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Agrotech, E-commerce, Europe, IT, Packaging & Labelling

The virtual fair aims to bring together reps from food, food-packaging, and agro-technologies

The global food, food-packaging and import sectors have come to a grinding halt due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on industries doesn’t seem to ease up anytime soon.

To offset the ban on international travel, issues such as social distancing and spread of infection, Agro Food Tech Europe is set to hold a first of its kind virtual fair from July 20 to 26.

The online platform will provide representatives of industries such as food, food-packaging, and technologies with a safe and secure digital space in which they can hold meetings, exchange ideas, and explore new commercial opportunities.

The fair features state-of-the-art infrastructure and will be held for seven days, bringing together industry representatives from across the world.

“At a time when international travel is sorely limited and health concerns prevent physical visits to other countries, virtual fairs have come to the fore as highly-effective business platforms,” said Barış Salur, online Project Director, Agro-Food Tech.

The virtual fair aims to bring together

Agro chems – Fertilizers

Webinar will compensate for training and personal development activities lost due to COVID-19

The Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) has proposed to conduct a webinar titled ’Developments in Fertilizer industry’ on 18th August, 2020 (Tuesday) from 10 am to 4 pm.

The webinar will have presentations in the areas of fertilizer and agriculture, supply, demand of fertilizers, developments in policy environment and technologies for fertilizer production.

The topics under focus include ’The Key lnput in Intensive Agriculture’, ’Indian Demand Supply of Fertilizers’,  ’Latest Developments in Policy for Nitrogenous and Phosphatic Fertilizers’, ’Brief on Manufacturing Technologies for Nitrogenous Fertilizers’, ’Brief on Manufacturing Technologies for Phosphate Fertilizers and’ Fertilizer Quality Control & Fertilizer Control Order’

Interested participants may visit the Fertiliser Association of India’s website. 

 

 

Webinar will compensate for training and personal

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agro chems – Pesticides

Locust control operations continue in 9 states of North and Western of India.  

Locust control operations have been conducted on 1,68,315 hectares of farmland in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana by Locust Circle Offices (LCOs) between 11th April and 14th July.

Similar control operations have been conducted on 1,47,321 hectares in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bihar by respective State Governments.

Control operations were carried out at 27 places in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts of Rajasthan, 1 place in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, 2 places in Kutch district of Gujarat on the intervening night of 14th-15th July.

In addition to this, respective State Agriculture Departments have also conducted control operations at 2 place each in the districts of Balrampur and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh and 1 place in Pali district of Rajasthan in the intervening night of 14th-15th July.

79 control teams with spray equipment mounted vehicles and more than 200 Central Government personnel, 50 Technical officers and 22 drivers on contractual basis, are currently engaged in these operations. The operational capability has been boosted by the use of drones, a Bell helicopter, a MI-17 helicopter and the newly imported Ulvamast sprayers from the UK.

Locust control operations continue in 9 states

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

Reviton, a PPO-inhibitor herbicide is currently under EPA regulatory review. 

 

 

HELM Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high quality crop protection and fertilizer products announces Reviton™ as the name of its new herbicide, which is currently under EPA regulatory review.

Reviton is a PPO-inhibitor herbicide with a novel active ingredient called Tergeo™. A non-selective herbicide for the preplant burndown and desiccation segments, Reviton will be one of the first new PPO herbicide to be introduced in the U.S. in more than a decade. 

New Molecule Discovery

The new molecule was discovered by Farm Hannong, a Korean agrochemical company, and has been globally commercialized as a joint development with Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd, a Japanese agrochemical company.

Earlier this year, HELM Agro US and Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha entered into a long-term collaboration for the commercial development of Reviton herbicide, which contains the novel molecule, exclusively for the U.S. crop protection market.  

The U.S. launch of Reviton is anticipated later this year following federal and state registrations for use in field corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. According to HELM, additional crop registrations are to be expected.

In more than 700 North American product development trials and regulatory studies, Reviton has demonstrated extremely high-performance ratings in burndown control for more than 50 broadleaf and grass weeds, including ALS, triazine and glyphosate-resistant species.  

A preeminent new tool for row crop growers, HELM describes Reviton’s active ingredient as being fast-acting with effects occurring within 24 hours after application.

Additional characteristics of the breakthrough herbicide include an ultra-low use rate, tank mix compatibility, crop rotational flexibility and expanded use as a desiccant for cotton.

Reviton, a PPO-inhibitor herbicide is currently under

Finance, Schemes - NABARD

NABARD disbursed RS 2.51 crore to SHGs for, skill development and digitization of records. 

