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Environment

SBG Cleantech, a renewable energy joint venture (JV) between Japanese behemoth SoftBank Group and India’s Bharti Enterprises, is looking to raise up to $750 million, per a report by The Economic Times.

Softbank owns a majority of 80 per cent stake in the JV company, while the remaining is held by the Indian multinational. The proposed funding will be used by SBG Cleantech to expedite its ongoing and pipeline projects in India and the US. In the pipeline, the company currently has projects worth 7.7-gigawatt in India, which it plans to take up to 20-gigawatt over the next five years. SBG Cleantech, established in 2015, will soon start reaching out to a gamut of investors – both financial and strategic – to raise the amount.

These include private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, global utilities and pension funds. SB Energy, the renewable energy arm of SoftBank, is said to have roped in Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays to facilitate the fundraising process, added the report. SBG Cleantech has assets in diverse markets such as the US, Latin America and Middle East, besides holding operating assets in India.

Investors are increasingly evincing interest in India’s renewable energy sector in the backdrop of next-generation reforms in the power sector. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently paved the way for privatisation of electricity distribution companies (discoms) in all eight union territories.

SBG Cleantech, a renewable energy joint venture

Acts & Schemes – Centre

Drones will be used to spray pesticides on tall trees and inaccessible places for effective control of locusts

Union Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting with both the Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Parshottam Rupala and Kailash Choudhary and Secretary (DAC&FW) Sanjay Agarwal to review the Locust Control Operations. The locust attacks have come at a time when India is already battling with the COVID-19 crisis.

 To ensure adequate machines are made available to states for effective control of the swarms, the minister said, “15 sprayers will start arriving from Britain in the next 15 days.Besides, 45 more sprayers will be procured in a month or one-and-a-half months.”

Use of drones and helicopters 

 “Drones will be used to spray pesticides on tall trees and inaccessible places for effective control of locusts, while plans are afoot to deploy helicopters for aerial spray. Already, two firms have been finalized through tender for use of the drones for spraying pesticides”, he added.

 A committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary of the Agriculture Department has been constituted to procure services and goods for spraying insecticides through drones and airplanes.

Regional Control rooms 

Tomar further said 11 Regional Control Rooms have been established and special contingents have been deployed along with additional manpower to check the spread of locusts.He assured the affected states will be allocated additional resources and financial aid if required.

Meanwhile, the Union Agriculture Ministry said that supply order for procurement of additional 55 vehicles has been placed to strengthen the control potential. Adequate stock of pesticide is being maintained (53,000 litres Malathion) with Locust Control Organizations.

 No new entry of locust swarm

According to the Ministry, there was no new entry of locust swarm on Thursday but on May 26 a locust swarm had entered from Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan and control operation was going on against these swarms.

Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal said currently 47 spray equipment in Locust Control Offices (LCOs) are being used for locust control and 200 officials are deployed.

Beyond scheduled desert areas, temporary control camps have also been set up at Jaipur, Chittorgarh, Dausa in Rajasthan; Sheopur, Neemuch, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh for locust control. Locust has been controlled in an area of about 50,468 hectares in 334 locations in Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Locust Control Operation

Locust control operations have been undertaken every day in the morning hours with the help of control spray vehicles, tractor mounted sprayers and fire brigade vehicles under the supervision of concerned district authorities and officials of the State Agriculture Department.

The Rajasthan government has deployed 778 tractors and 50 fire brigade vehicles, Madhya Pradesh – 72 tractors and 38 fire brigade vehicles, Uttar Pradesh deployed 6 tractors and Punjab deployed 50 tractors and 6 fire brigade vehicles for locust control.

Presently, pink swarms of immature adults are being reported in India which is very active and mobile and it is difficult to control them in one place.

It takes at least 4 to 5 days of control at different locations for the complete elimination of the locust population in one flock. Enough stock of pesticides is available with the locust control organization, the statement said.

 

Drones will be used to spray pesticides

E-commerce, Finance, North America

Apeel’s new funding will support the company’s initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South America.

Santa Barbara,Calif.-based Apeel Sciences has announced $250 million in new financing, and endorsements from Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry.

The financial boost brings the company’s valuation to more than $1 billion. It will enable the company, which markets a post-harvest shelf-life extending technology for fresh produce, to continue tackling food waste on the global level, according to a news release.

