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Dairy, Europe

Margins per litre of milk register marked increase

According to the annual Kingshay Dairy Costing Focus Report, margins over feed purchased for conventional dairy herds have increased by almost 25 percent in the last 10 years.


A 14 percent increase in margins per litre has also been registered. Kathryn Rowland, senior farm services manager at Kingshay has explained that margins have increased despite rises in purchased feed costs, likely mitigated by increases in yield, milk from forage and milk price, but other costs of production, such as labour have also increased over the period.

Lower input grazing focused herds have given the best results on a per litre basis but the year-round calving, housing focused systems produced the best margin over purchased feed per cow. A combination of additional grazing days, more milk from forage and higher milk prices meant that low to moderate yielding organic dairies averaged the highest margin over purchased feed per litre.

Producers evidently managed to increase forage use after the drought of 2018, with the average milk from forage across all conventional herds increasing to make up 32.9 percent of yields (2,759 litres) in 2019/20, up from 29.8 percent (2,486 litres) the previous year

Margins per litre of milk register marked

Pulses

Over 900 participants from across 30 countries attended the webinar 

 

 

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for India’s pulses trade and industry, successfully hosted the first webinar of ‘THE KNOWLEDGE SERIES’ focused on the path-breaking reforms announced by the Indian Government in the agri-marketing space and their impact on Domestic Trade, Agri-Production, Market Dynamics, Investments and Supply Chain. 

The panel included Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO – NRAA & Chairman of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income and  Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Dept. of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution as well as industry stalwarts and domain experts like Sunil Kumar Singh, Addl. Managing Director – NAFED;  Rajnikant Rai, Divisional Chief Executive – ITC Agri-Business; Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Executive Chairman – Rabo Equity Advisors;  Parag Gadre, CEO – ETG India;  Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director – Maha Farmers Producers Company Ltd. (MAHAFPC). The webinar was moderated by G Chandrashekhar, noted Economist, Senior Editor, Policy Commentator and Agri-business Specialist.   

Dr Ashok Dalwai, highlighted that “Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) would be the new aggregation platforms where the farmers would have access to processing facilities. Market reforms along with Aatmanirbhar Bharat will help us strengthen the marketing forces in the country and have a positive impact on domestic trade. We need to build robust supply chains and integrate them into the global supply chains.” 

 Nidhi Khare, said, “Today, India is self-sufficient in most of the agri-commodities and foods. As a result, we have experienced more episodes of excess production over demand rather than supply shortages. Attracting organised sector into agriculture sector for price stabilisation, investments in cold storages, modernisation of food supply chains was one of the key reasons to exempt agri food commodities from restrictive provisions of the EC Act. Our aim is to remove the fear of excessive regulatory interferences which can lead to freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute, supply which will harness economies of scale and attract private sector and FDI.”

Sunil Kumar Singh, commented that “NAFED will certainly work on the recommendations regarding APMCs and monetisation of the existing structures of the APMCs. Old APMCs have huge asset value. One such APMC monetisation can bring in three such structures of holistic APMCs. It is a huge opportunity.”

 Rajnikant Rai, said, “The one problem private sector is facing in getting investments and building a competitive value chain is government intervention in price management. The new ordinances have opened the market but the biggest hindrance to trade and investment in the long run is the price control by the government. National policy on agriculture, whether marketing or sourcing, has to be creative, so that small hindrances get eliminated.”             

 Rajesh Srivastava, while reiterating on FDI in agri sector said “Historically in the last 10 years, 4 – 5% of total FDI has been in the agriculture sector which I am confident will increase to 9 – 10 % in the next couple of year’s basis the initiatives we are taking and the opportunities opening up in this sector. Even 10 – 12% is doable as we are well on track towards doubling farmer’s income.”  

 Parag Gadre, explained “We as a trader, marketer or buyer will have multiple choices to source our raw material requirements. Corporates like us are looking forward to the new opportunities coming our way. We have been confined to a particular space for long and there’s a lot of play across the value chain. The reforms will facilitate the same for sure.” 

