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Home2020 (Page 48)
Agro chems – Fertilizers, Logistics

KPPL could achieve the best average discharge rate per day of 27000 tonnes, by efficient way of cargo handling.

Chennai based Karaikal Port Pvt. Ltd. (KPPL), one of the fastest-growing gateway ports in South India, recently announced the highest average discharge rate per day of fertilizer from Supramax vessel – M V Murgash which was imported by Indian Potash Limited (IPL) with a shipment size of 40,000 tonnes of Muriate of Potash (MOP). The vessel completed her cargo discharge and sailed out from Port in minimal time. KPPL could achieve the best average discharge rate per day of 27000 tonnes, by efficient way of cargo handling.

KPPL, the most suitable port for importing fertilizer cargo is well connected with all destinations by road and rail with sufficient availability of trucks and continuous supply of BCN wagons from Southern railways for evacuating cargo from Port. KPPL has the potential to handle 2 million tonnes of fertilizer cargo per annum with its dedicated modern infrastructure and resources.

Located along the East Coast of India with easy access to the Indian markets, Karaikal Port’s favorable location makes it the most preferred gateway for business in Tamilnadu with a vision of being India’s Preferred & Responsible Maritime Gateway. The Port has handled over 70 million tonnes of cargo and over 2,000 commercial vessels since inception. In the next few years, KPPL is expected to add new cargo flows to increase its cargo handling capacity to 40 MMTPA by 2025

KPPL could achieve the best average discharge

Dairy, R&D

1 litre of donkey milk may cost up to Rs. 7000

 

National Horse Research Centre is going to open this dairy in Hisar district of Haryana. To open this dairy, 10 donkeys of “Halari breed” have been ordered from Gujrat. Breeding of these 10 donkeys is being done to increase the number. Scientists of Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) and  National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE)  helped in starting  this dairy.

 Research on donkey’s milk was started by ex-Director of NRCE Dr B.N. Tripathi.  Present Director of NRCE, Dr. Yashpal stated that donkey’s milk contains negligible fats.

Now, throwing light on the benefits of donkey’s milk. Donkey’s milk has many medicinal properties and is used in many medicines. And also used for treating Cancer, Obesity, some Allergic diseases and for good Immune system. 

Along with these health benefits, Donkey’s milk gives some beauty benefits, stated senior scientist of NRCE, Dr Anuradha.  According to her, Donkey’s milk is best for children, as cow and buffalo’s milk can be allergic to some children, but donkey’s milk can never be allergic. Adding to this, she said, donkey’s milk contains antioxidants and anti-ageing properties. And donkey’s milk is also used to prepare soaps, lip-balms and body-lotions. Cost of donkey milk starts from Rs 2000 to 7000.

 

1 litre of donkey milk may cost

R&D, Seeds

The two new hard red winter wheat varieties bred will address specific production challenges across the Plains. 

 

To help wheat growers in the Central Plains tackle winter annual grasses and boost yield performance, Syngenta is introducing two new hard red winter wheat varieties bred to address specific production challenges across the Plains.

The new AgriPro® brand wheat seed varieties, AP18 AX and SY Wolverine, will be available to purchase as certified seed for the 2020 winter wheat planting season.

Winter annual grass weeds, including downy brome, jointed goatgrass, and feral rye, can cause reoccurring problems in fields across the Plains if not properly controlled at the start of the season. Growers looking to manage these weeds with non-GMO, herbicide-tolerant varieties can benefit from AP18 AX, which includes a new mode of action to control winter annual grasses. This new variety has also shown good winter hardiness in initial testing and broad adaptation in the Plains.

SY Wolverine, meanwhile, provides improved tolerance to wheat streak mosaic, a destructive disease that has been economically devastating in states such as Kansas in recent years. This tenacious yielder is a broadly adapted medium-early maturity variety exceeding the yield performance of similar AgriPro varieties SY Monument and SY Sunrise. It also has very good to excellent tolerance to wheat leaf rust and bacterial leaf disease in wheat.

“The latest class of winter wheat varieties continues to deliver top-performing varieties that meet the production needs of Central Plains growers,” said Greg McCormack, AgriPro key account manager. “Continued investment in wheat breeding allows AgriPro to bring new, improved varieties with strong agronomic characteristics and higher top-end yield potential to market each year.”

Backed by more than 50 years of wheat breeding expertise, AgriPro brand wheat varieties are consistent top performers that offer best-in-class disease packages, leading agronomics and outstanding yields.

