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Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech

It highlights the application of agrochemical spraying via drones in India, the benefits and potential risk and mitigation strategy around it.

FICCI-CropLife jointly released technical paper on ‘Drone Usage for Agrochemical Spraying’. It highlights the application of agrochemical spraying via drones in India, the benefits and potential risk and mitigation strategy around it.

The report was released at a FICCI webinar ‘Drones Application Technology in Spraying for Crop Protection’ by Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary (M&T), Ministry of Agriculture; Dr S K Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner and Chairman, Registration Committee; Dr K Alagusundaram, Deputy Director General (Agriculture Engineering), Indian Council of Agriculture Research; Rajan Luthra, Chairman, FICCI Drones Committee and Asitava Sen, CEO, CropLife India. The webinar was jointly organized by FICCI and CropLife India.

The technical paper also outlines the drone regulation in other countries such as the EU, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, citing the best practices in agrochemical spraying.

 Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India said that FICCI along with other industry stakeholders should come forward with indigenous solutions for Indian problems. Highlighting the potential of drones’ usage in the agriculture sector, he said, “There are around 1 lac villages which can be benefited by the drones. We can design special purpose drones and industry must focus on developing low cost drones for them.”

He also stressed on industry tie-up with central or state level agricultural universities or institutions for getting the necessary approvals.

 Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary (M&T), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said that drone enabled technology can be very useful in soil analysis of the fields. This can also help us in better irrigation management and maintaining correct nitrogen levels. She urged the startups to create drone planting system which will reduce the planting cost considerably. 

Dr S K Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner and Chairman, Registration Committee, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare opined, “Drone spraying would help the farmers to increase their productivity, lower water consumption, higher  efficiency; besides being safe for human and the environment. The Registration Committee is looking into various aspects of product approvals through drone application.”

Rajan Luthra, Chairman, FICCI Committee on Drones said, “Start-ups, industry, government agencies and academia are collaborating actively as a cohesive drone ecosystem.” India has over 150 drone start-ups, comparable with USA or Israel and top management of most large companies are today understanding the potential impact that drones can add. “FICCI is working closely with all stakeholders to act as a catalyst for the collaboration and supporting the enabling regulatory frameworks,” he added.

 Asitava Sen, CEO, CropLife India said, “Hon. Prime Minister of India has been emphasizing need for modernizing agriculture sector and adoption of new technological innovations in achieving the goal of doubling farmers income. One such area is drone technology deployed on a large scale”. He added, “With the recent permission of use of drones for control of locusts by Civil Aviation Ministry along with Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; India has become the first country in the world with broad specification for drones that can fly at night. There is opportunity to extend this technology to other crops and areas of application through robust and pragmatic science-based policy framework”.

 

Key Highlights of FICCI-CropLife Technical Paper:   

The necessary regulations should take into consideration (1) civil aviation laws (both local and umbrella) and setting of vehicle specifications, (2) SOPs and piloting requirements for safe use of drones, and (3) product approval and permissions for spray operations.

In addition to these general regulations, we would recommend at least five other criteria to be met for obtaining permission: (1) approval of vehicle needs, (2) licensing or certification of pilots/operators and training for agrochemical application by drones, (3) registration of agrochemical product sought to be sprayed, and (4) Encouragement for fast approval of ULV formulations or allowing mixing of mineral oils to the existing formulations, so as to serve the purpose of ULV formulations, however, by proper testing of flash point (5) Strict adherence to product label instructions.

More specifically, we propose setting up a system for certification or licensing of drone operators to ensure their capability to pilot the UAV machines safely. Such certification/licensing should be subject to regular renewal and conducting of refresher courses. The authorities should also accredit training facilities to put in place a standardized programme for all agricultural drone operations.

The Product Registration Process for inclusion of drone as alternate equipment for application of CPP must be simplified & time-bound and should not be duplicated from scratch as the drone use is just an extension in the case of a formulation already approved for conventional manual spraying. The idea is to reduce registration timelines and make available the same crop protection products to farmers quickly, without compromising on safety and efficacy. A reasonable and predictable timeframe for all the regulatory clearances will create a vibrant and a compliant ecosystem that attracts more investment in the sector.

 

 

It highlights the application of agrochemical spraying

Agro Universities, Animal Health, R&D

The kit is quick and six times cheaper

A team of scientists at Indian Veterinary Research Institute is located, Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh state has developed a new mono-clonal antibody and recombinant antigen based ELISA, a rapid testing kit that can be used to detect deadly foot-and-mouth disease, FMD across various species. The disease is a highly infectious viral disease of all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs.