GIC led investors on the round of funding, with Viking Global Investors, Up front Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rock Creek Group also participating. Celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry joined the effort as minority, non-participatory investors to support Apeel’s mission, according to the release.

 “I hate to see food wasted, when there are so many people in the world who are going without,” Winfrey said in the release. “Apeel can extend the life of fresh produce, which is critical to our food supply and our planet too.” 

In 2020, Apeel is on track to save 20 million pieces of fruit from going to waste at retail stores and extending the shelf life of produce in consumers’ homes, according to company officials. 

In April, Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash said, it will be using Apeel Sciences’ treatment for organic apples. In January, German retail organization EDEKA Group said it is featuring citrus treated with Apeel Science’s shelf-life extender in select stores, with treated oranges and clementines anticipated by the end of the year. In September, Kroger said it was expanding a pilot with Apeel avocados to all stores.

 Apeel Sciences offers a plant-derived solution applied to fresh produce after harvest that slows water loss and oxidation. The company says the technology can double to triple the shelf life of many produce items without the need for refrigeration.

On average, the company said U.S. retailers that use Apeel have experienced a 50% reduction in shrink, a 5-10% growth in dollar sales, and an incremental 10% growth in dollar sales when sold in conjunction with in-store marketing campaigns. Apeel can help safeguard from COVID-19 related losses on produce items, according to the release, by increasing flexibility for suppliers and retailers.

 Apeel’s new funding will support the company’s initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South America. 

“We are proud to team up with GIC to help create a better future with less waste,” Apeel Sciences CEO James Rogers said in the release. “Food waste is an invisible tax imposed on everyone that participates in the food system.

 

“Together, we’re putting time back on the industry’s side to help deal with the food waste crisis and the challenges it poses to food businesses.”

Apeel’s new funding will support the

Acquaculture, Agro Universities

The webinar aims to promote resurgence among the shrimp farmers of Haryana & Punjab 

 

College of Fisheries, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences (GADVASU), had organised An Industry- Farmer- Academia Webinar on “Covid-19 Crisis: Mitigation Strategies for Shrimp Farmers of Punjab”, under the leadership of Dr Prakash Singh Brar, Dean of College of Veterinary Sciences, Principal Investigator- ICAR, NAHEP, Institutional Development Project (IDP).   

It is important to mention that shrimp is a highly remunerative aquaculture export commodity. In Punjab, area under shrimp farming has increased from 15 ha in 2017 to 130 ha in 2019 and could have crossed 200 ha mark in 2020, if the COVID-19 would have not hit the world to lockdown. The total supply chain from shrimp seed production to processing as well as export has been badly affected.

Therefore, the webinar was organised to promote resurgence among the baffled shrimp farmers of Haryana & Punjab. Fisheries students also took part in the event to understand the impact of ongoing lockdown on shrimp industry from farmer & industry perspectives, in order to develop a better vision to tackle such situations in future.   

An eminent shrimp entrepreneur cum industrialist Dr Manoj Sharma, who is also director of Mayank Aquaculture Private Limited in Gujarat, apprised the participants of Indian shrimp industry scenario & strategies to sustainability. Dr Sharma emphasized that demand for food will never subside and international demand will increase once export resumes. With the message “Food is a Necessity; Not an Option”, farmers were advised to stock their ponds, as food production has been affected globally and their crops will definitely fill the gap, both at national as well as international levels. 

 

Dr Meera D. Ansal of the College of Fisheries said that dependence of shrimp industry on export is the root cause of uncertainties and can be improved if a strong domestic market is there to buffer such crisis. Dr Meenal advised farmers to wait for another 30 to 45 days; as one crop can be harvested before the month of November, even if the ponds are stocked by June 30.  Farmers were also suggested to form an association to overcome such unforeseen calamities in future.

Webinar was coordinated by Dr Prabjeet Singh & Dr S.N. Datta, Assistant Professors, College of Fisheries.

 

The webinar aims to promote resurgence among

Agrotech, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

CLAAS Agricultural Machinery Pvt Ltd, a leading manufacturer of agriculture machinery and the pioneer in multi-crop harvesting

 

 

 

Christian Radons will be joining the Group Executive Board at CLAAS with responsibility for the global Sales and Service division. He succeeds Bernd Ludewig, who will take on new activities outside the company. 

