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Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, North America, Trade

The acquisition aims at building company’s network for developing and marketing crop protection products in South America 

Sumitomo Chemical Company has recently announced a successful acquisition of four South American subsidiaries of Nufarm Limited in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. Nufarm business group is a leading Australian company in agricultural chemicals.

 Looking forward to expanding its footprints in the global agricultural industry, Sumitomo Chemical has been building its business bases in the crop protection business by venturing into various regions of the world. Through this acquisition, Sumitomo Chemical eyes at building its network for developing and marketing crop protection products in South America. Acquiring Nufarm in Brazil can help the brand strengthen its power as Brazil is considered as the world’s largest crop protection

 With this acquisition, the company aims at reaching a top position in the market and has sustained sales growth for a new highly effective fungicide against Asian Soybean Rust ‘INDIFLINTM’ (inpyrfluxam). The chemical is discovered by Sumitomo Chemical’s technology and will be launched in South American countries after 2020. The company is looking forward to achieving exponential growth in its crop protection income with this new launch.

 The company will obtain the integration of its commercial operations in South America, from development to formulation and distribution as the acquisition of the formulation plant by the Brazilian subsidiary is completed. The acquisition will play a big role in the growth engine in the crop protection business of Sumitomo Chemical. The company will, furthermore, continue with its efforts to offer tailor-made solutions for the specific needs of producers and will give its share in ensuring a stable supply of healthy and safer food, which is the current requirement of the people across the world..

 

The acquisition aims at building company’s network

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Pulses, Supply Chain

The Govt has asked NAFED to export 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) wheat to Afghanistan and 40,000 MT wheat to Lebanon on their specific demands under G2G arrangement. 

 

 

 

According to the Agriculture Ministry, during Rabi season 2020 NAFED has procured 1, 07,814 MT Pulses (Gram: 1, 06,170 MT) and Oilseeds on MSP totalling of Rs. 526.84 crore. India had a good crop of wheat, in surplus of its own demand. 

The wheat producing States have reported 26-33 percent harvesting against the total sown area. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the Government has advised farmers to maintain social distancing during sowing of kharif crops besides wearing face masks and using hand sanitizer to avoid any infection. 

Amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, pre-monsoon sowing of kharif crops has begun across the country with paddy acreage 27 percent higher at 32.58 lakh hectare so far as compared to last season. 

As per the latest data by the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers have sown paddy in 32.58 lakh hectare as on Friday, up 27 percent, from 23.81 lakh hectare in the corresponding period of last year. Total area planted under all kharif crops has increased to 48.76 lakh hectare so far this season as against 37.12 lakh hectare in same period last year. 

The Ministry of Agriculture has asked NAFED to export 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) wheat to Afghanistan and 40,000 MT wheat to Lebanon on their specific demands under G2G arrangement.

 The sowing area has been reported mainly from West Bengal (11.25 lakh hectare), Telangana (7.45 lakh hectare), Odisha (3.13 lakh hectare), Assam (2.73 lakh hectare), Karnataka (1.64 lakh hectare) and Chhattisgarh (1.50 lakh hectare). The sowing will pick up with the onset of south-west monsoon (June-September), which delivers about 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. Paddy is the main kharif crop besides pulses and oilseeds. Kharif season starts from June and ends in September. 

Some other States are also on the list including Tamil Nadu (1.30 lakh hectare), Bihar (1.22 lakh hectare), Maharashtra (0.65 lakh hectare), Madhya Pradesh (0.59 lakh hectare), Gujarat (0.54lakh hectare) and Kerala (0.46 lakh hectare), the ministry said.

 Area sown to pulses has increased to 3.97 lakh hectare from 3.01 lakh hectare in the said period. Of which, green gram has been planted in 2.59 lakh hectare and black gram in 1.23 lakh hectare and other pulses in 0.15 lakh hectare so far. Similarly, area under coarse cereals has increased to 5.54 lakh hectare so far in the current kharif season of this year from 4.33 lakh hectare a year-ago. Of which, maize has been planted in 2.81 lakh hectare and bajra in 2.51 lakh hectare in the said period.  In case of oilseeds too, the sowing area has increased to 6.66 lakh hectare from 5.97 lakh hectare in the said period. Of which, groundnut has been sown in 4.08 lakh hectare, while that of sesames in 2.13 lakh hectare in the said period.

