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Agrotech, Seeds

Freedom to adopt GM crops helped farmers earn higher incomes coupled with environmental benefits. 

 Alliance for Agri Innovation (AAI), a special interest group of Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) celebrates 25 years of planting biotech crops globally. The first biotech crop was commercialised in 1996 and the initial planting was done in only 1.7 million hectares. The planting area grew to 191.7 million hectares by 2018 which is 113-fold increase. As per a report by PG Economics, the net farm level economic benefit was just under $19 billion ( Rs14,279 crore) in 2018, equal to an average increase in income of $103/hectare (INR 7740/hectare). From 1996 to 2018, the net global farm income benefit was $225 billion (Rs 1.7 lakh crore), equal to an average increase in income of $96.7/hectare (RS 7267/hectare). 

Crop biotechnology showed an increased return on investment for farmers by adopting GM crops. For instance, in 2018, farmers in developing countries received $4.42 (Rs 332) as extra income for each extra dollar invested in GM crop seeds, whereas farmers in developed countries received $3.24 (Rs 243) as extra income for each extra dollar invested in GM crop seeds. 

According to Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII, “GM crops has helped many countries achieve greater yields, nutrition goals and SDGs. The immense benefits of this technology received by farmers are recorded by several reports. Indian farmers have been asking for the commercial release of more GM crops but have not been successful since Bt Cotton. Globally farmers have elevated their social and economic status with the profits that they have earned from GM crops. Farmers in India have demonstrated their yearning for adopting this technology. In next 2 years it will be two decades since the success story of Bt cotton in India. With the environmental and financial challenges that are in front of farmers, if we do not adopt more technologies now, we will be doing a great disservice to the Indian farmers.” 

 “The next generation nutritionally enhanced GM crops will soon be cultivated and help alleviate malnutrition and disease. The lower pesticide use has improved the health and safety of farm works, besides decrease in fossil fuel use. Similarly, GM technology has enabled no till farming to improve soil health by better carbon storage”, said Dr Paresh Verma, Chairman, AAI, 

Further, crop biotechnology has reduced the application of crop protection products globally by 776 million kilograms, which is a reduction of 8.6 percent. As a result, farmers who grow GM crops have reduced the environmental impact associated with their crop protection practices by 19 percent. As per a report by PG Economics, if GM crops were not grown in 2018, an additional 23 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide would have been emitted into the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of adding 15.3 million cars to the road. 

According to Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, AAI, “Given the challenges that have been posed by climate change in the field and the pandemic causing major financial constraints for the farmers, adopting GM crops can help the farmers earn profits by producing quality products and higher yields. It will be beneficial for agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions by helping farmers adopt more sustainable practices such as reduced tillage, which decreases the burning of fossil fuels and retains more carbon in the soil. ‘Water Use Efficiency ‘and ‘Fertilizer Use Efficiency’ are the traits which would bring enormous benefits to natural resource management in agriculture.” 

Dr Ratna Kumria, Director-Biotechnology, AAI,said, “With continuous adoption of technology, we have reaped multitude benefits such as increase in crop productivity, farmers income, decrease in GHG emissions or increase in biodiversity, GM crops have had a positive socio-economic impact. Farmers have better assurance of profits and quality produce, as well as enjoy the convenience of crop management and lower input costs. Many more developing economies are in the process of adopting GM cultivation to allow their famers and consumers to realise the benefits of the technology.”

 

Freedom to adopt GM crops helped farmers

E-commerce, R&D

By using simple and proven robotics and conveyor systems, UPLIFT automates seeding, transplanting, harvesting, plant transporting and system cleaning 

SANANBIO, one of the world’s largest indoor farming technology providers announces the availability of its unmanned vertical farming system, a.k.a. UPLIFT, to growers globally. 

“Pour your seeds in the seeder and do nothing but expect fresh veggies in a matter of days,” said Zhan Zhuo, co-founder and CEO of SANANBIO, UPLIFT has been under tests in the last two years and proves to be commercially feasible and ready to be established as turnkey projects for worldwide growers. “It can produce 6-8 tons of fresh leafy greens every day in a farm of only 5,000 sqm. By going up, we can best utilize the space to increase the yields. With the same farm size, UPLIFT’s productivity is 6 times of a 6-layered indoor farm. The increased yield means a lowered cost, which in turn makes our produce affordable to more people. We’ve also upgraded our water circulation system so that 60 per cent of the water can be absorbed by plants and the remaining 40per cent recycled. This fact is especially meaningful for the regions of the world that struggle with water shortages and harsh agricultural conditions,” said Zhan.

