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Agro Universities, Environment, R&D

It will cover multiple aspects of biomass burning and its impact on regional air quality 

 

  A month before harvest season begins in Northern India —which also means the onset of an increased pollution load in Delhi on account of large scale crop residue burning in the region — the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is rushing to set up a ‘community response forum’ to conduct a thorough analysis of the impact of stubble burning on the national capital and its neighbouring areas, while looking at possible solutions.

NASA’s Universities Space Research Association (USRA) will work towards developing this community forum to cover multiple aspects of biomass burning and its impact on regional air quality in the Indian sub-continent during the winter months. Through the forum, NASA will also invite a panel of experts to share this knowledge with the public.

Pawan Gupta, research scientist at the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR), USRA, said, “Air pollution season in India, usually associated with crop burning, will be starting soon. This year, we will be supporting satellite AQ (air quality) data analysis and forecasting through a community forum.”

The first meeting of the forum will be conducted on September 24, after which the expert panel will meet twice every week starting October 1, till the end of the fire season.

In addition, the forum will also be used to provide training sessions on how to use various earth observations and tools available to analyse fire, smoke, and air quality data. This is also being developed as a platform for researchers to share their data and solutions providing alternatives to farmers in the agrarian belt so that the problem of mass-burning can be dealt with.

Every year NASA tracks fires in the agrarian states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in real time with the help of satellite data. Because of a change in the wind patterns and lowered wind speeds at the onset of winters — when stubble burning activity is at its peak — the capital witnesses a drastic dip in its air quality as plumes of smoke blow into the city from Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

 

According to Delhi government data of last year, stubble burning accounted for 44% of Delhi’s air pollution. It added that Punjab produces 20 million tonnes of crop stubble out of which 9 million tonnes was burnt last year. In Haryana, 1.23 million tonnes, out of 7 million tonnes, was burnt in 2019.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said the government was willing to explore all possible solutions to reduce crop residue burning in the neighbouring states.

“We are conducting regular meetings with the state governments of Punjab and Haryana, which are the two main states from where pollutants enter Delhi. We are also encouraging experts and researchers to develop technology interventions that can help farmers find alternatives to burning,” Rai said.

It will cover multiple aspects of biomass

Agro Universities, R&D, Seeds

It will accelerate the development of improved crops for climate resilience

 Bioseed — the hybrid seed business of diversified conglomerate DCM Shriram and the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have signed a memorandum of agreement which allows the former access to the latter’s world-class research facilities and technical expertise for advancing biotechnology research.

Paresh Verma , Executive President, Bioseed South East Asia and Matthew Morell,IRRI Director General  signed the agrrement. Accoording to MoU, Bioseed will join the international institute’s Two-Lines Study Group for hybrid rice development, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

 “It will enable Bioseed to leverage IRRI’s well-established research excellence to advance its biotechnology projects and accelerate the development of value-added food crops for farmers in the region,” said Verma.

“This agreement will help increase research capacity across South and South-East Asia and accelerate the development of improved crops for climate resilience and nutrition security,” said Remy Bitoun, Head of IRRI Tech Transfer.

It will accelerate the development of improved

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Seeds

It will help farmers to discover better prices from the parallel private Mandis 

  In recent the parliament passed three farm bills which includes Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.

The government said that the bills would transform the agriculture sector. It would also raise the farmers’ income, the Centre said. Further the government had also promised double farmers’ income by 2022 and the Centre said that the Bills will make the farmer independent of government controlled markets and fetch them a better price for their produce.

 Ram Kaundinya, Director General, Federation of Seed Industry of India said, “FSII welcomes the Agri-Marketing reforms that has been brought by the three bills. The reforms are delayed by twenty years. They will give farmers the freedom to sell and their produce in the Mandi and will definitely help them to discover better prices from the parallel private Mandis which will be allowed now. Simultaneously Govt may make a robust implementation of the new rules by covering all the loose ends while encouraging the Mandi system to upgrade their infrastructure, use modern technology and become friendlier to the farmer. On site warehouses with warehouse receipt systems should be set up in Mandis so that farmers are not forced to sell under distress.  We are sure eventually the two parallel systems will find their own equilibrium of co-existence.

