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ACRE Unique Initiative for Cotton farmers of India

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], December 3 (ANI/PNN): Solidaridad Asia, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) and regenagri today announced the launch of the Alliance of Cotton & Textile Stakeholders on Regenerative Agriculture (ACRE) to promote regenerative cotton farming practice in India. The Alliance (ACRE) estimates the adoption of such a practice will help fix at least 1 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030 while improving the livelihood of more than 500,000 smallholder cotton farmers and their community through various partnerships in India. The ACRE Alliance was launched at the event 'Reclaim to Regenerate: Towards Regenerative Cotton Sector in India' in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Through this Alliance, Solidaridad and CRB believe the required shift in agricultural practices will be possible because of a new, more systemic form of collaboration between stakeholders across the value chain, which includes farmer groups, ginners, traders, buyers, brands, as well as agricultural and textile authorities. The programme was attended by frontrunner responsible buyers, brands and textile value chain actors who are committed to sustainability and value regenagri cotton principles. The partners also provided a call to action in the form of the Nagpur Declaration, to be signed by responsible companies committing their support to regenagri-certified cotton. Solidaridad, CRB and regenagri believe that regenagri-certified cotton is sustainable, ensures fair value to farmers and complies with national and international policy priorities. By working with the stakeholder groups, they are confident of achieving, in the next one year, 50,000 tonnes of regenagri-certified cotton from the fields of 10,000 farmers, and being used by 10 or more fashion brands. It is also expected to bring about a positive shift in favour of sustainable sourcing of cotton by buyers, brands and retailers, and help them in their journey towards net-zero emission. India is one of the largest exporters of cotton yarn, and cotton accounts for 16 per cent of the industrial capital and 20 per cent of the industrial labour. However, cotton production is also linked to issues like farmer distress, ecological risk, and social and environmental injustice. For instance, cotton monoculture in Maharashtra and Gujarat faces increasing risk of rainfall variability. The production of the crop often involves indiscriminate use of inorganic pesticides and fertilisers which impacts the quality of soil, water, as well as the local biodiversity. Therefore, many brands are now interested in promoting responsible agriculture practices. Solidaridad, CRB and regenagri aim to promote and popularise regenerative agriculture which promises better livelihood along with ecological sustainability. In 2020, Solidaridad piloted one of India's largest regenagri certification programmes in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, supporting 8,000 small farmers in adopting these practices. Presently, Solidaridad is working with over 100,000 farmers in the region - this alone would help in reduction of about 100,000 tonnes of GHG. Recognising the efforts of the progressive farmers, HeskeVerburg, Managing Director, Solidaridad Europe, felicitated some of them at the event. Regenerative agriculture is now being considered as a sustainable alternative to conventional agricultural system, because it balances the interests of smallholders with the need to revive the natural systems for sustainable production. Regenerative agriculture can contribute actively in reversing climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter, surface and subsurface carbon pools, and restoring degraded soil biodiversity-resulting in both carbon drawdown and improvement in the water cycle. In simple terms, it is reversing the direction of global agriculture from degenerative to regenerative; creating a system that generates agricultural products, sequesters carbon, and enhances biodiversity at the farm scale. The aim of the Alliance of Cotton & Textile Stakeholders on Regenerative Agriculture (ACRE), which will be jointly managed by Solidaridad, CRB and regenagri, is to promote regenerative agricultural practices by: - Supporting the scaling up of regenerative agriculture in cotton with the vision of making India the world's biggest producer of certified regenerative cotton - Enabling collaboration among cotton and textile value chain actors on regenerative agriculture across various cotton landscapes in India - Advancing tools/mechanism(s) that balance smallholder benefits with conservation of nature, and augment soil heath in different agro-climatic regions and landscapes growing cotton in India - Creating awareness amongst national and international consumers/users to demand regenerative cotton - Documenting and communicating success stories on regenerative agriculture in cotton - Engaging on policy issues related to regenerative agriculture and natural farming at state and national level - Building capacity and expertise among cotton and textile sector buyers and brands for wider adoption of regenerative practices in cotton and textile industries - Linking cotton farmers practising regenerative agriculture to initiatives focused on carbon/climate finance/ biodiversity finance Solidaridad, CRB and regenagri are committed to impactful and inclusive programmes on the ground and are therefore joining hands to take regenerative agriculture to larger landscapes and across crops, starting with cotton. The ACRE Alliance aims to support the implementation actions aligned with the National Mission on Natural Farming, a Government of India initiative. Solidaridad and CRB will engage with government authorities to synergise the Alliance's plans with the BharatiyaPrakritik Krishi Paddhati Programme under the national mission, to promote agrarian livelihoods as well as address climate change and biodiversity loss. At the launch of this Alliance, Dr Shatadru Chattopadhyay, Managing Director, Solidaridad Asia, said: "Arable land greater than the size of England is abandoned every year due to land degradation; in other words, more rainforests or savannahs need to be ploughed to replace this loss. Regenerative agriculture is the next step forward, from sustainable agriculture. For Solidaridad, regenerative agriculture is the sustainable agriculture for this decade." Franco Costantini, CEO, regenagri said: "regenagri has been doing great work in India where, as of October 2022, more than 40,000 farms are already certified under this programme. The collaboration with Solidaridad and Centre for Responsible Business is a great opportunity to scale up together and bring the positive impacts that stakeholders are asking for." Rijit Sengupta, CEO, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), said: "This partnership will create opportunities for cotton and textile buyers and brands to collaborate with producers/farmers to regenerate natural systems and mitigate climate change. A powerful element of this initiative is how it demonstrates that farmers can be active partners in meeting the climate targets of our country." This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)

