FICCI's 8th India Maize Summit Begins Today

Maize is the most widely grown cereal in the world, with the highest production of any cereal. It is known as the "Queen of Cereals" and is one of the world's fastest-growing cash crops, accounting for the majority of the global coarse grain trade.

With changing global food demands and consumer preferences, maize has emerged as a wonder crop for many countries, particularly in developing nations such as India. Maize makes a significant contribution to India's socio-economic equilibrium. It is a multi-purpose crop that is grown for food, feed, and industrial purposes all over the world.

As a result, it's critical to identify and address the major roadblocks to the Indian maize ecosystem's development. The 8th edition of the "India Maize Summit" will be held on May 12-13, 2022, with a focus on securing a sustainable supply of maize to meet growing demand and increase farmer prosperity.

Agenda of Day 1: 8th India Maize Summit

9.30- 10:00 a.m: Success Story of Farmers/FPO-Industry Linkages in Maize (Pre-recorded videos)

(10:00 – 11.30 a.m): Opening Session (Virtual)

• Session Moderator: T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE

• Welcome Address: Jyoti Vij, Deputy Secretary-General, FICCI

• Address:  Rahoul Sawani, President - South Asia, Corteva Agriscience

• Address: Ronald Verdonk, Minister- Counsellor for Agriculture Affairs, U.S. Embassy in India

• Virtual Release of FICCI-YES Bank Knowledge Report

• Address about Knowledge Report by YES Bank

• Address about Knowledge Report: Sunjay Vuppuluri, Head -Food & Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research (FASAR) Segment, YES Bank

• Keynote Address: Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India

• Keynote Address: Amrendra Pratap Singh, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture, Government of Bihar

• Vote of Thanks: T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE

• 11.30 -11.45 a.m: Success Story of Women FPOs in Maize (Pre-recorded video)

(11:45- 01:00 P.M): Session 1 World Scenario – Quantity and Quality Concerns (Virtual)

Maize is uniquely positioned among Indian crops to cater to both rising domestic demand and huge international demand. Besides being a staple food crop, it is used as animal feed, and starch and finds use in a wide range of industrial food products. Also, Maize is a credible option for crop diversification under Changing Climatic scenarios. The production volumes of maize have not kept pace with local demand and consumption over time.

Over the last decade, while consumption of maize grew at a CAGR of 4.4%, production grew at just 2.8%. Approximately 50% of India's annual maize harvest of 19 million tons is used for poultry feed. Along with this the demand for starch is strong and is growing at 10 to 12 percent every year due to rising consumption in the food and pharma industry. This session will throw light on:

• Demand for quality maize

• Ukraine Conflict on maize demand

• Projections for future maize requirements

• Maize as an option for crop diversification

Session Chair and Moderator: Sunjay Vuppuluri, Head -Food & Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research (FASAR) Segment, YES Bank

Special Address: Crop Diversification - Harinder Singh, Joint Director- Cash Crops, Government of Punjab

Key Speakers

• Impact of Russia – Ukraine Conflict on maize demand- Mr. Prashant Shukla, Head Supply Chain, Roquette India

• International Supply and Demand for Maize- Shailesh Krishna, Head- Grain Exports, ITC

• Demand for quality Maize in feed, Suresh Rayudu C., Managing Director- Srinivasa Farms Pvt. Ltd & Vice-Chairman, All India Poultry Breeders Association

• Demand for quality maize- Archana Gautam, Senior Analyst (Food Analyst under FSSAI), CFRA (Centre for Food Research & Analysis)-NIFTEM

• Growing need for Quality Maize Protein - Dr. Sujay Rakshit, Director- Indian Institute of Maize Research

(01:30 – 02:45 P.M): Session 2: Technological advancements in Maize for supply-side sustainability (Virtual)

The projected demand for maize production in India shows a growing trend. With the scope for area expansion being limited, there is a need for enhancement of yield. This calls for identifying areas where huge unrealized yield potential exists.

Over the long term, investments and robust technical commitments are needed to ensure effective production predicated on sustainable solutions like access to quality inputs and labour-saving technologies appropriate to the farmers' needs. Supply-Side Sustainability offers a new approach to achieving increased productivity growth.