 

National register of private buyers

 Kaundinya also added that a national register of all private buyers with validated identification and financial capacity may be created which farmers and FPOs may use while deciding to sell to a particular party. There is also a need for a major effort to build capacity among farmers and FPOs to conduct their commercial deals profitably. They have to be trained in basics of making contracts, agricultural commodity markets, price forecasts for their produce and similar skills. Digital proficiency is to be built among FPOs and farmers so that they can use the digital platforms effectively to buy inputs and to sell their output. This calls for a huge effort at training. The government and the stakeholders have to take this reform to its logical conclusion. There will be certainly some learnings to be picked up along the way. This is the start of a new era for the Indian farmer. Transformational changes can happen for the farmer’s profitability and the face of agriculture can change for the better.”

 

Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, Federation of Seed Industry of India said, “The reforms are historic and Centre-state cooperation is necessary to make these reforms successful.”

It will help farmers to discover better

Acts & Schemes – Centre

Farmers free to sell crop to anyone, anywhere

The newly tabled farm bills have become a matter of debate and paranoia among all concerned stakeholders in the Indian agriculture sector. There have been a variety of reasons given by those opposed to the landmark changes in the agriculture sector. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s official Twitter handle has been working overtime to dispel misinformation that the bills are anti-farmer and that large corporations will take over the agriculture sector and farmers lands.

It reiterated via Twitter that there will be no changes to the minimum selling price (MSP) and that the Mandi system will continue as before. The message to farmers included in no uncertain terms that ‘Farmers will be free to sell their crop to anyone, anywhere under the One Nation One Market model’.

Sanjay Kumar, CEO & MD, Elior India opined, “The farm bill is a much-needed reform for the agriculture sector for dismantling the stranglehold of middlemen. There is no reason for the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) to have a geographical monopoly as it intrinsically creates a distorted supply-demand balance. The key objectives of the farm bill can be met if and only if India embarks on steering itself away from being a welfare state to being a nation driven towards enhancing productivity”.

 

Farmers free to sell crop to anyone,

Agrotech, Finance, R&D

Initiative offers financial support for novel approaches and enabling technologies in crop research 

 

 

 Bayer announced that it has opened the application window for its Grants4Ag initiative. First introduced in 2015, the initiative has evolved in 2020 to offer researchers financial and scientific support to develop ideas for novel solutions across all research and development areas in the Division of Crop Science. Deadline for submissions is October 31, 2020. 

“Our previous Grants4 programs succeeded in attracting top proposals in targeted niches – particularly biotech traits and biologicals,” said Phil Taylor, Open Innovation Business Partner for the Crop Science division. “The new Grants4Ag model expands the reach to a greater number of potential applicants, and therefore more diverse innovations.” 

As with previous Grants4 programs, there are no formal reporting requirements and applicants retain ownership of any intellectual property developed. Taylor says the company views these grants as an initial investment with the potential to become larger-scale, longer-term collaborations with Bayer. 

In addition to the grants (typically ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 euros), each recipient will be partnered up with a Bayer scientist who will provide guidance and feedback on the project. Previous grant recipients say the latter sets the Grants4 program apart from traditional funding programs.

 “The Bayer Grants4 program is easy to apply for and allows us to test technologies with feasibility experiments whose results can bridge current and future projects,” said Hank W. Bass, Professor of Biological Science at Florida State University, who was awarded a grant in 2019 to study corn plants’ response to flooding.

 In total, last year’s grants program received submissions from 17 countries around the world. A total of 21 grants were awarded. 

For the 2020 Grants4Ag submission period, Bayer is partnering with Halo, a marketplace that helps companies connect with scientists through an intuitive, streamlined interface. 

“We created Halo to help companies discover and collaborate with scientists to solve today’s challenges and stay a step ahead of tomorrow’s,” said Kevin Leland, CEO and Founder of Halo. “Bayer has long been a champion of open innovation and we’re thrilled to be powering this latest search so even more scientists from universities and start-ups can benefit from its resources and industry knowledge.”

Initiative offers financial support for novel approaches

AgroPolicy, Trade

India-Bangladesh border trade points to release the consignment of onions

The Indian government has recently stated that it will make an exception to the ban on export to help tide over a crisis in the neighboring country.

