The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry organized 2nd edition of Agriculture Colloquium 2021 on 16th & 17th July 2021 through online platform. The objective of the Agriculture Colloquium 2021 was to address the areas such as Agro Policy, Agrochemical Industry innovation, Fertilizer sector, Agri Finance and Agro product export in Indian Agriculture space. 

The Inaugural session of the programme was graced by 

• Shri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Minister-In-Charge, Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal
• Dr. A R Khan, Chief General Manager, NABARD 
• Mr. V R Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) & Board Member – AXIS Bank 
• Dr. Ashok Dalwai, CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority, Government of India 

Shri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Minister-In-Charge, Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal mentioned about the increment of farmers income in the last 10 years and how schemes like Krishak Bondhu, Pension Schemes for Senior Farmers helped the rural citizen of the State. The CGM, NABARD, Dr. Khan mentioned the opportunity of agriculture product exports from West Bengal and NABARD is very keen to develop an agri export promotion centre to help existing exports as well as farmers’ producers company from this region. Dr. Dalwai mentioned the requirement of capital investment in the agriculture sector and how various policies floated by the Union Government is attracting corporates to invest in this sector. Mr. Kaundinya mentioned about the coordination between State and Central Government in the issues like food security during the pandemic era.

The inaugural session was moderated by Mr. Jayanta Chakraborty, Chairperson – Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, The Bengal Chamber. 

The next session, “Session on Plant Protection Chemicals: Mixing Opportunities with Innovation”, was graced by 

• Mr. Ashish Dobhal, Regional Director, India Region, UPL Limited
• Mr. Anil J. Kakkar, Vice President, Sumitomo Chemical India Ltd
• Mr. NK Rajavelu, Business Head - Crop Protection Chemicals at Coromandel International Limited
• Dr. Debabrata Kanungo, MD, FCGP - Chairman, Scientific Panel on Food Additives & Member of Scientific Committee, Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) 

This panel discussion highlighted the importance of technology in improving various agricultural activities in the Indian economy. This session also provided knowledge on technological applications in agriculture, Quality Standards of Agrochemical products, Post Pandemic Marketing Style and export opportunities of Indian Agro Chemical Products. 

On the Day 2 of the programme, the 1st session was dedicated to promote Nano Fertilizer in association with IFFCO. Fertilizers play a vital role in increasing agricultural production, but excessive use of chemical fertilizers irreversibly damages the chemical ecology of soil and reduces the available area for crop production. Sustainable agriculture demands minimal use of agrochemicals. Advanced Nano-engineering techniques are being used to overcome an agricultural crisis by developing an improved crop production system that assures sustainability. Nano-materials can increase crop yield by increasing fertilizer nutrient availability in soil and nutrient uptake by plants. The session was graced by: 

• Mr. Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya, Head – Eastern region, IFFCO
• Prof. B S Mahapatra, Vice-Chancellor, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya
• Shri Yogendra Kumar, Marketing Director-IFFCO, 
• Dr. Ramesh Raliya, GM (R&D) IFFCO 

The next session of the Conclave was focused on Agri Finance and a panel discussion on “We feed those, who feed the Nation - Bonding between Banks & Farmers” was organised. This panel discussion was graced by: 

• Mr. Sanjeev Nautiyal, Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India 
• Mr. Raul Rebello, Executive Vice President, Axis Bank 

The session was moderated by Mr. Jayanta Chakraboty, Chairperson – Agriculture & Rural Development Committee, The Bengal Chamber. 

The panel discussion highlighted the ever-increasing need to invest in agriculture due to a drastic rise in global population and changing dietary preferences of the growing middle class in emerging markets towards higher value agricultural products. Experts mentioned that financial sector institutions in developing countries lend a disproportionately lower share of their loan portfolios to agriculture compared to the agriculture sector’s share of GDP. 

In the last session of the conclave, a panel discussion on Agri Export Opportunities from Eastern Part of India was organised. The panel was graced by: 

• Mr. Samrat Mukherjee, General Manager, NABARD  
• Dr. Azhar Phatan, Head- Banana Exports, Mahindra Agri Solutions Private Limited 
• Prof. Debabrata Basu, Professor, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya 

The panel discussion highlighted about the product-wise opportunities, market demand-oriented production system, post-harvest management and how NABARD is planning to help farmers to export their produce through various pilot projects. 

Mr. Jayanta Chakraborty, at the end of the conclave, summarized all sessions and announced the Bengal Chambers handholding support policy for Farmer Producers Organization.