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) in Karnataka has disbursed ₹2.51 crore of grant assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records.

The project E-Shakti for digitisation of SHGs is under implementation in seven districts. So far, 1.17 lakh SHGs are digitised. The cumulative grant assistance of ₹6.47 crore was released for SHG promotion, said Niraj Kumar Verma, Chief General Manager, Nabard.

Addressing the 39th Foundation Day of NABARD. Verma said on the financial inclusion, during the year, ₹5.65 crore was sanctioned and ₹2.07 crore disbursed for supporting various activities and facilitating financial inclusion and digitation of the financial transactions. 18 DCCBs have been covered under Public Management Financial System (PFMS) resulting in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of funds under various schemes of the Central Government. The cumulative grant assistance released under financial inclusion was ₹43.98 crore.

NABARD disbursed RS 2.51 crore to SHGs

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, Finance

 IFFCO has recorded net profit of ₹1,005 crore in FY20 as against ₹842 crore during FY 2018-19 

Fertiliser cooperative Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) has announced all-time high production, sales, profit and despatches of fertilisers during FY 2019-20. 

According to a statement, the fertiliser manufacturer recorded net profit of ₹1,005 crore during the period under review as against ₹842 crore during FY 2018-19. Its turnover touched ₹29,412 crore as against ₹27,852 crore. Apart from its core fertiliser business, IFFCO has also diversified into General Insurance, Rural Retail, Farm Forestry, Rural Telecom, Agrochemicals, Rural Finance, Logistics, SEZ. IFFCO has also forayed into Food Processing, Organics and small move into Nutrients for Urban Gardening also. Taking all these businesses, IFFCO’s group turnover in FY 2019-20 stood at ₹57,778 crores which was ₹50,908 in 2018-19. 

US Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO, said that latest numbers are incredible to accomplish in a year severely affected by global and economic challenges. “I am sure that our decision to implement multi-faceted initiatives to augment Farmers’ Welfare and take them to the last mile across the country will contribute effectively to the Nation Building process and will certainly help to fulfil the vision of PM Narendra Modi Ji of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022,” he said. 

On operational front, IFFCO’s total production of fertilisers increased to 91.42 lakh tonnes last fiscal year, from 81.49 lakh tonnes in the previous year.  Out of the total fertiliser production in 2019-20, urea output was 48.75 lakh tonnes (45.62 lakh tonnes). The production of other fertilisers (DAP/NPK/WSF) was 42.87 lakh tonnes in 2019-20 which was 35.87 lakh tonnes in the previous year.

 

IFFCO sold highest ever 133.31 lakh tonnes of fertilisers in last fiscal year (115.56 lakh tonnes). Out of total sales, urea stood at 86.31 lakh tonnes and DAP/NPK at 47 lakh tonnes in 2019-20. IFFCO also achieved its lowest composite energy consumption of 5.285 Gcal per MT (million tonne) which was 5.331 Gcal in 2018-19. IFFCO, has five plants at Kalol, Kandla, Phulpur, Aonla and Paradeep in India and two overseas.

 IFFCO has recorded net profit of ₹1,005

Acts & Schemes – Centre

FPOs can expect the govt’s support for a period of 5 years of which cost is adjudged to be at Rs.6, 866 crore. 

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar released a booklet on the operational guidelines on the functioning new Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) which are scheduled to be formed under the government scheme. The government has announced that it will form 10,000 FPOs last month. 

During the conferencing several key issues were discussed between the union minister and the representatives of the states. The Minister of state for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala and Kailash Chaudhary were also present along with minister of agriculture from various states and senior officers from the Department of Agriculture.

 He said that under the Atma nirbhar package a financial facility of worth Rs 100,000 crore was allocated to establish various Agriculture Infrastructure Projects across the country. The fund will also be utilised to reduce crop wastage which usually accounts for 20% of the total yield.

 He further remarked that under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme the government has set a target of providing over 2.5 crore Kisan Credit Card by the end of the year. Under the PM-Kisan Yojana data has been collected on over 10.5 crore land holdings out of a total of 14.5 crore which will help in identifying those farmers who are in need of KCC.

 The minister set the deadline of the formation of the 10,000 FPOs as 2023-24 and said that the FPOs can expect the government’s support for a period of 5 years whose cost is adjudged to be at Rs.6,866 crore. He assured the states that the Union government will provide its complete support to the states. 

Most of the states which were represented by their Agriculture ministers supported the Union government’s gesture and announced their support to the Union government in implementing these schemes to ensure a wide coverage which in turn would help the farmers raise their income and will boost the rural economy.