The presently used diagnostics, Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals, DIVA are species-specific and need to be optimized for each animal species. The new kit, however is easy to perform, rapid and sensitive. It can be performed at room temperature without an incubator.

 Six times cheaper than a similar commercial imported kit, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the assay are 95.2 percent and 98 percent, respectively. The estimated cost per samples is Rs 15 as compared to Rs 105 per sample for an imported kit.

 The kit will be useful for screening of serum against FMD antibodies for DIVA application. The kit is available in the form of recombinant antigen coated modules and all ready-to-use reagents packaged in one box for 90 serum samples, and to be stored at 4°C.

 

The kit is quick and six times

Agro Universities, R&D

Imager can be used for real time water stress assessment of crops

A new RGB-Thermal imager for spatial data collection with location coordinates and real time data processing which can be integrated with actuation system for real time communication has been developed and launched by India Council of Agricultural Research, ICAR and Central Institute of Agriculture Research, Bhopal on the occasion of  92nd founding day of ICAR. 

Commercially available thermal imagers are useful for crop stress monitoring, real time application of irrigation scheduling and measuring surface temperature of fruits, seeds, vegetables among other uses but cannot be used for real time data processing and communication.

The new imager has been developed using Raspberry Pi 3B+ micro-controller board, Raspberry Pi RGB module V2 (8 MP), thermal module AMG 8833 (0 to 80 degree C), 7 inch HDMI display, GPS module NEO 6M V2 and keypad buttons supported by 20000 mAh power bank. The Raspberry Pi board is driven by NOOBS operating system with 64 GB memory.

The software of the imager has been developed in Python 3 using its libraries pygame (for image display), RPIO (for keypad button), AMG 8833 (for thermal sensor) and time (timer library). The imager is user friendly, robust, low cost, under R15000 and unaffected by temperature changes and rainfall.

 

 

Imager can be used for real time

Animal Health, Dairy

Lysine supplement expected to give better ROI on nutrients fed to cattle

ADM, a global leader in animal nutrition, has launched NutriPass L, an encapsulated lysine supplement that is rumen-stable and intestinally available to cows.

Brad Dalke, Vice President, ADM Animal Nutrition said that through effective encapsulation, NutriPass L supplies a consistent and stable supply of metabolizable lysine for lactating cows and growing cattle. This gives producers the advantage of improved return on investment on the nutrients fed. Lysine is an essential amino acid that must be provided through feedstuffs, since cows do not produce it naturally.

Encapsulating lysine makes it possible for producers to supply a balanced, cost-effective diet, through the reduction of higher cost protein ingredients in the ration. NutriPass L has been shown to meet or exceed net delivery of metabolizable lysine when evaluated against comparable products.

The supplement supports optimal milk production, animal growth and creates opportunities for nutritionists to limit nutrient wastage in rations.

It can be mixed with a wide variety of feed ingredients and forages. This is the latest addition to ADM’s expansive portfolio of livestock nutrition-based technologies and feed solutions.

Lysine supplement expected to give better ROI

Finance, Logistics, Warehousing

EBITDA increased to Rs 17.87 Crores from Rs 17.10 Crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. 

 

 

During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, Snowman Logistics Ltd recorded a Revenue of Rs 55.12 Crores against Rs 62.07 Crores in Q1 FY19-20. The decline in revenue was attributable to the disruption in road transport due to migration of drivers, however the warehousing occupancy of the company increased due to a surge in demand for high quality temperature-controlled warehousing as a result of which the EBITDA increased to Rs 17.87 Crores from Rs 17.10 Crores in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. As a result, EBITDA margin increased from 27 per cent to 32.4 per cent. PAT increased to Rs 0.78 Crores in the current quarter from a loss of Rs 8.99 Crores in the same period in the previous year. 

As cold chain logistics was deemed an essential service by the Ministry of Home Affairs, all facilities of the Company remained operational throughout the lockdown period and the overall warehouse occupancy had increased in the current quarter from various segments such as healthcare products, groceries, dairy, seafood, meat, poultry and QSR products. The Company has implemented all necessary precautions and followed the guidelines as recommended by W.H.O and other various healthcare bodies, for ensuring the safety of our employees, customers, and all other stakeholders.