“We would like to thank Bernd Ludewig for his successful development work as Regional Managing Director in Eastern Europe and his four years of committed service on the Group Executive Board,” explains Thomas Böck, Chairman of CLAAS’ Group Executive Board. “We are also very pleased that with Christian Radons, we have been able to internally recruit an experienced and imaginative manager for this important task.”

Radons has been part of the CLAAS Group for around 20 years now and initially held various commercial management positions, including that of Commercial Director when CLAAS Global Sales was launched. He was appointed Managing Director of the technology subsidiary CLAAS Agrosystems in 2012, which later became CLAAS E-Systems. This company was founded in 2014 during his time as managing director and moved into the newly built Electronics Development Centre in Dissen in 2017. Radons has headed up the sales region of Western Europe and Oceania as Regional Managing Director since October 2017 and has also led the sales region of Africa and the Middle East since 2019.

This means that CLAAS’ Group Executive Board will comprise the following members: Thomas Böck (Chairman, Forage Harvesting Business Unit and Technology and Systems Division), Hans Lampert (Finance and Controlling Division), Jan-Hendrik Mohr (Grain Harvest Business Unit), Dr. Jens Foerst (Tractor Business Unit) and Christian Radons (Sales and Service Business Unit). 

CLAAS Agricultural Machinery Pvt Ltd, a leading manufacturer of agriculture machinery and the pioneer in multi-crop harvesting. With over 100 years of a strong German legacy of being intimately connected with agriculture, CLAAS has successfully established itself as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. CLAAS is known around the world as a harvesting specialist, both for grain and forage.

 

CLAAS Agricultural Machinery Pvt Ltd, a leading

Acts & Schemes – Centre

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat have been confronting an attack from desert locusts.

 The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has approached Union minister for agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and Union minister for women and child development & textiles Smriti Irani to take appropriate steps to control the desert locust attacks across several states to prevent any destruction of cotton crop. 

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat have been confronting an attack from desert locusts. A large swarm of locusts entered Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh last week. A swarm of desert locusts, which is a type of a species of short-horned grasshoppers, flew across Vidarbha’s Amravati, Wardha and Nagpur on Tuesday causing panic among farmers. 

In a representation to both the ministers, Atul Ganatra, president, CAI said that sowing of cotton in north India is complete to the extent of 80%. 

“Cotton sowing in the central and southern parts of India is going to start in the first week of June. We are currently receiving reports of locust attacks in several states of India. Locust attacks, which have taken place in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra, have wreaked havoc, destroyed standing crops and threatened peoples’ livelihood,” he said, adding these locusts are very dangerous and are feasting on all vegetation. 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the locust attacks will intensify in the months of June and July and can destroy the cotton crop in these states, he warned.

The association urged the ministry to take appropriate steps to control these attacks and also advise the concerned central and state government agencies to issue necessary guidelines to farmers in order to protect their interest. A second wave is expected to hit these states, Ganatra warned, adding that this could hit entire crops. There are reports that the swarm is heading back to the north and care should be taken, he said.

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat have

Agrotech

17  new inductees join group of science leaders on the leading edge of their fields

Corteva Agriscience announced the newest cohort of inductees to its Fellows Community, recognizing 17 new members for sustained excellence in their area of technical expertise and elevating two current members to the designation of Distinguished Fellow—the highest scientific recognition in the organization. These scientists represent the pinnacle of technical excellence at Corteva, paving the way for the company’s continued leadership in agricultural science and technology. As the top 2 percent of scientists in the organization, the Fellows contribute individually as technical experts and collectively to advise the CTO on emerging science critical to the company’s future. 

“I am delighted to recognize these new Fellows and Distinguished Fellows, all of whom have made a significant impact on our organization and on the agriculture industry as a whole,” said Neal Gutterson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Corteva Agriscience. “Their expertise, continuous pursuit of innovation, and leadership reflect our purpose to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come.” 

Corteva congratulates Greg Kemmitt, Integrated Field Sciences and Greg Whiteker, Product and Process Technology, on their elevation to Distinguished Fellow. 