The two new hard red winter wheat

Acquaculture, Agro Universities, Cold Storage

Promises un-compromised freshness and quality in fish retailing

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT) Cochin has designed and developed an energy-efficient Refrigerated Fish Vending Kiosk for selling fish in the village, urban and municipality areas.

The unit called ‘Chillfish’, has been developed using food grade stainless steel (SS 304) and transparent toughened polycarbonate sheets integrated with a refrigeration unit of capacity 300 W. The total cost of the kiosk is Rs 60,000 including GST.

It is also fitted with a hand-operated descaling machine for removing the fish scales. The power source of the unit is electricity through AC connection. The kiosk can also be connected with the solar energy input provision without external power sources.

The unit can extend the fish’s shelf life for 4 to 5 days and enhance fish vendors’ marginal benefit. The estimated annual cost per unit has been calculated to be Rs 26,26,650 with an annual return of Rs 30,87,000 that yields a net profit of Rs 4,60,350.

The Society for Assistance to Fisherwomen (SAF), Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ICAR-CIFT for fabricating and installing 20 Refrigerated Fish Vending Kiosks for the benefit of women fish vendors under the ‘Theeramaithri Project’ of the Government of Kerala.

Promises un-compromised freshness and quality in fish

IT, Schemes - Banks

Pilot study done in 500 villages. Scheme to be scaled up to 63,000 villages soon 

Private sector lender ICICI Bank will use satellite data—imagery from Earth observation satellites—to assess credit worthiness of its customers belonging to the farm sector.

 “This use of innovative technology helps farmers with existing credit to enhance their eligibility, while new-to-credit farmers can now get better access to credit,” it said in a statement.

Further, since the land verification is done in a contactless manner with the help of satellite data, credit assessments are being done within a few days as against the industry practice of up to 15 days, the lender said.

It has already conducted a pilot study using satellite data for the past few months in over 500 villages in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and plans to scale up the initiative to over 63,000 villages across the country soon.

“This, combined with demographic and financial details, provides strong information on the land asset of the farmers. We believe that usage of this technology will enhance accessibility to credit as new-to-credit farmers will have easy access to formal credit, as well as farmers with existing credit lines will be able to securely expand their eligibility,” said Anup Bagchi, Executive Director, ICICI Bank.

The lender has partnered with agri–fintech companies specialising in harnessing space technology and weather information for commercial usage and has worked with them to build reports with over 40 parameters. 

The bank uses satellite data to assess rainfall and temperature data of past years, soil moisture levels in past years, surface water availability, trends in crop sowing including crop name, tentative sowing and harvesting weeks, crop health and yields, agriculture land location details including latitude, longitude and boundary of the land as well as nearby locations of warehouses and mandis.

Pilot study done in 500 villages. Scheme

IT, Malaysia

The annual mega show will be held on November 26, 2020

In a recently concluded soft launch event of the upcoming Malaysian Agriculture and Horticulture Agrotourism (MAHA), agriculture and allied business was promoted as a lucrative business for the masses. MAHA is an annual event in Malaysia where new products in the agriculture industry as well as the latest technologies and methodologies are showcased.

According to Dr Ronald Kiandee, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister, this year’s MAHA will be a hybrid event using virtual technology to achieve its goals of promoting agriculture to the masses.

“This year’s event will be a hybrid one with a combination of physical and virtual technology being used,” said Kiandee during the soft launch of the event on August 26, 2020, at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park in Serdang (MAEPS).

The theme of this year’s event is “Agriculture the Driver of Malaysian Economy”. The Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAFI) is aiming to do business matching, showcase the latest technologies in agriculture, encourage youth participation in agriculture and attract corporate and industry players to participate in the event that will be held from November 26-29 at MAEPS. “

The annual mega show will be held

IT, Seeds

Participants can discover new products and services and access detailed information, and also have a direct chat or a call with the exhibitors.

“The resurgence of Covid cases Europe and many other parts of Europe and the consequent travel and meeting restrictions, as well as quarantine requirements, do not allow us to continue our planning for a real “live” meeting. At the same time, the safety and well-being of you, our Members and guests, as well as the quality of our Congress must not be compromised”, said Euroseeds in statement.

Therefore, and anticipating such a negative development, we have already been working over the last months on the possibility to offer a fully-fledged Virtual Congress as an alternative.

We will now implement the respective concept in practice. It will consist of a digital platform that will enable you to experience all the Congress elements you would have found in Malta: exhibition, trade, crop-specific Section meetings, and -last but not least- networking with friends and colleagues, it said.

