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Acquaculture, E-commerce

It will sell inputs such as feed and equipment to aquaculture farmers 

 

 

Aquaconnect, the aquaculture technology start-up, has launched three centres in Andhra Pradesh, at Bapatla, Ongole and Avanigadda, to facilitate technology adoption among farmers in the region. 

These centres, called Aquaconnect Hubs, will sell inputs such as feed and equipment to aquaculture farmers and also provide them access to banks and financial institutions. 

Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO and Founder, Aquaconnect, said through these hubs the company expects to demonstrate the use of technology and farm management applications among the farmers. Aquaconnect already has two such hubs operational in Tamil Nadu and plans to set up 20 more hubs in States such as Andhra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha over two years. The company expects to employ over 700 people through the hubs. 

Aquaconnect is partnering with three banks to help shrimp and fish farmers’ access credit through these hubs, which will also provide farm advisory solutions and act as a diagnostic centre for aquaculture.

Somasundaram said the technology adoption among aquaculture farmers is still in early stages and Aquaconnect sees a big growth potential. Shrimp producers are looking at technology adoption to drive down their production costs and become more efficient in the global market, where they are facing increasing competition from countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia, he added.

 India produces fish and shrimp worth $17 billion or ₹1.3 lakh crore every year. Fish production is estimated at 8 million tonnes, while shrimp output is pegged around 7 lakh tonnes. 

India exports about 95 per cent of the shrimp produced to countries such as the US, China, European Union and Japan. The US is the largest importer of Indian shrimps. 

India is the largest exporter of frozen shrimp with estimated export earnings of $5 billion. Fish exports are pegged at $2 billion. Total aqua produce exports are estimated at $7 billion.

It will sell inputs such as feed

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce

Net revenue rose to Rs 1,769.7 crore in April-June quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 from Rs 1,613.7 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

 

BASF India on Thursday reported widening of its net loss to Rs 29.15 crore in the first quarter of current fiscal due to higher expenses. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 8.2 crore in the same quarter of previous fiscal, it said in a regulatory filing.

Net revenue rose to Rs 1,769.7 crore in April-June quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 from Rs 1,613.7 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Expenses increased to Rs 1,809.4 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,601.6 crore in the year-ago period.

The company said its operations were impacted during the June quarter due to lockdown and other emergency measures imposed by governments in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“However, the impact assessment of COVID-19 is a continuing process given the uncertainties associated with its nature and duration and accordingly the impact may be different from that estimated as at the date of approval of these financial results,” it said.

The company will continue to monitor any material changes to future economic conditions, it said, adding that BASF India has resumed operations in a phased manner in line with directives from the authorities.

                                                                                     source-PTI

 

Net revenue rose to Rs 1,769.7 crore

Acts & Schemes – Centre, AgroPolicy

He emphasized the need to minimize pre-harvest and post-harvest losses and improve market infrastructure.

Inaugurating the virtual consultation ‘Science for Resilient Food, Nutrition and Livelihoods’ organized by the M.S Swaminathan Foundation (MSSRF), Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu has highlighted the need to constantly review the country’s food, agriculture and trade policies and reorienting agricultural priorities towards more nutrition-sensitive food.

He lauded MSSRF’s aim to accelerate use of modern science and technology for agricultural and rural development.

To ensure food and nutrition security for all, Naidu called for making agriculture more resilient and profitable. He also emphasized the need to minimize pre-harvest and post-harvest losses and improve market infrastructure. He urged policy makers to promote investment in irrigation infrastructure and focus on R&D to raise productivity of nutritious foods and help reduce their cost.

Highlighting the importance of anticipatory research, he said that anticipatory warning benefitted the farmers during recent locust attacks.

Calling for seamless technology transfer and farmer education,  Naidu said India’s laboratories must be firmly linked to its farms and fields.

Naidu also endorsed Dr Swaminathan’s suggestion to provide land rights to the women. “Land rights, pattas and all other property should be jointly in the name of man and woman ”, he said.

 

He emphasized the need to minimize

Logistics, Supply Chain

Trains to transport perishable farm items to markets quickly

Indian Railways has started the ’Kisan Rail’ initiative under which the first train from Devlali to Danapur has been flagged off by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchyati Raj, Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal.

The trains will provide seamless supply chain of perishable produce and will be a step towards realizing the goal of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. They will help in bringing agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time and will also have frozen containers to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishable items such as fish, meat and milk as envisioned in Union Budget 2020-21.

The train will run on weekly basis with initial composition of 10 +1 VPs. Parcel tariff of normal train (P Scale) will be charged on freight transported.

