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Acts & Schemes – Centre, India

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

The guidance videos in different languages covering

Europe, R&D

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Genome editing offers a range of solutions

E-commerce, Trade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The expansion in exports could create up

E-commerce, Environment

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Company’s focus areas includes Natural Resource Management

Water

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

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

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

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

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

The webinar entitled ‘Sahi Fasal – Increasing

E-commerce, Finance

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

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

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

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

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

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

The round included participation from new and

Agro Universities, Dairy, R&D

Aimed at sustainable dairy farming and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

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

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

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

 

 

Aimed at sustainable dairy farming and to

Animal Health, E-commerce

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

 

The divestment of the Animal Health business

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, Finance

Agricultural division witnesses increased sale by 3.2 per cent

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

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

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

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

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

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

Agricultural division witnesses increased sale by 3.2

Agro chems – Pesticides, China, E-commerce

Total investment of project to exceed Yuan 2 billion

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

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

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

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

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

Total investment of project to exceed Yuan

Pulses

It will focus on production, procurement, sale, pricing, domestic and international market trends, and policies of Desi and Kabuli chickpeas 

 

 

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for India’s pulses trade and industry, will be hosting its SECOND WEBINAR under the ‘THE IPGA KNOWLEDGE SERIES’ on Desi and Kabuli Chana at 5 pm on Friday August 14, 2020. .

IPGA has selected Chickpeas as the subject for the August 14th webinar primarily due to two reasons: a) The arrival of Rabi harvest in the market and b) The Hon’ble Prime Minister’s announcement of extending the PMGKY scheme till end of November 2020 under which close to 18 crore households will be given 1 kg of Chana free of cost.

India had a production of 9.94 million tons in 2018-19 and as per the 3rd Advance Estimates, the production for 2019-20 is expected to be 10.90 million tons. The extension of the PMGKY scheme will mean that NAFED will procure large quantities of Chana from the farmers at MSP and the forthcoming festival season is also expected to boost the demand for Chana. All these factors will play a role in determining the prices in the domestic and international markets.

The August 14 webinar on Desi and Kabuli Chickpeas will extensively cover the following topics: Chickpeas Production: India and other major origins, NAFED’s Procurement, Stock and Selling Policies, Implications of free distribution of Chana under PMGKY scheme, Global and Indian price outlook of Chickpeas, Chana supply and demand trends, India’s import policy and tariff, Kabuli Chana – Production and exports.

The panellists of the August 14th webinar, to be moderated by Economist, Senior Editor and Policy Commentator. G Chandrashekhar boasts of industry stalwarts and domain experts like Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh – Addl. Managing Director, NAFED, Gaurav Bagdai – Promoter, G P Agri, Sanjiv Dubey – Director, GrainTrend Pty Ltd, Australia,  Jayesh Patel – Group CEO & Executive Member, Bajrang International Group, UAE, Cem Bogusoglu, Global Head – Pulses Trading, G P Global Group, UAE and Navneet Singh Chhabra, Director, Shree Sheela International, India. 

Jitu Bheda, Chairman – IPGA speaking about Chickpeas Webinar said, “Australia, Russia, Black Sea, East Africa are among the key origins from where Chickpeas are imported and IPGA has invited experts from these regions to talk about the scenario in the respective origins as well as the impact they expect on Chickpeas trade on the back ground of the agri-reforms as well as the extension of the PMGKY scheme.”

The Registration for the August 14 IPGA Knowledge Series webinar on Chickpeas is open and you can register using the link: https://forms.gle/6Ug1yJqwsnXLmBL77

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman – IPGA said, “India’s annual requirement for Desi chickpeas is around 8-9 million metric tonnes (MMT), whereas the production for 2019-20 is expected to be around 10.90 MMT. Additionally, NAFED has recently done a massive procurement of 21.43 Lakh Metric Tons of Chana to support the extension of the PMGKY scheme. This 21.43 lakh MT procurement of Chana will have a three-fold effect. Firstly, it will provide nutritional security to close to 18 crore households, secondly help provide better price realization for the farmers and boost production taking another step towards making India Aatmanirbhar in Pulses and thirdly it will help keep the price of Chana supported especially in the current situation of a bumper crop in the open market close to the MSP.”