UPLIFT uses PlantKeeper, a proprietary indoor farming management system, control and monitor environmental factors so farm operators can be updated with real-time growing conditions in throughout the farm. By using simple and proven robotics and conveyor systems, UPLIFT automates seeding, transplanting, harvesting, plant transporting and system cleaning, reducing labor intensity to its lowest.

“We’re phasing out manpower to make our produces available for more people. So we can say that UPLIFT is unmanned for humanity,” said Zhan.

By using simple and proven robotics and

Dairy, Live Stock, Poultry, World

Panel submits 11 recommendations for transforming the sector

The Malabo Montpellier Panel has concluded in its report that Africa will be unable to meet demand for meat and milk by 2050 and benefit from growth in the livestock sector unless countries adopt new policies and methods.

Meat consumption per capita across Africa is expected to increase from 19 kg to 26 kg per annum by 2050 while demand for milk is likely to increase from 44 kg per person per year to 64 kg. Based on these estimates, the continent will have to import 20 percent of the beef, pork, poultry and milk needed by an estimated population of 2.2 billion in 2050.

The panel highlighted options for promoting sustainable growth in the livestock sector, drawing on the experiences of Ethiopia, Mali, South Africa, and Uganda in terms of institutional and policy innovation as well as programmatic interventions. It also looked at the challenges facing Africa’s livestock sector ranging from feed quality to animal health and food safety issues.

The report has made 11 recommendations covering policy, trade and finance, resolving conflict between pastoralists and crop farmers, harmonizing regulations and recognizing the rights of herders along with creating financial services such as livestock insurance.

Panel submits 11 recommendations for transforming the

R&D

Scientific paper published in the journal Planta Medica.

A peer reviewed scientific paper titled “Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of Helianthemum nummularium, a High Altitude Growing Alpine Plant Overrepresented in Ungulates Diets” has been published in the journal Planta Medica.

This was announced by Pathways Bioscience LLC, a biomedical sciences company focused on discovering and developing small molecule drugs and dietary supplements that act on gene transcription pathways, and the provider of the Nrf2 activating dietary supplements PB123 and PB125®.

Dr. Brooks Hybertson, President/CEO and co-founder of Pathways Bioscience added that finding phytochemical compounds in the Helianthemum nummularium alpine plant that activates the Nrf2 pathway is an extremely important scientific breakthrough.

“Nature has a way of teaching animals which foods to eat to help keep them healthy, and the Nrf2 activation properties we found in Helianthemum nummularium may be an important reason why they consume this one”, he added.

 

Scientific paper published in the journal Planta

Agro Universities, Seeds

The Agriculture Department has announced plans to distribute 70 lakh seed packets to the households across the state 

 

 

The Integrated Farming Systems Research Station (IFSRS) kits were launched as part of the Agriculture University initiative. The IFSRS, a station under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), has introduced vegetable cultivation kits which could prove useful for city residents who have developed a passion for vegetable farming during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Each kit, priced at Rs 125, contains vegetable seeds, 250 ml of urine, dung and Pseudomonas. Jacob John, professor and head of IFSRS, said the response from the public was overwhelming. The kits contain seeds of tomato, amaranthus, chilli and eggplant. The Rs 125 kit and five grow bags are available for Rs 200.

Growbags filled with a mixture of soil, dung and coir pith are also available here for Rs.80. Recently, the children of Government Girls High School in Chala, in collaboration with the Police Cadet (SPC) Unit, launched an initiative to cultivate a portion of the wasteland on the school campus, IFSRS. The Research Center provides technical assistance to the project. 

The State Government has called upon the public to grow vegetables in their homes to ensure food security during this crisis. The Agriculture Department has announced plans to distribute 70 lakh seed packets to the households across the State for the ‘Onathinorumuram Pachchakkari’ initiative this year.

 

The Agriculture Department has announced plans to

Foodgrains, India, Oilseeds, Pulses

Kharif crops and abundant rainfall have kept the agri sector buoyant

The good news from Indian agricultural sector is that the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Kharif crops has been minimal to zero.