Bangladesh will receive a large consignment of onions, after India decided to make an exception for Dhaka in the 14 September order that banned the export of onions.

A big consignment of onions meant for Bangladesh got stuck in West Bengal following the government’s order on banning exports of onions and it was only cleared after the external affairs ministry’s try’s intervention, said the people.

In an internal government communication seen by The Hindu, officials instructed India-Bangladesh border trade points to release the consignment of onions that Dhaka had already paid for before the ban order had come into effect.

The onion ban has caused a crisis in Bangladesh, with skyrocketing onion prices affecting the entire agriculture sector in the country. The neighboring country has sent an official note of protest to India saying such unexpected bans run counter to bilateral understandings reached in the recent past.

India and Bangladesh are due to review the entire gamut of ties at a meeting between their foreign ministers later this month.

India-Bangladesh border trade points to release the

Agrotech, Supply Chain

4G-cat1 IOT technology improves the cold supply chain of fresh produce industry

Fresh-key, a Chinese developer and producer of thermometers for the cold supply chain industry, has recently collaborated with DiMuto, a Singaporean tech company, to implement a system of advanced market monitoring.

Fresh-key and DiMuto carried out a test of Fresh-key’s latest 4G-cat 1 real-time monitoring solution. During this test, the data logger was placed in shipping containers full of ice cream for a period of 20 days. The data logger recorded the temperature inside the shipping containers at every stage of the supply chain and noted how long the shipping containers spent in each location. The data monitors also tracked whether temperature values remained within acceptable margins. When the temperature was too high/too low, then the data monitors would transmit a warning.

The location data helped to visualize the efficiency of the cold supply chain and locate areas where the shipping containers remained stationary for too long. Both parties were extremely satisfied with the test results. They are now discussing the next step in their cooperation. This data monitoring device will be used in the supply chain management of a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Another advantage of 4G Cat-1 technology is low-power consumption with a high data rate, which keeps the data efficiency during long-time monitoring applications. This technology would be more and more used in IOT solutions in the future, and very proper to the long-distance transport of fresh produce.

4G-cat1 IOT technology improves the cold supply

Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses

The highest increase in MSP is for lentil (Rs 300 per quintal) followed by gram and rapeseed & mustard

 

 

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops for marketing season 2021-22. This increase in MSP is in line with the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission.  Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said this is a very important day for farmers. The highest increase in MSP has been announced for lentil (Rs. 300 per quintal) followed by gram and rapeseed & mustard (Rs. 225 per quintal each) and safflower (Rs. 112 per quintal). For barley and wheat, an increase of Rs. 75 per quintal and Rs 50 per quintal respectively has been announced. The differential remuneration is aimed at encouraging crop diversification. 

Tomar also added that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other State agencies will continue to purchase farm produce at MSP as before. The announcement of the MSP before the start of the Rabi season will help the farmers in deciding on their crop structure. The MSP for pulses (lentil) and oilseeds has been increased to boost production of these crops so that import of these items can be reduced. 

During 2009-2014, 1.52 LMT pulses was procured by the government. During 2014-2019, 76.85 LMT pulses have been procured which is an increase of 4962 per cent. The payment made at MSP rates in the last 6 years is Rs. 7 lakh crore which is double that made by the previous government. The procurement at MSP and the APMC mandis will continue to function, however, the farmer will be free to sell his produce outside these systems anywhere throughout the country to get remunerative prices.

The highest increase in MSP is for

Agro Universities, Agrotech

The 12-week-long Kalpa Graduate Readiness Programme aims at latest technologies for production and processing of coconut, arecanut and cocoa

Kasaragod-based Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) has launched an online training programme — Kalpa Graduate Readiness Programme — for final year BSc (Agriculture/Horticulture) students from across the country. 

Speaking at the launch of the online training programme, K Muralidharan, Head (Acting), Social Sciences, CPCRI, said that the 12-week-long Kalpa Graduate Readiness Programme is an effort to empower young professionals on the latest technologies for production and processing of coconut, arecanut and cocoa. 

Stating that the perennial crops have a lot of intricacies, he said, students may not have learnt these intricacies thoroughly during their degree course. This programme has been designed to bridge that gap. More than 1,650 students from 18 states have, till now, enrolled for this online training programme, he said.

