Connect with:
Thursday / February 6. 2025

logo
mobile-logo
Home2020November (Page 6)
Acquaculture, Agro Universities

Farmers urged to connect with the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, Odisha inaugurated the “Aquaculture Field School (AFS)” at the farm of Kailash Chandra Sahoo, Subarnapur, Puri on November 10, 2020. Dr S K Swain, Director, ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, applauded K.C. Sahoo for his multi-dimensional activities related to fisheries and being the embodiment of inspiration for others. He also urged the farmers’ cooperation and interest to get connected with the Institute for their fisheries activities.

The School aims at empowering the aqua-farmers in a cost effective way. AFS is a school without walls for improving the decision-making capacity of the farmers and facilitating cross learning opportunities. Aquaculture Field School promotes farmer-to-farmer extension. It is a participatory extension approach whereby fish farmers are allowed to choose the methods of aquaculture production through discovery-based approach.

Sarat Moharana, AFO, Gop, Puri stressed on the scientific fish farming’s role and involving women Self Help Groups in aquaculture. Sahoo’s adoption of the scientific aquaculture system integrating many agriculture enterprises with fisheries was also appreciated.

Sahoo, also, illustrated the ICAR-CIFA’s role in making him self-reliant starting with two ponds to owning a 20 acres farm and now, as the AFS operator. He praised the Institute’s efforts for reposing faith in him and recognizing him as a trainer to guide the other farmers.

 

 

 

Farmers urged to connect with the Central

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, R&D

Applicable to precision agriculture, locust control and improvement in crop yield

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, Telangana for the deployment of drones for agricultural research activities.

Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation said, “Drones are poised to play a big role in agriculture sector in India especially in areas like precision agriculture, locust control and improvement in crop yield. The government is encouraging young entrepreneurs and researchers to look at ruggedized low-cost drone solutions for the over 6.6 lakh villages in India.”

The conditional exemption is valid for 6 months from the date of issue of the letter or until the full operationalization of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier. This exemption shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to. In case of violation of any condition, this exemption shall become null and void.

 

 

Applicable to precision agriculture, locust control and

Agro Universities, Webinar

Pest & Disease forecast and soil health monitoring will be covered

G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, in association with Institutional Development Plan-National Agricultural Higher Education Project (IDP-NAHEP), Pantnagar will conduct a two-days online Training on ’Automation in Agriculture for Informed Decisions’ on November 18 and 19, 2020. The session will be led by Industry Expert, Arvind Dixit, Director & CEO, Advance Tech India Pvt Ltd, Chandigarh.

The first day of the training will focus on ’Automated Agrometeorological Observations and their uses in Pests and Disease Forecast’, while on the concluding day, ’Soil Health Monitoring Solutions’ will be coverred.

Pest & Disease forecast and soil health

Acts & Schemes – Centre

Interacts with representatives from Farmers Organizations from Punjab

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Som Prakash, MoS, Ministry of Commerce & Industries interacted with the representatives of Farmers Organizations of Punjab on November 13, 2020 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

The Agriculture Minister briefed the representatives of Farmers Organizations of Punjab, about the reforms made in the agriculture sector to empower the farmers. During the interaction, the Ministers also informed the representatives of farmer Organizations that procurement of farm produce on MSP and the Mandi system will continue as before. The new Farm Act will encourage Mandis to provide better services to the farmers. The representatives of the farmers’ unions expressed their views on new Farm Acts.

The minister reasssured the representatives that the new Farm Acts would not only provide freedom of choice to the farmers to sell their produce at remunerative price but also safeguard the interest of farmers.
The farmer’s representatives were also apprised with other initiatives taken by the Government such as Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations aiming towards income enhancement of farmers and creating employment opportunities for youth in rural areas.

Interacts with representatives from Farmers Organizations from

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Sustainable Energy

Solar power plants can be installed on pastureland, besides barren, fallow and agricultural land

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has amended/clarified implementation guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme based on the learnings from the implementation of the Scheme during the first year. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved PM-KUSUM scheme in its meeting held on February, 2019. The Scheme consists of three components.

The Component-A includes installation of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants, Component-B includes installation of standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps and Component-C includes Solarization of Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps.