Trains to transport perishable farm items

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Schemes - Govt, Start ups

Training and funding to promote agripreneurship will be a major focus

The central government is encouraging startups in the agricultural sector to contribute directly and indirectly for enhancing the income of farmers by providing opportunities to them and to provide employment to youth.

As part of this initiative the Innovation and Agri-entrepreneurship Development program has been launched under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to promote innovation and agripreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing to the incubation ecosystem.

These start-ups are in various categories such as agro-processing, artificial intelligence, digital agriculture, farm mechanization, waste to wealth, dairy, fisheries etc. Under the scheme there will be agripreneurship orientation, seed stage funding of R-ABI incubatees and idea/pre-seed stage funding for startups.

A total of 346 startups in the agriculture and allied sectors are being funded for a sum of Rs 3671.75 lakhs in this phase. This fund will be released in instalments. These start-ups will be trained for two months at 29 agribusiness incubation centres (KPs & RABIs) spread across India.

Training and mentoring will be provided on technology, finance, intellectual property, statutory compliance issues etc. DAC&FW has selected 5 Knowledge Partners (KPs) as Centres of Excellence.

 

 

Training and funding to promote agripreneurship will

Agrotech, R&D

Field trials are the only way to ensure safety of crops and blocking such trials amounts to blocking national development

Alliance for Agri Innovation (AAI), a special interest group of Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) urges the Central and State Governments to allow field trials of Bt Brinjal in India. A letter has been sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal to bring their attention to this matter.

The current Bt Brinjal event which is going for field trials, which were approved by Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)  in May 2020, was developed by the National Institute of Plant Biotechnology under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and has been licensed to an Indian company for commercialization. This technology is different from the Bt Brinjal technology which despite approval by GEAC was put under moratorium in India but is being grown commercially by farmers in Bangladesh since 2014.  According to a peer reviewed study published in 2019, net returns to farmers from Bt brinjal crop averaged $2151/ha (INR 1.61 Lakh/ha) compared to $357/ha (INR 26,768/ha) from non-Bt brinjal crop.

We are aware of the efforts being made by some groups to stop GM trials and limit the technological intervention which has become a necessity to stop pest and diseases in crops. We are also aware that similar activism had prevented approval of GM Mustard technology which was developed by Delhi University. Blocking such trials based on non-scientific arguments and ideological differences amounts to blocking national development.

Ram Kaundinya, Director General, FSII-AAI said, “Brinjal is one of the most pesticide consuming crops among vegetables. Farmers spray pesticides more than 25 times in a single crop season of Brinjal. The deadly Fruit & Shoot borer is a menace for the farmers and its caterpillar also finds its way into our homes through infected brinjals. By controlling this with Bt technology we can save farmers income, reduce pesticide loan on the environment and provide pesticide and insect free brinjals to the consumers. The indigenous technology developed by our national institute must get an opportunity for getting tested in the field.”

Dr Paresh Verma, Head of AAI,said, “Development of indigenous technology is in line with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission launched by the Honourable Prime Minister of India. Delays due to a paralysis in the decision-making process by Centre and State Governments has essentially stalled the progress in research to develop new technologies. This has also led technology developers to curtail their research efforts in India thereby adversely impacting the interests of our farmers in the long run.”

Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, FSII-AAI said, “Field trials are the only way to ensure safety of crops.  A different Bt Brinjal technology was approved by GEAC based on comprehensive biosafety evaluation, which included regulatory field trials, but the then Minister of Environment imposed a moratorium on its commercial release for reasons which were not based on science. Bangladesh went ahead and approved Bt Brinjal for cultivation in 2013. Since then, Bt brinjal has helped smallholder farmers (around 150,000 small holder farmers) in Bangladesh achieve higher yields, a 60 percent reduction in pesticide costs and a six-fold increase in net returns. Bt brinjal has increased yields by 30 percent and the crop often gets a better price in the market.”

Dr Ratna Kumria, Director-Biotechnology, AAI said, “GMOs are very well-regulated in India and across the globe unlike the conventionally bred crops. We have a very robust regulatory system in India for research and approval of GM crops and we should support it to run its course for active science-based evaluation of the technology. We hope that the Central and State Governments will allow GM trials to benefit from the expertise available in the Agricultural Universities for scientific evaluations as per the regulatory process.”