Yogesh Thorat, Managing Director – Maha Farmers Producers Company Ltd. (MAHAFPC) giving an insight into the impact on farmers said, “The Ordinances have unlocked opportunities for all the stakeholders in the agriculture sector. In the era of sustainable agriculture development, public private partnership is the way forward for the prosperity of the farmers.” 

 G Chandrashekhar, Moderator for the webinar, in his summation said, “Post COVID many countries around the world are going to start practising protectionism and PM Narendra Modi has spoken about becoming Aatmanirbhar that is self-reliant. The policies are going to be significantly welfare oriented with an increased emphasis on food security & nutrition particularly with focus on local production. The way forward is going to be in aligning with global value chains, faster adoption of technology, and mechanisation in agriculture, digitisation, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, block chain technology in import and export activities. For consumers our expectation is that they will certainly demand health foods as they are adopting healthy lifestyles hence critical for food processing.

 

 

Over 900 participants from across 30 countries

Australia, New Zealand, R&D, Start ups, Water

Winning agri water supply chain solution will fetch $250k prize 

 An Australia-based agrifood tech innovation firm, Bridge Hub aims to bring agri-system sustainability to the country with a primary focus on water supply chain. While agrifood supply chain is important in the agrisystem, water still remains a very important aspect.

The firm believes that research and technology based solutions can help address the global water challenge. To that end, the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge has been launched and the top solution provider to the agri water supply chain problem will receive a cash prize of $250k and an investment into the commercial outcome of their solution.

It aims to arrive at the best and practical solution that will positively impact water sustainability within the agrisystem. The challenge is available to Australian and New Zealand researchers, startups, and students. Those who wish to work on water sustainability within the agrisystem can apply to the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge via their website.

“Through the 2020 Water Challenge, we are looking for practical solutions to the water problems, including drought, across our agri supply chain,” said Craig Shapiro, co-founder of Bridge Hub.



Winning agri water supply chain solution will

Dairy

The main objective of this virtual dialogue is to bring together all key stakeholders to deliberate and suggest a future road map towards development of the Indian Dairy Sector 

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organizing an interactive session on “Development of Indian Dairy Sector Post COVID-19 Scenario” on 23rd July at 3 PM. Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India (GoI) will be joining this virtual session and interact with the stakeholders.

Dairy sector plays a critical role in linking Indian rural households to consumers in the domestic and international markets. India has been the leading producer and consumer of dairy products worldwide with a sustained growth in the availability of milk and milk products. However, with nationwide lockdown measures in place due to COVID-19 pandemic, disruption in demand-supply chains had an impact on dairy sector too. The dairy sector faced initial hiccups in form of operational challenges such as transportation of material, shortage of workforce procuring milk and workforce restrictions to name a few during lockdown. 

In the present context, the government has announced several incentives and financial measures under the economic package for development of dairy sector. Further, COVID-19 seems to provide a plethora of opportunities for the sector with emerging trends of shift in consumer preferences to dairy based protein, increased demand of immunity boosting products across value chain, record milk production & collection levels during the COVID-19 scenario in India. Thus, the tremendous potential offered by the dairy Sector in terms creation of value-addition products as a profitable business opportunity, can serve as an important tool for overall socio- economic development of the country.

 Recognizing this, the main objective of this Virtual Dialogue is to bring together all key stakeholders to deliberate and suggest a future road map towards development of the Indian Dairy Sector in terms of attracting potential investments, evaluating emerging trends and opportunities, addressing ground level challenges, promoting entrepreneurship & value creation, etc. in the Evolving Dairy Business of India. 

Key Speakers- 

Welcome Address: Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI

Keynote Address By:  Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, GoI

Presentation on Indian Dairy Sector By: Mohit Bhasin, Partner, KPMG India

Address By: Dr. R S Sodhi, Managing Director- GCMMF (AMUL)

Address By: Siraj Hussain, Former Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, GoI

Address By: Dr. Prashant Shinde, Commercial Director- Dairy Feed Business, Cargill India

Moderation By:   Jyoti Vij, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI 

Session Highlights 

Present Scenario & Challenges Faced by the Indian Dairy Sector: COVID-19 Impact Assessment

Potential Implications of Financial Incentives & Reforms under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

Outlook for Indian Diary Sector-Identifying Emerging Business Opportunities & Recommendations

Status of Dairy Feed Industry & Challenges Faced by Organised Feed Sector

Interactive Q & A Session 

Who Should Attend?