The MNRE expands scope of PM-KUSUM Scheme to enable greater solar energy generation in farm sector. Now, solar power plants can be installed on pastureland and marshy land of farmers besides barren, fallow and agricultural land. Also, the size of solar plant has been reduced to enable participation of small farmers.

With the new amendments, solar pumps can be set up and used by Water User Associations (WUAs)/Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)/Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACSs) or for cluster based irrigation system. Separate bids will be invited for solar pumps with Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC), wherein, the latter will receive subsidy benefit.

Solar power plants can be installed on

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Webinar, World

Focus on lessons learnt from present pandemic aftermath

The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) will be conducting ’The 2020 IFA High-Level Forum (HLF) on Sustainable Plant Nutrition’. It will be held on November 17 and 18, 2020 and will integrate reflections and lessons learned from the current crisis into the larger, long-term context of changing business fundamentals and developing agricultural management strategies. 

These will contribute to more resilient, sustainable food production as part of a more fundamental transformation in our approaches to food systems and climate change.

The event brings together a variety of expert stakeholders from key institutions and companies in the agricultural, economic and policy sectors to provide insights and share views on the development of new models, strategies and in some cases even visions for their own activities, as well as for international cooperation and partnerships. 

Focus on lessons learnt from present pandemic

R&D, Start ups

Focus on transforming agri materials into functional ingredients

Myco Technology, Inc a food technology company was selected as the winner of the Radicle Protein Challenge by Syngenta for their novel, organic food processing platform that transforms agricultural material into functional ingredients. BlueNalu Inc, an innovative food company making a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells was selected as the runner-up for its solution to secure a sustainable protein source that addresses supply chain issues through cell-based seafood products made directly from the cells of fish.

Myco Technology, Inc secured a $1m investment from the win while BlueNalu Challenge won $250k investment and were chosen from 150 impressive applicants from across the globe. 

“All of us at MycoTechnology are thrilled to be the winner of the Radicle Protein Challenge by Syngenta,” said Alan Hahn, CEO of MycoTechnology. “ I believe that our unique mushroom fermentation platform, combined with Syngenta’s global scale and expertise, will allow us to play a pivotal role in helping to feed an exponentially growing population.”

In addition to securing new funding, MycoTechnology, Inc. and BlueNalu, Inc. will benefit from access to Radicle and Sngenta’s broad agriculture expertise and technology. 

Speaking on the opportunity, Erik Fyrwald, CEO, Syngenta Group said, “The demand for protein is rising and as a result the need for new protein technologies is increasing.”

Focus on transforming agri materials into functional

E-commerce, Europe, R&D

First joint product to be released in Brazil, followed by Europe and North America  

Bosch and BASF Digital Farming have signed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) agreement to globally market and sell smart farming solutions from a single source in the future. The JV agreement was signed on November 10, 2020 and will be followed by the founding of a new company based in Cologne, which will be established in the first quarter of 2021. The foundation is subject to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.

Bosch brings to the JV significant capability in hardware and software, as well as digital services for planning and decision making in field crops. BASF Digital Farming with its xarvio™ Digital Farming Solutions provides an automated, real-time, field specific agronomic decision-making engine for weed management that is powered by the digital xarvio platform for crop optimization. It provides farmers with field zone specific advice on how to produce crops in the most sustainable way. Combining the expertise of both companies, with state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions, will make it easier and more convenient for farmers to benefit from digital solutions.

Spraying and saving

“Thanks to connecting agricultural machinery using high-tech sensors, intelligent software and digital products, we can make tomorrow’s agriculture more efficient and at the same time more environmentally friendly,” said Andrew Allen, responsible for Commercial Vehicles and Off-Road Business at Robert Bosch GmbH. “Both companies are committed to investing time, resources and funding in joint activities that will lead to the development of new sustainable precision technologies that improve agricultural practices and outcomes,” said Vincent Gros, President of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division.

The first two products to be launched will be a version of the Intelligent Planting Solution (IPS) system, with enhanced digital intelligence for seeding and fertilizer prescriptions, and Smart Spraying. The Smart Spraying solution combines Bosch’s camera sensor technology and software with xarvio’s crop optimization platform. Both products have been tested extensively in real growing conditions. Such innovative precision farming practices enable resource efficiencies supporting farmers and the environment.

Depending on the local conditions this may lead to a reduced need for crop protection products in specific applications. Smart Spraying shows up to 70 % herbicide volumes reduction in experimental stage. The solution is expected to be launched with a limited number of machines in 2021.