Multiple agencies (including ISAAA, European Commission, www.biofortified.org, www.informahealthcare.com) have shown in extensive studies and diverse analyses that in 23 years of GM cultivation, there have been no reports of adverse health effects on humans or animals, reiterating substantial equivalence of GM with conventional crops. As a matter of fact, 1785 studies on GMO safety are available on informal health care website. The European Union report based on 130 research projects conducted over 25 years and involving more than 500 independent research groups, concluded that GM crops were as safe as the conventionally bred ones and had the potential to improve crops beyond the limits of traditional breeding. The assessment evaluated the impact of GM on the environment, crop diversity, horizontal gene transfer, effect on non-target organisms, soil and water ecology and the co-existence of different crops. The report observed that genome was a dynamic entity that continuously refined its genes and GM technology enables the same process with better precision and information. 

Field trials are the only way to

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

 Decis ULV Insecticide donation enables treatment of 170,000 hectares of the most affected fields 

 

 

Farmers in Kenya and Uganda currently fighting a devastating locust invasion and looming food security crisis are receiving help from Bayer thanks to a donation of 170,000 litres of Decis ULV insecticide. 120,000 litres will be shipped to Kenya and 50,000 litres have already been shipped to Uganda. In both countries, the product will be donated to the local governments to fight the locust swarms. The donation from Bayer, which has a material value of approximately 750,000 Euros, will enable treatment of 170,000 hectares of the most affected fields. 

Considered the worst crop pests in the world, locusts ravage everything in their path. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), East Africa fields have fallen victim to the worst locust invasion in 25 years. Earlier this year, the FAO issued a call for insecticides, including Deltamethrin, the active ingredient in Decis ULV which is the only one effective in combating the desert locust. Bayer’s insecticide donation from its Crop Science division will support the fight against these harmful migratory pests which are currently threatening food security in the region. 

The Bayer donation addresses an urgent need to act as farmers prepare for the arrival of new swarms. Recent heavy rains are expected to cause a further proliferation of locusts in East Africa that could prove to be even more destructive and spread to other African regions. 

“Uganda has had four major invasions and continues to receive more invasions which we work tirelessly to eliminate. We therefore thank Bayer for the donation,” said Hon. Vincent Sempija, Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries. “This will enable us to control the pests entering Uganda through the East, invading mainly 25 districts.” 

“Bayer is committed to shaping a more resilient food system that can withstand threats to food security, like the desert locust,” said Liam Condon, President of Bayer’s Crop Science division. “It’s imperative that we get smallholder farmers the tools they need to fight the devastating infestation, feed their families and communities and maintain their livelihoods, while working to build increased resilience in the future.” 

A major food issue for millions of people

Earlier this year, the largest swarm that hit Kenya measured 2,400 square kilometers and was made up of 200 billion locusts. The pests consumed nearly 400,000 tons of food every 24 hours which is equivalent to what 84 million people eat each day. Desert Locusts can travel up to 130 kilometers a day in their frantic race to feed and reproduce. 

“Logistics are the main issue in such circumstances; making sure that we bring the right product at the right time at the right place is key to support farmers in such a difficult time,” said Sylvestre Jobic, New Venture Lead for Africa in Bayer’s Crop Science division. 

Bayer is also partnering with local governments and NGOs for safe utilization of the product. The 170,000 liters of Decis ULV donated to Kenya and Uganda were produced in France, in a Bayer industrial site based in Villefranche Limas that specializes in the formulation, packaging and distribution of plant protection products for farmers.

 Decis ULV Insecticide donation enables treatment of

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce

NFL achieved a new high of 18.79 Lakh MT in April-July, 2020 showing a growth of more than 20 per cent than the previous best of 15.64 LMT

 

 National Fertilizers Ltd has reached all-time high total fertilizer sales of 18.79 Lakh MT in April-July, 2020. With this NFL touched a new high of 18.79 Lakh MT in April-July, 2020 showing a growth of more than 20 per cent than the previous best of 15.64 LMT recorded during the same period last year. 

This includes the sale of Urea, DAP, MoP, NPK, SSP and Bentonite Sulphur during the said period. Out of this, the sale of the Company’s core product Urea has registered a sale of 15.87 Lakh MT higher by 17 per cent than the CPLY. 

NFL produces urea at its five plants located at Nangal and Bathinda in Punjab, Panipat in Haryana and two plants at Vijaipur in M.P. Though the company has a production capacity of 35.68 Lakh MT of urea. With all these products, the company has recorded highest-ever sale of 57 Lakh MT in 2019-20, continuously for the fifth time in a row. Maintaining optimum operations of these plants in difficult times is a big success story especially towards fulfilling Government’s commitment to the farming community of the country.

NFL achieved a new high of 18.79

Dairy, E-commerce, Finance

The plant would be one of the largest facilities to manufacture bypass fats and specialty waxes in the country. 