India , Nagpur , Maharashtra , Solidaridad-europe , Franco-costantini , Solidaridad-asia , Rijit-sengupta , Shatadru-chattopadhyay , National-mission-on-natural-farming , Centre-for-responsible-business , Bharatiyaprakritik-krishi-paddhati-programme , Responsible-business

DA to revive tomato processing plant in Ilocos Norte

TOMATO PROCESSING. The Northern Foods Corporation in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in this undated photo. This government facility used to process fresh ripe tomatoes into paste until the government abolished it last year to give way to privatization. (File photo by Leilanie Adriano) LAOAG CITY - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved a total of PHP100 million to revive a tomato processing plant in Ilocos Norte. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc confirmed this on Thursday as he announced that tomato growers from which Northern Foods Corporation (NFC) sources its tomatoes may resume planting soon once the new management takes over. "We have the PHP100 million from DA for our tomato processing plant. Hopefully, we can reactivate the NFC the soonest," said Manotoc as his administration pushes for product-processing and agri-business to capture more stages of the value chain. Tomato is among the high-value crops of Ilocos Norte with a ready market but with the closure of NFC that is engaged in tomato paste production in Northern Luzon, many contract growers have shifted to other crops. In December last year, former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte ordered the abolition of NFC as it no longer served its purpose consistent with the national development policy, giving way to the company's privatization. But the Ilocos Norte government, in cooperation with the DA, has been in constant communication with interested investors to reactivate the tomato processing plant again under a new management. Established in 1984 as a subsidiary of the Livelihood Corp. before it was transferred to the DA in 2000, the NFC production facility processes into paste fresh ripe tomatoes sourced from around 3,000 farmers, in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur with a processing capacity of 500 metric tons (MT) of tomatoes per day. It supplies tomato paste to food chains, fish canners, and tomato sauce and catsup manufacturers in the country, comprising 13 percent of the country's 30,000-MT yearly consumption. (PNA) }

Ilocos-sur , Philippines , Ilocos-norte , Laoag , Matthew-joseph-manotoc , Rodrigo-roa-duterte , Department-of-agriculture , Northern-foods-corporation , Livelihood-corp , Norte-governor-matthew-joseph-manotoc , Northern-luzon , Tomato-processing-the-northern-foods-corporation-in-sarrat

PH now has 3.1M validated coco farmers: Nograles

(Photo courtesy of PCA Region 10) MANILA - Over three million coconut farmers nationwide have already been registered under the Philippine Coconut Farmers' (PCA) National Coconut Farmer's Registry System (NCFRS), Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Monday. In a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night, Nograles said there are now a total of 3,109,589 registrants listed in the NCFRS, following the registration of an additional 585,322 coconut farmers. Nograles added that the PCA has already updated around 85 percent of the 2,524,267 registrants in the 2018 database. "Patuloy pa rin po 'yung verification ng mga farmers na ito (The verification of farmers continue)," he said. "Alam naman po natin na mahalaga na patuloy 'yung serbisyo natin at pag-aalaga natin sa sektor ng mga coconut farmers dito sa ating bansa (We all know the importance of serving the and taking care of the coconut farmers in the country)." The verification of coconut farmers will be the basis in the utilization of the coconut levy trust fund. On Feb. 26, 2021, Duterte inked Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act that mandates the maintenance of the 50-year Trust Fund that will be used for the benefit of the coconut farmers and for the development of the coconut industry. RA 11524 directs the Bureau of Treasury to ensure the immediate transfer of PHP10 billion to the Trust Fund for the first year, another PHP10 billion for the second year, PHP15 billion each for the third year and fourth year, and PHP25 billion for the fifth year. Farmers to gain over the potential use of virgin coconut oil vs. Covid-19 Meantime, Nograles told Duterte that there are ongoing clinical studies to determine whether virgin coconut oil is effective in treating Covid-19. Nograles said farmers would benefit if the results of the studies prove that virgin coconut oil can be used to treat Covid-19 patients. He said the PCA collaborated with the Department of Science and Technology's Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) and Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), as well as the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for clinical studies on the therapeutic use of virgin coconut oil against Covid-19. He said the studies conducted by PCA and DOST-FNRI have already concluded, while those being conducted by PCHRD and UP-PGH are still underway. Results of the study by PCA and DOST-FNRI found that five of the 29 individuals with probable and suspect Covid-19 cases who were served meals with virgin coconut oil manifested diminishing signs and symptoms as early as the second day, while only one patient served with the same meals but without virgin coconut oil showed similar improvement. 198K farmers benefitted from 36M planted seedlings Nograles likewise said planting of some 36,642,245 seedlings under the Coconut Planting and Replanting project has benefitted around 198,260 coconut farmers. He added that the PCA's coconut fertilization project covering 249,643 hectares has so far benefitted about 156,661 farmers. Nograles also noted that the KAANIB Enterprise Development Project, which focuses on intercropping of coconut and various crops, has already covered 17,957 hectares. Included in the KEDP project is the animal integration, allowing the PCA to distribute 4,812 livestock to more than 3,000 farmers, Nograles said. Nograles said the PCA's Coconut Hybridization Project has also resulted in the distribution of 1,531,956 hybrid planting materials and 2,307,330 open-pollinated varieties. "So under your administration, Pangulong Duterte, kayo po ang gumawa nitong napakalaking tulong sa ating mga coconut farmers (President Duterte, you did this big help for our coconut farmers)," he said. (PNA) }

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