Corteva also honours 17 members of the 2020 Fellows cohort, listed below in alphabetical order:

 – Andrea Arias, Data Science and Informatics

– Dave Barnekow, Regulatory and Stewardship

– Bernhard Distler, Regulatory and Stewardship

– Jeff Habben, Trait Discovery

– David Habier, Systems and Innovation for Breeding and Seed Products

– Vince Kramer, Regulatory and Stewardship

– Mei Li, Product and Process Technology

– Ana Locatelli, Plant Breeding

– Kevin Meyer, Crop Protection Discovery

– Milorad Rosulj, Plant Breeding

– Venkatesh Selvarangam, Plant Breeding

– Lyudmila Sidorenko, Trait Discovery

– Melissa Siebert, Integrated Field Sciences

– David Simpson, Int- egrated Field Sciences

– Monte Weimer, Crop Protection Discovery

– Deanne Wright, Systems and Innovation for Breeding and Seed Products

– Marco Zanirato, Plant Breeding

17  new inductees join group of science

E-commerce, Seeds

After many successful years as ADAMA’s partner, this transaction will finally bring Alfa fully into the ADAMA fold. 

 

 

ADAMA Ltd. recently announced that it will acquire the remaining 51% stake in Alfa Agricultural Supplies, S.A. (“Alfa”), a leading Greek provider of crop protection and other agriculture-related inputs. 

Alfa, founded in 1983 by Vasileios Paisios, has grown to become one of the leading providers of crop protection, fertilizers and seeds to Greek farmers. Alfa has served as ADAMA’s representative in Greece for more than 30 years, and the companies have been strategic partners in the country since ADAMA’s acquisition of a 49% stake in Alfa in 1993.

ADAMA and  Paisios have entered into a series of agreements in terms of which ADAMA will acquire the remaining 51% stake that it does not already own in Alfa, while Alfa will divest its formulation and logistics operations to a new entity owned by the Paisios family. As a result, ADAMA will own 100% of Alfa’s commercial business including its wholly owned subsidiary Agribul in Bulgaria, providing ADAMA’s crop protection and other agriculture-related inputs to local farmers. 

Bertrand Lombard, ADAMA’s VP of Southern Europe, said: “After many successful years as ADAMA’s partner, this transaction will finally bring Alfa fully into the ADAMA fold. With the support of Alfa’s highly skilled team, ADAMA will further bolster its position and offering in this key market by driving the continued development of its value-added product portfolio, deepening Alfa’s already strong relationships with local ag-input distributors, retailers and farmers, aiming at meeting the growing needs of farmers in Greece.” 

Vasileios Paisios, Alfa’s Chairman and CEO, added: “I am proud of our accomplishments over the decades, thanks to our talented team and our many years of collaboration with ADAMA. ADAMA’s global reach and broad product offering, combined with our team’s strong local expertise are a recipe for continued growth in this region. I see this as the next logical step in the development of the company to advance and progress in the dynamic Greek crop protection market.”  

The transaction is expected to be completed within the coming weeks following the completion of customary closing procedures. 

After many successful years as ADAMA’s partner, this

E-commerce

It provides advisory services on animal husbandry, weather, market rates, government schemes and customized advisories 

 

 

 While the entire country has come to a standstill, falling prey to the lockdown imposed due to rising COVID-19 concern, IFFCO Kisan ensures continuity of the agricultural sector by being the voice of the local. IFFCO Kisan has been in service to the farmer’s community for more than 10 years. With its Agro ICT services which include advisory services for Farmers, Kisan Call centre as well as the real assistance via mobile App, IFFCO Kisan has continued to work for the welfare of the farmers. These arrangements come handy during the lockdown as these services could be easily availed without defying the guidelines issued by the government.

 It is due to these services that farmers could adhere to timely and relevant information covering a wide range of topics from agriculture to animal husbandry, weather, market rates, government schemes, education, customized advisories, etc. while also illuminating the farmers about the lethal impact of COVID-19 virus, creating awareness amongst them to take precautionary measures to combat the deadly virus while not halting the agricultural practices. 

Therefore, the comprehensively well-channelized network helped IFFCO Kisan to constantly remain in touch with the farmers and become their voice even during the crucial lockdown. Despite the ongoing shutdown IFFCO Kisan has continued to help the farmers in taking good care of their cattle health leading to increase in dairy productivity. In addition to this, the Swarnaahar products readily aligns with the proposal by our PM to promote local produce since it is sourced from local farmers.   

