Teacher's Day Celebration in Tharu Tribe of West Champaran |Bagahi Sakhuwani |Ramnagar Block|Bihar

Teacher's Day Celebration in Tharu Tribe of West Champaran |Bagahi Sakhuwani |Ramnagar Block|Bihar

UNDP India Partners with NABARD to Boost Data-driven Innovations in Agriculture

         UNDP India Partners with NABARD to Boost 

           Data-driven Innovations in Agriculture  

  

[The partnership will support smallholder farmers to adopt climate-resilient agriculture practices by sharing open-source data for product creation and technology transfer.]   

Team UNDP and NABARD at the MOU Signing Event

  

 

 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 12th September 2023 in New Delhi to co-create data-driven innovations in agriculture and food systems to support smallholder farmers. Under this MoU, both organizations will work to improve the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers by sharing open-source data for product development, transfer of technology and supporting the framing of agrarian policies.    

  

The MoU was signed by Chief General Manager of NABARD, Mr. Sanjeev Rohilla, and UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Ms. Isabelle Tschan. Under the MoU, UNDP will leverage its expertise in open innovations, data collaboratives, data science approaches and global know-how for supporting NABARD’s agenda of embedding data-driven decision-making in agriculture investments.   

  

The partnership includes enhancing and disseminating collaborative digital public goods like DiCRA (Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture). DiCRA is a collaborative digital public good which provides open access to key geospatial datasets pertinent to climate resilient agriculture. DiCRA, which is curated by UNDP and partner organizations to inform public investments in agriculture, already provides intelligence on climate resilience for 50 million hectares of farmland across India. By partnering for enhancing and scaling its use, NABARD will host and maintain the DiCRA platform and use its key geospatial datasets for policy making, research and development activities, with UNDP's technical support.    

  

This five-year technical cooperation is envisaged to foster collective climate action, create innovative platforms and new product offerings to enhance economic empowerment in rural India. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shaji KV, Chairman of NABARD, said, “NABARD is extremely excited about this collaboration with UNDP. This opens a sea of opportunities for the two organizations to leverage data and present it as a digital public infrastructure for the vast rural Indian community of farmers. We are looking forward to deeper ties with UNDP as we progress, and this MoU is a step towards in this direction.”  

  

Ms Isabelle Tschan, Deputy Resident Representative,  UNDP India  and 
Mr Sanjeev Rohilla, Chief General Manager, NABARD Signed the Document

Reaffirming UNDP’s commitment, Ms. Isabelle Tschan, Deputy Resident Representative said, “Agriculture is the largest source of livelihoods in India employing 80% of rural women who are more vulnerable to climate change. DiCRA uses cutting edge data science and machine learning to identify farms that are resilient to climate change and those that are highly vulnerable. Such open data innovations can highlight best practices, optimize agriculture investments and shelter populations from risk. The collaboration with NABARD will strengthen our support to build sustainable agricultural practices and secure livelihoods reducing the vulnerability of small farm holders, especially women." 

The partnership will also help analyze agricultural trends over time to inform decisions about investments in various areas like watershed management, micro-irrigation, warehouse optimization, and climate-related initiatives, enhancing UNDP and NABARD's data resources. 

[Basic inputs received from Vishal Shukla, Assistant Account Manager, Concept PR]

  

G20 : India's proposed GLOBAL BIOFUEL ALLIANCE | Comments from BIOFUELS JUNCTION

 

G20 : India's proposed GLOBAL BIOFUEL ALLIANCE | Comments from BIOFUELS JUNCTION

 Biofuels Junction Pvt Ltd is a leading manufacturer and value-added supply chain provider of solid biofuels, which are a cost-effective & environment-friendly substitutes to fossil fuels used in Industrial boilers and burners. India is expected to announce the "GLOBAL BIOFUEL ALLIANCE" during the ongoing G20 summit. 

Collaborations within the global Biofuel Alliance and with other nations will play a pivotal role in India's clean energy transition, enabling technology exchange, expediting the adoption of eco-friendly biofuels, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and aligning with climate and energy objectives. This partnership also presents opportunities to bolster rural economies, combat environmental issues, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance air quality, augment farmer incomes, and fortify energy independence through sustainable practices and international cooperation. In recent years, Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) has emerged as a viable alternative to imported fossil natural gas, offering nearly net-zero emissions and enhancing energy security in India. CBG's domestic production and environmental benefits position it as a crucial element in India's goal to increase the gas share in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2030, enhancing energy security and sustainability.

Mumbai based start-up, Biofuels  Junction was started in 2018 by finance professionals Ashvin Patil and Chaitanya Korgaonkar who were passionate to do something related to agriculture. 

Biofuels Junction is a leading player in the solid biofuels value chain in India and a preferred partner of choice for stakeholders. Biofuels Junction now produces, aggregates  and promotes sales of 9000+ tons of biomass fuel per month. In the solid biofuels value chain, Biofuels Junction plays its role as a responsible participant with solutions ranging from agriculture residue  collection to supplier development to large scale aggregation and supply chain consulting.

Driven by quality, reliability and compliance, Biofuels Junction has carved a name for itself amongst marquee corporate users. Its long-term goal is to achieve a cleaner environment by replacing fossil fuels and contribute towards rural economy by way of augmenting farmers' income.

