Connect with:
Sunday / December 22. 2024

logo
mobile-logo
Home2020 (Page 21)
Agro Universities, India, Webinar

Focus on maintaining high quality standards in soil testing

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Soil Science (ICAR-IISS), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on October 31, 2020, organized a national webinar on ’Quality Improvement and Proficiency Testing of Soil Laboratories in India: Towards Improving the Quality of Analytical Data and Harmonization of Soil Test Methods’. Dr S K Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management), ICAR, stressed on the strong need to maintain the quality standards in soil testing. Focusing on developing  uniform protocols of soil testing, he also emphasized on the need to establish a soil testing network in India for ensuring the guidance and quality control system.

Dr Anupam Mishra, Vice-Chancellor, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Assam highlighted the major role that the soil test based fertilizer nutrient recommendations have to play in doubling the farmers’ income by reducing the cost and increasing the farmers’ productivity. Nopmanee Suvannang, Chairperson, Global Soil Laboratory Network (GLOSOLAN), FAO, apprised the participants about the activities of Global Soil Partnership (GSP). She outlined the GLOSOLAN’s objectives to improve the labs’ quality through regular training; harmonization of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the interpretation of data across the laboratories, etc.
The need to create a National Network of Soil Testing Laboratories in India was also discussed. The webinar was aimed at apprising the participants about the whole process of Quality Improvement and Proficiency Testing.

Focus on maintaining high quality standards in

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, Europe

The hydrogen plant is scheduled to commence operations in 2021

Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, a division of Nel ASA, has been selected as the preferred supplier by Iberdrola for a 20 MW PEM solution for a green fertilizer project in Spain. The contract award is subject to a mutual agreement on the final commercial terms. The hydrogen plant is scheduled to commence operations in 2021.

Nel is a global company providing solutions for the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen from renewable energy sources, based in Oslo.

“We are very excited and honored that Iberdrola prefers to use a PEM electrolyzer solution from Nel for this landmark green fertilizer project. It is a true testament to our PEM platform, which has been deployed all over the world for several decades. We continuously work to develop larger systems, and with this project, our PEM platform will be designed into a 20 MW solution. We have over the course of the last year been working on both alkaline and PEM large-scale solutions, which serve different customer needs, and we look forward to providing our PEM solution for this project,” says Filip Smeets, SVP Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, Nel Hydrogen Fueling.

Iberdrola, one of the largest electric utilities in the world, has together with a world-leading fertilizer manufacturer Fertiberia launched a project to establish the largest green hydrogen plant in Europe. Located in Puertollano, Spain it will feature a 100 MW photovoltaic plant, a battery installation with a storage capacity of 20 MWh, and a 20 MW electrolyser. The hydrogen produced in the project will primarily be used for green fertilizer production. The 20 MW electrolyser is scheduled to commence operations in 2021.

 

The hydrogen plant is scheduled to commence

E-commerce, Machinery – Post-harvesting, Trade

Production reaches highest ever at 15,218 tractors a month

Sonalika Tractors, one of India’s leading tractor manufacturers and the No.1 export brand from India, has clocked a recorded delivery of 19,000 tractors in a month and 15,218 in production in Oct 2020 – Highest ever done by the company in a month.

Sharing his thoughts on this overwhelming response, Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Group, said, “We have created magnificent history together by delivering 19,000 Sonalika Tractors and 10,018 Rotavators, making it highest ever retail across India in October’20, the beginning of the festive season. Our domestic tractor billing growth is 13.3%, which is much higher than industry growth (est.7.5%). Our Cumulative billing (Apr- Oct’20) growth of 28.7% is highest in the tractor industry. We prepared ourselves over the last 6 months to win the season and we are thankful to our farmers for the overwhelming response to our tractors and rotavators. Our wide tractor portfolio spanning 20-120 HP range and along with over 70+ implements range is very well accepted by farmers as the range immensely helps in enhancing farm productivity.”

HE added, “Our recently launched premium tractor series Tiger has been very well accepted and appreciated for its European Design and Best in Class Performance. Sikandar DLX, the upgraded series of our flagship brand Sikander, been gaining appreciation from farmers and has lived up to its promise 10 Deluxe Khoobiyan, which offers a unique blend of Style coupled with superior performance & comfort. The customized tractors series viz Mahabali and Chhatrapati are designed to meet customized regional farming requirements. Collectively, the four next-generation tractor models are expected to contribute close to 20-25% of our overall sales and thus contribute significantly in leading the farm mechanisation drive in the country.”

