Punjab CM seeks German support for sustainable development of agri-food
Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Sep, 2022 11:58 AM
Berlin, Sep 16 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday sought support of the German Agribusiness Alliance for sustainable development of the agri-food sector to benefit farmers in the state.
German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA) is a business initiative of leading associations and companies in the agri-food sector.
Mann said that the expertise of alliance and its member companies include BASF, Bayer, BayWA, CLAAS, John Deere, VDMA, Covestro, GIZ, ECOCERT Group and EKOSEM-AGRAR could be very useful for the food growers in the state.
During deliberations, the Chief Minister envisaged opportunities for mutual collaboration in business and solutions. He said that the alliance could provide on-field handholding to Punjab farmers in best practices of crop management.
Inviting Germany Agribusinesses to the state, Mann said that the Green Revolution led by Punjab has not only made India self-sufficient in agri production but also a world leader in various commodities.
The Chief Minister added that the state is a leader in cereal production and one of the largest milk producers in India and has state-of-the-art export facilities. He said that the strong infrastructure of the state has made it the preferred investment destination for leading MNCs like Nestle, Danone, Pepsico, Coca Cola, Unilever and Godrej.
The Chief Minister has also asked leading German company Verbio group to explore future collaboration opportunities with the state in the renewable energy sector.
The Chief Minister further said that the Verbio Group has strong association with state as its Indian subsidiary, Verbio India Private Ltd. has recently commissioned one of the largest biofuel (biomethane/bio-CNG) production units in India with 33 TPD (tons per day) of capacity in Sangrur.
He said that the plant will produce biogas by anaerobic digestion process and is a great way to solve the problem of stubble burning.
The new limit will apply to both Indian passport holders as well as persons of Indian origin carrying the Overseas Citizen of India card travelling to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province through Kartarpur corridor.
The development comes after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of farmer bodies, suspended the agitation after the Union government repealed the three farm laws and conceded its other demands. Subsequently the farmers started vacating the Delhi borders where they have been stationed for more than a year.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday gave a clarion call for the establishment of a truly federal structure in the country, with genuine cultural, political and economic autonomy to states. It also announced to implement a Rs 50,000 per acre crop insurance scheme, besides commitment to revive the pre-2004 pension scheme for government employees.
In order to provide constructed houses to the economically weaker section (EWS) across the state, the Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday approved invitation of applications for allotment of 25,000 houses to be constructed by urban development authorities. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Charanjit Channi here.
On October 3, eight people, including four protesting farmers, had died when a SUV belonging to Ashish Mishra had mowed them down on the outskirts of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. One local journalist had died in the ensuing violence.
Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Amarinder Singh on Tuesday warned Punjab Police officials against intimidating his party workers at the behest of some local Congress leaders. The former Chief Minister was reacting to reports of Punjab cops stopping PLC workers, who were putting up posters in the Malwa region.