You will be able to assist to the crop-specific Section meetings and interact with the speakers, other Members and the Euroseeds Team

You may wander through the exhibition hall, discover new products and services and access detailed information, and also have a direct chat or a call with the exhibitors

You can visit the trade area with reserved trade tables and organize meetings with the companies and their representatives to discuss business opportunities and collaborations

You will find an open networking forum that will allow you to be seen and to interact with other registered participants outside of fixed meeting schedules

In these difficult times, we want to make sure you have the opportunity to take part in a full-scale Virtual Congress that offers you (almost) the same as an on-site Congress. We know how important it is for you to meet your peers and conduct your business in the best way possible.

Of course, all this cannot make up for the atmosphere and experience of a “real” on-site Congress; but we will do our utmost to provide you with all the information, services and support you may find useful in this challenging situation.

Registration for the Euroseeds2020 Virtual Congress 

You may register to participate in the Virtual Congress using the respective registration form on the Congress website. Please note that we have decided to significantly lower the registration fees for all participants, virtual trade tables and exhibitors. Furthermore, there won’t be any increase in the registration fee for late registrations.

 

Participants can discover new products

IT, Machinery – Post-harvesting, R&D

Will reduce reliance on diesel across India


In a webinar held on August 25, 2020, Dr Harish Hirani, Director, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI), Durgapur, gave a thorough and analytical presentation. He highlighted the array of CSIR-CMERI developed Farm Mechanization, Agricultural and Post-Harvest technologies.

Hirani charted the technology development journey from the Swaraj Tractor developed by CSIR-CMERI during the Green Revolution to the compact Krishi Shakti Tractor developed as a specimen of the changing trends in Agricultural practices. 

He showcased innovative agricultural technology interventions ranging from Precision Planter for Vegetables, Offset Rotavator for Orchards to Controlled Atmosphere Renewable Energy Based Stand-Alone Cold Storage Unit, Leaf Collector System and Automatic Bio-Mass Briquetting Plant.

CSIR-CMERI will be launching the First Generation E-Tractors in September, 2020, which can overhaul the current Diesel-intensive tractor usage practices prevalent across the nation.

To enhance the income of farmers and to get proper value for their produce, CSIR-CMERI has developed post-harvest technologies and have been installed in various states of North East India including Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. The future trend in Agriculture would be driven by Artificial Intelligence and Efficient Electronic Architecture, and the R&D course of CSIR-CMERI is already aligned in this direction.

 

Will reduce reliance on diesel across India In

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce

It aims to address the growing need for plant stress mitigation.  

 

  Godrej Agrovet, announced the launch of a new Plant Nutrition Portfolio in association with a Spanish organization – BIOIBERCA. The new portfolio, which will be available in Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP/Telangana, Punjab, Haryana & Madhya Pradesh, has been launched to address the growing need for plant stress mitigation.

Plant stress, be it Abiotic (extreme temperature, low or excessive rainfall, drought, etc.) or biotic (pests infestation) – is a direct result of the various impacts of climate change and global warming on agriculture. The most common signs of plant stress are loss of plant health during critical growth stages, yield loss or unachieved potential yield of a particular crop, fruit and flower drop, as a result of excessive use of pesticide due to lack of alternate organic solutions. 

Most farmers do not consider plant stress a critical aspect of farm management even though it severely impacts plant health and in turn the farm economics. Technologically driven solutions can now enable farmers to manage this latent need effectively. To alleviate these problems and to maintain healthy farm productivity, Godrej Agrovet offers crop-wise plant nutrition products.

 Balram Singh Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet said, “Agricultural issues created by plant stress have a direct impact on farm economics. It is important to create an immediate awareness on the ways to mitigate it. Godrej Agrovet has been serving the Indian farmers for three decades with a diverse range of agri-input products to improve the crop yield. Launch of the plant nutrition portfolio is in line with this ethos. It will enable farmers to achieve the potential yield of a particular crop.”

 The Plant Nutrition Portfolio includes crop-wise products:

Terra Sorb Complex – Grapes, Apple, Chilli, Potato

Armurox – Grapes, Apple, Chilli, Cotton

Equilibrium – Fruity Vegetables like Tomato, Brinjal, Okra, Pointed gourd, Capsicum, Cucumbers & Banana.

 

It aims to address the growing need

Europe, IT

Innovations in agriculture, food and biological systems will be the focus

A virtual event will be held from September 22 to 26, 2020 as part of the program of the European Digital Week 2020, an open forum for the discussion of trends and innovation in digital technologies and related industries. The main program will consist of 20 technology conferences, with over 350 speakers from around 75 countries.