[Basic inputs received from Deepa, Communications Consultant]

NABARD Emphasizes on Agri-fintech Innovations for Taking Rural and Agri-economy Forward

 

NABARD Emphasizes on Agri-fintech Innovations for Taking Rural and Agri-economy Forward  

 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) took centre stage at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF), held from September 5th to September 7th, 2023 in Mumbai. NABARD highlighted its ground-breaking work to integrate digital financial services with rural and agri-economy. During the event, NABARD participated in a series of panel discussions addressing important topics. These included the far-reaching impact of digital identity and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions on regulation, as well as engaging with Fintechs and Agri-techs. NABARD shared its extensive experience working alongside these sectors and unveiled a spectrum of initiatives aimed at propelling the agricultural and rural economy to new heights through comprehensive digital financial services. 

"The transformation of agriculture and rural finance is of paramount importance. Through value chain financing, we aim to bridge the digital divide and bring financial services to the doorsteps of the rural population. Through technology, we can contribute significantly to the economic growth and prosperity of India's rural communities." said Shri Manikumar S., Chief General Manager (SPPID) at NABARD. 

“Collaboration between agritech and fintech holds the promise of a brighter, more prosperous future for rural India. At NABARD, our focus is on leveraging technology and innovation to bridge financial gaps, empower rural communities, and transform agriculture. The Global Fintech Fest is the right forum to share our vision and progress, and we will continue to drive financial inclusion and sustainable growth across the nation,” said Shri Monomoy Mukherjee while explaining the endeavours of NABARD. 

NABARD's presence at the ‘Global Fintech Fest' was marked by hosting six panel discussions throughout the three-day event. These discussions underlined the multifaceted aspects and the significance of fostering collaboration between agritech and fintech. Such collaborative innovations promise to inject new value into the existing agricultural value chain, laying the foundation for a more sustainable, efficient, and technologically advanced agricultural ecosystem. With these initiatives, NABARD reiterated its commitment to empowering the rural economy and driving financial inclusion through value chain financing in agriculture, developing innovative solutions to provide digital financial services in remote and inaccessible regions. 

“I’d like to thank NABARD for their financial assistance in forming my company. NABKISAN has provided us with a CC loan to form our FPO. The ease of availing finance for FPOs and farmers like me has had a significant impact on the agricultural value chain,” a farmer from the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, acknowledging NABARD's contribution during a panel session on the concluding day of Global Fintech Fest 2023. 

The Global Fintech Fest provided an excellent platform for NABARD to showcase its pioneering efforts in leveraging technology to revolutionize financial services in rural India. By participating in the event, NABARD reaffirmed its commitment to advancing financial inclusion and empowering rural communities across the country. 

[Basic inputs received from Vishal Shukla , Concept PR]

FarMart Becomes the First Food and Agri Tech to Launch its Products on ONDC

 FarMart Becomes the First Food and Agri Tech to Launch its Products on ONDC

FarMart, India's fastest-growing intelligent food supply network, announced its recent launch onto ONDC - The Open Network for Digital Commerce, making it the first Food and Agri Tech company to do so. FarMart is utilizing the ONDC network to serve food manufacturing businesses in India with easy access to quality ingredients. Through this collaboration, FarMart and ONDC are jointly redefining the food supply chain landscape by seamlessly connecting food value chains across the country, forging seamless connections between food producers and manufacturers across the country.

The Food and Agri Tech company recently fulfilled a B2B bulk order of 5,000kg of flour on the network. FarMart currently has over 25 SKUs of processed products ranging from varieties of food grains, oilseeds, spices and pulses for food businesses. This collaboration will allow food businesses from all over the country to tap into FarMart’s wide network of 2 lakh+ village-level aggregators and 2,000+ processors.

Alekh Sanghera, Co-Founder and CEO of FarMart, commented on the momentous launch by saying, "FarMart mission is to make food value chains more resilient, reliable and rewarding for humanity. Being live on ONDC is a pivotal element of our distribution strategy as it enables us to seamlessly connect farming communities with food processors and eventually end consumers while ensuring traceability.”

“Being a board member at both FarMart and ONDC, this news gives me immense joy and pride. This collaboration provides improved access for farmers, small businesses, and consumers in the food supply chain which is the shared mission of both organizations. This is a big step towards digitization, traceability and efficiency of global food supply chains.”, shared Anjali Bansal, Founder and Managing Partner at Avaana Capital.

ONDC’s vision is to democratize digital commerce. Agriculture is one of the key focus areas for us, and after enabling FPOs to sell their produce to consumers across India, we are now working on enabling B2B (Bulk) transactions for agricultural commodities. I am happy to see Farmart joining the network, looking forward to more Agritech companies/agriculture commodity buyers to join network to enable e-procurement of Agriculture Commodities” T Koshy, MD and CEO, ONDC

FarMart is an intelligent food supply network connecting farming communities to food businesses globally. They build digital products and  commerce solutions that modernize food value chains. The mission of FarMart is to make them more resilient, reliable and rewarding for humanity.

[ Based on inputs from Shruti Sanyal ]

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