 Inaugurating the online training programme from Delhi, BK Pandey, Assistant Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said this programme will provide a platform to the aspiring graduate students of agricultural and horticultural sciences to know more about plantation crops.

Plantation crops such as coconut, arecanut and cocoa have a profound influence on the rural economy, as they support the livelihood of 25 million people in the country. They also support the national agrarian economy with the contribution to the tune of ₹14,200 crore to the gross domestic product, he said.

Welcoming the participants to the online training programme, Anita Karun, Director (Acting), CPCRI, highlighted various initiatives of CPCRI in the plantation sector.

The 12-week-long Kalpa Graduate Readiness Programme aims

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses

 More emphasis will be laid on production of pulses and oil seeds 

  Addressing the National Conference for Rabi Campaign 2020 held today under his Chairmanship to review the progress of Kharif 2020-21 and plan for the Rabi season, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said that Government is taking revolutionary steps to strengthen agriculture infrastructure and economic condition of the farmers.

 Recently Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme worth Rs 1 lakh crore for 4 years has been launched for creating facilities for cold storage, warehouse, packaging, ripening & waxing plants by agri-entrepreneurs, farmers’ association and local government agencies. Tentative allocation to the states have made on the basis of total value of output of the state from agriculture and allied sectors.

 A 3% interest subvention will be given on bank interest, making loan with effective interest rate in the range of 5.0 to 5.5%. Formation of 10,000 Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) is another such step to organize farmers in aggregation and marketing for higher returns. These will be registered under company or cooperative act and 15% will be constituted in Aspirational and Notified Tribal Areas.

The conference set a target of 301 million tonnes of food grains production for 2020-21 which includes 119.60, 108.00, 5.00, 9.57, 29.00 and 47.80 million tonnes of rice, wheat, Jowar, bajra, maize and coarse cereals, respectively. More emphasis will be laid on production of pulses and oilseeds and targets have been set at 25.60 million tonnes for pulses and 37.00 million tonnes for oilseeds. To reduce import of edible oils, great emphasis is being laid on production of oilseeds and oil palm plantation indigenously. This Rabi Focus is on Mustard under oilseeds and the target for production of mustard alone has been raised from 92 to 125 lakh tonnes.

 

 

 

 

 More emphasis will be laid

Agrotech, R&D

The 2021 competition is aimed at optimizing year-round corn hybrid breeding processes  

Syngenta Seeds and the Analytics Society of  Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) recently launched the 2021 Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics, a competition that focuses on analytical approaches to improve complex crop breeding processes. The 2021 competition is aimed at optimizing year-round corn hybrid breeding processes. By optimizing seeds product development systems, scientists can ensure increased performance and crop yield potential across diverse environments.

Data analytics, mathematics and statistics students, and professionals worldwide are invited to enter by Jan. 20, 2021.

Now in its sixth consecutive year, the Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics is a collaborative effort between Syngenta Seeds and the Analytics Society of INFORMS. The competition brings together experts in mathematics, computer science and analytics, emphasizing the importance of cross-industry collaboration necessary to feed a growing population with limited natural resources. Analytics and data science play a vital role in agriculture, when farmers are facing increasing pressures from climate change, soil erosion and biodiversity loss, and from consumers’ changing tastes in food. 

Innovative science and data-driven strategies have helped our industry breed more efficient, better seeds that require fewer resources and are adaptable to more diverse and variable environments,” said Gregory Doonan, head of advanced analytics, Syngenta Seeds. “Yet, that success has also brought on new challenges, namely increased output and irregular weekly harvest quantities that can create logistical and productivity issues, including storage capacity limitations after harvest. Optimizing planting schedules to ensure that facilities are not over capacity has the potential to relieve that burden.”

 

The Syngenta Crop Challenge gives data analytics experts the opportunity to use their skills to address real challenges farmers face, such as the unprecedented set of obstacles due to increasingly difficult growing conditions driven by climate change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2021 competition is aimed at optimizing

Agro Universities, R&D

AM fungi  acted as a supplier of nitrogen to the plant, the protein (NPF4.5) responsible for transporting nitrates from the fungi to the plant 

 

 

 Fungi play a critical role in the growth and development of plant life and have for millions of years. Scientists have known for a long time that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi that live in harmony with about 90% of land plants and play a key role in their root systems, are responsible for carrying needed phosphate to plants to help growth.