With a view to addressing the supply side issues, the session will throw light on:

• Frontier technologies for the maize productivity system in India.

• Strategies and actions to accelerate productivity improvement through good agricultural practices, better regulatory mechanisms, and a conducive policy ecosystem

• Sustainable Approaches for providing maize supply security to the industry.

• Economics of Maize Expansion

Session Chair & Moderator: Sunjay Vuppuluri, Head -Food & Agribusiness Strategic Advisory & Research (FASAR) Segment, YES Bank

Special Address: Dr. K.V. Prabhu, Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Government of India

Special Address: Dr. S.K. Malhotra, Project Director (DKMA), ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Affair, Government of India

Panel discussion: Technological advancements in Maize for supply-side sustainability

Panellists:

• Dr. Vijalaxmi Khed, Associate Scientist in Sustainable Agri-Food System (SAS) CIMMYT

• Prasanta Patra, Business Leader - Seed Applied Technologies, Asia Pacific Region, Corteva Agrisciences

• Ram Sirohi, Head Product Management, Bayer

• Nalin Rawal, CEO, AGCON, NCML

• Dr. Andrej Gumze, Global Lead, Sales and Implementation, Seeds, Manna Irrigation

(03:00 -04:15 p.m): Session 3: Sustainable solutions to build post-harvest Maize supply chain (Virtual)

The front end of the value chain comprises storage, post-harvest management, procurement, and processing. Post-harvest handling constraints substantially reduce the total volume as well as the quality of maize reaching markets. This further reduces the returns to farmers by fetching lower prices. Quality constraints, technical knowledge gaps, and price unpredictability are some of the post-harvest challenges faced by the stakeholders.

To build competitiveness in the maize value chain, we need to protect farmers from price volatility, provide them access to the best storage facilities and promote efficient post-harvest crop management systems. New Marketing arrangements for Maize can play a vital role in creating more value both for farmers and agribusinesses.

The session will emphasize:

• Adoption of better strategies for building a maize value chain.

• Front-end approaches that are market-specific and would focus on improving price realization for maize farmers.

• Strengthening price discovery and risk mitigation mechanism

• Maize cluster-based farmer collectives

Session Chair & Moderator: TR Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE Ltd

Special Address: T K Manoj Kumar, Chairman, Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority, Government of India (Confirmed)

Special Address: Pradyumna PS, Managing Director, AP Markfed

Speakers

• Kapil Dev, Chief Business Officer, NCDEX

• Dr. Divesh Kumar, Project Manager- Marketing & Innovation, JEEViKA (Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society)

• Mariano Beillard, Senior Regional Agricultural Attaché, US Department of Agriculture

• Harendra Kumar, National Head- Procurement (Agri-output), Dehaat

(05:00 – 06:00 p.m): Special Session with Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India

Moderation by: Jyoti Vij, Deputy Secretary-General, FICCI

Welcome Address: T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE

Keynote address by Chief Guest: Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India

Vote of Thanks: Gurpreet Bathal, Business Director India, Corteva Agriscience

(06:00 – 07:00 p.m): Session 4: Potential for value-added Maize (Virtual)

Corn genetics, geographical factors like weather patterns and location, as well as postharvest practices and grain maturity are known to affect the physical properties. They also affect the wet milling characteristics or mill-ability of corn, primarily the wet milling yield and also the metabolizable energy of corn. Corn endosperm hardness is an indicator of quality as well as of ease of starch extractability and energy value.

The session will emphasize:

• Demand for value-added Maize products.

• Opportunities for innovative marketing.

• Quality characteristics of corn and its value to the industry.

• Metabolizable energy of corn from different origins for feed use

Session Chair & Moderator: Alejandra, Regional Director, US Grains Council Speakers

• Dr. Vijay Singh, Founder Professor, Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, USA

• Dr. Alvaro Garcia, Nutritionist, South Dakota University

• Sisir Pal, Head of Production, Greendot Health Foods (brand Cornitos)

• Aromal Jkoshi, Head of Raw Material Purchase, Roquette India Sohit Satyawali, Associate Director- SC Agro, Pepsico

• Umesh Joshi, Director Supply Chain, McDonald’s India Pvt. Ltd.

• Q & A Session followed by Closing Remarks by Session Chair