Members of Dairy Cooperatives

Start-ups & Dairy Entrepreneurs

Dairy Researchers & Academia

Dairy Technology Professionals

Food Processing Companies

Progressive Dairy Farmers

Dairy Nutritionists & Experts 

The link for joining the program will only be shared after receipt of filled registration form. 

FOR REGISTRATIONS: Please click the link: https://forms.gle/7tnmuNPstdaSnsxM6 

For Queries & Sponsorship Opportunities, Please Contact: Ms. Sakshi Saini, Email: sakshi.saini@ficci.com

 

 

 

 

The main objective of this virtual dialogue

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

Craig Brekkas named Head of North America, Trent McCrea becomes Head of Canada 

UPL announces key leadership changes for the North American region as the company continues to focus on its mission to make every single food product more sustainable. Craig Brekkas, formerly Head of Canada, has been promoted to Head of North America for UPL. He replaces Vicente Gongora, who takes on a new role as Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions. Trent McCrea moves into the Head of Canada position. These changes take effect August 1, 2020. 

“Craig and Trent bring a wealth of market knowledge and experience in the United States and Canadian markets that will help accelerate momentum for delivering innovation and value-added solutions to growers in collaboration with our distribution partners. Vicente will move into a new role to drive the development of differentiated and sustainable solutions globally addressing key pain points of growers and consumers”, says Diego Lopez Casanello, Global COO for UPL. 

These leadership changes underscore UPL’s commitment to our OpenAg purpose to create an agriculture network that feeds sustainable growth for all. No limits, no borders. 

Craig Brekkas, Head of North America

Brekkas brings more than 20 years of deep knowledge across both the United States and Canadian markets to his new role as Head of North America. Previously, Craig was the Head of Canada. He has held numerous sales and marketing leadership positions since joining the company in 2003. 

Trent McCrea, Head of Canada

McCrea has been promoted from Portfolio Marketing Manager to Head of Canada. Since joining the organization in 2005, Trent has served in several key sales and marketing positions with increasing responsibility, including the first BioSolutions product released in the Canadian market. 

Vicente Gongora, Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions

Gongora will move into a new position as Global Head, Differentiated and Sustainable Solutions. Prior to this role, he held the position of Regional Head of North America. Vicente joined UPL in 2011 and has more than 35 years of experience leading agriculture businesses in North and South America.

Craig Brekkas named Head of North America,

Agrotech, E-commerce, Supply Chain

TraceNext, provides complete value chain traceability with an assurance of quality from the farm gates to the consumer 

As billions worth of food moves through the global food value chains, assessments and traceability of the food remain subjective or non-existent leading to losses in procurement, trade, storage, production and consumption.

Digitization of such value chains towards making food safe, trackable and of desired consumer quality, needs to be accelerated and implemented at a much faster pace than ever.

By signing an MoU, AgNext and SourceTrace have created a technology platform, TraceNext that for the first time in history, can provide complete value chain traceability with an assurance of quality from the farm gates to the consumer.

The benefits for such a platform as TraceNext, brings immense value to multiple commodity value chains, ensuring various aspects like trace food origin and chain of custody, monitor ethical and sustainable practices used in growing the food, complete value chain traceability – from farm to consumer, legal and compliance norms, instant quality testing on trade and safety parameters and instant trade decisions without any delays and dependencies. It also ensure Block chain and Fair-Trade practices in commodity supply chains.

Venkat Maroju, CEO, SourceTrace said “In the coming years, traceability is going to be the most critical technology to ensure food safety. TraceNext is the only solution that can provide food businesses, regulatory bodies and consumers all the information they need to ensure food safety. It will also change how food businesses and consumers interact and what information is exchanged. We are looking at a complete transformation of the food ecosystem.”

