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G. Chandrashekhar

Canberra (Australia), March 6 India could potentially benefit from grains sector R&D activities, undertaken by Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

A statutory authority established by the Government for the grains industry, the GRDC has successfully worked on and commercialised pre- and post-harvest technologies in a range of crops including wheat, coarse grains (mainly barley), pulses (chick peas, lentils) and oilseeds (groundnut/peanut, canola/rapeseed).

Mr Peter Reading, Managing Director of GRDC, told Business Line that agronomic practices were critical for raising crop yields. Two-third of productivity increases come from better agronomic practices and one-third from better varieties, he asserted.

Water use efficiency and precision farming are other areas GRDC is focusing on. With drought affecting Australian agriculture for two years in a row and threat of global warming becoming increasingly real, water management has assumed top priority for the country.

Australian expertise and experience in agriculture including in storage, handling, food safety and hygiene could be made available to India, Mr Reading said. Plant genomics was another area of co-operation, according to him.

Given India’s dependence on imports, Indian corporates can partner with Australia to grow pulses for the burgeoning Indian market, he observed.

Earlier, in Sydney, Mr Gavin Gibson, Chief Executive Officer of Pulse Australia, told Business Line that there was greater opportunity emerging for Australia and India to work together in the area of pulses production and trade. Australia is an important supplier of pulses (peas and lentils) to India — world’s largest producer, importer and consumer.

Mr Gibson also saw an opportunity for India to import from Australia branded pulses in consumer packs for the retail market. Some Indian importers are already exploring this opportunity, he added. Indian phyto-sanitary and quarantine procedure needs to be simplified and clearance of imported pulses accelerated, he observed.

More Stories on : Storage | Research & Development | Foodgrains

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