 Speaking about the quarter performance,  Sunil Nair, CEO, Snowman Logistics Ltd said, “At Snowman, our commitment to our partners is unwavering. Despite the lockdown we ensured that there are no service disruptions and we continue to meet the demands of our clients. The lockdown has witnessed an increase in temperature controlled warehouse demand, especially for food, pharmaceuticals and other essentials from our partners. We would always go extra miles with our customers to ensure we serve them in business and in serving communities during such challenging times. Today, we are well positioned to cater to such demands at all our facilities across India.”

Commenting on the results,  Prem Kishan Dass Gupta, Chairman, Snowman Logistics Ltd said, “The demand for high quality cold chain logistics infrastructure has grown exponentially in the food and pharmaceutical industry due to the circumstances surrounding COVID, and our customers trust the quality of services provided by Snowman as a leader in this industry. We are continuing to expand and add cold storage capacities in both new & existing locations to cater to this growing demand.”

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA increased to Rs 17.87 Crores from

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

Chaudhry is currently the Co Chairman of  FICCI Committee on Agriculture. 

 

 

 

The Board of Directors of Dhanuka Agritech Ltd in its meeting has approved the appointment of Siraj Azmat Chaudhry as an Additional Director under Independent Category.

 Siraj Azmat Chaudhry has been appointed as an Additional Director under the category of Independent Director of the Company.

 Siraj Azmat Chaudhary is an industry expert, thought leader and innovator in the agriculture and food industry. He is a key voice on issue concerning agriculture, food safety and nutrition and has worked extensively with industry, the social sector and the Government on related projects.

 Siraj has over 32 years of experience in building, turning around, acquiring, and divesting businesses.

He is currently the Co Chairman – FICCI Committee on Agriculture. He has also been the Past Chairman of the National Committee on Food Processing at FICCI and National Committee on Food Processing at FICCI and the National Alliance for Edible Oil Fortification, a joint initiative by CII and GAIN to address malnutrition through food fortification.

He has also been past President of the Food Industry Skill Council under the NSDC. He has chaired the Agriculture and Food Committee at American Chambers of Commerce and as also the Agriculture and Food Committee of USIBC in India.

Siraj is an eminent industry spokesperson and is a sought after key note speaker at prestigious events organized by FICCI, CIJ, JIM and other entities.

 

Chaudhry is currently the Co Chairman of 

Agro chems – Pesticides

It will help increase investor confidence in India’s agrochemicals sector.

UK based Resonance Opportunities Fund has picked up a stake in Best Agrolife Ltd recently. The Fund has bought 112,000 shares of the company from the open market at Rs 610.35 per share. This will help increase investor confidence in India’s agrochemicals sector.

The company had recently announced that they are the first agrochemical company in India to have been granted license/registration for manufacturing DIRON (DINOTEFURAN 20% SG), a super systematic insecticide with quick uptake and knock-down, that controls a broad spectrum of previous and invasive pests. With two formulations and quick action through contact and ingestion, the insecticide has proved to be robust in pest control management.

Best Agrolife is among the top 20 agrochemical companies in India with a growing presence in the international market. Its product portfolio comprises of more than 60 active ingredients and various formulations of pesticides and plant micro-nutrients for protecting and nourishing a wide range of crops. Its product range includes insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators etc.

It sells under the brand name ’Best’. The company has four strategically located manufacturing plants, two in Uttar Pradesh and two in J&K. These plants are well equipped with state-of-art indigenous infrastructure for the production of high quality agrochemicals.

It will help increase investor confidence in

Acts & Schemes – Centre, World

It will help in the integrated development of the Bihad area in Gwalior – Chambal region 

 

 Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar recently held a meeting through video conference to deliberate with the representatives of World Bank, senior officers of the Department of Agriculture, Madhya Pradesh, scientists, Vice-chancellor of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior and other stakeholders to bring the large Bihad area of Gwalior – Chambal region under agriculture. During this meeting it was decided that the substantive project would be prepared in collaboration and support from World Bank to accomplish this work.

In this regard, a meeting was also held earlier with the representatives of World Bank and it has been decided to prepare a preliminary project report within a month.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister informed that more than 3 lakh hectares of rugged land is not cultivable and if this area is improved, then this will help in the integrated development of the Bihad area in Gwalior – Chambal region. He further mentioned that the proposed reforms in this project will not only help to improve agricultural development and the environment, but it will also create employment opportunities for the people and lead to substantive development of this region.

