BioVoice News May 2017 Issue 12 Volume 1 | Page 72

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Agriculture trade worth INR 15,009 crores on e-NAM portal so far
A national consultation to review the progress of adoption of reforms and other initiatives in the agri-marketing sector aimed at enhancing farmers ’ income was held recently , under the Chairmanship of Dr Ramesh Chand , Member , NITI Aayog .
DAC & FW has , in consultation with NITI Aayog , identified a set of 9 marketing reforms to be made in Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee ( APMC ) Acts of the States / UTs . These include 3 mandatory reforms enabling integration to e-NAM viz provision for e-trading , unified trading license and a single point levy of market fee , as well as setting up markets in the private sector , direct marketing , etc all aimed at reducing the intermediaries .
So far 417 markets from 13 States have joined the online-portal , which targets integration of
585 markets by March 2018 . So far 39.75 lakh farmers and 88474 traders have registered and trade of Rs 15,009 crores has taken through the e-NAM portal .
Agriculture innovations mark ABLE-AG ’ s Earth Day celebrations
On the eve of Earth Day on April 22 , the Association of Biotech Led Enterprises , Agriculture Focus Group ( ABLE- AG ) celebrated the agricultural innovations that have improved the productivity , health , and quality of crops while reducing agriculture ’ s environmental impact . Nearly 400,000 plant species provide our planet with the nutritious food , fiber , fresh air , and medicine we need to survive , but it is estimated that roughly one-fifth of those are at risk of extinction due to environmental threats
In his comments on the occasion , Dr Shivendra Bajaj , Executive Director , ABLE-AG mentioned , “ On 47thEarth Day , we want to reinforce our commitment to farmers by continuously innovating , researching and developing new technologies and tools that will help our Indian farmers . We want to create and develop next generation of agribiotech technologies that will help our farmers produce healthier , more sustainable crops that will feed the growing population of the country and are environmental friendly .”
ABLE-AG in its statement highlighted the few facts about how advances in plant science are reducing agriculture ’ s environmental impact and protecting our planet and its precious resources . It mentioned that the plant biotechnology allows farmers to grow more food on less land , plant science is helping rebuild the world ’ s soil supply , innovations in plant biotechnology are reducing agriculture ’ s carbon footprint and also
72 BioVoiceNews | May 2017