Area coverage of Kharif crops has increased by 21.20 percent from last year. As on 17 July, 2020, total kharif crops have been sown on 691.86 lakh ha against 570.86 lakh ha during the corresponding period of last year.

Area coverage of rice has increased by 18.59 percent from 142.06 lakh ha to 168.47 lakh ha, pulses by 32.35 percent from 61.70 lakh ha to 81.66 lakh ha, coarse cereals by 12.23 percent from 103.00 lakh ha to 115.60 lakh ha.

Acreage of oilseeds has increased by 40.75 percent from 110.09 lakh ha to 154.95 lakh ha, sugarcane by 0.92 percent from 50.82 lakh ha to 51.29 lakh ha, cotton by 17.28 percent from 96.35 lakh ha to 113.01 lakh ha and jute and mesta by 0.7 percent from 6.84 lakh ha to 6.88 lakh ha.

The monsoon season also seems to be kind to farmers this year. As on 16.07.2020, actual rainfall received in the country is 338.3 mm against normal of 308.4 mm, an increase of 10 percent during the period from June 1, 2020 to July 16, 2020.

Kharif crops and abundant rainfall have kept

Acquaculture, Animal Health, India

The online course focused on comprehensive means to combat Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

A two-day online training course on Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) for the members of the Indian Network for Fisheries and Animal AMR (INFAAR) was held on June 22-23, 2020. Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative, India inaugurated the USAID-ICAR-FAO Online Training Course.

The training provided a comprehensive insight into basic and advanced knowledge on the past, present and future of antibiotics, their appropriate use in different settings and various means to combat AMR.

It was attended by 45 officials of the ICAR, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), and members of INFAAR. Resource persons included experts from the human and veterinary health sector and relevant academic institutions along with representatives from the Andhra Pradesh Department of Animal Husbandry.

The course was organized by the FAO at the request of the national authorities to provide comprehensive training on all aspects of antibiotics and AMR to the members of INFAAR.

Dr JK Jena, Deputy Director General (DDG) Fisheries, ICAR, Dr BN Tripathy, DDG Animal Sciences ICAR, Dr Praveen Malik, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Government of India, and Marietou Satin, Deputy Director, Office of Health, USAID/India also participated in this event.

 

The online course focused on comprehensive means

Machinery – Post-harvesting, North America, R&D

Applications in large scale farming productivity and safety

There have been a lot of technological innovations in agri-tech in the past decade. Robotics is becoming more advanced as a result of autonomous sensor platforms, computer vision, and the integration of biomechanics.

A wheeled robot is one that is capable of movement and is being used within the agricultural industry. Farmers are able to use robots to automate more tasks. They can boost productivity and learn more about their crops.

Jeff Hawks, who has a Ph D from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Mechanical Engineering, works in integrating robots into industry automation and other applications. He has demonstrated how robots can be used to improve safety, such as allowing a remote-control robot to manipulate sweep augers. Prior to the robots, individuals would enter the grain bins, which can become a death trap.

Hawks has worked closely with farmers and manufacturers to ensure that the robot design is capable of helping farmworkers. It uses lights and cameras to assist farmers with lifting the sweep auger so that grain can flow continuously.

Applications in large scale farming productivity and

AgroPolicy

Makes way for implementation of new technolgies in agriculture

The Karnataka governor has signed the Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 with important changes to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961.

The ordinance eases restrictions on buying and selling of agricultural land in the state by doing away with sections 63, 79A, 79B and 79C in the Land Reforms Act which put severe restrictions on the ownership of agricultural land.

The amendment now allows a company, trust or an institution to buy agricultural land through its non agricultural income. Under the original law an agriculturist could sell his/her land only to another agriculturist.

The ordinance has been strongly opposed by the Congress party and several farmer organization because of the apprehension that it can adversely affect the farmers of the state. Meanwhile, the government is of the view that the reforms will benefit the farmers by helping them escape from the harassment of officials and improve the profile of agriculture in the state.

It has also asserted that many people who want to implement the latest technologies in agriculture were unable to do so because of the Reforms Act.

Makes way for implementation of new technolgies

China, E-commerce, Supply Chain

Dole will provide a strong impetus for the sales growth of Zespri kiwifruits in China market. 

