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Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, Finance

The company plans to add new innovative speciality molecules and improve its product basket. 

 Best Agrolife Ltd, a leading global player in agrochemicals sector and one of India’s largest manufacturers of agro-inputs, is aiming to achieve Rs 1517 crore turnover by FY2022 along with the net profit of over Rs 677 crore.

The company has in place its long term financial priorities which have a three-dimensional approach wherein the focus areas are – capital allocation, earning, and growth. In addition, there have been noteworthy FIIs acquisitions recently lead by leading names like Resonance Opportunities Fund, Elara Opportunities Fund Ltd, Nomura Singapore Ltd ODI, and more.

 Towards capital allocation, the company is now focusing on enabling free cash flow generation. Under this, the company aims to offer consistent dividend pay-outs to its shareholders.

“We have defined our objectives clearly and the company will work towards achieving the same wherein the primary focus is to accomplish sustainable EPS growth. This will be supported by incremental earnings across economic cycles. Also, we are anticipating a significant increase in ROCE and ROE which will be driven by our various initiatives,” said Vinod Kumar, Director, Best Agrolife Ltd with regards to earnings.

In terms of ROCE and ROE, the project targets are 32.78 per cent and 24 per cent respectively in FY22. Notably, as per projections, there is a significant increase in EPS (basic) to 30.44 and compared to 7.24 in FY20.

For the growth – approach – the company is enabling models to deliver profitable organic growth. Increase in commitment to research and development and creating a strong push for its branded products.

“Planning a long term strategy and to avoid conflict of interest among business segments and as a good corporate governance measure the company has decided to integrate all its businesses in a single entity in a phased manner,” said Kumar.

In addition, towards R&D activities, the company plans to introduce new value-added chemistries and integrated R&D facilities in the chemical zone in Gujarat.

“The company plans to add new innovative speciality molecules and improve its product basket. These initiatives will increase the percentage of value-added product offerings as well as enhance the overall margins,” added Kumar.

Best Agrolife is preparing to increase its formulation plant capacity to 50000 MTPA. With regards to the pan-India supply chain network, the plan is to increase the distribution network to 2000 plus dealers and 25 plus depots.

 

 

 

Considering international footprints, Best Agrolife is in the process of obtaining licences for Vietnam, Myanmar, United Kingdom, and the USA. “This entire drive will be backed by value-added innovative products as we are planning to increase the share of value-added branded products in our product basket,” added Kumar.

 

 

 

“We are working with a single point agenda to emerge as an icon for growth, technology, and innovation and to become a significant player of the Indian Agro-Chemical Industry both in terms of turnover and margins,” stated Kumar on the company road map.

 Best Agrolife has progressed notably and is now considered as one of the top 20 companies in India and its product portfolio comprises more than 60 active ingredients and various formulations of pesticides and plant micro-nutrients for protecting and nourishing a wide range of crops. 

 

Its product range includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, etc. It sells under the brand name “Best”. The company has four strategically located manufacturing plants, two in Uttar Pradesh & two in J-K.

The company plans to add new innovative

AgroPolicy, Schemes - Banks

The project aims to make the state a surplus producer of fruits and vegetables which will help in boosting the farmer’s income. 

 

 

The Maharashtra government has approved a project that will boost fruit and vegetable production in the state. The project will be funded by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project is estimated to be worth Rs. 1000 crore out of which 700 crores will be provided by the ADB and the rest will be covered by the government of Maharashtra. 

The project aims to make the state a surplus producer of fruits and vegetables which will help in boosting the farmer’s income. The project has been hailed by the farmer organisation which hopes that it will help the farmers especially the marginal ones. The project is seen as an important part of raising the profile of agriculture not only in the state but also across the country. 

The sector has proved its mettle by showing a positive growth rate even during the pandemic when every sector performance was abysmal. This has got the government thinking that with proper public-private co-ordination agriculture could not only be an important cog in an economic recovery but in the future will contribute much more to the country’s GDP when the economic conditions normalise. 