Taranjeet Bhamra, CEO, AgNext said “Leveraging the best of technologies and principles of agriculture practices, we are joining hands to solve the greatest needs of the times, solving issues for farmers, agribusinesses and consumers alike. TraceNext fills the exact gap that is needed for providing a one-stop seamless solution for food origin and quality for effective trade, procurement, production and consumption of food. The potential to transform value chains is limitless.”

TraceNext, provides complete value chain traceability with

India, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting, North America

Could hit a value of USD 46.8 billion in 2020

There has been an increase in the adoption of renting farm equipment across the world because of crucial aspects of upsurge in global population and a simultaneous shortage of skilled labor.

An increased reliance on technological advancements made in mechanization and massive increase in demand for food grain products have also contributed to the shift towards renting farm equipment.

Globally, the farm equipment rental market is projected to account for a value of USD 46.8 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2020, to reach a value of USD 66.4 billion by 2025.

Governments, worldwide, are indirectly helping the farm equipment rental market by providing subsidies for the equipment. Leading farming equipment manufacturers who have forayed into the rental space include Mahindra & Mahindra (India), Escorts Ltd (India), JCB (UK), John Deere (US), CNH Industrial (UK), Kubota Corporation (Japan), AGCO Corporation (US).

Tractors, harvesters, sprayers and balers are some of the primary farm equipment rented from these leading agri-machinery manufacturers.

 

Could hit a value of USD 46.8

India, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting

Kubota and Escorts to hold 60% and 40% partnership in KAI

The acquisition (i) in Escorts Limited (Escorts) by Kubota Corporation (Kubota) and (ii) in Kubota Agricultural Machinery India Private Limited (KAI) by Escorts under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 has been approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

This will lead to the acquisition of 10 percent of the total issued, subscribed and paid-up share capital of Escorts by Kubota after Escorts completes it’s capital reduction process.

According to the deal, Kubota and Escorts will hold 60 percent and 40 percent shares respectively in KAI.

Kubota is a Japan incorporated agriculture product manufacturing company and offers various machinery that includes tractors, combine harvesters and rice transplanters.

Escorts is incorporated in India as a public limited company and sells agri-machinery and construction and railway equipment in India.

 

 

Kubota and Escorts to hold 60% and

Agrotech, E-commerce, North America, R&D

The platform delivers real-time pest mapping and predictive forecasts of diamondback moth populations in brassica crops 

FMC Corporation has partnered with Nutrien Ag Solutions on a pilot program to use the new FMC Arc™ farm intelligence platform. This platform delivers real-time pest mapping and predictive forecasts of diamondback moth populations in brassica crops to Nutrien Ag Solutions pest control advisors (PCAs) in the Salinas Valley of California. Crops being monitored include Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower.

The diamondback moth is one of the most prolific pests on brassica crops throughout the world with an estimated annual economic impact exceeding $4 billion.

“We are excited to collaborate with Nutrien Ag Solutions to bring the power of FMC’s Arc farm intelligence platform to brassica crops,” said Ronaldo Pereira, president FMC Americas Region. “This unique technology will enhance the ability of Nutrien Ag Solutions representatives to help growers better manage destructive diamondback moths through an integrated pest management strategy.” 

The pilot program launched in late May 2020 and will run through mid-September 2020, the peak season for diamondback moths. Nutrien Ag Solutions PCAs and scouts will be actively monitoring insect traps throughout the Salinas Valley while FMC Arc farm intelligence will visualize that data as detailed maps on a proprietary mobile app. This functionality helps PCAs and growers easily track the progression of pest pressure and, ultimately, predict it. The highly visual and accessible pest information will help Nutrien Ag Solutions PCAs be more efficient and effective in scouting and delivering pest management recommendations to growers than in the past. FMC plans to refine and validate an advanced pest prediction model for diamondback moths based on current and historical data.

“As we continue to evolve our digital platform for our customers and employees, we’re committed to partnerships that enhance our digital agronomy offerings and simplify the experience for our growers,” says Sol Goldfarb, vice president of digital strategy at Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

Arc Farm Intelligence Platform

Arc farm intelligence is the first mobile platform to use predictive modeling based on real-time data to ensure the right crop protection products are applied precisely where and when they are needed to improve sustainability, optimize crop yields and enhance grower return on investment.