In such scenario, announcements made by the FM Nirmala Sitharaman on 15th May to strengthen the agricultural infrastructure and amendments made to the Essential Commodities Act comes as a relief to the farmer’s community. Previously IFFCO Kisan was battling to enrich farmer’s life, abiding by the government regulations that could be of little help amidst the rising challenges thrown forward by lockdown situation. 

Thus, the announcement comes as a boon, opening wide array of possibilities for IFFCO Kisan to further bring about conducive alterations to revolutionize the farming practices and in turn the livelihood of farmers.

 On such occasion, Sandeep Malhotra, the managing Director of IFFCO Kisan said, “Where the entire country is juggling with the new lifestyle, the farmers were not vested with the privilege to take a break from their monotonous life. In turn, they were burdened with even more responsibility to feed the desperate masses. Therefore, we continued with our telecom services to aid the farmer’s community but the initiative taken by the government to enhance the agricultural infrastructure has acted as a catalyst in our endeavour to assist the farmers.”

 

It provides advisory services on animal husbandry,

E-commerce, Water

The company has collaborated with Hand in Hand India, NGO to clear the pond’s bed and strengthen the bund 

Grundfos India, a global leader in pump solutions and water technology successfully completed the restoration of the Injambakkam pond in Chennai. The pond is situated off the ECR road and is spread across 2.5 acres. Keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation, Grundfos India and Hand In Hand India cancelled the inaugural event to reiterate the importance of social distancing.

 This restored pond has now become a source of clean water that will help improve the water table in the neighbourhood, act as storage area for the surplus water and during rains, help channel excess water to the agricultural land nearby, thereby avoiding flooding. This pond and its surroundings is now also an ideal recreational area with its walkway (also accessible through a ramp) and solar lights for those who wish to walk around it in the early mornings or late evenings. These facilities can be availed after the lockdown is lifted. Due caution will be exercised to ensure social distancing measures are followed.

Realizing the importance of renewing local water sources, Grundfos India has been working on restoring this pond since 2018 in a phased manner along with local NGOs and the community. In the third phase of restoration, the company has collaborated with Hand in Hand India, a leading non-profit organization to clear the pond’s bed, strengthen the bund and build fences and plantation around the water body. 

Saravanan Paneer Selvam, General Manager, Grundfos India said, “Water is at the core of everything we do at Grundfos. Through such initiatives, we hope to revive water bodies in the city and empower local communities to be involved. Our employees have also been closely involved in this initiative through their volunteering efforts. The idea of having lighting and a walking path was to get the cooperation of the local community in taking ownership and looking after the lake.”

 

Dr Kalpana Sankar, Chairperson and Managing Trustee, Hand in Hand India, also added “We at Hand In Hand India are happy to have partnered with Grundfos India, a company that clearly understands water. There are about 1000 people who live in and around this pond and they will be positively impacted by this restoration. Besides establishing a committee to maintain the pond, Grundfos India along with Hand In Hand India has created a three-year plan to work closely with the community members to create a self-sustaining pond through the creation of a herbal and vegetable garden and fishery.”

 

 

 

 

The company has collaborated with Hand in

Acquaculture, Acts & Schemes – Centre

The country had exported fish valued Rs 46,589 crore during the 2018-19 fiscal. 

 

 

Fish export from India, the world’s fourth largest exporting nation, is likely to decline by 5-10 per cent in 2019-20 due to demand compression in the wake of COVID-19 crisis, Union Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday in press conference. 

The country had exported fish valued Rs 46,589 crore during the 2018-19 fiscal. The US, Middle East, UK and China are main export destinations for fish.

On number of COVID-19 positive fishermen, the minister said the Centre does not have a separate data, but would collate it from state governments.

“As per the latest inputs, there is not much impact on exports. There would be maximum 5-10 per cent fall in exports,” Singh told media.A final report on export status expected in June. There is a gap of 3-4 months after fiscal year to collate the fish export data.

The shipments were affected during initial days of the nationwide lockdown clamped to fight COVID-19 disease. But the situation began to improve after the government exempted fishing activities from the lockdown rule from mid-April onwards, he said.

The shipments to key destinations, including China, are happening now, Singh added. A senior Fisheries Ministry official said that sluggish global demand because of the lockdown in some countries has impacted the country’s exports. But, now the situation has begun to improve and normalcy in exports are expected soon.

Promote export of seaweed & ornamental fish

Asserting that there is huge potential to increase India’s fish exports in the coming years, the minister said the government plans to promote export of seaweed and ornamental fish.

Seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation will be promoted through self-help groups in the coming days, he said, adding that the Centre is working in 2-3 states on seaweed.

Besides, the minister said export-hub will be created in north India especially in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where export varieties fishes like prawn cultivation will be promoted in saline water.

“So far, south India was a major export hub for fishes. Now, north India too will emerge as an export hub,” he said, adding that modern technology will be adopted in improving fisheries sector. 

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) 

About the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Singh said about Rs 20,050 crore will be spent under the scheme in next five years to make the fisheries sector robust. The target of PMMSY is to enhance fish production to 22 million tonne by 2024-25 from the current level of 13.75 million tonnes in 2018-19.

It mainly aims to create fisheries infrastructure, reduce post-harvest losses, modernise and strengthen value chain and double export earnings to Rs 1,00,000 crore. Besides, it also aims to encourage private investment and generate about 55 lakh jobs over next five years, he added.

The country had exported fish valued Rs

E-commerce, Supply Chain

It aimed at enhancing downstream reach of tech-enabled solutions for the food supply chain

 

Pioneering Ventures announced newly closed acquisition of Indian agri-tech company Lateral Praxis today. The move is aimed at enhancing downstream reach of tech-enabled solutions for the food supply chain including information access, apps, data analytics and risk mitigation. The acquisition recognizes significant shifts in the Indian food system in recent years which bring forward an immense potential for using technology and data to improve operational efficiencies and quality in daily supply chain activities. The systematic generation of data intelligence also allows to create valuable services and improve decision making of all parties in the food ecosystem. 

Founded in 1999 by agri-tech stalwart Suniti Gupta, Lateral Praxis has worked closely with central and state governments, ministries and departments, along with farmer communities at village/panchayat level to build, configure and implement knowledge-based systems. The Mumbai-based company currently works with a strong core team to deliver solutions for online payment platforms, information aggregation and data mining for a varied customer base.

 Speaking about this development, Dr Pablo Erat, co-founder of Pioneering Ventures, said: “End-to-end supply chain digitization has been a core pillar of our strategy. We have been working successfully with Lateral Praxis for many years and I am confident that the team will further boost our technology and data expertise. The acquisition is an important milestone in the implementation of our strategy to accelerate the development of our fully integrated food technology platform and help us drive large-scale transformation across the food ecosystem through data intelligence-based services.”

Elaborating on this development, Suniti Gupta, Founder-CEO of Lateral Praxis and a known agri-tech expert in India said: “As Indian agriculture and food sector gets ready to embrace next generation, tech-enabled future, the time is ripe for positive disruption. Our experience and core competencies will be augmented well by Pioneering Ventures’ expertise and presence across the food supply chain, helping us jointly scale up our solutions and delivery. We look forward to joining the PV family.”

 

It aimed at enhancing downstream reach of

Agro Universities

 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs such as digital communication, pamphlet distribution and street plays. 

 

 

National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) in collaboration with Arya Collateral Warehousing Services organised a Webinar on Mitigating Farmer Distress by FPOs on the onset of Corona Pandemic.  Prasanna Rao, MD and CEO, Arya Collateral Warehousing Services,  Vartika Jaini, Founder, Vriddhi Rural Prosperity Services,  Shenoy Matthew, GM, Arya Collateral Warehousing Services and Dr Shuchi Mathur, Assistant Director and Chairperson, Centre for Institution Building, NIAM were the main speakers of Webinar. 

The various data points were being highlighted at the webinar were:

  1. Out of the 92 FPOs studied, 48 took serious initiatives about member awareness of Covid-19.
  2. 24 FPOs distributed food and groceries to vulnerable communities, 56% FPOs reported labours returning to villages.
  3. 67% FPOs business were highly impacted, 49% FPOs reported a shortage of Finance, 11 out of 18 FPOs dealing in Vegetable reported losses with a reduction of 35% of sales as compared to last year.
  4. 28 FPOs took proactive measures to counter business risk. The core reasons contributing towards these impact were Reduced Market Demand, Shortage of Finance and Logistics Breakdown.

The webinar highlighted the major initiatives taken by 41% (28) FPOs took a proactive response to COVID-19 to counter business risk. 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs including digital communication, pamphlet distribution and street plays. They communicated regarding the prevention measures from COVID-19. They explained the need for social distancing. Some undertook the distribution of masks (5), Cash advance to members (2) and reaching out to vulnerable communities within their areas (24).