Production reaches highest ever at 15,218 tractors

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro Universities, North America, R&D

Awarded for pioneering Nitrogen Emissions Monitoring and Management Research

Canadian researcher Dr Claudia Wagner-Riddle, on November 2, 2020, was awarded the 2020 IFA Norman Borlaug Award for her trailblazing multidisciplinary research that has helped improve fertilizer nitrogen use efficiency and reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) losses by up to 70 per cent without sacrificing crop yields. Noted for her innovations in technical methods, Dr Wagner-Riddle was among the first researchers to apply micrometeorological techniques to monitor and better understand year-round N2O emissions from cropping systems by using a tunable diode laser tracUUnUnie gas analyzer.

Dr Wagner-Riddle also leads a large collaborative group of scientists at the University of Guelph, Canada, where she is currently a professor at the School of Environmental Sciences, in a new outdoor soil monitoring laboratory. The first of its kind in North America, the laboratory is designed to mimic field conditions while also containing highly sophisticated monitoring equipment. By measuring the timing and volume of N2O emissions from cropland throughout the year and comparing the impact of different combinations of source, rate, timing, and placement of nitrogen fertilizer, in line with 4R Nutrient Stewardship principles, Dr Wagner-Riddle’s work has helped to paint a clearer picture of how and when nitrogen losses occur and what farmers can do to mitigate them.

Awarded for pioneering Nitrogen Emissions Monitoring and

Agro chems – Chemicals, China, Finance

The MOA’s grant program was established to award achievement in agricultural technology innovation

Origin Agritech Ltd. (Origin), headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, a leading Chinese agricultural technology company, has announced that it was awarded an RMB6.5 million grant from the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of China for the successful evaluation of the effects of two of its GMO corn traits.

The two traits that received the grant funding are GH5112E-117C, a double stack of insect resistance and herbicide tolerance corn and G1105E-823, and herbicide tolerance corn. These traits’ testing standards have recently been approved, clearing the way for the final step of receiving bio-safety certificates, which the company believes will happen soon.

The MOA’s grant program was established to award achievement in agricultural technology innovation and to speed up the technology’s applications in agriculture production. The grant award of Origin’s two GMO traits not only validates the success of our past research efforts but also shows the government’s strong support of GMO research and product development in China.

The MOA’s grant program was established to

Agro Universities, Poultry

More than 150 participants virtually participated in the inaugural session of the webinar. 

 

 

 

ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad organizes National Webinar on “Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Rural Poultry”. The ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad has organized the National Webinar on “Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Rural Poultry”, a three-day Training Programme from 3rd to 5th November, 2020.

 

 Dr R.N. Chatterjee, Director, ICAR-DPR, Hyderabad highlighted the scope and opportunities in the poultry sector and ways to achieve the goal of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022. He also emphasized on the issue of impact of COVID-19 on income generation and employment in the rural India and contributions of poultry sector to mitigate.

 The main objective of the training programme is to apprise the youth about employment and income generation opportunities in the rural poultry sector.

 More than 150 participants virtually participated in the inaugural session of the Webinar.

More than 150 participants virtually participated in

AgroPolicy, Transportation

Losses exceeds Rs 1200 crore

Railways continue to lose revenue as freight operations remain forcibly suspended due tracks blockages in Punjab. As on November 4, 2020, more than 2225 freight rakes could not be operated which were to carry vital commodities. Losses are already expected to have crossed Rs 1200 crore. As agitators have continued their protests at platforms and near railway tracks, train movement was again suspended due to operational and safety considerations. Sporadic blockade continued at various places, especially around Jandiala, Nabha, Talwandi Sabo and Bathinda as per  reports at 06:00 hours on November 4. The agitation was continuing at 32 locations. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways had written to Captain Amarinder Singh, CM, Punjab Government on 26th October, 2020 seeking assurance about safety of tracks and running staff to resume operations.

Freight carrying Foodgrains, Fertilizers, essential commodities hit
The disruptions have caused a major adverse impact on freight movement and hence on availability of vital commodities for the farm, industrial and infrastructure sector as well. All inward and outward goods transportation, including essential commodities have been affected adversely in Punjab , J&K, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. A number of freight trains including loaded trains remained struck as such for periods upto 15-20 days. Many freight customers, after having suffered business losses, are being diverted to other modes of transportation.

Outward Loading, too, has been affected from the Punjab Area. Movement of Foodgrains, Container, Automobile, Cement, Pet coke, Fertilizer etc has taken a hit Average Loss of Loading per day in Punjab is 40 rakes per day. Inward Traffic to Punjab has been affected (Outward from other than Punjab Area) and now Container, Cement, Gypsum, Fertilizer, POL etc are not being able to reach to key locations in Punjab, with an average loss per day of about 30 rakes per day. The Kisan Agitation had erupted on September 24, 2020, in the Punjab region against the newly introduced Farm Bill.