 The ministry has circulated the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) related to crop harvesting and threshing during Kharif 2020 to the States to protect health of farmers and farm workers and to contain the spread of Coronavirus outbreak.

 

 

 

 

The Govt has asked NAFED to export

Agrotech, E-commerce, North America

Farmers who purchase a new Ram truck from an agriculture dealer can get access to Syngenta digital Ag tools.

Syngenta has teamed up with Ram Trucks to reward and empower good decisions. U.S. farmers who purchase a new Ram truck from an Agriculture Dealer can get access to Syngenta digital Ag tools. AgriEdge, a whole-farm management program that combines secure data management across digital platforms and innovative product choices for every crop, is now included in the Ram AgPack.

 

 

Ram AgPack is a unique collaboration of several agricultural organizations dedicated to delivering U.S. farmers a competitive edge. The initiative will give U.S. farmers the opportunity to maximize their return on investment (ROI) potential by helping them save on items they already planned to purchase. This improved ROI is compounded through access to AgriEdge.

 

AgriEdge empowers partners to make better decisions through the integration of data, analytics and agronomic experience. AgriEdge allows farmers to track inputs and yield on a per-field basis, and it can be leveraged to promote more sustainable operations which can be reported to downstream stakeholders. This exclusive program has helped growers maximize their return on investment for more than 18 years. 

“Innovation is a cornerstone for Syngenta that helps to assist U.S. farmers be more productive while also increasing their profitability,” said Shane Taylor, Marketing Manager of Digital Ag Solutions at Syngenta. “AgriEdge is designed to assist farmers with making the best agronomic decisions that offer optimum economical outcomes and provide best-in-class service. Our program was created by farmers, for farmers. Like Syngenta, Ram provides industry-specific products and service to farmers.”

Dave Sowers, head of Ram Commercial Truck Marketing, added, “The Ram Agriculture Dealer program created an industry-exclusive network of elite agriculture dealerships, trained by farmers and ranchers. These specialty Agriculture Dealerships also offer a benefits package we call AgPack that will save their customers thousands of dollars in capital and operating expenses, simply because they purchase their truck from one of these specialty Agriculture Dealers. Ram AgPack provides a real, immediate return on the farmer’s truck investment.”

 

Growers who purchase a new truck from one of more than 300 Agriculture Dealers qualify for a one-year subscription of AgriEdge. Local AgriEdge Specialists will work with eligible growers to identify the optimal digital tools for their farming operations.

Farmers who purchase a new Ram truck

E-commerce

354.50 lakh bales consists of the arrivals of 283.03 lakh bales up to March 31

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has retained its cotton crop forecast for the 2019-20 season, beginning from October 1, 2019, at 354.50 lakh bales of 170 kgs each as in the previous estimate. 

The total cotton supply estimated by the CAI during October 2019 to March 2020 was 327.53 lakh bales (170 kgs each) which consists of the arrivals of 283.03 lakh bales up to March 31, imports of 12.50 lakh bales and the opening stock estimated by the CAI at 32 lakh bales. 

A committee has decided to meet in the first week of May 2020, to take stock of the situation arising on account of the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 pandemic and consider changes, if any, to be made in the cotton balance sheet for the season, CAI said in a release here. 

Further, the CAI has estimated cotton consumption during October 2019 to March 2020 at 154 lakh bales, while the exports has been estimated at 31 lakh bales up to March 31.Stock at the end of March is estimated at 142.53 lakh bales, including 34 lakh bales with textile mills and the remaining 108.53 lakh bales with Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and others (MNCs, traders, and ginners, among others).

Cotton supply up to September 30, 2020 was estimated at 411.50 lakh bales (the same level as estimated in the previous month).

Total cotton supply consists of the opening stock of 32 lakh bales at the beginning of the cotton season on October 1, 2019, crop for the season estimated at 354.50 lakh bales and imports estimated by the CAI at 25.00 lakh bales, which are lower by 7 lakh bales compared to the previous year’s estimate of 32 lakh bales.

Domestic consumption estimated by the CAI for the entire crop stood at 331 lakh bales, the same level as estimated by the Cotton Advisory Board in their meeting held on November 28, 2019.