Tomar said that there is a lot of scope for development of the Bihad area in Gwalior – Chambal region. The Chambal Expressway will be built and will pass through this area, by which the overall development of the region would be possible. After preparing the initial report, subsequent meetings will be held with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for further course of action.

The representative of World Bank, Adarsh Kumar said that the World Bank is interested in working in the state of Madhya Pradesh.  Vivek Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare said that all the aspects related to technology, infrastructure, capital cost, investment etc. will be taken into consideration prior to initiating the work of the proposed project with minimum budget allocation. 

 K.K. Singh, Agricultural Production Commissioner said that the old project has been revived and will be undertaken under the guidance of the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Dr S. K Rao, Vice-Chancellor of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindhia Agricultural University, Gwalior said that the work can be done keeping in mind the overall agricultural development of the region.

It will help in the integrated development

R&D, Seeds

By Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director, Federation of Seed Industry of India 

Adoption of science and technology in all aspects of life has been the hallmark of modern civilization. We expect technology to address challenges and make our lives easier, the same holds true for technological intervention in farming. The farmers use technology to smoothen the process of field preparation by mechanization and improve efficiency of farm inputs, be it pesticide or bio stimulant coated seeds, controlled irrigation and nutrient inputs or fertigation. Field monitoring and data analysis, done onsite or remotely, can also help in managing a healthy crop using appropriate nutrient supplements and pest control methods as and when required. Mechanization is also extensively used for harvesting and processing the produce for the market. Market access can also be accessed remotely using digital platforms like e-nam, m-Kisan, Kisan Suvidha and Pusa Krishi for weather forecasts, all possible pre- and post-harvest needs, transactions and financial needs. Similarly, in case of seeds, biotech traits for the approved crops have been widely accepted by the farmers.

 Technology has also positively impacted crop related research and plant breeding with extensive sequencing and phenotyping of plants. Our knowledge of genetics and gene function has increased the efficiency of breeding and selection of desired traits. Agronomic data has been collected by farmers and plant breeders for decades for various crops and recent advances have allowed breeders access to genetic information. Breeders today are thus, able to associate genetic variations with trait variations. The analysis of the vast available data has enabled breeders to weed out randomness from their experiments and predict the best crosses to get the required improved trait and artificial intelligence is further helping in making predictions. 

Another tool for the breeders is the naturally occurring process called gene editing, which can be used to edit and modify genes/DNA sequences in a precise manner without introduction of any foreign gene/DNA. Of the various methods of gene editing, CRISPR/Cas9 is the most flexible and user-friendly platform that is based on RNA design and hence is most economical. The ease of design and implementation of CRISPR editing makes it viable for use by smaller players and public institutions that may utilize the technology for varied crops (like pulses, millets and vegetables) including orphan crops (like cassava, yam, sweet potato, pigeon pea, cowpea). 

Traditional breeding or chemical mutagenesis both are random processes of gene mixing and mutations respectively. Hence, extensive selection over multiple generations is required to get the desired trait in the right background. The conventionally bred crops are only regulated for their seed quality. Gene editing can enable genetic changes similar to conventional breeding, in a single generation in a precise manner. Therefore, saving the time and labour of multi-generation selection and crossing, with the final product being indistinguishable from the conventionally bred one. 

Since the final variety has just the minor genetic change and no foreign genetic material introduced in it, many countries like USA, Japan, and Australia have exempted such edited variants from regulations. Others (South American nations) evaluate the edited crops in a case by case manner for the extent of genetic change and moderately regulate them, without elaborate evaluations and data requirements. Such science-based regulations are supportive of innovation and will help both farmers and consumers in the long run.

India too is in the process of developing regulations for gene edited plants. It will be the first country to have regulations in place in South Asia and will set the trend for other nations too. Science-based, predictable regulations will improve the technology adoption by both public and private sector, with multiple players improving diverse crops. An unreasonably stringent regulatory system will inhibit widespread technology access by developers due to prohibitive costs and will limit it from reaching the farmers. Dissidence amongst trading nations regarding regulatory and data requirements for edited crops and produce derived from edited crops will impact commodity trade in the region, with the nation having complex regulation losing out on revenue. 

The government’s Agricultural department with its extensive network of extension units (KVKs) can play a pivotal role in imparting awareness to different stakeholders of agri-value chain and consumers regarding the gene editing technology and its potential. The ease of bringing edited products for cultivation, acceptance of gene edited crops by the farmers and food from edited crops by the consumers will determine the final success of the technology and allow us to harness its potential.