FPOs can expect the govt’s support for

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Finance

Imports additional fertilizers to meet growing needs of farmers

The performance of Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) particularly in the areas of production and marketing is shown marked improvement during first three months of 2020-21.

It has extended fertilizer marketing operations across India and widening its marketing network to West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra & Gujarat. It has also started marketing Ammonium Sulphate in the states of Maharashtra and West Bengal.

To improve its top and bottom lines the company has placed purchase orders for the import of 3 shipments of fertilizers. Two shipments, one of 27500 MT of MOP and the other of 27500 MT of Complex Fertilizer have already arrived.

The third shipment of MOP is expected to arrive in August. During the Financial Year 2019-20, it showed record increase in net profit, production of its prime product Factamfos, Ammonium Sulphate and sale of Fertilizers.

The company is planning to restart Caprolactam operations during the financial year 2020-2021 after completing major maintenance activities and installing online effluent monitoring facilities.

Imports additional fertilizers to meet growing needs

Dairy, Europe

Margins per litre of milk register marked increase

According to the annual Kingshay Dairy Costing Focus Report, margins over feed purchased for conventional dairy herds have increased by almost 25 percent in the last 10 years.


A 14 percent increase in margins per litre has also been registered. Kathryn Rowland, senior farm services manager at Kingshay has explained that margins have increased despite rises in purchased feed costs, likely mitigated by increases in yield, milk from forage and milk price, but other costs of production, such as labour have also increased over the period.

Lower input grazing focused herds have given the best results on a per litre basis but the year-round calving, housing focused systems produced the best margin over purchased feed per cow. A combination of additional grazing days, more milk from forage and higher milk prices meant that low to moderate yielding organic dairies averaged the highest margin over purchased feed per litre.

Producers evidently managed to increase forage use after the drought of 2018, with the average milk from forage across all conventional herds increasing to make up 32.9 percent of yields (2,759 litres) in 2019/20, up from 29.8 percent (2,486 litres) the previous year

Margins per litre of milk register marked

Pulses

Over 900 participants from across 30 countries attended the webinar 

 

 

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for India’s pulses trade and industry, successfully hosted the first webinar of ‘THE KNOWLEDGE SERIES’ focused on the path-breaking reforms announced by the Indian Government in the agri-marketing space and their impact on Domestic Trade, Agri-Production, Market Dynamics, Investments and Supply Chain. 

The panel included Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO – NRAA & Chairman of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income and  Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Dept. of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution as well as industry stalwarts and domain experts like Sunil Kumar Singh, Addl. Managing Director – NAFED;  Rajnikant Rai, Divisional Chief Executive – ITC Agri-Business; Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Executive Chairman – Rabo Equity Advisors;  Parag Gadre, CEO – ETG India;  Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director – Maha Farmers Producers Company Ltd. (MAHAFPC). The webinar was moderated by G Chandrashekhar, noted Economist, Senior Editor, Policy Commentator and Agri-business Specialist.   

Dr Ashok Dalwai, highlighted that “Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) would be the new aggregation platforms where the farmers would have access to processing facilities. Market reforms along with Aatmanirbhar Bharat will help us strengthen the marketing forces in the country and have a positive impact on domestic trade. We need to build robust supply chains and integrate them into the global supply chains.” 

 Nidhi Khare, said, “Today, India is self-sufficient in most of the agri-commodities and foods. As a result, we have experienced more episodes of excess production over demand rather than supply shortages. Attracting organised sector into agriculture sector for price stabilisation, investments in cold storages, modernisation of food supply chains was one of the key reasons to exempt agri food commodities from restrictive provisions of the EC Act. Our aim is to remove the fear of excessive regulatory interferences which can lead to freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute, supply which will harness economies of scale and attract private sector and FDI.”

Sunil Kumar Singh, commented that “NAFED will certainly work on the recommendations regarding APMCs and monetisation of the existing structures of the APMCs. Old APMCs have huge asset value. One such APMC monetisation can bring in three such structures of holistic APMCs. It is a huge opportunity.”

 Rajnikant Rai, said, “The one problem private sector is facing in getting investments and building a competitive value chain is government intervention in price management. The new ordinances have opened the market but the biggest hindrance to trade and investment in the long run is the price control by the government. National policy on agriculture, whether marketing or sourcing, has to be creative, so that small hindrances get eliminated.”             