The CAI has estimated exports for the season at 42 lakh bales, the same level as estimated in the previous year. The carryover stock estimated at the end of the season stood at 38.50 lakh bales, CAI added.

354.50 lakh bales consists of the

E-commerce, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting

Sikander series, MM series, and DI/RX series are the most demanded categories of tractor across the world

One of the largest tractor manufacturer companies, Sonalika Tractors has crossed a mark of 1 lakh annual tractors sales in the Financial Year 2020. 

 

The company has marked its presence not only in India but the brand is also a world leader, having a presence in more than 100 countries. The brand’s most demanded categories of tractors across the world are Sikander series, MM series, and DI/RX series. 

Commenting on the company’s achievement, Dr Deepak Mittal, Managing Director, Sonalika Group, said, “Our tractors have been globally accepted and appreciated by customers for their technology and consistent performance. The achievement is a true sign of acceptability of an Indian company across 120 countries.” 

On this achievement, the company’s Executive Director Raman Mittal also expressed his gratitude. “We are making it a habit to win hearts across the globe and continue to drive farm prosperity. Our customer-centric approach, has been instrumental in this consistent performance of positively influencing over 1 lakh families for 3 consecutive years,” says Raman Mittal.

“We have taken certain measures to counter Covid19 which includes setting up Isolation Centre at St. Stephens Hospital, New Delhi, an extension of warranty and service renewal date for our existing customers, disinfection sprayers using tractors and sprayers across the country along with state and local administration, for lockdown period ensuring full wages to our contract workmen and ad-hoc staff along with the advance salary for employees in March,” added Mittal. 

“As we enter the new financial year, we are ready with 4 Next-Gen Series tractors – Tiger, Sikander DLX, Mahabali, and Chhatrapati. In continuation of our belief in constant product innovations, these new tractors are 1st of its kind in India which will offer customization addressing the local needs of farmers,” Mittal further added.

Sikander series, MM series, and DI/RX series

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain

Minister reviews, via video conference, steps taken by States for smooth agri and allied activities during lockdown

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held a video conference with State agriculture ministers and other State officials in recent. Tomar informed in the conference that the kharif national conference will be held on April 16 through video conferencing.

 

The Centre has asked the State governments to issue necessary instructions to facilitate selling of produce by farmers at their doorsteps and also to ensure smooth inter-State and intra-State movement of machines used for harvesting and sowing, such as combine harvesters.

 

During the remote meeting, in which his deputy ministers and senior Ministry officials participated, Tomar reviewed the steps being taken by the States to facilitate agriculture and allied activities during the lockdown period.

 

Keeping supply chain moving

The Minister also reiterated various exemptions being given to ensure agricultural operations during the ongoing harvesting season and forthcoming kharif sowing. The States were requested to sensitise their field agencies about the steps required to be taken for smooth farming operations, including marketing, as well as to give expeditious permission for movement of staff and labour and goods, machines and materials of agencies engaged in the exempted categories of activities.

 

The Centre also asked the States to issue authorisation letters to companies and organisations having a nationwide supply chain of essential goods, allowing them to issue regional passes for easy movement of critical staff and workers to maintain their supply chain.

 

The Home Ministry has already exempted a number of agencies and organisations associated with agriculture from the lockdown, which is in place since March 25. They include mandis operated by APMCs, shops selling seeds and other agri inputs, manufacturing and packaging units of seeds and agri inputs, custom hiring centres dealing with farm machinery, cold storages and warehouses, manufacturing units making food packaging materials and those involved in transportation of essential goods.

 

During the discussion, various issues relating to harvest procurement, availability of inputs, credit, insurance and inter-State movement of agriculture produce came up. While some of these issues were solved immediately, other issues requiring deliberations were noted with the assurance to the States that they would be looked into and necessary action would be taken in due course.

 

 

Minister reviews, via video conference, steps taken

Acts & Schemes – Centre, AgroPolicy

FICCI suggests recommendations related to APMC regulations,procurement centers, seed licenses, poultry,cold stores and shrimp industry

 

 Despite agriculture being exempted from the lockdown, the sector faced a major setback in the first 10 days. In order to implement effective procurement and storage of Rabi harvest, FICCI has submitted the recommendations to Government.