The government has recently also relaxed the rules under the Essential Commodities Act and has also passed two ordinances that will make the farmers more independent in exercising their choice regarding the selling of their crops. The Indian government is now ready to give the farmers a more freehand and it has put trust in them that they can handle the pressure of a free market.

 

The project aims to make the state

Agro Universities, Dairy

It will cover the modern technological efforts and initiatives for the development of the Cow-centric industry

Arth, a social initiative, with IIT Delhi, will be conducting a webinar on ’Role of Modern Science and Technological Interventions for Entrepreneurship Development’ through Cow Centric Green Economy Revolution in India by IITians & IT Experts.

The webinar will focus on #vocalforlocal on August 7, 2020 at 11:00 am and cover the modern technological efforts and initiatives for the development of the Cow-centric industry. The keynote speaker will be Dr Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Chairman of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog and former Union Minister, Government of India.

 The digital meet aims to bring about awareness and discuss the impact created by Kamdhenu Aayog and ARTH. Arth assists cattle farms in managing macroscopic issues of cow-dung waste management by converting it into a profitable channel. It provides efficient machines and drying systems to manufacture wood-like logs from cow-dung too.

It will cover the modern technological

Seeds

Agricultural biotechnology to increase farm productivity and profits

Increasing agricultural productivity to support our perpetual increase in demand for quality food without expanding the area under cultivation remains a challenge for Indian farmers. The erratic and severe weather changes have also added to the farmer’s woes.

With multiple variables impacting farm yields, it is imperative to adopt new technologies to keep up with the challenges of safeguarding the environment and natural resources. Agricultural biotechnology can play a crucial role for increasing productivity and farm profits. Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, Federation of Seed Industry of India has reiterated that GM crops are safe to grow and consume. Several international organizations such as the FAO, WHO and OECD have confirmed the safety of the biotech crops.

Agricultural biotechnology is research intensive, demands investments and has a very long gestation period with the commercialization of traits. But the returns for the investors have been low because of the uncertainty regarding the regulatory process for this technology. The domestic seed companies will benefit tremendously if the Government promotes agricultural biotechnology in India and makes clear policy on the approval process and commercialization of biotechnology crops.

Agricultural biotechnology to increase farm productivity and

Acts & Schemes – Centre, India

The guidance videos in different languages covering 18 States would also help to promote and form 10,000, FPOs.  

 Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel, a National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) initiative was  launched by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on Aug 4, 2020. He also launched guidance videos produced by NCDC on ‘Formation and Registration of A Cooperative’ for 18 different states in Hindi and regional languages.

During the program he said that the Union Government has recently announced a series of transformative measures and sector specific financial packages to help agriculture. The initiatives will give impetus towards realizing the One Nation One Market concept with the objective for India to become a ’food factory’ of the world.

The reforms and measures undertaken are intended to strengthen all activities and services in agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors through creation and development of agriculture infrastructure, micro food enterprises, value chains and logistics for fishery and animal husbandry, medicinal and herbal plants, bee keeping and Operation Green.

Appreciating the efforts of NCDC, Tomar said that a key strategy would be to facilitate involvement of youth in cooperatives. The guidance videos in different languages covering 18 States would also help to promote and form 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations, FPOs.

 

 

The guidance videos in different languages covering

Europe, R&D

Genome editing offers a range of solutions for a more efficient selection of crops that are climate-resilient, less dependent on fertilizers and pesticides 

 

 

 The European Sustainable Agriculture through Genome Editing (EU-SAGE) network and its members from 132 European research institutes and associations urge the European Council, European Parliament, and the European Commission to reconsider their stance on genome editing, which is one of the tools needed to achieve the sustainable development goals. In an open statement, the EU-SAGE network said that developing new crop varieties need tools that are safe, easy, and fast, and the latest addition to these tools is precision breeding or genome editing. 

The use of precision breeding techniques, however, has been halted in Europe on July 25, 2018, due to the ruling of the European Court of Justice which placed all crops developed through this technique under prohibitively strict GMO regulations, even if no foreign DNA was introduced in the crops.