Now, however, thanks to a discovery by a team of scientists from Texas Tech University’s Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance (IGCAST) in the Department of Plaint and Soil Science, and the Nanjing Agricultural University’s State Key Laboratory of crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, that symbiotic role may go even further.

That research team, which included professor Guohua Xu, Prof. Aiqun Chen and Dr. Huimin Feng from Nanjing Agricultural University and, Luis Herrera-Estrella, the President’s Distinguished Professor of Plant Genomics and director of IGCAST, and assistant professor Damar López-Arredondo, discovered that AM fungi also acted as a supplier of nitrogen to the plant, the protein (NPF4.5) responsible for transporting nitrates from the fungi to the plant, and that this symbiotic nitrate pathway and the function of the protein are present in crops such as rice, and probably most other plant species.

 

 

 

AM fungi  acted as a supplier of

Acts & Schemes – Centre

Farmers will have the option to sell their produce at other places in addition to the mandis

In an effort to guard against myths being circulated on various platforms, Agriculture Ministry has clarified that Mandis will not stop functioning and trading will continue there as before.

PM Modi spoke on how each of the three bills bought by his government would help farmers in multiple ways, seeking to dispel “misinformation” being spread around them while unveiling new projects in poll-bound Bihar through a video address.

It is a myth that if farm produce is sold outside APMC mandis, and mandis will stop functioning after the implementation of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020. Agriculture Ministry said, under the new system, farmers will have the option to sell their produce at other places in addition to the mandis.

The Ministry said it is also a myth that how will small farmers be able to practice contract farming after the implementation of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and sponsors will shy away from them.

The Agriculture Ministry clarified that 10 thousand Farmer Producer Organizations, FPOs are being formed throughout the country. It said these FPOs will bring together small farmers and work to ensure remunerative pricing for farm produce.

Farmers will have the option to sell

Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Schemes - Banks

The bank has replicated `Cluster Model for Tractor Financing` presently operational in multiple cities 

 

 

The Bank of Baroda has announced three new initiatives towards improving credit penetration in farm mechanisation. The initiatives are focused on providing better financial service to farmers and empowering them towards farm mechanisation, the bank said in a statement. 

Executive Director Vikramaditya Singh Khichi said: “Agriculture sector is the only resilient sector with least impact by the Covid pandemic. With more than normal monsoon, the economy is expected to revive through contribution from the agriculture sector.”

“At Bank of Baroda, we strive to make our products competitive and improve our processes keeping the customers at the centre. The new cluster model will help in maintaining TAT for customers and improvise the credit quality,” he added. 

The bank has replicated `Cluster Model for Tractor Financing` presently operational in its Lucknow Zone in its Ahmedabad, Baroda, Rajkot, Jaipur, Bhopal, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Meerut and Chandigarh zones too.

 The `Cluster Model for Tractor Financing` will ensure a focused approach at all levels with dedicated officers being assigned specific roles to ensure a qualitative and compliance-oriented growth of the segment, apart from reducing the turnaround time, it said.

 The Bank of Baroda entered into an MoU with Baroda-based Tractor OEM Gromax Agri Equipment Ltd (GAEL), the erstwhile Mahindra Gujarat Tractor Ltd, and an entity of Mahindra Group. The Gujarat government also has a 40 per cent stake in GAEL, which has its registered office and high-tech manufacturing plant in Vadodara. 

This MOU will help Bank of Baroda customers to get discounts up to Rs 1 lakh on purchase of tractors directly from the company outlets. Further, on purchase in other states, except Gujarat, a discount up to Rs 15,000 will be given by GAEL in the form of payment of first EMI for its `45 HP` and `50 HP` models. 

Bank of Baroda celebrated `Maha-Disbursement Day` for tractor finance and sanctioned over 600 loans in a single day through the Cluster Model wherein few loans have been sanctioned using the Central Processing Centre (CPC). Sanction letters were handed over to eligible farmers at various locations across the country, the statement said.

 

The bank has replicated `Cluster Model for