Allow mandis to operate smoothly:

For ensuring that the supply chain of food, including processed food, is not disrupted, it is important that mandis are allowed to run after ensuring appropriate protection and hygiene measures. Food processing units should be allowed to function without any artificial distinction between essential and non-essential.

More procurement centres should be opened:

The number of procurement centres need to be increased in the states where arrivals are expected to start in a few days. Farmers should not have to transport more than 3 km to offer their produce for MSP operations. The number of trucks for lifting the procured stocks from procurement centres needs to go up substantially. Otherwise, there will be shortage of space at procurement centres. Sufficient storage space needs to be created at warehouses of FCI and State agencies also. If covered warehouses are not available, proper arrangements for CAP storage of wheat should be made.

 APMC regulations should be relaxed which prohibit sale and purchase outside mandi jurisdiction: Farmers of perishable produce (vegetables, fruits, milk, fish, meat etc.) should be allowed to sell their produce outside the regulated markets.

 Govt. must ensure that the police help farmers who are bringing their produce to mandis or the places where it can be sold. This includes retail shops as well as street vendors who are selling the same in the urban areas. Smooth transportation of all food items into urban areas must be allowed.

Storage charges incurred by small and marginal farmers for six months stocks kept by them in WDRA registered warehouses or cold storages for which eNWRs have been issued, should be taken care of by the Government.

 Guidelines issued by the MHA on the announcement of the 21 day-lockdown, did not specifically include “Fumigation and Pest Management as “Essential services”. “Pest Control Services & Fumigation Services at warehouses” are equally required for blocking the spread of the Corona Pandemic & keeping Agri commodities infestation free during storage. Therefore, this should be enlisted as essential services. As of now, Only Maharashtra had exempted “Fumigation & Pest Management” services in their Orders. * As per scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, around 35% of India’s agricultural crop is lost due to pest infestation, a significant part of which is during storage.

 Ensuring supply of seeds and other Agri-inputs in view of the upcoming Kharif season

 Seed related concerns:

Every state has issued advisory and exempted Agri- input industry, (particularly seeds). However, agricultural officials in districts do not have clarity regarding issuance of permits for opening the premises and permits for employee movements. 

The current challenge lies in the implementation of the State guidelines at the tolls and inter-state borders. Therefore, the State Govt should notify nodal agency or persons who shall have the authority to issue the permits to the exempted industries.

 Seed licenses

Seed companies whose seed license has just expired or about to expire are unable to renew their licenses due to lockdown. In such cases, we request that all seed licenses (which are to expire in March 2020 or later) be automatically extended. This will facilitate the unhindered supply of seeds for this Kharif season.

 Concerns related to Irrigation equipment:

In the context of the forthcoming Kharif crop, farmers will require the deployment and maintenance of irrigation systems. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have clearly stated that irrigation equipment would be covered in the list of essential items. However, there is no guideline from centre on including irrigation equipment in essential list. Due to this, companies are not able to start operations and provide equipment in these states. The equipment stocked in warehouses will not be adequate to meet the demand. Therefore, guidelines from the Centre are important.

 Concerns related to Farm machinery:

Addendum issued on 3 April by Centre Government, does mention about relaxation in farm machinery. However, tractors (which does not fall in the definition of farm machinery) are not mentioned specifically, which is causing problem at the state level. Companies are getting continuous requirement from farmers to purchase tractors since it is a sowing/harvesting/land preparation time for Kharif season, but they are unable to meet demand due to ambiguity in circular and hindrance by local authorities.

  Reschedule crop loans and investment loans taken by farmers:

Loans taken on Kisan Credit Card as well as investment loans taken by small farmers may be rescheduled and no interest should be charged for six months.

(3) Cold stores:

Impact on cold chain units: The cold chain industry runs on the backbone of fuel and power. The cold chain units are under severe distress and fear of disconnection of electricity supply, due to delay in payment or inability to pay electric bills. If the electricity supply of the cold storage unit is disconnected, that would lead to a national loss of a few thousand tons of food material. Moreover, if food items get rotten, there would be a widespread issue of hygiene and smell.

Impact on potato cold stores: Potato harvest is due in this season and cold stores are busy buying potato for storage. Shortage of labor and restriction on truck movement will result in low capacity utilization, default on bank loans and wastage of potato on the field with losses to farmers. This may lead to an increase in the price of potatoes also in the coming three to four months.