By Dr Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director,

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, Finance

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs 251 crores in comparison to Rs 62 crores for the corresponding quarter last year. 

 

 

 Coromandel International Limited, which makes the famous GROMOR brand of fertilizers, reported strong financial performance for the Apr-Jun quarter, indicating that farming activity in South India continued apace even during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The company reported a whopping 51 per cent jump in its revenue for the Apr-Jun quarter compared to the same three months of 2019. Even when compared to the January-March period, consolidated revenue was up by 12 per cent at Rs 3,213 crores. 

The strong sales momentum also had a salutary impact on the company’s margins, lifting profits at every level. Profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional item (EBITDA) for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 was up by 113 per cent at Rs 415 crores versus Rs. 195 crores during corresponding quarter of last year.

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs. 251 crores in comparison to Rs. 62 crores for the corresponding quarter last year. This was despite a faster increase in material costs.

Material costs — including cost of purchased trading items and inventory restocking — rose by 22.3 per cent  to Rs 2,282 cr compared to the immediately preceding quarter, well ahead of the 12.0 per cent growth seen in revenue.

However, the company got some respite from a diminution in its ‘other expenses’, which reduced by Rs 80 cr to Rs 205 cr, possibly indicating lower expenses on promotional activities.

The company gets about 85 per cent of its revenue from the sales of fertilizers and related goods, and the remaining from the sales of pesticides and other crop protection devices. Both segments saw robust growth during the quarter.

“Better than normal rainfall in our key markets, good soil moisture conditions and pro-active steps taken by the government in procuring the bumper Rabi harvest led to positive sentiments in the farming community resulting in early demand for agricultural inputs,” said Managing Director Sameer Goel.

Sales volumes of phosphatic fertilizers jumped by 75% over previous year and market share increased to 16 per cent during the quarter vs. 13.2 per cent during the corresponding period of last year.

He said the crop protection business is accelerating efforts on new product development and strengthening its strategic tie ups with global players.

The MD said the company focused on carrying out its operations during these tough times due to the essential nature of its products.

It benefited from its dedicated Mana Gromor retail chain to keep the goods moving. “Co-ordinated efforts ensured efficient management across the value chain right from sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain to last mile delivery. Focus on working capital yielded good results lowering the interest costs. The company leveraged Digital Marketing platforms to connect with the farmer community. Our channel partners and Mana Gromor retail centres ensured availability of agri inputs for meeting the increased demand,” he said.

 

Consolidated net profit after tax for the

AgroPolicy

The state Govt will come out with a new brand ‘Harit’, under the brand retails outlets 

 

 

 

 

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government will open 2,000 multi-brand retails outlets where farmers can sell their agriculture produce as traders. This move is to help reduce farmers’ dependency on markets.

The state government through the cooperative department will come out with a new brand ‘Harit’, under the brand retails outlets will open across the state. These retail outlets will be opened in both cities and villages.

Outlets will not only sell products from the state’s brand Vita but also products from other states. Products such as dairy, fruit juices, bottled water, and other items prepare from self-help groups will be sold.

All the outlets will function as mini-super markets. The youth of the village and town will work to manage the stores according to their skill set. The state is also in plan to launch potable mineral water under the brand name ‘Haryana Fresh’ through the Public Health Engineering Department

 

Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 – introduced by the Union government are the two ordinances Manolar Lal Khattar talked about.

The state Govt will come out with

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce, R&D, Seeds

It aims at to develop an intelligent system for target-based application of fertilizer and intelligent seed placement of seeds. 

Bosch and xarvio™ Digital Farming Solutions from BASF are intensifying their successful collaboration in the development of digital farming solutions. For this purpose, the companies have founded a project house in Curitiba, Brazil. It enables the two partners to combine their joint research and development activities at the same location. The goal of the collaboration is to develop an intelligent system for target-based application of fertilizer and intelligent seed placement of seeds. “With our innovative solution, farmers can consider the local conditions such as field topography, soil quality, and precipitation in their work in the future. This minimizes costs, increases yield and protects the environment,” explains Andrew Allen, who is responsible for the Commercial Vehicles and Off-Road business unit at Robert Bosch GmbH. 

