Latest news with #Agriculture
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Andhra begins direct procurement of Black Burley tobacco, assures every leaf will be bought
GUNTUR: The State government has launched the procurement of Black Burley tobacco through Markfed, assuring farmers that every leaf will be purchased. Minister for Agriculture, Marketing, and Cooperation K Atchannaidu inaugurated the procurement centre at the Paruchuru Agricultural Market Yard on Thursday, reinforcing the state's commitment to agricultural welfare. Leading a farmers' rally from Paruchuru junction to the market yard, the minister inspected facilities and announced that HDR and HDM grade tobacco would be procured at Rs 12,000 per quintal, while HDX grade would be bought at Rs 6,000 per quintal. This marks the first-ever direct procurement of Black Burley tobacco by the State. Atchannaidu said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is prioritizing farmer support with subsidies, timely payments, and assured crop procurement. He noted that Rs 1,650 crore in pending paddy dues had already been cleared. The state has intervened this year to stabilize prices of chilli, mango, coconut, and tobacco. Farmers were urged not to fall for private companies' misleading promises and to maintain quality standards to meet export requirements. The initiative is expected to benefit farmers with over Rs 500 crore through five procurement centres across the state. Agriculture Special Chief Secretary B. Rajasekhar said the government aims to procure 20 million kg of tobacco, with the Chief Minister reviewing progress every two days. Markfed MD Manjeer Zilani Saman stated that procurement would be conducted online, with a 20% moisture cap.
The Wire
13 hours ago
- Health
- The Wire
Somaiya Vidyavihar University Hosts Global Conference on Technologies for Energy, Agriculture & Healthcare (ICTEAH 2025) at the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (NewsVoir) Somaiya Vidyavihar University, built on the proud 84-year legacy of the Somaiya Trust, successfully hosted the 2nd International Conference on Technologies for Energy, Agriculture, and Healthcare (ICTEAH-2025). Organised by the K J Somaiya School of Engineering, the conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore transformative technologies shaping our collective future. The conference was inaugurated in the presence of distinguished dignitaries, including Dr. Sanjay Jambhulkar (Senior Scientist, BARC), Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai (Vice Chancellor, SVU and former Chairman, UGC), Dr. Suresh Ukarande (Director & Dean, K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University), Dr. Nandkumar Gilke (Registrar, SVU), and Dr. Shailesh Nikam (Organising Secretary and Professor). 'A new domain of epidemics is emerging from environmental risk factors. Climate change, even a rise of just 0.5 to 1 degree in temperature, is impacting 12% of the population by exacerbating heat-related diseases. Additionally, exposure to various artificial environmental agents poses significant health risks. This has led to the rise of exposomics, a new discipline focused on understanding the health effects of environmental exposures. Given these challenges, healthcare remains a critical focus area worldwide,' said Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. With over 120 delegates, the conference featured 93 paper presentations and 7 posters, creating a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange in clean energy, precision agriculture, and digital healthcare. Selected papers will be published by Taylor & Francis with individual DOIs and will be submitted for Scopus indexing, significantly contributing to the global body of academic research. The highlights of the conference were dignitaries from various fields. Dr. Sanjay Jambhulkar (Senior Scientist, BARC) spoke about the use of new technologies in agriculture and food security, emphasising their critical role in building sustainable food systems. Dr. Sudhir Ranjan Jain (Somaiya Vidyavihar University) presented insights into quantum computation for energy, highlighting its potential to revolutionise energy systems and contribute to sustainability. Dr. Nandkumar Kunchge (Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Applied Agricultural Research, Sameerwadi) presented regenerative agriculture methods which are hoping to take agriculture back to its deep connection with Mother Nature. Dr. S. D. Sharma (Founder Auflows CardioTech Pvt. Ltd. and Retired Professor from IIT Bombay) presented palliative surgical procedures required for congenital heart disease patients having Univentricular hearts to help their pulmonary circulation. 