FAI organised a three day Workshop on “Business Intelligence, Forecasts and Planning for the Fertiliser Sector” during April 17 to 19, 2006 at The Qutab – A Clarion Collection Hotel, New Delhi. Shri B. K. Saha, Director General, FAI inaugurated the programme. 40 participants (including the Faculty members) from various organisations representing Fertiliser Industry, Department of Fertilizers, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, National Informatics Centre, National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, Economic Information Technology, Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation Ltd., Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd., Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Punjab MARKFED, etc. participated in the Workshop.
Inaugurating the programme, Shri B. K. Saha mentioned about the need for and importance of forecasts for planning in the fertiliser sector. He stated that most of the projections are based on the past data and do not take into account projects planned for future. There are many irrigation projects under implementation and planned by the government which should be taken into consideration while making projections of fertilisers. There is a need for making detailed projections at the state level. The Agriculture Policy 2000 mentions about the 4% growth in agriculture to achieve 8-10% growth in GDP. But no other supporting figures are available about the forecasts of the factors associated with the growth in agriculture. There is also the need for looking into the prospects of net farm incomes of the farmers which has been steadily declining over the years. A 10% growth in GDP does not translate into corresponding growth in farm income. There is a need for higher growth in farm incomes which calls for higher growth in agriculture. If agriculture grows, fertiliser sector will also grow. He hoped that various issues relating to projections and planning would emerge during the deliberations in the 3-day workshop.
Earlier, Shri T. K. Chanda, Chief (Statistics & IT), FAI welcomed Shri B. K. Saha, invitees and participants. Shri Chanda mentioned about the objectives and the role of FAI programmes, viz. training programme, group discussion, workshops, etc. in the up gradation of the skills of the professionals in the fertiliser and agriculture sectors. There has been a constant endeavour in FAI to enrich the contents of the programmes in order to cater to the needs of the fertiliser industry and all those who are associated with the progress of agriculture in the country. The workshop on Business Intelligence, Forecasts and Planning for the Fertiliser Sector was being organised keeping in view the need of the hour.
Shri Kuldeep Sati, Statistical Officer, FAI extended a vote of thanks.
Four Technical Sessions were held.
Shri Pratap Narayan, Former Director General – FAI, N. Delhi chaired Session I. Four papers were presented. The first paper on Use of ICT in the Fertiliser Industry by Shri G. Rajagopalan and Shri Jignesh Vaidya was presented by the co-author of the paper Shri Jignesh Vaidya, IT Outsourcing Manager, Tata Chemicals Ltd. The second paper on Business Intelligence System for Fertiliser Sector was presented by Shri R. K. Gupta, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre, N. Delhi. The third paper on Future Requirement of Feedstock, Intermediates and Raw Materials was presented by Dr. S. Nand, Director (Technical), FAI, N. Delhi. The fourth paper on Role of Market Research in the Fertilizer Sector was presented by Dr. A. K. Roy, Chief Executive, Economic Information Technology, Kolkata.
The Session II was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, INSA Senior Scientist; Ex-ICAR National Professor; Ex-Professor & Head, Division of Agronomy, IARI, N. Delhi. In all, 5 papers were presented. The first paper on Weather Forecasting was presented by Dr. B. K. Basu, Advisor, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, NOIDA, UP. The second paper on Forecasts of Agricultural Production was presented by Dr. Ranjana Agrawal, Principal Scientist & Head, Division of Forecasting, IASRI, New Delhi. The third paper on Farm Incomes in India: Past, Present and Future was presented by Dr. Ramesh Chand, Acting Director, National Centre for Agricultural Economics & Policy Research, New Delhi. The fourth paper on Projections of Fertiliser Demand and Supply – India and the World was presented by Shri T. K. Chanda, Chief (Statistics & IT), FAI, N. Delhi. The fifth paper on Rationalisation of Marketing Practices was presented by Shri R. C. Gupta, Deputy Director General, FAI, N. Delhi.
Shri R. C. Gupta chaired the third session. Two papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Planning for Fertiliser Availability was presented by Shri T. K. Sengupta, General Manager (Fert), MMTC Ltd., New Delhi. The second paper on Logistics Planning in the Fertiliser Sector was presented by Shri P. Randheer Reddy, Director (Movement), Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
The fourth session was chaired by Shri S. K. Patra, Vice President (Marketing), Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd, New Delhi. Two papers were presented in the session. The first paper on Emerging Opportunities for Fertiliser Industry was presented by Shri S. K. Patra, Vice President (Marketing), Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. The second presentation was made on Commodity Trading and Agriculture by Shri Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, NCDEX, Mumbai.
At the conclusion of the programme, the feedback of the workshop was invited from the participants with suggestions for improvement. The participants appreciated the contents of the programme and felt that the programme had facilitated in enriching their knowledge. It was suggested that such programmes could be organised every year. Details of various observations and suggestions of the participants were noted for further action.
Shri C. Robertson, Statistical Officer, FAI extended a vote of thanks.
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