The open statement strongly recommends the following to the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission:

European scientists advise revising the existing GMO Directive to reflect current scientific knowledge and evidence on genome editing.

Genome editing offers an increasing range of solutions for a more efficient selection of crops that are climate-resilient, less dependent on fertilizers and pesticides, and help preserve natural resources. The members recommend that the European Commission endorse their message for the benefit and welfare of all EU citizens.

There is an urgent need for harmonization of the regulatory framework worldwide.A narrative for European food production that includes the importance of innovative, more efficient approaches in the whole value chain is necessary.

Genome editing offers a range of solutions

E-commerce, Trade

The expansion in exports could create up to 10 million new jobs as per the report. 

 India’s agricultural exports could grow from $40 billion to $70 billion within a few years, adding up to 10 million jobs in the process, a high-level expert group (HLEG) set up by the 15th Finance Commission said in its report. 

The HLEG said that to achieve the enhanced targets, the estimated investment in agricultural exports could range from $8-10 billion across inputs, infrastructure and processing. This would lead to higher farm productivity and farmer income. 

The HLEG recommended a state-led export plan which will include a business plan for a crop value chain cluster to achieve export targets. “These plans will be action-oriented, time-bound and outcome-focused,” the HLEG said in its report submitted to the N.K. Singh-led 15th Finance Commission. The recommendations of the high-level group will form part of the finance commission report which is being readied.

Among the components of the state-led Export Plan, the help of private sector players and commodity boards will be taken in driving outcomes and execution. “Institutional governance should be promoted across the state and centre. Funding through the convergence of existing schemes, Finance Commission allocation and private sector investment,” the report said. 

The HELG comprised Sanjiv Puri, chairman and managing director, ITC, Radha Singh, Former Agriculture Secretary; Manoj Joshi, representative of Ministry of Food Processing Industries; Diwakar Nath Misra, Chairman and Paban Kumar Borthakur, Former Chairman, APEDA; Suresh Narayanan, CMD, Nestle India; Jai Shroff, CEO, UPL Limited; Sanjay Sacheti, Country Head India, Olam Agro India Ltd; Dr Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries. 

The HELG pushed for private sector players to have a pivotal role in ensuring demand orientation, feasible project plans and in providing funds for technology.

The HLEG recommended a greater focus on 22 crop value chains, the setting up of value chain clusters, among performance-based incentives to the state governments for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26, to accelerate reforms in the agriculture sector.

The expansion in exports could create up

E-commerce, Environment

Company’s focus areas includes Natural Resource Management (NRM), farmer skill development and developing model tribal village 

 

 

Rallis India Limited is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Limited and a part of the US$ 113 billion Tata Group. As per Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee has been formed by the Company. During the year, the Company was required to spend Rs. 4.63 crore as per the provisions of Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. During the year the Group has contributed Rs. 4.64 crore towards social development works as a part of CSR expenditure, the company’s annual report said.

The Company’s CSR initiatives are woven around the Company’s focus areas, which includes Natural Resource Management (NRM), Education including Farmer Safety Awareness, Skill Development and developing Model Tribal Village under Affirmative Action – AA.

“Giving back to society is an integral part of our corporate culture. Through our localised approach to community development, we aim to contribute to inclusivity and the holistic well-being of the less privileged. Our CSR work empowers them by committing financial and volunteer support and improving their lives”, the company said. 

With 7 decades of experience, Rallis India Limited is one of India’s leading crop care companies, providing agricultural solutions to more than 5 million farmers across 80% of the nation’s districts. The Company has developed its own Sustainability Model focussing on various CSR and AA initiatives. The leadership team at the Company has been very supportive, sensitive and encourages the team to work for inclusive growth through its CSR & AA initiatives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under NRM, the Company has focussed on water conservation through rainwater harvesting (‘Jal Dhan’), recharging ground water and soil conservation. Jal Dhan benefits have reached more than 2 lakh villagers and harvested 1.97 Million Cubic Meter water during FY 2019-20. Under soil conservation, the Company has focussed on ‘Greening’, principally through afforestation and tree plantation drives. More than 98,000 tree saplings have been planted and sustained by the Company.