Suggestions

 The electricity rate of cold storage units to be matched with the agricultural tariff of the state. The rate of electricity on national power exchange is Rs. 1.90 while the cold storage units are being charged ranging from Rs. 6.50 to Rs. 8.50. It is requested that during this time of distress, electricity unit rates for cold stores be decreased. It is pertinent to mention, that Maharashtra and Haryana are already charging Agriculture Tariff from the Cold Storage Units. ➢ Potato harvesting and associated logistics should be specifically exempted from the lockdown restrictions. Cold stores should be allowed to engage labour and trucks to move produce from the field to stores.

 Cold stores should be given power subsidy for 6 months by GOI to compensate for lower capacity utilization.

 

(4) Relief measure for Poultry sector:

Today, the Indian poultry sector employees more than 10 Lakh poultry farmers and provide Rs. 1.2 Lakh Crore to the Indian GDP directly. Poultry is also giving direct benefit to more than one Crore Maize and Soya agriculture farmers and provides direct and indirect employment to more than ~5 Crore citizens of the country engaged in poultry production, trade, feed, agriculture crops, logistics, poultry-based products, exports, etc.

The recent outbreak of Covid- 19 has diminished the demand for poultry products, which is immensely impacting the poultry industry. Despite the fact, that there is no scientific evidence to show that coronavirus spreads through eating chicken, mutton and seafood the situation is not improving.

 Impact on Maize and soybean farmers:

In absence of demand for poultry products, maize and soybean farmers are also suffering. As a result, the prices of Maize have dropped from Rs.25/- to Rs.15/- per Kg in the last few days.

 Impact on Poultry industry:

 Prices of eggs have now decreased to Rs.2/- per egg at the farm gate. Every poultry farmer is suffering an average loss of Rs.130/- per bird. Due to such a scenario, poultry farmers have even started destroying and culling their produce, which needs immediate attention.

As per industry estimates, the Current 2.5 months loss of Poultry Industry (Broiler Farmers & Layer Farmers, Integration Companies and Breeding Companies) beginning from 1st Feb to 15th April’ 2020 until Lockdown opens is of INR 22500 CR.

Suggestions

During similar situation in 2006 when there was a massive bird flu attack on poultry sector, Government of India has provided relief measure to the poultry sector by announcing Interest Subventions and increasing Credit duration to the Poultry Industry for a limited time period. Relief package for the Poultry sector should be provided in Covid- 19 crisis too, as this situation is even worse.

Government may also consider giving direct assistance to poultry farmers through direct benefit transfer so that they are compensated to some extent for the losses incurred by them.

Eggs should be purchased for conversion into powder for consumption by army, para military forces, police as well as health workers engaged in Covid related duty. Eggs should be included in mid-day meals and also to pregnant and nursing mothers attached to Anganwadi centres.

(5) Shrimp Industry

India is the 2nd largest Shrimp producer in the world and is the largest employer of women in the segment. The farmers are holding a stock of about USD 1 Bn – 1.5 Bn primarily for exports (Total Shrimp exports are Rs 30000 crore – approximately). Major shrimp producing states are (AP, TN, Kerala, Gujarat). Shrimp is an extremely perishable commodity and if not procured within time, deteriorates very rapidly.

Interventions required

  • The stock has to be harvested daily and sold in the domestic market for the next 30 – 45 – 60 days as exports have stopped. Therefore, such farmers should be linked to buyers through an e-commerce model. Online perishables retailers should be incentivised to extend their helping hand.
  • Facilitation by Govt for movement of shrimp produces to domestic market by allowing Reefers. Reefer trucks should be allowed to move the product for distribution to retail market or by online for home delivery.

 

FICCI suggests recommendations related to APMC

China, E-commerce, Finance

The Loan program is designed for farmers to purchase Kiwa’s fertilizer products and technical services.

 Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corp. (KWBT) (“Kiwa Bio-Tech” or “the Company”), an emerging agricultural company that develops, manufactures and markets bio-fertilizers in the multi-billion China agriculture and aquaculture markets, and develops smart soil remediation technology for global agriculture markets, recently announced that after 6 months of negotiation Shaanxi Branch of Postal Savings Bank of China (“PSBC”) will provide up to a 100 million RMB (approximately $14 million USD) loan (the “Loan”) to support and boost agriculture economy in China. The Loan program is specially designed by PSBC for Kiwa and issued by Shaanxi Agricultural Credit Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. (“SACFG”) for farmers to purchase Kiwa’s fertilizer products and technical services. 

Wade Li, CEO of Kiwa Bio-Tech commented, “SACFG is a guarantee company of the Shaanxi Provincial Government. SACFG highly recognizes the Company’s business development in Shaanxi and will support the implementation of Company’s Trinity marketing strategy in the province. Providing loans to Kiwa’s customers will greatly reduce the proportion of accounts receivable in sales of fertilizer, optimize operation structure, and improve financial management capabilities.” 

Man Yun, CFO of Kiwa Bio-Tech commented, “It is the first time that we have utilized bank lending facilities in nearly 20 years. This credit facility will enhance our cash flow and enable us to accelerate production and sales. At present, we have several convertible notes in the United States of America which mature in the current fiscal year and we have started negotiations with these convertible notes holders regarding repayment. We are striving to reach agreement with these creditors and repay these convertible notes in cash by the end of April 2020.”

The Loan program is designed for farmers

Agro Universities, R&D

Department of Horticulture, Govt of Karnataka purchased 20 vans for FPOs in 10 districts

ICAR-IIHR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Institute of Horticulture Research) has developed a fruit and vegetables vending van. In the wake of the 21-day lockdown to stall spread of Covid-19, the institute sees that it would enable daily access to fruits and vegetables. 

The Bengaluru-based institute has sold 20 such vans to the Karnataka Department of Horticulture, which are given to FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) in 10 districts. 

One such van has been given to HOPCOMS (Horticulture Produce Marketing Society) temporarily to sell fruits and vegetables during the lockdown period, according to Dr M R Dinesh, director, ICAR-IIHR.

The van was designed and developed primarily to offset the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. The institute envisaged that fresh produce could be reached from farmlands to consumers.

In this regard, “20 such vans are purchased under Sujala Scheme by Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka, to give it to FPOs in 10 districts,” he added.Haryana government purchased three vans for their Centre of Excellence for PHT (Post-Harvest Technology).

According to Dr G Senthilkumaran, Principal Scientist, Agricultural Engineering, ICAR-IIHR, a subsidy was announced to FPOs to buy from IIHR authorised manufacturers. Here four firms were identified. 

Kerala government, through Horticorp (Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation), a similar initiative like HOPCOMS in Karnataka, purchased one van for trial. Though KHF, Bengaluru (Karnataka State Co-operative Horticultural Marketing Federation), funded this project, it could not buy 20 vans as planned in 2018-19 due to lack of funds. Now it is going to buy four vans on trial basis this year. 

“HOPCOMS, Bengaluru, has borrowed the van temporarily to sell vegetables and fruits during the lockdown period,” Senthilkumaran said.

Vans which are given to different districts are selling at customers’ doorstep to help people during this lockdown period. These cover Tumkur, Koppa, Bidar, Bijapur and Gadag.

Department of Horticulture, Govt of Karnataka purchased

E-commerce, Live Stock

The company will allot a time slot for the customer to pick up the order from the store 

TenderCuts, a Chennai-based tech-driven omni-channel meat & seafood company; in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, has introduced contactless retail – a one-of-its-kind service amongst meat & seafood retail at its stores. 

The service is part of the company’s initiative to mitigate the ongoing Covid-19 crisis across the country with focus on ensuring health and safety of its employees and customers.

Under contactless retail, a customer can download the TenderCuts app, place the order and the company will allot a time slot for the customer to pick up the order from the store. Once the customer arrives at the store, they can sanitise themselves and the product will be kept ready which will allow the customer to complete his retail experience in a matter of few minutes. Online payment for the order is mandatory for the customers to make the service a seamless and safe experience.

 Commenting on the initiative, Nishanth Chandran, founder and CEO, TenderCuts, said, “Covid-19 has given us a reason to adopt contactless retail experience. As a meat and seafood retail company, we at TenderCuts must understand what our customers require.”