'Energy, agriculture, and healthcare are the three critical pillars of our future. With rising population and urbanisation, the demand for renewable energy (i.e. solar, wind, tidal, and hydrogen) is only going to increase. Research in these areas is not just ongoing, it's essential. Tomorrow's breakthroughs may come from innovations and research e.g 2cm x 2cm solar panel generating the same power as today's larger systems (2m x 2m). This is where scientists, academicians, and industry leaders must come together to solve real-world challenges," said Dr. Suresh Ukarande, Director & Dean, K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. In recognition of outstanding contributions, Best Paper Award from each domain were presented to Dr. Sarika Bukkawar, Mr. Haseen Shaikh, Ms. Sonia Pol and Mr. Nitish Yadav. Further, the best poster award was given to Ms. Alka Dattatray Gadakh. Certificates of Excellence acknowledged the commitment and performance of participants and student volunteers throughout the conference. The conference reaffirmed Somaiya Vidyavihar University's mission to bridge academic research with real-world impact. Through initiatives like ICTEAH, the University continues to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, fostering innovation that serves both industry and society. About K J Somaiya School of Engineering - (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Newsvoir and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR This is an auto-published feed from PTI with no editorial input from The Wire.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
I grew up on American food. Trust me, it's the last thing Europe needs
All over European media, the take seems to be similar – that the EU is 'under pressure' to conclude some sort of deal with the US in order to avoid Donald Trump's 9 July deadline for the unilateral imposition of broad tariffs. What might be on the table in the attempt to secure that? In early May, the EU trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, was already suggesting that a deal to increase purchases from the US could include agricultural products – a possibility that seems to remain even though Šefčovič later clarified that the EU was not contemplating changing its health or safety standards. Since I have failed to Abba ('Always be boldly acronyming') and don't have anything as good as Taco ('Trump always chickens out') – coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong – at the ready, I'll simply reach for the easy line: opening the door even slightly to more US food imports into the EU would leave a bad taste in all our mouths. Trump's hostage-taking approach to trade should not be rewarded, certainly not with something that hits as close to home as food does. 'The European Union won't take chicken from America. They won't take lobsters from America. They hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak,' declared the US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, in April. Laughter aside, every time I go back to the US I become a vegetarian for the duration of my trip – even though US grocery store vegetables are themselves generally big, blemish-free and bland. Why? Call me paranoid, but I simply don't want to ingest the same growth hormones that Lutnick's 'beautiful' meat probably contains traces of and that are banned in the EU. Growing up in Ohio, I experienced the full force of US food culture. It was the 90s, which meant that margarine was most definitely in and butter was out; an example that highlights how processed everything took root, including – in my vegetarian family – highly processed meat alternatives. The people around me meant well, but how do you fight a system that, from top to bottom, was designed to push high fructose corn syrup into practically everything (and most worryingly into school lunches)? To be fair, all of this has since generated a domestic backlash, but there's an intense amount of momentum behind it still: almost without fail, I find that the standard sugar level in the US soars far beyond what I now find appealing. Even in places I wouldn't expect to find added sugar at all, like pizza. And why would the Trump administration's full-scale savaging of the US government's administrative and regulatory capacity, including the Food and Drug Administration, increase anyone's trust that what US regulation does exist is actually being followed? Some of you are perhaps rolling your eyes, thinking: Alexander Hurst, a naturalised French citizen, has gone full 'chauvin'; converts are the worst. Except it's not just me. There is an entire internet subgenre of content extolling the virtues of French butter, or involving Americans who come to France and realise that this is what peaches, or strawberries, really taste like. Beyond the question of whether or not Europeans want to eat US agricultural output, a hypothetical trade deal would involve hugely negative climate impacts. The distance that food travels already accounts for 20% of global agriculture-related emissions pollution, and Europe's share in imported agriculture emissions is already high. We need to be reducing it, not adding to it through foodstuffs carted unnecessarily across the Atlantic. How can we ask European farmers to accelerate their transition to regenerative agriculture (which offers the potential to drastically reduce agriculture emissions) if, at the same time, they are being undercut by US producers who face far lower regulatory standards? 