 

 

First joint product to be released in

E-commerce, North America, R&D

NRGene’s genomics platform to accelerate Calyxt’s trait discovery in hemp 

 

 Calyxt, Inc., a plant-based technology company, today announced a research collaboration with NRGene® that includes the adoption of NRGene’s cloud-based genomics platform to support key Calyxt’s research projects. The genomics solutions are expected to allow for more comprehensive evaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding across multiple crops. 

Calyxt is leveraging its proprietary breeding techniques and TALEN® technology to optimize product performance and transition hemp to a broad acre crop for use across food, industrial fiber and therapeutic applications.

NRGene’s QuickGENETICS™ technology analyzes breeding populations, delivers high resolution genetic mapping, and generates unique genetic markers for high value traits. NRGene’s CannaGene™ technology is an optimized and customizable genomics database allowing for the search and discovery of novel gene candidates to enable Calyxt targeting of key traits of interest in hemp.

Calyxt is integrating NRGene’s genomic resources to build out its proprietary predictive data analytics, which combines insights, scientific data, predictive algorithms, and data visualization tools to develop customized products to meet specific customer requirements. The company is also adopting advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality to enhance its data analytics capabilities.

 

“The synergistic potential of combining NRGene’s genomic resources with our evolving predictive analytics program will give us a deeper understanding of the complex genomics of hemp and discover novel pathways to target,” said Travis Frey, chief technology officer at Calyxt. “Having access to NRGene’s technology helps jumpstart our ability to quickly identify gene targets of interest to optimize the hemp crop.” 

“We are honoured that Calyxt chose our technology solutions to speed up their trait discovery and integration in hemp,” said Dr Gil Ronen, NRGene’s CEO and co-founder. “Hemp genome is still relatively un-researched territory and Calyxt is in a great position to lead the industry and develop new, disruptive varieties of hemp for diverse key commercial markets.”

NRGene’s genomics platform to accelerate Calyxt’s trait

E-commerce, R&D

It aims to optimizes the food value chain by leveraging data in new ways to increase efficiency and yields 

 

TELUS announced the launch of TELUS Agriculture, a new business unit dedicated to providing innovative solutions to support the agriculture industry with connected technology. TELUS Agriculture optimizes the food value chain by leveraging data in new ways to increase efficiency, production, and yields, delivering better food outcomes for businesses and the end consumer. Connecting each piece of the agriculture value chain empowers farmers and ranchers, the agri-business industry, and agri-food, consumer goods and retail companies to leverage advanced data systems and artificial intelligence to streamline operations, improve food traceability, and provide consumers with fresher and healthier food. TELUS Agriculture currently supports more than 100 million acres of agricultural land, backed by a team of more than 1,200 experts across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Armenia, Germany, China, and Australia.

 “The launch of TELUS Agriculture reflects TELUS’ unwavering commitment to our social purpose to leverage our world-leading technology to create remarkable human and social outcomes as, together, we help to protect and improve the global food system,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS.

 Darren also added that by means of our technology innovation, artificial intelligence and human compassion, we will help farmers and ranchers produce food for the world’s ever-expanding population more efficiently, safely and in a more environmentally friendly manner. Our efforts to optimize food production will contribute to a better yield of food supply to meet the ever-growing requirements of our hungry planet. From farm to fork, by digitizing the entire value chain and linking these technologies together for the first time, we will facilitate a secure exchange of information to allow farmers and ranchers, agri-business organizations, the agri-food industry and the consumer to make smarter decisions. Importantly, we are striving to provide innovative solutions to advance the agriculture sector on a worldwide basis, whilst positioning Canada as a preferred global supplier of safe, sustainable food.

It aims to optimizes the food value

Agrotech

Nishant Dalal has about 14 years of work experience spanning across Corporate Finance. 

Zuari Global Limited has appointed Nishant Dalal as Chief Financial officer (CFO) with effect from 13th November, 2020.  

Nishant Dalal has about 14 years of work experience spanning across Corporate Finance, Project Finance, Corporate Strategy, Business Planning and M&A areas. He holds BTech in Mechanical Engineering and MBA in Finance and Strategy, He has been associated with the group since 2011.

Due to organization restructuring, Vijay Kathuria relinquished the position of Chief Financial Officer of the company with effect from 12th November, 2020.