Losses exceeds Rs 1200 croreRailways continue to

AgroPolicy, Agrotech

Aimed at promoting sustainable agri business

The 6th ’India Farm2Fork Conference, Exhibition, BSM’ was virtually inaugurated by Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries (MoS, FPI)  on November 4, 2020. This year’s theme is ’Sustainable Agri Business – Produce Local, Sell Global’. Speaking at the three day conference, the minister said that Food Processing is a champion sector with immense potential for investment, export, and employment. “With the development of this sector, we can increase India’s participation in the export of processed food globally,” added the minister.

 
 
 

Aimed at promoting sustainable agri businessThe 6th

Agrotech, Dairy

IDF is an international non-govt, non-profit association with a vision “Helping to nourish the world with safe and sustainable dairy” 

 

 Dilip Rath, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has been unanimously elected to the Board of International Dairy Federation (IDF) on 2nd November 2020 during the General Assembly of IDF.

 Rath said, “I see my election to the IDF Board as an opportunity to bring along valuable insights from the Indian dairy experience and foster complementarities and synergies between dairying nations. It is a privilege for me to represent the world’s largest milk producing nation and contribute to promoting Sustainable Goals of dairying and also meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I keenly look forward to furthering IDF Board’s mandate.”

 

 Dilip Rath is associated with IDF for the last 10 years as Member Secretary of Indian National Committee and as a member of the Standing Committee on Dairy Policy and Economics. He has participated in National Committee Secretaries’ meetings as well as General Assembly on numerous occasions.  Rath was also a distinguished speaker in the Leaders’ Forum Panel at Rotterdam Summit in 2016. He played a key role in signing the Dairy Declaration at the IDF World Dairy Summit in Rotterdam in October 2016 between IDF and FAO. The Declaration recognises the contribution of the dairy sector to the achievement of key Sustainable Development Goals such as ending poverty and hunger, and protecting the environment.

 

 

 

IDF is an international non-govt, non-profit association

Agrotech, Seeds

 RDA Gene bank in South-Korea has sent maximum seed samples

                                                                                                                                                                      

Despite the pandemic, NordGen staff still regularly go to Svalbard to deposit seeds from the world’s gene banks in order to safeguard the crop diversity crucial for our future food security. This time, it carried 45 boxes with 15 000 seed samples from eight different gene banks into the Seed Vault for long-term safekeeping.

 

Soon, Svalbard is entering what is called the dark season. For the next couple of months, the sun will stay below the horizon and the northern lights and moon will provide the only natural light in the archipelago. Fortunately, the Seed Vault offers artificial light which guides NordGen’s Seed Vault Coordinator Åsmund Asdal when putting the seed boxes in place.

 

“It is amazing to see how the gene banks continue to send seed duplicates to the Seed Vault, despite the challenges the pandemic pose. It shows the commitment they have to safeguard the crop diversity we need to adapt our agriculture to the future” he said

 

This deposit includes seeds from gene banks in South-Korea, Kenya, Zambia, Cõtes d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Poland and two in Thailand. In total, 45 boxes will be put in place on the shelves of the Seed Vault. Many of the boxes have been sent from the RDA Gene bank at the National Agrobiodiversity Centre in South-Korea. They’re making their second deposit of seeds this time, sending 10 000 seed samples (accessions) from 18 different crops. They all have Korean origin and include bean, barley, rice, adzuki bean, and kidney bean.

 

“A Korean proverb says that ‘the farmer pillows his head on the seed even when he dies’. This is an example that simply shows how important genetic resources are”, said Kyo-sun Park, Director of the National Agrobiodiversity Centre. “Our priority is to preserve the Korean indigenous accessions safely from natural disasters. Natural disasters, climate change issues, and pests are all critical risk factors. Therefore, we decided to send our seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault”

 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has three seed chambers carved into the solid rock of the Plateau Mountain. After the middle chamber has been filled with more than 1 million accessions, seed chamber two has now been taken in use.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a backup facility for the crop diversity stored in the world’s gene banks. It was established and is owned by Norway and is operated in a partnership between the Norwegian Ministry for Agriculture and Food, NordGen – the gene bank of the Nordic countries, and the international organization Crop Trust.

Source- NordGen

 RDA Gene bank in South-Korea has sent

Agrotech, Europe, North America

The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with recent announcements from leaders such as Walmart and General Mills

US-based, Agbotic, the leader in regenerative SmartFarm technology, has announced the establishment of Agbotic Limited in Dublin, Ireland, to conduct business across Europe.

