India Agribusiness Newsletter 
December 2003 issue

In this issue:

1.Contract farming projects may begin in  Kerala
2.Colombia Varsity's alternative medicine research award for Bangalore firm

3.17 persons in Maharashtra onion fraud case sent to custody

4. Grafted aonla used for asthma treatment.

5.Perishable food complex coming up in Kolkata.

6.New foliar spray for increasing fruit yields.

7.Polymer meshes available for sericulture units

8. Indocert's organic certification programme.

9.Stevia - herbal substitute for sugar with  business potential

10.VCS offers turnkey consultancy for 2004 safed musli cultivation

11.TANSTIA-FNF : guidance for new entrepreneurs
12.Open your sales outlet on the internet:Online agri shopping mall invites suppliers.

13.Agriculture web directory: some interesting agriculture websites.

1. Contract farming projects may begin in  Kerala

The Centre is keen on implementing contract farming in Kerala as a policy, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority(APEDA) chairman K S Money said in Kochi recently  after a meeting with exporters on the development of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) in nine districts of the State.
Contract farming was perhaps the only alternative if the farmers in the State were aiming at reaching out to a world market with their products, he said.

Small farmers would not be able to create an impact in the commercial sense unless they worked together or engaged in collective farming under a specific agreement preferably with corporates, he said.The meeting was attended by 90 participants of whom 39 were exporters.
The exporters were informed about the process of development of AEZ by Agriculture Director K R Jyotilal. The planting process of banana, pineapple and vegetables had already begun. The planting materials had been procured from the Kerala Agricultural University, he said.Discussions were held with Pepsico Holdings (India) Ltd for contract farming in pineapple. Work has been started for establishing an Agri Information System in coordination with Kissan, he said.
The Land Utilisation Act would be modified to legalise contract farming to help commercial production of exportable items, he said. Already 3,270 farmers are engaged in cultivation process for AEZ, which targets banana, pineapple and ethnic vegetables.
Sourcing of cultivated produce by exporters had started from the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Thrissur, he said.The APEDA chairman addressed the grievances of exporters in the areas of shipment of the produce. The representatives of Indian Airlines and Air India also participated in the meeting.
The main problem in exporting materials from cities in the State was cited as the increased rate of freight charges. It was pointed out that the same freight rates were being charged for exports to Maldives and Dubai irrespective of the air travel time. To the former, it takes about 15 minues and the latter takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes. The APEDA chairman assured the exporters that the airlines would be requested to standardise the freight charges. An MoU was signed between the Agriculture Department and various banks towards providing credit support to farmers and exporters included in the AEZ project.
The banks which entered into the agreement were State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India. As per the Mou, the banks would provide a credit support to the tune of Rs 1626.3 lakh during the current financial year.

2. Colombia Varsity award for Bangalore firm

The Bangalore-based Foundation for the Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition (FRLHT) has won the prestigious alternative medicine award of Columbia University for its "outstanding" role in promoting traditional medicine systems and conservation of Indian medicinal plants.
FRLHT's Director, Darshan Shankar, recieved the International Cultural Stewardship award instituted by the university's Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicines.
The citation appreciated FRLHT's development of extensive database on traditional medicine plants and complimented it for establishing a quality control and product development laboratory which is attempting to interpret traditional knowledge with aid of modern tools and for developing a national herbarium of Indian medicinal plants. In all, five awards were presented including one to Britain's Prince Charles for facilitating the implementation of integrated healthcare, combining the best of modern and ancient approaches.
Darshan Shankar said the foundation is engaged in research in both the ancient systems of medicines like Ayurveda and folk medicine.
Shankar said the government spending on Indian systems of medicines is very little compared to the allopathic system. "There is need to increase the spending on the traditional systems which could provide cheaper but equally effective alternatives," he said.

3. 17 persons in Marashtra onion fraud case sent to custody 
Seventeen persons, arrested for alleged misappropriation of funds worth lakhs of rupees in onion purchase scheme under the State government's Market Intervention scheme in Malegaon taluka, were recently remanded to judicial custody till December 20.
The CID had arrested 17 persons including former chairman of Malegaon's APMC and senior NCP activist Ratan Lathar on December 10 and 12 for their alleged involvement in the fraud of Rs 89 lakh in onion-purchasing scheme at Zodge village in Malegaon taluk.
The accused were produced before Malegaon Court before Judge Rajesh Kale on the expiry of their police custody, police said.
The alleged misappropriation in the government's scheme was unearthed in February 2000 when several farmers in Malegaon taluka had lodged complaints, leading to arrest of seventeen persons, mostly APMC office bearers.
The directors of Malegaon's APMC allegedly prepared false statements in the name of farmers, showing higher onion weight and also prepared false receipts while purchasing onions from other farmers, who later lodged a complaints with the police that there was a fraud in purchasing the onions.
Police arrested a total of 32 people in this connection, of which 17 are in judicial custody at present. The remaining persons were released on bail, police added.
 