 

Company’s focus areas includes Natural Resource Management

Water

The webinar entitled ‘Sahi Fasal – Increasing Water Use Efficiency in Agriculture’, was jointly organized by the FICCI with NWM.

G Asok Kumar, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, National Water Mission, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India called upon efficient usage of water in the agricultural sector via a webinar. He added that proper water management would help to overcome water crisis witnessed in several regions across the country.

The webinar entitled ‘Sahi Fasal – Increasing Water Use Efficiency in Agriculture’, was jointly organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, FICCI with NWM. Kumar said, “Adoption of better irrigation methods like drip irrigation, changing cropping patterns towards relatively less water intensive crops, access to technology for storage of water and efficient pumping systems and increased usage of treated waste water can potentially improve the water use efficiency for the agricultural sector.”

S Vishwanath, Advisor, Biome Environmental Trust added that interventions were required towards minimizing dependence on groundwater and energy. “Every farmer does not necessarily need subsidy support, but knowledge support on excessive groundwater usage and water efficient practices for the agricultural sector”, he added.

Other speakers stressed on increase reuse of waste water by integrated management of water, soil and waste. Sharing of knowledge, awareness creation about drip irrigation practices, adoption of solar water pumping system was also discussed.

The webinar entitled ‘Sahi Fasal – Increasing

E-commerce, Finance

The round included participation from new and existing investors, including the Alaska Permanent Fund as well as the founder and initial investor of Indigo, Flagship Pioneering. 

Indigo Agriculture announces an additional $360M raised, comprised of $260M in preferred equity and $100M in convertible equity.

The new capital will be used to scale the growth and adoption of Indigo’s core business lines, including Indigo Marketplace, which has seen over $1B in grain transactions since the platform publicly launched in September 2018

Indigo Agriculture, a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, announced the closing of $360M in additional financing. Combined with $175M in convertible equity announced in January 2020, this brings the company’s total Series F preferred financing to $535M. The round included participation from new and existing investors, including the Alaska Permanent Fund as well as the founder and initial investor of Indigo, Flagship Pioneering.

Accelerating Indigo’s vision to improve the environmental sustainability of farming, the profitability of farmers and the health of consumers, the capital will be used to scale and integrate Indigo’s core lines of business: Indigo Marketplace, Indigo Carbon, Indigo Transport, Digital Agronomy, and Indigo Microbials.

 “Indigo’s offerings enable growers to get paid more for quality and sustainability, while harnessing the potential of agriculture to address climate change,” said David Perry, Indigo’s CEO. “One of these offerings, Indigo Marketplace, a platform that directly connects farmers with grain buyers, has completed over $1B in transactions since launching in September 2018.”

The round included participation from new and

Agro Universities, Dairy, R&D

Aimed at sustainable dairy farming and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The ’Flying Cow’ project, a preliminary study to investigate whether residual flows from insect production can be used to reduce nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions in dairy farming, is being conducted by scientists at the Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands.

The production and processing of insects produces various valuable fractions that are rich in proteins, fats and a fibrous residue which consists of a network of chitin, minerals and proteins. The network creates the firmness of the exoskeleton of insects and also ensures that the bound proteins are less readily available to humans and animals. The bound proteins may also be well protected against microbial conversions in the rumen of cattle.

This would reduce ammonia and methane production and thus limit nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions in dairy farming. If the digestion in the subsequent stomachs of the cows makes these proteins more available, then they can be efficiently used for milk production.

 

 

Aimed at sustainable dairy farming and to

Animal Health, E-commerce

The divestment of the Animal Health business is the largest transaction in a series of portfolio measures Bayer initiated in November 2018. 