'Europe already produces and grows everything it could possibly need. The last thing we want to see circulating is hormone-pumped beef or chlorinated poultry,' says Lindsey Tramuta, the author of The Eater Guide to Paris. 'Even beyond the goods themselves, there's the issue of distance: why bring food over from the US if Europeans can get their needs met from much closer to home?' Yannick Huang, who manages the Vietnamese restaurant Loan in Paris's Belleville neighbourhood, agrees. 'At a time when we're trying to do organic, local, it's pointless to want to import anything from the US,' he told me. Huang, who is obsessive about ingredient quality, only serves French beef. To him, US agriculture comes tainted with the connotation of 'GMOs and other problems'. Hold on, you might say. Isn't it inconsistent to oppose Trump's tariffs while also promoting food protectionism? Fair point: it's hard to find a 'one size fits all' approach to globalisation. It has harmed some workers in wealthy economies while also reducing the gap between low-income nations and high-income ones. No country on Earth has a fully self-contained advanced semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, and in sectors where globalisation has become excessive, it might be even more economically harmful to roll back. None of that, though, means that things that have resisted becoming fully global should all of a sudden be opened up – food most of all. Ramzi Saadé is a Lebanese-Canadian chef whose Paris restaurant, Atica, is dedicated to a fiercely regional approach to haute cuisine. But taking his diners on a voyage of discovery doesn't mean his food has to go on one too; despite focusing on first Basque, and now Corsican cuisine, he sources almost all of his ingredients from the area surrounding Paris. For a lamb dish involving 13 different elements, only the nepeta, a Corsican herb, had travelled, he said. 'Is my role today to bring you Japanese culture via wasabi flown to Paris?' Saadé asked. 'No, my role is to explain to you that it's grated this way and put on fish for this reason, and I can do that with wasabi from France.' I couldn't help but think that it's actually far more interesting to do it his way – to interpret a cuisine rather than attempt to transpose it. We are what we eat. A cuisine is a medium of communication; it is, indelibly, tied up with the stories we tell about who we are. Perhaps that's why it's so disturbing to see food held hostage, or weaponised, in the pursuit of economic or geostrategic goals. Europe's intense and varied regionality is an enormous part of how it eats and therefore what it is. Opening the market to mass penetration by US agriculture would, little by little, nibble away at that richness. It's the kind of proposition that, if it ever makes it out of the kitchen, should be sent back straight away. Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist
HKFP
a day ago
- HKFP
AI surveillance cameras helped prosecute 6 people for monkey feeding, Hong Kong gov't says
Hong Kong authorities used evidence from AI surveillance cameras installed last year to prosecute six people for monkey feeding, a government conservation officer has said. Security cameras installed at the car park at Kam Shan Country Park, known as 'Monkey Hill' for being one of the main areas where wild monkeys live, can detect interactions between humans and the animals, Senior Fauna Conservation Officer Shek Chung-tong said on RTHK on Thursday. The AI surveillance system sends notifications to officers at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) when it detects that humans and wild monkeys are in close proximity. Shek explained that wild monkeys normally would not approach humans unless someone was feeding them. Depending on their location, officers can arrive at the site in as little as five minutes after receiving a notification. Since the installation last year, the AFCD has successfully prosecuted six people for monkey feeding thanks to the AI cameras, Shek said. Three other cases are still under investigation. Since the maximum penalty for feeding wild animals was raised last August – along with the introduction of a HK$5,000 fixed penalty – the monkey feeding situation has 'greatly improved,' he said. 'Overall, there has been a rather significant improvement in illegal monkey feeding over the years,' Shek said in Cantonese. According to the AFCD's website, there are around 2,000 wild monkeys in Hong Kong found in areas including the Kam Shan, Lion Rock, and Shing Mun Country Parks. The AFCD said the wild monkey population had 'increased dramatically' over the years due to human feeding. Some monkeys have become 'fearless' and would snatch plastic bags from visitors in search of food, the department's website reads. Shek said on Thursday that the AFCD is considering installing AI surveillance system at another car park in Kam Shan Country Park later this year and expanding the functions to detect wild boar feeding. He added that the department may also set up mobile monitoring systems at locations where feeding of feral pigeons is rampant.