4. Grafted aonla used for asthma treatment.

At the recent National Van Mela in Bhopal grafted aonla, three times bigger than normal Aonla, used treatment for asthma with leaves and honey was a big hit wit hthe visitors. 
In Khushi Herbal Stall asthma patients are being treated. Assistant in Khushi Herbal Stall Sanjay Marwar informed press reporters that in three days 500 patients of asthma have been treated. Asthma patients were treated by RK Gaikwad in the stall. He gives medicated honey and some herbal leaves. Two leaves are to be eaten in the morning empty stomach along with medicated honey and `Churan'. He said that he could treat asthma in 15 days. Gaikwad gives free treatment for asthma in Indore where he has treated thousands of patients.
Grafted Aonla is being sold in Anusandhan Evam Vistar Kendra, Gwalior. Officer in-charge of Anusandhan Kendra informed that in three days 2000 kgs of Aonla was sold and memorandum of understanding was signed with Medicinal Plant Board, Orissa for supply of 7500 kgs of Aonla.
Regarding the technique of preparing grafted Aonla he said that twig of good variety tree is grafted in the mother plant originated through seed. Then plants are prepared. Three varieties are prepared namely N-7, Chakai and Kanchan. Grafted plants are prepared using high tech plants.
Plants are kept in moist chamber. He said that it takes one-year to take plant from nursery for planting in field. Sharma opined that one plant goes to the field after three years and it fetches 50 kgs of big size Aonla every year.
Meanwhile due to the huge success of this National Van Mela M.P Forest Minister Dr Dhal Singh Bisen said that from the next year the Mela would be given international stature.

5. Perishable food complex to come up in  Kolkata.

The state government is planning a perishable goods cargo handling facility at the Kolkata Airport. This handling facility is expected to provide a fillip to trade in agro products and agri-business from the eastern part of the country. The state government has identified agri-business as a major thrust area and has initiated a programme to attract investments to the sector.
“Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority has already sanctioned funds for the new cargo centre in Airport. The West Bengal State Food Processing and Horticulture Development Corporation will be operating refrigerated vans to support it,” minister for food processing and horticulture Sailen Sarkar said recently. He was speaking at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce organised seminar on ‘Emerging trends in processed food and beverages’. US consul general George N Sibley who was also present at the seminar said that India should open up its agricultural sector and that the government should allow contract farming in the country. Contract farming would pave the way for an enhanced growth in the agribusiness sector in India.
This was also expected to attract foreign investment in the state. Contract firming has however received flak from political parties including the ruling Left Front in West Bengal.
The consul-general also said that US based companies were keen on investing in the eastern part of the country. The state has also initiated talks with a Philippine based company to invest in the food processing sector in the region. Although state government officials refused to divulge the entity’s name, they said that talks had made some progress and the government had received positive response from the foreign company.

6.New foliar spray for increasing fruit yields.

SIZER is a `one of its kind' natural product useful for improving size and weight of fruits and also to improve the luster and keeping quality of the fruits.  SIZER is a completely natural product containing extracts of natural waxes and cytokinins which are quickly absorbed by the plant resulting into improved cell division and overall size of the fruit.  The extract of wax is useful for improving the leaf area to give a better size and weight of the fruits.  Since the product contain extract of natural wax, one spray prior to harvesting results into better luster on fruits and improved keeping quality.
Spray ability and storage : Easily sprayable, sealed undamaged bottle has a shelf life of 3 years.  Store in cool and dry place away from sunlight. Compatibility : SIZER is compatible with all standard fertilisers and phytosanitary products with pH > 5 can be used with other promoters like Gybralic Acid without any compatibility problem. Recommended for plantation crops such as coffee, cardamom, mango, grapes, pomegranates, vegetable crops like tomato, capsicum, chilly and all other fruit crops. Tips for effective use of SIZER : * Cover the leaves, fruit and flowers till they drip,. *Use standard wetting and spreading agent in appropriate quantity.
* Spray in cooler part of the day (Early morning or late evening) Visible benefits : * Rapid growth in fruit size, uniform fruit size, early harvest.   * Unit size and weight increases considerably resulting in better yields and price. * Improved luster and better keeping quality improves price of the agro produce for exports.
For further details contact:   Mr.Girish S Soman, Director, Krushitek Pvt. Ltd. 275, Chandannagar, Addl. MIDC, Degaon Road, Satara - 415004, Tel : 02162-45438/47004 Fax : 02162-45438, Email : krushitek@vsnl.com