 

 

 

The IPGA Knowledge Series has received an overwhelming response from all key stakeholders with over 900 participants from across 30 countries participating in the inaugural webinar held on July 10th, 2020. It is IPGA’s endeavour to become the knowledge hub of pulses sector and reiterate India’s position as the leader of the pulses trade and industry, more so because the world is becoming vegan. Hence its pertinent to share a detailed outlook on each topic which is crucial for the trade and industry.

 

 

It will focus on production, procurement, sale,

E-commerce

The Company has recorded a consolidated profit of Rs 653 crores in Q1FY21. 

UPL Ltd announced its Q1FY21 results on July 31, 2020. Consolidated net revenue of UPL Ltd in Q1FY21 stood at Rs7, 833 crores, which declined by 0.92 per cent YoY from Rs7, 906 crores in Q1FY20.

EBITDA stood at Rs1, 832 crores in Q1FY21 which rose by 39.63% yoy. For Q1FY20, it had posted EBITDA of Rs1, 312 crores. EBITDA margin as of Q1FY21 was at 23.39 per cent which rose by 6.80 per cent yoy compared to the same quarter, the previous year.

The consolidated net profit in Q1FY21 came in at Rs653cr which rose by 84.46 per cent as compared to Q1FY20, when it had reported Rs354 crores. The net profit margin in Q1FY21 came in at 8.34 per cent which grew by 3.86 per cent YoY. The net profit margin for Q1FY20 was at 4.48 per cent.

 

The Company has recorded a consolidated profit

Finance

Domestic tractor sales in July 2020 at 4,953 tractors registers a growth of 9.9 percent against 4,505 tractors in July 2019 

Escorts Ltd Agri Machinery Segment (EAM) in July 2020 sold 5,322 tractors registering a growth of 9.5 percent against 4,860 tractors sold in July 2019. Domestic tractor sales in July 2020 at 4,953 tractors registering a growth of 9.9 percent against 4,505 tractors in July 2019. 

“During the month of July, we faced some supply chain challenges, especially with a few suppliers of proprietary items. As a result, we could operate only at about 50% of our capacity, resulting in unfulfilled demand. The situation has been continuously easing in the last few days of July, and hence we expect to go back to full capacity anytime up to mid-August 2020. The supply side situation may continue to be dynamic for another couple of months. Our inventory levels, both with the company and with channel, continues to be at very low levels. We are optimistic for the coming months as the rural sentiments continue to remain positive, led by timely and widespread monsoon, higher sowing of Kharif crop and adequate availability of retail finance”.

Export tractor sales in July 2020 at 369 tractors registering a growth of 3.9 percent against 355 tractors sold in July 2019.

Domestic tractor sales in July 2020 at

AgroPolicy

Synergy among stakeholders could help realize doubling farmers income by 2022

A one-day workshop aimed at eliciting ideas for achieving the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat  was organized by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, (DoFPD) under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on July 30, 2020 in New Delhi.

The recent amendments in Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and enactment of The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Ordinance, 2020 were discussed.

This was set within the changed context of liberalisation of regulatory environment for farmers, lifting of restrictions on inter and intra state trade in agriculture produce and empowering of farmers to engage directly with processors, aggregators, wholesalers, retailers, exporters.

Various suggestions emerged from the workshop like mandatory registration of warehouses with WDRA, foundation of aggregate platforms for agro-commodities trading, setting up of an Agricultural Council on the lines of GST council for dispute resolution, investment on cold storage and mechanised transportation, farm gate logistics, etc. The Secretary DFPD concluded that suggestions that emerged from the workshop would become actionable within a time period of three months.

Synergy among stakeholders could help realize doubling