The conference will be attended by investors, IT professionals, young experts, CEOs, managers of international companies, students, entrepreneurs. The aim of the conference is to create a conducive environment for exchanging ideas, creating valuable contacts and meaningful business partnerships.

The virtual event is a collection of international know-how promises to deliver top notch content from the comfort of one’s homes at an affordable price. More details are available from the website of European Digital Week.

 

Innovations in agriculture, food and biological systems

AgroPolicy, Trade

Boosting agriculture exports is the focus

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) with AFC India Limited (formerly Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd) and National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) to synergize their activities in agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders.

APEDA has been focusing on capacity building of various stakeholders and providing solutions for development of agriculture and increasing export of agricultural produce in accordance with the objectives set under Agriculture Export Policy.

The policy was framed with the focus on agriculture export oriented production, export promotion, better price realization to farmer and synchronization within policies and programmes of Government of India. It focuses on ’Farmer Centric Approach’ for improved income through value addition at source itself to help minimize losses across the value chain.

This can be achieved by developing product specific clusters in different agro climatic zones of the country to help in dealing with various supply side issues such as soil nutrients management, higher productivity, adoption of market oriented variety of crop, use of good agriculture practices etc. Accordingly, 20 cluster level committees have been formed in the cluster districts of 9 states.

 

Boosting agriculture exports is the focusAgricultural

Agrotech, Org. Chart – Centre

FSSAI issues order on 24 food crops even though it is working on regulations for GM foods 

 From January 1, 2021, importers of 24 major food crops will have to mandatorily declare that the products are not genetically-modified and that they also have a non-GM origin. 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has come out with this order to ensure that only non-GM food crops come into the country. 

The 24 food crops include apple, eggplant, maize, wheat, melon, pineapple, papaya, plum, potato, rice, soyabean, sugarbeet, sugarcane, tomato, sweet pepper, squash, flax seed, bean plum, and chicory.

Environmental groups have been complaining that imported foods often contain genetically modified organisms (GMO).

The FSSAI is in the process of framing regulations on GM foods. While a draft regulation on that is under consideration, the latest GM order, in the interim, is expected to tighten safety assessments of imported food crops at ports.

 An order released by, the FSSAI said: “It has been decided that every consignment of these imported food crops shall be accompanied with a non-GM-origin-cum-GM-free certificate issued by the competent national authority of the exporting country.” 

Importers will need to declare that the product is ‘of non-GM origin, does not contain genetically modified organism, and is also not genetically modified’.

The FSSAI order said this is being done to “ensure that only non-GM food crops are imported into India, pending framing of regulations related to genetically-engineered or modified” food products.

FSSAI issues order on 24 food crops

Acquaculture, R&D

Takes cue from ICAR-CIFT research article

 A research article underlining the potential of seaweed as an effective immunotherapy against COVID-19 has been added to the WHO’s Website Section of ’COVID-19 Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease’ to help  in the fight against the pandemic. 

The article was co-authored by Dr Ashish K Jha; Dr. Suseela Mathew, Head of Division, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin (ICAR-CIFT) and Dr Ravishankar C N, Director, ICAR-CIFT. 

This adds credence to the claims made by scientists working in the field of marine resources and drug discovery about the ability of naturally available seaweed compounds to fight the COVID-19 virus. The derivatives from seaweeds possess many nutraceutical properties.

Several polysaccharides isolated from red and green seaweeds have been evaluated and found to have the ability to inhibit the initial attachment of virus to the host cells which, in turn, effectively blocks the entry of the virus into the human body.

Carrageenan, a sulphated polysaccharide from red seaweed has already been tried as a therapeutic agent for respiratory illness like common cold and influenza virus H1N1. The research indicates the potency of sulphated polysaccharide derived from seaweed to fight the COVID-19 virus.

Takes cue from ICAR-CIFT research article  A

Agro Universities, R&D, Seeds

These tomato plants are different from the local varieties and can grow much faster as compared to other varieties. 

Recently the scientists of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Science and Technology, popularly known as SKUAST have developed hybrid tomato variety for the farmers.

These tomato plants are quite different from the local varieties and can grow much faster as compared to other varieties with large quantity of crop. Researchers and students from SKUAST are looking after the project. Researchers are hopeful that in future these hybrid seed varieties will bring revolution in tomato crop and farmers will get huge benefits from it.

The developmental process in Jammu and Kashmir has taken a pace from quite a while now. Besides, infrastructure development, the government is giving much emphasis to the agriculture sector. The production of tomato in the Union Territory would be increased with the help of hybrid seed varieties and this will help in doubling farmers’ income.

These tomato plants are different from the