7.Polymer meshes available for sericulture units

Vadodara-based Netlon India, division of Parry & Co. Ltd. of the  Chennai based Murugappa Group  has introduced  a Novel product called Netrika.    These  polymer meshes are used extensively in the cultivation of silkworms.
 "Netrika" meshes have set new standards of hygiene  and productivity.   It  has several advantages over the conventional bamboo mountages.  The uniform machine-made corrugation of Netrika helps in uniform cocoon formation.  Cocoon mounted on Netrika mountages can be cleaned easily and can be reused for many harvests without posing any problems of storage or transportation.  Being non-biodegradable they have a loner life when compared to bamboo mountages.With Netrika, Netlon offers brushing meshes, cleaning meshes and rearing  tray meshes, all made of tough polymer for the sericulture farmer.
For more details contact : Deputy Manager,  Business Development, Netlon India  Division, Parry & Co. Ltd. 201/202, Regent Tower, Racecourse Circle, Vadodara - 390 007, Gujarat, Tel : 0265-312900 Email : netlon@tuflex.net

8. Indocert's organic certification programme.

INDOCERT (Indian Organic Certification Agency) is an independent, nationally accredited, nonprofit trust whose primary aim is in conducting inspections and granting certification for organic production methods. This organisation is operating in technical collaboration with FiBL (Research Institute on Organic Agriculture, Switzerland) and bio.inspecta (Swiss based organic certification agency). It started its activities in August 2002.  INDOCERT can certify any of the following areas such as; organic agricultural production, organic animal husbandry (including bee keeping), processing and trade of organic products, collections of organic products from wild areas and inputs for organic agriculture.
Key Services: Inspection and Certification - Indian National Standards 1. Inspection of individual farmers and farmer groups, tailored to the customer's needs  2. Inspection of organic production, processing and trade  3. Certification for the domestic market as per the Indian National Organic standards  Inspection and Certification - European Organic Regulation Certification for the export market according to EC 2092/91 (EU-Regulation),   re-certified by bio.inspecta (accredited EN 45011).
For more information, please contact: Mr. Mathew Sebastian,  Executive Director,  INDOCERT, Thottumugham P.O., Aluva, Ernakulam Dt., Kerala India.   PIN-- 683105 Phone + Fax: 0484-2620943/2630908/2630909/2630910.  Email: info@indocert.org, Web: http://www.indocert.org/

9. Stevia -herbal substitute for sugar with  business potential

Stevia is a sweet herb that originated in Paraguay and has been in use as an effective alternate to sugar for over 1500 years. Botanically, it is Stevia rebaudiana, a member of Compositae family, which we have named as Cheenitulasi. Having identified its versatility, nearly 50 Tons of this natural sweetener is consumed in Japan annually. The leaves of Stevia is used as a replacement for all other artificial sweetening agents. The leaves of Stevia has a sweet taste which is 30 times stronger than natural sugar but surprisingly without any calories. Hence it is named as "hypocaloric bio-sweetener". The sweetener extracted from Stevia is known as Stevioside, which is 300 times sweeter than cane sugar. The leaf of Stevia contains 15 - 20 % of Stevioside.  Read the full report here.

10.VCS offers turnkey consultancy for 2004 safed musli cultivation

Bangalore based Vadamalai Consultancy Services (VCS) enables agro entrepreneurs and progressive farmers to set up high value farming and agribusiness ventures in India. It is headquartered at Bangalore (India). The main services rendered by VCS includes: identifying viable agri business projects,identifying business partners, preparing project reports,arranging finance,conducting market studies,organising specialised seminars etc.
VCS will provide the following services:
1. Land selection and soil suitability opinion
2. Preparing project reports and arranging bank loans
3. Pre planting land preperation details
4. Supplying the best quality seed materials
5. Giving all technical guidance from planting till harvesting
6. Regular visits & supervision of the farm
7. Giving free training to your staff
8. Assisting to apply for  Govt subsidies
9. Plus arranging  100% buyback guarantee
If you are interested please click here or email us at: agriculture@vsnl.net