 

Through this service, we have managed to couple convenience with the safety and health of the customers and employees which is our topmost priority. We have all the necessary tools and technology to make the service successful during the Covid-19 situation as well as in the long-term added Chandran.

“At TenderCuts, our safety standards are in adherence with the global standards and we want to ensure that we leverage the best practices to transform the meat and seafood retail industry,” he said.

 

The company was set up in 2016 and is FSSAI certified and provides fresh quality meat that complies with the standards of World Health Organization (WHO). The company has its retail experience stores in Chennai and Hyderabad.

The company will allot a time slot

E-commerce, Supply Chain

IBM offers 30-day free trial of its Operations Dashboard from The Weather Company (TWC)

With the COVID-19 lockdown bringing new challenges to the agricultural sector in India, IBM is offering the agritech start-ups a 30-day free trial of its Operations Dashboard from The Weather Company (TWC) to help these firms with supply chain operations. 

Farmers in India are getting ready to harvest Rabi Crops like wheat, barley, mustard, sesame and peas, but many agritech companies who manage supply chains are facing complex challenges due to the lockdown. 

“The Dashboard can help supply chain managers make faster, more-informed decisions by combining our accurate weather forecasts with their unique business insights,” Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India Pvt Ltd and General Manager IBM India/South Asia wrote in a LinkedIn recent post. 

All the agritech companies in India, whose supply chain operations are getting impacted in the current lockdown period can avail the service, Patel said. 

The Operations Dashboard is designed to send automatic alerts when weather conditions that could impact businesses are detected. It can contextualise what upcoming weather might mean for businesses and provide recommended actions, besides improving operations by delivering near real-time and forecasted location-specific weather notifications.

 “Powered by the IBM Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting System (IBMGRAF) — the world’s highest-resolution global weather forecasting model — this highly customizable solution is designed to function like a ‘meteorologist-in-a-box’ which actively monitors weather forecasts for conditions that may affect your location, operations and customers,” Patel said.

 With access to current weather and 15 day forecast with user-friendly visual effects, the tool can allow companies to take decisions on transportation of their produce in the face of weather. 

“This means produce will reach consumers faster, less food will be spoilt, and farmers’ efforts don’t go to waste,” Patel said.

                                                                                    (source-IANS)

 

 

IBM offers 30-day free trial of its

Acts & Schemes – Centre

By invoking provisions of the Essential Commodities (EC) Act 1955 

Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Union Home Secretary, has written to all State Chief Secretaries to take immediate steps for ensuring availability of essential goods, by invoking provisions of the Essential Commodities (EC) Act 1955. This measure was taken, as part of maintaining smooth supply of essential items in the country. 

It includes fixing of stock limits, capping of prices, increasing production, inspection of accounts of dealers and other such actions. There are also reports of loss of production due to several factors, especially reduction in labour supply. In this situation, there are chances of inventory building or hoarding and black marketing, profiteering, and speculative trading. Thus, resulting in price rise of essential goods.

Now, the States have been asked to take urgent steps to ensure availability of these commodities at fair prices for public to a large extent. Before, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), with its orders under the Disaster Management Act, has even allowed manufacture or production, transport & other related supply-chain activities with respect of essential goods such as foodstuff, medicines and medical equipment. 

Adding to it, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, is authorizing States or Union Territories to notify orders under the EC Act, 1955. Thus, relaxing the requirement of prior concurrence of the Central Government till June 30, 2020.

 

It is to be noted that, offences under EC Act are criminal offences & may result in imprisonment of 7 years or fine or both. State or Union Territory Governments may also look for detention of offenders under the Prevention of Black-marketing & Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.

By invoking provisions of the Essential Commodities

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce, R&D

The nematode protects against a wide range of agricultural, horticultural and forestry pests

After three years of field trials, UK-based biotechnology company Bionema has launched a new cold- tolerance nematode pest control product, which provides insect kill rate of up to 95%.  

It is estimated that crop pests caused 470 billion USD worldwide annually. For example, annual European losses by western corn rootworm are the estimated at £1.5billion, while black vine weevil causes losses of up to £40m to the UK horticulture industry and £4 billion worldwide. According to a research report conducted by independent agricultural and environmental consultancy ADAS, UK estimated annual chafer grub control costs UK golf courses approximately £85m in lost income and damage repair and lost income by the 40% of UK racecourses affected by pest damage could amount to £605,000 per course. 