 It is also evident that FPOs are not a go-to institution in the mind of the local administration. In only 4/67 cases, district administration proactively reached out to FPOs in the initial time of the lockdown, 3 of them were in one district. In 9 cases, either FPO sourced permission letters or engaged on behalf of farmers with the establishment. Social distancing and limited hours of operation made access to essential services difficult for member farmers, particularly those living at a distance. 

Two FPOs reported making an advance to farmers against their standing crops. They also enabled new local markets within their vicinity, enabling produce of some of the members reaching nearby consumers. In an environment looming with uncertainty and anxiety, FPOs present a vehicle for providing credible advice to farmers. In the majority of the surveyed cases, members tried reaching out to FPO during the period of lockdown. In four cases, FPOs have called and advised their farmer members not to resort to distress selling and assured buying support immediately once the lockdown was over.

The next few months will be rife with uncertainty. With the extension of the lockdown and more dynamic decision making based on emerging situations with respect to spreading of COVID-19, the government policy will attempt to balance health and livelihoods, FPOs and other community institutions can be a key partner in the response.

Shortage of Labour is a serious issue in processing plants for non- perishables- oilseeds, grains and pulses. In the absence of these processing plants, the demand for perishables is likely to drop, leading to farmer distress. Poultry is an important industry that besides supporting 10 lakh poultry farmers, also supports maize and soya bean value chains. Urgent coordination with the poultry industry to dispel wrong notions created in consumer minds connecting chicken with the virus is essential.

 

 

 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs such

E-commerce, IT, Oilseeds

The 3F Akshaya mobile app mobile app aims to educate and empower the farmers 

 

 

3F Oil Palm Agrotech Pvt. Ltd, a leading oil palm company in India, today announced that it has launched ‘3F Akshaya’ mobile app, first-of-its-kind app in the country for oil palm farmers. This integrated mobile app, which is available on Google Play Store, will let the farmers avail comprehensive services and details from the company; right from ordering fertilizers and up to getting crop loans. 

Aimed at enabling ease of cultivation, 3F Oil Palm Agrotech has developed this mobile app to educate and empower the farmers. Through this mobile app, the company will provide farmers the expertise which will help them to follow best cultivation practices by optimizing costs while increasing their income by getting more productivity from the fields. 

With the launch of 3F Akshaya mobile app, farmers across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and North East India will immensely benefit by getting access to wide range of services. Initially, about 20,000 farmers of Andhra Pradesh will immediately get access to this mobile app during the first phase of its launch and the rest will be enabled in a phased manner. All the farmers will undergo field and remote training via this mobile app. 

The farmers can login this unique 3F Akshaya mobile app through their company ID. They can check their collection status, details of transactions including the ledger balances and plot data etc. Farmers can also place orders for fertilizer inputs, micro-nutrients and other farming inputs against FFB. They can optionally choose the field delivery of the products they ordered. The ‘Quick Pay’ feature available in 3F Akshaya mobile app provides instant payment option to farmers. Using this option, they can receive the payment within 24 hours itself. They can also request for a bank loan through this mobile app.

Speaking on the occasion,  Sanjay Goenka, CEO and MD, 3F Oil Palm Agrotech Limited, said, “We always try to deploy the best technology to enable ease of cultivation for the farmers and this is one such an attempt in that direction. 3F Akshaya mobile app is an encyclopedia of oil palm which supports the farmers in many ways. We strongly believe that with the introduction of this unique new mobile app, our oil palm growers’ community will immensely benefit from the technology interventions. This tool will definitely bridge the gap between the company and the farmers by ensuring a continuous flow of data between us. Using Akshaya Mobile App, farmers will be able to access the global best oil palm cultivation practices to get more yields and better prices for sure”.

 

Using this mobile app, farmers can also request for trained workers (labour) who can support them to cut clusters in the farms and also get access to field level staff for getting the right advice. If they found disease or issue in the field, they can send a picture of the plant via this mobile app and directly call the company’s agriculture expert for a solution. The experts who analyze the disease or issue based on the information provided by the farmer and will guide them accordingly. All the company field executives will be available to help and support the farmers on a real-time basis, as they are also integrated to the Akshaya Mobile App.

The 3F Akshaya mobile app mobile app