Regenerative farming cleans the air, water, and soil and can reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. It can also make better food. There are significant advantages to embedding organic, soil-based greenhouses on distributed SmartFarms for regenerative agriculture. Those benefits include food security and diversity; a cleaner environment; and a year-round supply of local, organic, fresh, and nutrient-packed food. The economics are also better than with hydroponic greenhouses.

John Gaus, co-founder and CEO of Agbotic, said, “The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with recent announcements from leaders such as Walmart and General Mills. Agbotic has created a winning techno-economic approach and proven its technology at scale. The movement is on the rise in Europe and North America, and we expect it will be around the world. We are very excited to launch this initiative with our highly experienced team in Ireland, especially Richard Kennedy, a proven chief executive and entrepreneur in the agri-tech sector.”

 

The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs 589 crores in comparison to Rs 504 crores for the corresponding quarter last year 

Coromandel International Limited, India’s leading agri solutions provider in the business of Fertilisers, Crop Protection, Bio Pesticides, Specialty Nutrients etc. has released the financial results for the quarter ended September 2020.

During the quarter ended September 2020, the Company’s consolidated total income stood at Rs. 4,620 crores in comparison to the corresponding quarter last year of Rs. 4,867 crores. Profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional item (EBITDA) for the quarter ended Sep 2020 has grown by 18 per cent to Rs. 845 crores vs. Rs. 713 crores during corresponding quarter of last year. Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs. 589 crores in comparison to Rs. 504 crores for the corresponding quarter last year registering a year on year growth of 17%.

 

For the half year ended Sep 2020, the Company’s consolidated total income is Rs. 7,843 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 7,008 crores), EBITDA is Rs. 1,260 crores, grown by 39% in comparison to Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 909 crores and profit after tax has grown by 48% at Rs. 840 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 566 crores).

 

During the quarter ended Sep 2020, the Company’s standalone total income stood at Rs. 4,605 crores in comparison to the corresponding quarter last year of Rs. 4,865 crores. Profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional item (EBITDA) for the quarter ended Sep 2020 has grown by 17 per cent to Rs. 837 crores vs. Rs. 713 crores during corresponding quarter of last year. Standalone net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs. 582 in comparison to Rs. 503 crores for the corresponding quarter last year registering a year on year growth of 16%.

 

For the half year ended Sep 2020, the Company’s standalone total income is Rs. 7,828 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 7,007 crores), EBITDA is Rs. 1,250 crores, grown by 38% in comparison to Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 908 crores and profit after tax has grown by 47% at Rs. 830 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 566 crores).

 

Consolidated net profit after tax for the

Agro Universities, R&D

MoU to benefit of cotton farmers

The ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Maharashtra on October 29, 2020. The collaboration aims at exchanging the expertise and facilities available from both the organizations for the ultimate benefit of cotton farmers, food processing and packaging and pharmaceutical industries. Focus will be on boosting the collaborative research in quality Improvement of Cotton Cellulosic Biopolymer by Gamma Irradiation for their use in Medical and Food Industries.

Dr P G Patil, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Chairman, Coordination / Progress Review Committee, said, “The MoU would be focused on the application of Gamma radiation for improving the quality of cellulose and cotton seed protein for diversified applications, development of biodegradable packaging and functional food products from Gamma irradiated biopolymer or its nanocellulosic form.” While cellulosic biopolymer from agro-biomass has wide applications in textile, medical and food industries, the Gamma irradiation is known to improve the functionality of different polymers including cellulose and its derivatives.


MoU to benefit of cotton farmers The ICAR-Central

Agro chems – Fertilizers, India

Attributed to NFL’s awareness building in farmers

As the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has been continuously encouraging farmers  to use non-urea fertilizers like Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP), Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) and Sulphur Based fertilizers, the company has been able to register growth in sale of all the non-urea fertilizers during the first seven months of the current financial year.

The sale of Sulphur based fertilizers of the company, Bentonite Sulphur, has registered a growth of 237 per cent and single super phosphate (SSP) has registered growth of 133 per cent over the corresponding period Last Year (CPLY). While Bentonite Sulphur, produced in NFL Panipat Plant, logged sale of 11,730 MT during April-October 2020 against CPLY of 3,478 MT, sale of SSP reached 14,726 MT compared to 6,323 MT during the same period last year.

“It is important to encourage use of all types of fertilizers to provide balanced nutrition to soil”, said V N Datt, CMD, NFL. Sulphur is essential to maximizing plant growth and yield. As the fourth most important nutrient, Sulphur is also required for nitrogen use efficiency. NFL markets Urea, DAP, MoP, NPKs, APS, Compost, SSP and Bentonite Sulphur besides many strains of bio-fertilizers to provide all types of fertilizers to farmers under one roof.


Attributed to NFL’s awareness building in farmers