Zespri, the world-renowned kiwifruit grower and distributor, and Dole, the internationally renowned fruits and vegetables brand, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai. 

As a result, Dole officially became a Zespri distribution partner in China market. They will accelerate the development of each other in China market. 

Terry Chan, general manager of Dole China, said: “we are very pleased to have this strategic cooperation with Zespri. Zespri is a world-renowned kiwifruit grower and distributor whose products are popular with consumers. Zespri’s high quality requirement coincides with Dole’s core concept of ’Quality is the foundation of our reputation’ and ‘Dole Sunshine For All’.” 

Dole currently has 12 distribution centres in Shanghai, Beijing, Dongguan, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Xi’an, Qingdao, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan and Kunming, operating more than 90 items from 17 countries. 

All Dole distribution centres are equipped with advanced equipment, such as pre-cooling, storage, computerized ripening facilities and etc. Through scientific control and rich experience in kiwifruit ripening, storage and logistics, Dole’s distribution centers’ can protect the excellent quality of Zespri kiwifruit. 

Michael Jiang, general manager of Zespri Greater China, said: “Dole is the world-renowned fruits and vegetables producer and distributor who has abundant strength in fruits distribution, packaging, and storage. We believe that Dole will provide a strong impetus for the sales growth of Zespri kiwifruits in China market and help Zespri to deepen our market structure.” 

Zespri was established in 1997 and its kiwifruit is sold in more than 50 countries around the world. During its 2020 season, Zespri is planning to supply about 155m standard retail boxes (amount to 600,000 tonnes) of high-quality kiwifruits to consumers around the world. 

As Zespri’s largest market, China has always been a top priority for Zespri’s business development. At present, Zespri still has huge market potential with Chinese consumers. Dole has been active in the Chinese market for more than 20 years and has extensive operating experience in channel management.

At present, Dole has more than 1,900 store clients including 12 national supermarket systems, 35 well-known local supermarket systems, and 32 well-known fruit chain customers, covering more than 190 cities.

Zespri hopes that through cooperating with Dole, it can continue to explore the development opportunities of various channels, improve operation efficiency and provide quality services to channel clients. 

The cooperation has been officially launched. It is reported that after rapid technical communication, the first batch of Zespri kiwifruit took less than a week to reach Dole’s Shanghai distribution center for ripening. Zespri kiwifruit distributed by Dole has already been sold in 89 Walmart China stores.

Dole will provide a strong impetus for

R&D, Seeds

 It aims to apply pollen technology for improving cross-pollination and enhance wheat program. 

BASF and PowerPollen have signed an agreement to further develop and apply the company’s patented pollen preservation and application technology to improve cross-pollination and enhance BASF’s proprietary wheat program. 

BASF is developing new hybrid wheat varieties to improve yield, quality and stability to meet the agronomic and economic needs of growers and the value chain, as well as the nutritional needs of a growing world population. Through hybridization and advanced breeding platforms, hybrid wheat delivers leading performance and seed quality with value-added traits that can be tailored to local growing conditions.

 The PowerPollen technology, already proven in corn applications, has the potential to collect, preserve and apply wheat pollen at a commercial scale – dramatically increasing pollination efficiency for BASF’s hybrid wheat seed production. 

“Hybrid wheat demonstrates BASF’s commitment to transforming wheat for long-term success through a globally-driven, advanced breeding platform adapted to local needs and supported by a continuous pipeline of innovation,” says Gustavo Gonzalez, director of Global Wheat Crop Strategy for BASF. “This collaboration will leverage PowerPollen’s unique expertise in solving pollen preservation and application in corn to improve hybrid wheat seed production.” 

Commercial-scale hybrid wheat has been the goal of wheat breeders and seed companies since the 1950s. PowerPollen’s preservation and application technology expands the potential for hybrid wheat and improved productivity and profitability for wheat farmers.

 “We are excited to develop our technology in collaboration with BASF, whose industry-leading wheat and traits research platform shows incredible opportunities for hybrid wheat,” says Todd Krone, co-founder and CEO of PowerPollen. “When applied to commercial hybrid seed corn production, our technology increases yields and enables production of hybrids that conventional methods are unable to produce. The goal is to achieve similar results in wheat to accelerate hybridization of this staple crop.”