Bionema’s new product – NemaTrident®CT (cold-tolerance) contains Heterorhabditis downesi and offers a highly effective chemical-free, low temperature solution to greenkeepers, sports turf managers, crop growers, plant producers and arboriculturists who are finding it difficult to control these pests in lower temperature soils. The product provides protection against a wide range of agricultural, horticultural and forestry pests – including vine weevil, pine weevil, chafer grubs, leatherjackets, cutworms and offers successful results when used in the late spring and autumn when soil temperatures can dip to as low as 5°C. 

 It is an also effective alternative to traditional chemical products, which have been withdrawn from the market, due to EU chemical pest control regulations. Dr Minshad Ansari, founder and CEO of Bionema – and a leading expert in biocontrol said “Three-year product trials in the horticultural, sport turf, forestry and arboriculture sectors included different nematode species. The final product offers a unique solution that provides 20-30% higher efficacy than existing products in the market – and delivers up to 95% kill rate”.

NemaTrident® is available to professional users in the UK and EU through dedicated distributors including Rigby Taylor, Dejex Horticulture, Farmyard, Medinbio and Progreen.

Peter Corbett, Business Development Manager of Rigby Taylor, said: “We are delighted to add Bionema’s NemaTrident Cold-Tolerant solutions to our portfolio. Our customers have been crying out for a solution to treat insect problems when they begin to appear in early spring and late autumn.”

 

 

The nematode protects against a wide range

Interaction, Supply Chain

As the virus spreads and cases mount, and measures tighten to curb the spread of the virus, there are countless ways the food systems at all levels will be tested and strained in the coming weeks and months in Food production, agricultural and fishery/aquaculture supply chains and markets.

The food supply chain is a complex web that involves producers, consumers, agricultural and fishery inputs, processing and storage, transportation and marketing, etc.

As of now, disruptions are minimal, as food supply has been adequate, and markets have been stable so far. Global cereal stocks are at comfortable levels and the outlook for wheat and other major staple crops for 2020 is positive.

Although less food production of high value commodities (i.e. fruits and vegetables) is already likely, they are not as yet noticeable because of the lockdowns and disruption in the value chain

In the fisheries and aquaculture sector, the implications can vary and be quite complex. For wild-capture fisheries, the inability of fishing vessels to operate (due to limited or collapse of market as well as sanitary measures difficult to abide to on board of a vessel) can generate a domino effect throughout the value chains in terms of supply of products, in general, and the availability of specific species. In addition, for wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture, problems in logistics associated with restriction in transportation, border closures, and the reduced demand in restaurants and hotels can generate significant market changes – affecting prices.

We are already seeing, however, challenges in terms of the logistics involving the movement of food (not being able to move food from point A to point B), and the pandemic’s impact on livestock sector due to reduced access to animal feed and slaughterhouses’ diminished capacity (due to logistical constraints and labour shortages) similar to what happened in China.

As a result of the above as of April and May we expect to see disruptions in the food supply chains.

Blockages to transport routes are particularly obstructive for fresh food supply chains and may also result in increased levels of food loss and waste. Fresh fish and aquatic products, which are highly perishable and therefore need to be sold, processed or stored in a relatively limited time are at particular risk.

Transport restrictions and quarantine measures are likely to impede farmers’ and fishers’ access to markets, curbing their productive capacities and hindering them from selling their produce.

Shortages of labour could disrupt production and processing of food, notably for labour-intensive industries (e.g. crops or fishing).

Spikes in prices are not expected in major staples where there is supply, stocks, and production is capital intensive, but are more likely for high value commodities, especially meat and fish in the very short term and perishable commodities. On the other hand, where production is available and demand collapses like in some fisheries, prices are expected to collapse too.

Developing countries are particularly at risk as COVID-19 can lead to a reduction in labour force, and affect incomes and livelihoods as well as labour intensive forms of production (agriculture, fisheries/aquaculture). Of particular concern is sub-Saharan Africa where most of the countries experiencing food crises are.

The need to upgrade international standards for hygiene, working conditions and living facilities on agricultural activities and on-board fishing vessels, as well as throughout the fish value chain, need to be reconsidered in the light of the pandemic.

Source: FAO

As the virus spreads and cases