 Rajesh Srivastava, while reiterating on FDI in agri sector said “Historically in the last 10 years, 4 – 5% of total FDI has been in the agriculture sector which I am confident will increase to 9 – 10 % in the next couple of year’s basis the initiatives we are taking and the opportunities opening up in this sector. Even 10 – 12% is doable as we are well on track towards doubling farmer’s income.”  

 Parag Gadre, explained “We as a trader, marketer or buyer will have multiple choices to source our raw material requirements. Corporates like us are looking forward to the new opportunities coming our way. We have been confined to a particular space for long and there’s a lot of play across the value chain. The reforms will facilitate the same for sure.” 

Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director – Maha Farmers Producers Company Ltd. (MAHAFPC) giving an insight into the impact on farmers said, “The Ordinances have unlocked opportunities for all the stakeholders in the agriculture sector. In the era of sustainable agriculture development, public private partnership is the way forward for the prosperity of the farmers.” 

 G Chandrashekhar, Moderator for the webinar, in his summation said, “Post COVID many countries around the world are going to start practising protectionism and PM Narendra Modi has spoken about becoming Aatmanirbhar that is self-reliant. The policies are going to be significantly welfare oriented with an increased emphasis on food security & nutrition particularly with focus on local production. The way forward is going to be in aligning with global value chains, faster adoption of technology, and mechanisation in agriculture, digitisation, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, block chain technology in import and export activities. For consumers our expectation is that they will certainly demand health foods as they are adopting healthy lifestyles hence critical for food processing.

 

 

Over 900 participants from across 30 countries

Australia, New Zealand, R&D, Start ups, Water

Winning agri water supply chain solution will fetch $250k prize 

 An Australia-based agrifood tech innovation firm, Bridge Hub aims to bring agri-system sustainability to the country with a primary focus on water supply chain. While agrifood supply chain is important in the agrisystem, water still remains a very important aspect.

The firm believes that research and technology based solutions can help address the global water challenge. To that end, the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge has been launched and the top solution provider to the agri water supply chain problem will receive a cash prize of $250k and an investment into the commercial outcome of their solution.

It aims to arrive at the best and practical solution that will positively impact water sustainability within the agrisystem. The challenge is available to Australian and New Zealand researchers, startups, and students. Those who wish to work on water sustainability within the agrisystem can apply to the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge via their website.

“Through the 2020 Water Challenge, we are looking for practical solutions to the water problems, including drought, across our agri supply chain,” said Craig Shapiro, co-founder of Bridge Hub.



Winning agri water supply chain solution will

Dairy

The main objective of this virtual dialogue is to bring together all key stakeholders to deliberate and suggest a future road map towards development of the Indian Dairy Sector 

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organizing an interactive session on “Development of Indian Dairy Sector Post COVID-19 Scenario” on 23rd July at 3 PM. Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India (GoI) will be joining this virtual session and interact with the stakeholders.

Dairy sector plays a critical role in linking Indian rural households to consumers in the domestic and international markets. India has been the leading producer and consumer of dairy products worldwide with a sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products. However, with nationwide lockdown measures in place due to COVID-19 pandemic, disruption in demand-supply chains had an impact on dairy sector too. The dairy sector faced initial hiccups in form of operational challenges such as transportation of material, shortage of workforce procuring milk and workforce restrictions to name a few during lockdown. 

In the present context, the government has announced several incentives and financial measures under the economic package for development of dairy sector. Further, COVID-19 seems to provide a plethora of opportunities for the sector with emerging trends of shift in consumer preferences to dairy based protein, increased demand of immunity boosting products across value chain, record milk production & collection levels during the COVID-19 scenario in India. Thus, the tremendous potential offered by the dairy Sector in terms creation of value-addition products as a profitable business opportunity, can serve as an important tool for overall socio- economic development of the country.

 Recognizing this, the main objective of this Virtual Dialogue is to bring together all key stakeholders to deliberate and suggest a future road map towards development of the Indian Dairy Sector in terms of attracting potential investments, evaluating emerging trends and opportunities, addressing ground level challenges, promoting entrepreneurship & value creation, etc. in the Evolving Dairy Business of India. 

Key Speakers- 

Welcome Address: Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI

Keynote Address By:  Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, GoI

Presentation on Indian Dairy Sector By: Mohit Bhasin, Partner, KPMG India

Address By: Dr. R S Sodhi, Managing Director- GCMMF (AMUL)

Address By: Siraj Hussain, Former Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, GoI

Address By: Dr. Prashant Shinde, Commercial Director- Dairy Feed Business, Cargill India

Moderation By:   Jyoti Vij, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI 

Session Highlights 

Present Scenario & Challenges Faced by the Indian Dairy Sector: COVID-19 Impact Assessment

Potential Implications of Financial Incentives & Reforms under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Outlook for Indian Diary Sector-Identifying Emerging Business Opportunities & Recommendations

Status of Dairy Feed Industry & Challenges Faced by Organised Feed Sector

Interactive Q & A Session 

Who Should Attend?