 

 It aims to apply pollen technology for

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, Europe

Pearce will be responsible for technical marketing, procurement, strategic sourcing and manufacturing of the company

 Bionema Ltd, a leading UK-based biopesticide technology developer, which specialises in chemical-free, biological crop protection for safe and sustainable agriculture, has announced the appointment of Stephen Pearce as Non-Executive Chair.  

Steve has more than 25 years of global experience in the Pharma, Biotech and Life Science industries and has served in senior positions in both public and private equity-owned companies – where the development and implementation of successful transformational strategies are fundamental to companies’ sustainable growth. 

He spent the last 12 years in the Life Science industry as Chief Procurement Officer for Arysta LifeScience – one of the world’s largest agrochemical companies. He was also part of a team that integrated several companies as part of a mergers and acquisitions strategy and was a key member of the alliance development team. 

During his career, Steve has held senior global leadership and strategy development roles in technical sales, marketing, strategic sourcing and procurement, and alliance development. He spent several years in the US as Director of Biotechnology Research Business Development – a role dedicated to fundraising, developing and commercialising intellectual property, building commercial alliances with academic institutions and a state and federal lobbyist.

Commenting on his new role at Bionema, Steve said, “Bionema is a business that possesses and continues to develop a rich and cutting-edge pipeline of technologies and solutions that offers significant opportunity. The Bionema team are well placed, in terms of intellectual property and technology, to address the significant and growing need to provide innovative and sustainable technologies. With ever increasing regulation, growing consumer concerns over how food is produced and food safety there has never been a more important and opportune time to bring new, innovative and effective chemical-free solutions to the market in support of, and in response to, growing value chain demands. I look forward to working with the Bionema board of directors, management team and shareholders as we take the business forward.” 

Dr Minshad Ansari, Founder and CEO of Bionema, says, “Steve brings a broad and unique skill set in the areas of alliance and business development, mergers and acquisitions, technical marketing, procurement, strategic sourcing and manufacturing, and operations outsourcing. We welcome Steve as our new chair to the Bionema Board and will benefit from his valuable expertise and perspectives as we continue to transform the company, execute on our strategic priorities, and seek ways to enhance shareholder value. We are committed to engaging with all shareholders as we continue to pursue value-enhancing opportunities for Bionema”

 

Pearce will be responsible for technical marketing,

Oilseeds, R&D, Sustainable Energy

This will eliminate the competition between food and fuel

A team of researchers led by Dr Kaustubha Mohanty, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati have devised a method to produce biofuel from non-edible waste seeds.

In the USA and Europe surplus edible oils like soybean oil and sunflower oil are being used for the production of biodiesel in a bid to overcome future oil shortages in the world.

However, the conversion of food resources to fuel compromises the global supply-demand of food, especially in developing countries with existing nutritional deficiencies.

“Oils derived from non-edible seeds of plants can be used to produce biofuels, to eliminate the competition between food and fuel”, said Dr Mohanty. Plants and trees found in India, such as peela kaner, mahua, gulmohar, neem, rain tree, castor, kusum etc., produce seeds that have oil from which biofuels can be made.

Dr Mohanty and his research team used a heat-chemical route to produce biofuels from these and other such seeds that they had collected from various parts of the country.

 

This will eliminate the competition between food

Agrotech, Trade, Webinar

100 more FPOs to be set-up in the current financial year

Karnataka agriculture minister B.C. Patil revealed that the state government is diligently working on increasing the processing of produce from agriculture and associated sectors from the current 3-5 percent to 25 percent in the next five years.

He was participating in a webinar on the ‘Impact of Agro and Food Processing Industries in Karnataka: Gaps, Challenges, Opportunities and Way Forward for Better Future’, organized by ASSOCHAM.

He said the government is planning to improve the marketability of farm produce and provide value-added services such as assaying, grading, cleaning, labelling, and packing at warehouses and cold storages through Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation (KAPPEC) and Department of Industries and Commerce along with trading platforms.

The minister said the government is also planning to establish warehousing and logistic hubs in food and agri parks with the aim to operate warehouses and cold storages for facilitating sales of agriculture and horticulture produce. He further stated that the government is planning to establish another 100 Farmer Producer Organizations, (FPOs) in the current financial year.

100 more FPOs to be set-up in