 

 

 Bayer has completed the sale of its Animal Health business unit to U.S. Company Elanco Animal Health Incorporated. The companies had signed an agreement to this effect in August of last year. The transaction was completed after fulfilment of the closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. 

Upon closing of the transaction, Bayer received 5.17 billion U.S. dollars (before tax) in cash after deduction of customary purchase price adjustments, along with 72.9 million shares of Elanco Animal Health common stock, corresponding to 15.5 percent of the U.S. company’s outstanding stock. Bayer maintains its intention to divest the stake in Elanco in due course. The shares are subject to certain retention periods until mid-2021. 

The divestment of the Animal Health business is the largest transaction in a series of portfolio measures Bayer initiated in November 2018. The company has already completed the sale of the Coppertone™ and Dr Scholl’s™ consumer health brands and of its 60 percent stake in German site services provider Currenta. Bayer’s former Animal Health business has about 4,400 employees and achieved sales of 1.57 billion euros in 2019. It develops and markets innovative products and solutions for the prevention and treatment of diseases in companion and farm animals. 

“We would like to thank the employees of Animal Health for their long-standing commitment and the success this has brought for Bayer. In Elanco we’ve found a strong new owner for our Animal Health business. This transaction creates one of the global animal health leaders,” said Werner Baumann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG. “We’ve also succeeded in safeguarding the interests of the workforce.” Under the agreement with Elanco, all Bayer Animal Health employees will have at least one year of employment protection against unilateral termination with similar and no less favourable benefits in the aggregate.

 

The divestment of the Animal Health business

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, Finance

Agricultural division witnesses increased sale by 3.2 per cent

Germany based Bayer Group’s businesses reported solid performance in the second quarter of 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic especially in their agricultural business which raised sales by 3.2 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to 4.802 billion euros. 

The company which raised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) before special items witnessed growth in the Latin America, Asia/Pacific and North America regions

The division achieved 2.7 percent higher sales at Corn Seed & Traits, mainly due to significant volume expansion in Brazil. Sales at Herbicides increased by 3.3 percent thanks to higher volumes and advance purchases in Latin America coupled with substantial business growth in North America.

Sales at Soybean Seeds & Traits showed particularly strong growth of 9.3 percent with business recovering in North America thanks to an increase in acreages and to shifts in demand from the first quarter arising from uncertainties over COVID-19. In Latin America, an increase in market share had a positive effect.

Sales at Insecticides rose by 4.5 percent driven by gains in the Latin America and Asia/Pacific regions. By contrast, declines were primarily recorded at Vegetable Seeds. 

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science advanced by 28.4 percent to 1.365 billion euros. 

Agricultural division witnesses increased sale by 3.2

Agro chems – Pesticides, China, E-commerce

Total investment of project to exceed Yuan 2 billion

Chinese agrochemical company Jiangsu Flag Chemical Industry Ltd has released the feasibility study report pertaining to a project launched by Anhui Ningyitai Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

Designed to build an annual production facility of 15,500 tons of novel pesticide technical and associated products, the total investment of the project will exceed Yuan2 billion and is expected to be ready in six years.

According to the announcement, Flagchem choose Anhui (Huaibei) New Coal Chemical Base as the location of its subsidiary Anhui Ningyitai Science and Technology Ltd (incorporated in July 2020), where the chemical project will be launched.

The first phase will encompass isooctyl saflufenacil (annual 3,000 tons), lufenuron (annual 3,000 tons), spirotetramat (annual 1,000 tons) and flumioxazin (annual 1,000 tons), for a cycle of 2.5 years; the second phase will encompass six products – saflufenacil (annually 1,000 tons), topramezone (annually 500 tons), metamifop (annually 1,000 tons), carfentrazone (annually 500 tons) and clothianidin (annually 3,000 tons), for a cycle of 3.5 years. Most of the raw and auxiliary materials used are purchased from Chinese domestic market.

After the completion of the project, it is expected that its operation will be a new source of growth and will contribute to increased profitability of Flagchem.

Total investment of project to exceed Yuan