 

 

US food major Cargill announced that it has invested USD 15 million (around Rs 112 crore) to set up a plant in Maharashtra to manufacture health and nutrition supplement bypass fat for dairy cattle. Cargill India, which posted a revenue of USD 1.2-1.3 billion last year, has opened a high-pressure hydrogenation plant in Kurkumbh to manufacture bypass fat. The commercial production of supplement has already started and will be marketed under the global brand Carfe. 

“We have made a total investment of USD 15 million to set up this plant. It has an annual capacity of 35,000 tonne, making it one of the largest facilities to manufacture bypass fats and specialty waxes in the country,” said Keerthy Pethaiyan, regional director, Cargill Bioindustrial, India in a virtual press conference.

Since bypass fat is a source of energy for dairy animals, this will help in improving milk yield by 7-10 per cent and also fat content. India has been the largest milk producer in the world for over two decades but milk productivity per animal is still low in comparison to the world average”, Pethaiyan said. 

On the market size of bypass fat, Pethaiyan said the current size is around 30,000- 35,000 tonne in India and it is expected to double by 2025. The compound feed industry is likely to grow 13 -15 per cent. He said the company aims to capture significant market share.

 

This product is already available in developed dairy cattle markets worldwide and will now be locally manufactured at Cargill’s new bioindustrial plant at Kurkumbh and made available to dairy farmers and feed manufacturers in India. 

The plant will also manufacture specialty vegetable oil based waxes for industrial application, marketed under the brand name Agri-Pure, which has application in tyre, plastic and candle industry. Around 80-90 per cent of the volume in this plant will be bypass fat, he said.

 

“India is a key growth market for Cargill and in line with our commitment to the country, this marks a continuation of our investment in India. By building upon our operations at this facility, we will increase our regional footprint and enhance our local capabilities to better support the needs of our local customers as well as multi-national customers across the globe,” said Kurtis Miller, global managing director, Industrial Segment, Cargill Bioindustrial.

Cargill has presence in 70 countries with a total workforce of 1, 55,000.The company markets animal feed and premix under the Provimi, Purina, and EWOS brands. Cargill India employs more than 4,000 people working across offices and plants and a network of offices, warehouses and depots.

The plant would be one of the

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

Company’s Indian business registers growth even as global sales dip

The India business arm of Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) has registered five per cent growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 even though its consolidated sales have declined by one per cent year-on-year. The growth was due to the robust demand for its household insecticides and hygiene products. 

The second quarter was tough due to the challenges the company faced with lockdowns across geographies and the ensuing supply side issues. Observing rising demand in household insecticides and hygiene, the company has decided to focus on their products in these categories.

GCPL chairperson and managing director Nisaba Godrej said that the company has several new launches, strongly price-enabled, across geographies in the pipeline and will be doubling down on digitization and platforms like e-commerce. Category-wise, insecticides and hygiene grew by 27 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

The company posted a 3.1 per cent fall year-on-year in its June quarter consolidated net profit to Rs 395 crore compared to Rs 407.6 crore in the same period last year. Revenue of the company was down 12.5 per cent to Rs 2,327.3 crore versus Rs 2,348.8 crore in Q1 FY20.

Company’s Indian business registers growth even as

E-commerce, R&D, Seeds

STEPUP 2.0 supplements the protein and amino acids released during the early stages of germination 

Wilbur-Ellis announced the release of a new and improved seed treatment product, STEPUP 2.0, a seed treatment nutritional that is specifically designed to interact with and respond to the seed by supplementing the protein and amino acids released during the early stages of germination, providing a faster and more uniform emergence, resulting in higher yields. This exclusive seed treatment product features a newly redesigned, higher-concentrated formulation.

Due to this more concentrated formulation, STEPUP 2.0 allows growers to use more products on their seeds, while tapping into the potential for lower use rates without sacrificing performance. Ultimately this gives the grower a more consistent return on investment. 

“The redesigned formulation allows for lower use rates on seed which can result in better seed flow at planting while retaining its performance,” says Wilbur-Ellis’ National Seed Treatment Manager Paul Johnson. 

Additionally, STEPUP 2.0 has proven results on soybeans through several field trials, as this value-added seed treatment nutritional has averaged an increase of over 2.12 bushels over two years of trials, taking soybean yields and return on investment to the next level.

STEPUP 2.0 supplements the protein and amino

E-commerce, Seeds

This agreement will allow both companies to share research, testing of seeds.

 

 

Mustang Seeds, Inc. is pleased to add Legend Seeds, Inc. as a distributor of Mustang Brand Seeds. Legend seeds will offer corn and soybeans through the Mustang Seeds brand along with small grains and cover crops.

