. To coordinate with concerned authorities/institutes (ICAR institutions like IIHR, CISH etc) for the development of sea protocol in a time bound manner.

4. To support agri-startups in scaling up their businesses and commercializing their products and conduct capacity development programs for large scale GAP certification in agriculture.

5. To network with various trade and industry bodies to mount Indian delegations to and from the targeted countries, to help APEDA in organizing commodity specific trade events, conferences, Fruit festival, 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 Centers 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 & German Academy for Digital Education. It is committed to developing naturally confident young innovative leaders who will weave career advancement opportunities through continuous learning & development support and experience they gain.

Areas of cooperation:

1. 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.
2. 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:

1. 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.
2. Informative and promotional updates in the form of relevant text, pictures, audio, unique &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 ofagri produce,greater processing & value addition, involvement of progressive entrepreneurs and agri-startups and overall development of clusters thereby witnessing increase in  agri export from India.

 

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YB/AP

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