Digital solutions for optimal crop production

The basis of the joint development provided by Bosch is the IPS – Intelligent Planting Solution (IPS) system for automatic seeding control, which was presented in 2018. The foundation of the intensified collaboration for xarvio is the FIELD MANAGER, available since 2019, with field zone-specific nutrient management and variable application maps for seeds. xarvio FIELD MANAGER is a digital solution that assists farmers to improve and automate their crop production in a sustainable way. Farmers can view the status of their fields and get notifications and recommendations for the individual field zones. “In daily practical use, the xarvio FIELD MANAGER determines exactly which and how much seed and fertilizer will provide the optimal yield while preserving the environment,” explains Carvin Scheel, Product Engineer at BASF Digital Farming. For this purpose, xarvio brings its profound digital agronomic expertise to the project.

Smart soil sensor enables direct fertilizer dosage

For the IPS system Bosch will develop the necessary components and interfaces and handle the integration of the entire system for use in planting or seeder machines. The currently available system supports farmers working in the field with four functions. Based on the information collected by the respective sensors and digital maps for variable application, the system controls the optimal seed amount, through distance control of each plants for each row. If the fertility of the soil fluctuates across the field, IPS automatically regulates the amount of seeds without the farmer having to intervene. The IPS system also ensures an optimal distribution of seeds on curving topography by adjusting the amount of seeds for the inner and outer furrows in a targeted manner. Double sowing is avoided since the system reliably recognizes previously planted furrows and deactivates line-by-line application when passing over them again. The components of the IPS system – the control unit, the seed/fertilizer actuators, the sensors, and the power box – are all based on proven components from the automotive area. The control unit, which has been adapted specifically for IPS requirements, regulates the amount of inputs applied by the dosing units based on data from speed and seed sensors and from the satellite navigation system. Market launch for the combined seed and fertilizer dosing system is planned within the upcoming weeks.

It aims at to develop an intelligent

E-commerce, Start ups

Through this partnership, Bayer will have early access and deep engagement with these start-ups to identify promising technologies 

 

The Crop Science division of Bayer in Australia has announced it will partner with the SproutX Accelerator, in a move signalling increased interest in the start-up community to deliver innovation for large agribusinesses. SproutX recruits and invests in up to 10 food and agricultural technology start-ups annually who are solving the biggest challenges across the agri-food system. Through this partnership, Bayer will have early access and deep engagement with these start-ups to identify promising technologies that can be applied to their business and their customers. 

Bayer is also seeking to invest in sustainability, and will prioritise innovations that address biodiversity loss and climate change. 

“By partnering with SproutX, we can better tackle the problems that exist around food, feed, fiber and renewable raw materials,” says Chris Staff, head of strategy with Bayer.

“Engaging with startups for the exchange of ideas and solutions that aren’t blocked by industry norms can lead to powerful breakthroughs that will benefit our industry.” 

Collaborating with an industry powerhouse like Bayer to enable proof of concept trials and in-kind resources and expertise is invaluable for technology development in early stage startups. 

SproutX Program Director, Chris Romano, was confident that startups operating in the food production industry will fare better than other industries throughout the pandemic. “Food production has proven to be a very stable sector, despite the challenges we have all faced during the COVID19 outbreak.

 “The support from Bayer is another example of how the food and agtech startup ecosystem continues to grow and strengthen. SproutX is proud to work with Bayer to create a positive impact in the lives of producers and consumers.” 

SproutX recruits food and agricultural technology companies from around Australia for seed investment and commercialization training. To date, they have invested in over 33 early stage start-ups.

Through this partnership, Bayer will have early

E-commerce, R&D, Seeds

To intensify further research in GMO Soybean Development

Beijing-based Origin Agritech Ltd. an agriculture technology company has entered into a collaboration agreement with Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI), a division of Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences (CAAS) to jointly collaborate in GMO soybean research and commercialization. 

BRI already has its inhouse developed glyphosate tolerant G2-epsps gene, while Origin owns global exclusive commercial rights in corn, soybean, and other major crops.

Origin and BRI will jointly develop dicamba tolerant, drought tolerant, and salt-alkaline tolerant GMO soybean varieties by using three BRI’s newly developed and patented genes.

Utilizing the G2-epsps gene, BRI had developed GMO glyphosate tolerant soybean, which bagged the bio-safety certificate on July 15, 2020. The new collaboration will focus on related research and commercialization of GMO soybean.

BRI will focus on fundamental research and provide technical support to Origin on GMO soybean product development and global commercialization

 

To intensify further research in GMO Soybean