Legend Seeds is a regional independent seed company headquartered in DeSmet, SD. Both Mustang Seeds and Legend Seeds product lines will match up well and both companies will continue to provide quality products and personal service to their customers. In addition to distribution, this agreement will allow for both companies to share research, testing, and data to support Mustang Seeds product performance.

 “I have worked with Legend Seeds CEO, Glen Davis and President, Tim Bratland while serving on the Independent Professional Seed Association board,” says Terry Schultz, CEO of Mustang Seeds. “Mustang Seeds and Legend Seeds are both independent seed companies that share some of the same values and goals. I look forward to working with the Legend Seeds team to grow the Mustang Seeds brand further into our sales footprint.” 

“We are excited as we work with Mustang Seeds to distribute products through the Mustang brand that complement the Legend Seeds portfolio across our dealer network,” says Glen Davis, CEO of Legend Seeds. “Whenever independent companies can add efficiencies and value for our dealers and their customers, it is a win for everyone. Our shared values and determination to serve our customers with more choices and the best products available, ensures the future is bright for both Mustang and Legend dealers and customers.”

This agreement will allow both companies

Agrotech, IT

Netafim Agronomists engage real time with  farmers through knowledge series and content library for knowledge and expertise sharing 

Netafim India – a wholly owned subsidiary of Netafim, the global leader in smart irrigation solutions for sustainable productivity, has commenced Netafim Krishi Samvaad, Netafim Ki Paathshala and Netafim Tip of the Day to leverage digital revolution and use low-cost digital tools to engage with farmers through various platforms and formats. 

Steering a new digital learning and content experience, these initiatives have allowed customers and partners to connect and exchange ideas with Netafim experts, no matter where they are. Digital information-sharing tools such as audio, text and video messaging have been proven highly effective in disseminating critical information to farmers despite of limited physical access during the present COVID-19 pandemic times. The company has so far tapped a community of almost 8.5 million farmers across the country by relaying essential pre-sowing-related advisory services. In the last 60 days of online engagement, Netafim has gained nearly 9,576 members on their social media site (increment of 45% users). 

Speaking on the initiative, Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director, Netafim India said, “Netafim India has always been farmers’ cultural anthropologist. Before executing the initiatives, we examined how our audience has been using digital platforms so that we can design appealing content for them and help them engage with us. Today, modern technology’s all-pervading benefits have made it possible to disseminate scientific knowledge rich in indigenous knowhow and grounded in local context to farmers. To maximize the benefits of an increased online consumer presence, we decided to support farmers in remote locations with timely and crucial advice on various crops in their respective native languages”. 

The company’s agronomists engaged with farmers through Netafim Krishi Samvaad, a vibrant series of multi-lingual webinar and shared examples of success stories and ideas for potential scaling up. The live sessions on some of the most popular social media platforms like Facebook, were conducted to educate farmers on the benefits of micro-irrigation systems to increase the yield of cotton, turmeric, and banana. Starting from land preparation, planting, usage of fertilizers to water management and selection of drip lines, the educational series with live presentations gave out step-by-step information of the entire crop cycle. It also included sessions by the renowned agronomist on the benefit of micro-irrigation, the product selection basis the farmer’s land and usage. The educational series with live presentations helped the farmers to understand better crop yield mechanisms with minimal intervention. 

Additionally, to make it more interactive and engaging, the company launched a series of videos through Netafim Ki Pathshala on YouTube to provide in-depth knowledge of the benefits of modern drip irrigation systems. 

“Agriculture is an economic powerhouse for India and COVID-19 is disrupting some activities in this sector and supply chains. Even though the government has exempted agriculture farmers are in a predicament to seek advice on the operations and on improving their livelihood post the pandemic era. In view of this, we aim to lend the farmer community optimum support so that we can battle together against the challenges that the pandemic has posed” said Chauhan.

 

Netafim Agronomists engage real time with  farmers

Agro chems – Fertilizers

24016 metric tonnes, (MT), Ammonium Sulphate’ produced during July, 2020 .

The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT), a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers is breaking records this year in production and sales, and set to improve its profile. 

 The company achieved highest monthly ‘Ammonium Sulphate’ production during July, 2020 with 24016 metric tonnes, (MT), a marked increase from 23811 MT in January, 2020, according to a statement by FACT.

 It produces two fertilizer products NP 20:20:0:13 (Factamfos) and Ammonium Sulphate, mainly for the South Indian market.

The company attributes the increase in production to its strict adherence and implementation of operation schedule, raw material planning, logistics and product despatch, maintaining safety protocols during COVID-19. 

24016 metric tonnes, (MT), Ammonium Sulphate’ produced