Members of Dairy Cooperatives

Start-ups & Dairy Entrepreneurs

Dairy Researchers & Academia

Dairy Technology Professionals

Food Processing Companies

Progressive Dairy Farmers

Dairy Nutritionists & Experts 

The link for joining the program will only be shared after receipt of filled registration form. 

FOR REGISTRATIONS: Please click the link: https://forms.gle/7tnmuNPstdaSnsxM6 

For Queries & Sponsorship Opportunities, Please Contact: Ms. Sakshi Saini, Email: sakshi.saini@ficci.com

 

 

 

 

The main objective of this virtual dialogue

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

Craig Brekkas named Head of North America, Trent McCrea becomes Head of Canada 

UPL announces key leadership changes for the North American region as the company continues to focus on its mission to make every single food product more sustainable. Craig Brekkas, formerly Head of Canada, has been promoted to Head of North America for UPL. He replaces Vicente Gongora, who takes on a new role as Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions. Trent McCrea moves into the Head of Canada position. These changes take effect August 1, 2020. 

“Craig and Trent bring a wealth of market knowledge and experience in the United States and Canadian markets that will help accelerate momentum for delivering innovation and value-added solutions to growers in collaboration with our distribution partners. Vicente will move into a new role to drive the development of differentiated and sustainable solutions globally addressing key pain points of growers and consumers”, says Diego Lopez Casanello, Global COO for UPL. 

These leadership changes underscore UPL’s commitment to our OpenAg purpose to create an agriculture network that feeds sustainable growth for all. No limits, no borders. 

Craig Brekkas, Head of North America

Brekkas brings more than 20 years of deep knowledge across both the United States and Canadian markets to his new role as Head of North America. Previously, Craig was the Head of Canada. He has held numerous sales and marketing leadership positions since joining the company in 2003. 

Trent McCrea, Head of Canada

McCrea has been promoted from Portfolio Marketing Manager to Head of Canada. Since joining the organization in 2005, Trent has served in several key sales and marketing positions with increasing responsibility, including the first BioSolutions product released in the Canadian market. 

Vicente Gongora, Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions

Gongora will move into a new position as Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions. Prior to this role, he held the position of Regional Head of North America. Vicente joined UPL in 2011 and has more than 35 years of experience leading agriculture businesses in North and South America.

Craig Brekkas named Head of North America,

Agrotech, E-commerce, Supply Chain

TraceNext, provides complete value chain traceability with an assurance of quality from the farm gates to the consumer 

As billions worth of food moves through the global food value chains, assessments and traceability of the food remain subjective or non-existent leading to losses in procurement, trade, storage, production and consumption.

Digitization of such value chains towards making food safe, trackable and of desired consumer quality, needs to be accelerated and implemented at a much faster pace than ever.

By signing an MoU, AgNext and SourceTrace have created a technology platform, TraceNext that for the first time in history, can provide complete value chain traceability with an assurance of quality from the farm gates to the consumer.

The benefits for such a platform as TraceNext, brings immense value to multiple commodity value chains, ensuring various aspects like trace food origin and chain of custody, monitor ethical and sustainable practices used in growing the food, complete value chain traceability – from farm to consumer, legal and compliance norms, instant quality testing on trade and safety parameters and instant trade decisions without any delays and dependencies. It also ensure Block chain and Fair-Trade practices in commodity supply chains.

Venkat Maroju, CEO, SourceTrace said “In the coming years, traceability is going to be the most critical technology to ensure food safety. TraceNext is the only solution that can provide food businesses, regulatory bodies and consumers all the information they need to ensure food safety. It will also change how food businesses and consumers interact and what information is exchanged. We are looking at a complete transformation of the food ecosystem.”

Taranjeet Bhamra, CEO, AgNext said “Leveraging the best of technologies and principles of agriculture practices, we are joining hands to solve the greatest needs of the times, solving issues for farmers, agribusinesses and consumers alike. TraceNext fills the exact gap that is needed for providing a one-stop seamless solution for food origin and quality for effective trade, procurement, production and consumption of food. The potential to transform value chains is limitless.”

TraceNext, provides complete value chain traceability with