 

Nishant Dalal has about 14 years of

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

Set up with an investment of € 24 Mn, the plant’s annual production capacity is 1,500 Mt. 

 

 

 

    German agrochemicals major Bayer inaugurated a new plant at its Vapi site in Gujarat. The plant will manufacture Ethiprole, an active ingredient used in insecticides for crop protection products. Set up with an investment of € 24 million, the plant’s annual production capacity is 1,500 metric tons. It will cater to domestic demand in India and export to global markets across Asia Pacific and Latin America.

The Vapi site is an integral part of Bayer’s commitment towards the Government’s vision of ‘Make in India’ that aims to promote job creation and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure, ensuring sustained growth of the Indian economy.

“The agriculture sector is currently the largest end-user of Ethiprole, which is emerging as one of the best insecticides for a variety of crops. With our new insecticide plant, we will fulfill domestic needs for Indian agriculture and also export to global agricultural markets. India is one of Bayer’s key growth markets in Crop Science and with this strategic investment, we aim to further enhance our global competitiveness in agrochemical manufacturing and supply chain,” said Narendra Shah, Director, Bayer Vapi Private Limited.

“The new plant at Vapi will expand Bayer’s global production volumes for Ethiprole and enable us to introduce innovative products to help growers secure their yields and grow healthier, high-quality crops,” said Dr Udo Schneider, Head of AI Manufacturing Product Supply, Crop Science at Bayer AG.

Ethiprole-based insecticides have been in use since 1994. In 2010, Bayer expanded its portfolio of Ethiprole insecticides to include broad acre crops such as sugarcane, soybean, corn and cotton. In rice, they are used extensively for control of three major insect pests – hoppers, weevils and stinkbugs.

Ethiprole can not only eliminate insect pests from standing food crops in the field, it can also extend the shelf life of crops such as peanuts, citrus fruits, wheat and corn during storage

Set up with an investment of €

Finance, World

It aims to help small-scale farmers in high-risk countries to increase their productivity.  

 In an effort to tackle the devastating impact of climate change on rural hunger and poverty, the French development agency, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), signed a €300 million loan to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to help small-scale farmers in high-risk countries build their resilience to shocks and increase their productivity.

 

“If we want a world without hunger and poverty we have to focus our attention on the most vulnerable places where the poorest people live – and this is in rural areas,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, the UN agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger.

“This loan demonstrates France’s strong commitment to investing in rural people, as well as the role of IFAD in assembling development finance to fight climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.”

Estimates show that climate change could push 100 million people into poverty by 2030, with those working in agriculture suffering most. This is likely to result in more hungry people. Almost 690 million people went hungry in 2019 – up by nearly 60 million compared to five years ago. COVID-19 could increase that number by an additional 135 million by the end of this year, with poverty expected to increase for the first time in decades.

This sovereign loan from AFD aims to reverse these trends. The funds will be used to help rural small-scale farmers to increase their productivity, better manage scarce natural resources, access new markets and financial services, and build their resilience to a changing climate.

 

 

 

 

 

It aims to help small-scale farmers in

Agro Universities, R&D, Start ups, Webinar

Primary agendas included tackling agri problems and exploring private partnership for agricultural research funding

The 111th Foundation Course for Agricultural Research Service (FOCARS) was held on November 12, 2020 at the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) & Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) interacted with the Scientist-Probationers undergoing the course and urged them to take cognizance of the various concerns associated in the Indian agricultural sector and come up with innovative ideas to address them. Mohapatra highlighted the need for building the core competencies in preparing competitive project proposals, science communication, nurturing agri-entrepreneurs, developing start ups and using frontier tools like IoT, AI and Block Chain Technology.

He also outlined the initiatives taken for enhancing the production of pulses and oilseeds in the past 4 to 5 years and reiterated the Government’s resolve to achieve self-sufficiency in oilseeds by 2030. The Director General stressed on the need for engagements with private sector for the funding of agricultural research.

 Dr Ch Srinivas Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad highlighted the major innovations introduced in the program for imparting the contemporary skills to match the new normal under the COVID-19 Pandemic situation.

The Directors of ICAR Institutions, State Agricultural Universities, Eminent Agricultural Scientists from across the country along with Progressive Farmers virtually participated in the program.

Primary agendas included tackling agri problems and