This summer if you use a prickly heat powder manufactured by Emami think of Agricon Agropreneurs Limited. The Raipur-based public limited company supplies mentha, a common ingredient in many beauty products, to the cosmetic major. Set up two years ago, Agricon has given farmers much-needed clout in their dealings with cosmetic companies. The company counts 1,600 farmers' families in three Chhattisgarh districts, Mahasamund, Raipur and Durg, as its shareholders. Agricon has set up distillation units in the four districts, where mentha oil is extracted and sold to cosmetic companies.

The lack of rationalisation of prices and a coordinated policy leads to a rich harvest of litigation.

A workshop on agro-based food processing was held at Agnel Ashram and organised by Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Government of India. The programme was attended by a large number of beneficiaries of the REGP scheme who are already self employed in the food processing sector. J M Noronha, General Manager ( Projects) of Agnel Ashram while welcoming the participants exhorted them to take full advantage of all the schemes that the Government offers and requested them to ensure that the quality of the products made by them were of the highest standards. Earlier Fr P M Rodrigues, Superior, inaugurated the workshop by lighting the traditional lamp. Mr Puri, State Director of KVIC also told the participants to ensure that they complied with all the requirements of the Khadi Commision so that they may avail of loans and other facilities as required. Also present were Mr Satpathy from KVIC and Mr Panvelkar from KVIB, besides Fr P M Rodrigues Superior, Agnel Ashram Verna.

India will host the first four-day global conference on agro-industries, to be held in Delhi from April 8, 2008. The Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) will promote the importance of agro-industries for economic development and poverty reduction, a press release of GAIF said. Around 500 senior representatives from the agro-industry, governments, technical and financing institutions, civil society and UN agencies will discuss the potential of agro-industries and the challenges they are facing. The conference will be jointly organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in close collaboration with the Indian government. The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh will officially inaugurate the Forum on April 9, in the presence of The FAO director-general Jacques Diouf, UNIDO director-general Kandeh K Yumkella, IFAD president Lennart Bage. Rapid globalisation, market liberalisation, and urbanisation have created new opportunities for countries to trade agricultural and food products. However, they have also created challenges and increased risks. Countries with inefficient agro-industries are likely to be left behind those with modern and efficient agro-industries. While high-income countries add, on average, US$180 of value by processing one tonne of agricultural products, developing countries generate only $40 of value per tonne, the press release said. Increasing the market opportunities particularly for small-scale producers in rural areas, by improving their production, processing and marketing capabilities, will be one of the main issues of the conference. Delivering better products at lower prices could be beneficial for poor consumers and could also create employment opportunities. The GAIF will also encourage dialogue between the private and public sector in order to foster partnerships for developing competitive agro-industries.