Fashion Value Chain
a day ago
- Health
- Fashion Value Chain
Somaiya Vidyavihar University Hosts Global Conference on Technologies for Energy, Agriculture & Healthcare (ICTEAH 2025) at the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus
Somaiya Vidyavihar University, built on the proud 84-year legacy of the Somaiya Trust, successfully hosted the 2nd International Conference on Technologies for Energy, Agriculture, and Healthcare (ICTEAH-2025). Organised by the K J Somaiya School of Engineering, the conference brought together researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore transformative technologies shaping our collective future. The conference was inaugurated in the presence of distinguished dignitaries, including Dr. Sanjay Jambhulkar (Senior Scientist, BARC), Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai (Vice Chancellor, SVU and former Chairman, UGC), Dr. Suresh Ukarande (Director & Dean, K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University), Dr. Nandkumar Gilke (Registrar, SVU), and Dr. Shailesh Nikam (Organising Secretary and Professor). From L to R: Dr. Shailesh Nikam | Dr. Suresh Ukarande | Dr. Sanjay Jambhulkar | Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai | Dr. Nandkumar Gilke | Dr. Deepak Sharma | Dr. Nandana Prabhu | Dr. Makarand Kulkarni 'A new domain of epidemics is emerging from environmental risk factors. Climate change, even a rise of just 0.5 to 1 degree in temperature, is impacting 12% of the population by exacerbating heat-related diseases. Additionally, exposure to various artificial environmental agents poses significant health risks. This has led to the rise of exposomics, a new discipline focused on understanding the health effects of environmental exposures. Given these challenges, healthcare remains a critical focus area worldwide,' said Prof. V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. With over 120 delegates, the conference featured 93 paper presentations and 7 posters, creating a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange in clean energy, precision agriculture, and digital healthcare. Selected papers will be published by Taylor & Francis with individual DOIs and will be submitted for Scopus indexing, significantly contributing to the global body of academic research. The highlights of the conference were dignitaries from various fields. Dr. Sanjay Jambhulkar (Senior Scientist, BARC) spoke about the use of new technologies in agriculture and food security, emphasising their critical role in building sustainable food systems. Dr. Sudhir Ranjan Jain (Somaiya Vidyavihar University) presented insights into quantum computation for energy, highlighting its potential to revolutionise energy systems and contribute to sustainability. Dr. Nandkumar Kunchge (Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Applied Agricultural Research, Sameerwadi) presented regenerative agriculture methods which are hoping to take agriculture back to its deep connection with Mother Nature. Dr. S. D. Sharma (Founder Auflows CardioTech Pvt. Ltd. and Retired Professor from IIT Bombay) presented palliative surgical procedures required for congenital heart disease patients having Univentricular hearts to help their pulmonary circulation. 'Energy, agriculture, and healthcare are the three critical pillars of our future. With rising population and urbanisation, the demand for renewable energy (i.e. solar, wind, tidal, and hydrogen) is only going to increase. Research in these areas is not just ongoing, it's essential. Tomorrow's breakthroughs may come from innovations and research e.g 2cm x 2cm solar panel generating the same power as today's larger systems (2m x 2m). This is where scientists, academicians, and industry leaders must come together to solve real-world challenges,' said Dr. Suresh Ukarande, Director & Dean, K J Somaiya School of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. In recognition of outstanding contributions, Best Paper Award from each domain were presented to Dr. Sarika Bukkawar, Mr. Haseen Shaikh, Ms. Sonia Pol and Mr. Nitish Yadav. Further, the best poster award was given to Ms. Alka Dattatray Gadakh. Certificates of Excellence acknowledged the commitment and performance of participants and student volunteers throughout the conference. The conference reaffirmed Somaiya Vidyavihar University's mission to bridge academic research with real-world impact. Through initiatives like ICTEAH, the University continues to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, fostering innovation that serves both industry and society. About K J Somaiya School of Engineering –