11.TANSTIA-FNF : guidance for new entrepreneurs

Tanstia- FNF in Chennai (India) provides helps entrepreneurs to set up new agriculture related business ventures. One of their special focus is  to tie up Indian entrepreneurs with overseas companies. The Centre has a Roster of 250 consultants with expertise in different fields. The Centre's role in the consultancy assignment is mainly identifying the right consultant, ensuring quality & cost effectiveness and offering follow up services. With the help of the panel of consultants, TFSC helps the clients with their varied requests for project report preparation, quality upgrading, industrial engineering, environment related aspects of business, market survey, financial management etc.
Some examples of TFSC's consultancy services:
-Technically helping an entrepreneur to set up a 100% export oriented unit for exporting hi-fashion horn buttons.
-Helped a client to set up a Mosquito repellent coil unit in an Industrial estate near Chennai. The unit has started its ommercial production and the product is available in the open market.
-Helped a Malaysian based client to manufacture Herbal based cosmetics - not only the formulae were worked out, but the sample products have been prepared and given to him. The client is in the process of setting up the unit in Malaysia
-Many prestigious studies and analytical reports were taken up by TFSC at the request of Export Import Bank of India, State Bank of India and other institutions.
-Helped at least twelve small industries and one medium scale industry to get ISO 9002 accreditation. Here is a recent interview we had with Ms. K. Saraswathi – Director of this institute. Click here to read this interview.

12. Open a sales outlet on the internet: Online shopping mall invites suppliers.

AgricultureInformation.com has introduced an online shopping mall to enable small growers, retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers to sell their products on the internet easily.  

Online shopping has become universal - anything you can buy at a store can now be bought online. It is estimated that by year 2005 US customers alone would be spending $104 billion buying products and services online.(IDC Research Reports).Today there is an general acceptance of the Web as an important business vehicle. The internet is currently an enormous business opportunity that you cannot ignore.Online selling has many advantages -the infrastructure costs are negligible compared to a physical store, you can display and sell your products to customers around the world, your shop is open 24 hours a day...
AgricultureInformation.com will  provide you a web based account to independently add your products for sale from anywhere in the world. It is just like having your own shop on the internet but without the bother of hosting your website,domain name registeration,website designing etc.Selling your products on the internet is more than simply having a website. You must be able to actually get the buyer to pay and order your products online.This is what we help you to achieve. By using our services there is no need for you to build expensive websites and have technical knowledge to establish your shop on the internet.

For more details please click here or email us at: support@agricultureinformation.com

13 . Agriculture web directory : interesting agriculture websites

AgricultureInformation.com's web directory provides links to th websites of  companies around the world running interesting agribusiness ventures. The following are some new sites that were added under the stevia  and vanilla category.

Stevia:      Click here to visit these sites

1. At Stevia
US supplier of stevia extracts and reference books.

2. JBB Stevia Laboratory
Japanese firm engaged in production and marketing of Stevia products

3. Stevia Canada
Canadian supplier of stevia based products for online ordering.

4. Stevia Smart
Texas firm supplying stevia products like: stevia drinks,natural stevia sweeteners,stevia rebaudiana extract,free stevia recipes etc.
 
5. Stevia.Net
Information about stevia cultivation and its uses.

6. Sweet Aloha Farms, LLC
Firm in Hawaiian Islands producing glycoside extracted from the stevia plant.

Vanilla:     Click here to visit these sites

1. Amadeus Vanilla Beans
US based supplier of gourmet vanilla beans, vanilla extracts and other vanilla products.

2. Nielsen-Massey Vanillas
Supplier of pure vanilla extract, vanilla powder, vanilla paste and organic vanilla in USA.
 
3. Palm Plantations Of Australia
Australian firm supplying vanilla beans and planting materials.

4. Sur La Table
US supplier of various vanilla based products.

5. The Vanilla Company
Supplier of vanilla extracts and vanilla beans in USA.

If you like to add a website in our directory click here.

For trade and business enquiries for various agriculture products  please visit our BULLETIN BOARD 

This newsletter is being emailed to you from Agricultureinformation.com - worldwide agriculture business portal. For any query please email:support@agricultureinformation.com . Editor: Kartik Isvarmurti .