The innovative platform offers a full suite of features, including customized alerts through a mobile app to indicate when action is needed in a field, two-way communication between the user and the FMC technical services team, reliable data and high-quality graphics, including graphs and heat maps. Arc farm intelligence has been engineered with open APIs and can easily be plugged into existing digital ecosystems.

 

The platform delivers real-time pest mapping and

Agrotech, Organic

Dr B N Murthy was addressing the webinar ‘Can Vegetable Farming Help Fight Climate Change? Strategies and Way Forward’ organized by FICCI and East West Seed India 

 

 

Dr B N S Murthy, Horticulture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India, said that we need to go for diversification and adopt technology for vegetable farming to mitigate the issue of climate change. He added that the public and private sectors are partnering for the cause and are working diligently towards augmenting the agricultural produce and doubling farmers’ income as envisioned by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dr Murthy added that the government is working on various programmes to mitigate the challenges of climate change. Two programmes will be announced in the coming months that will enable vegetable farming. Processing clusters are also being developed and contract farming is being promoted by the government. 

Dr Naveen Kumar Patle, Deputy Commissioner Horticulture and Director, Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland, and Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said that the government is promoting farming of perennial vegetables and agroforestry. He added that the Rastriya Krishi Vikasa Yojana is demonstrating the benefit of integration of different agriculture practices for increased vegetable farming and reducing the gap between demand and supply of vegetables to achieve self-sufficiency. 

 Dilip Rajan, Managing Director, East-West Seed India said that agriculture may be the sole bright spot in the overall gloomy economic outlook due to COVID-19. Vegetable farming offers better economic returns for smallholder farmers, enhances the health and nutrition of consumers while reviving our stalled economy. Vegetable farming can help fight climate change by reducing tillage, expanding crop rotations, cover crops, and re-integrating livestock into crop production systems.

Dr Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair, Regional Director, World Vegetable Center, South and Central Asia said that the need is to promote climate-smart seed and climate-smart crop management practices and cropping seeds. Also, climate-smart post-harvest practices and circularity should be adopted. He added that going forward there is a need to diversify the crop portfolio, adopt good crop rotations, build soil organic matter, reduce the use of plastics, increase water-use efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses. 

Speaking on the strategy for prosperity of vegetable farming, Dr Malavika Dadlani, President, Indian Society of Seed Technology said that there is a need for inclusive and liberal policy and partnerships need to be based on trust and transparency. She added that there is a need to promote ‘India Abroad’ and introduce indigenous vegetables with high nutritive, therapeutic and medicinal vales as COVID-19 has established their health benefits. 

 Ram Kaundinya, Head, Agriculture Committee FICCI Telangana State Council and Director-General, FSII said that climate change is real. Environmental temperatures are expected to rise and we need climate-resilient agriculture to fight climate change. We need crop varieties that will use natural resources more efficiently. He added that not only will the demand for vegetables rise due to improved living standards, but vegetables should also provide an opportunity for more environmentally friendly agriculture both in protected cultivation and open cultivation.

 

 

 

Dr B N Murthy was addressing the

Cold Storage, Logistics, Warehousing

Aims at doubling agricultural exports by 2024-25

A new African Centre of Excellence for sustainable cooling and cold chain based in Kigali will help get farmers’ produce to market quickly and efficiently thereby creating jobs, reducing food waste and increasing profits. It has been inspired by the University of Rwanda’s existing Africa Centre of Excellence of Energy for Sustainable Development.

The centre is conducting feasibility studies to link the country’s farmers, logistics providers and agri-food businesses with a range of experts and investors. Rwanda’s Cooling Initiative (RCOOL) is supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) through its United for Efficiency (U4E) programme.

RCOOL will receive greater expertise of researchers from the University of Birmingham and Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University who are joining RCOOL to work on rural cooling which can be used for food and medicines.

According to Lord Goldsmith, UK Minister of State for Pacific and the Environment, sustainable cooling can improve food security, reduce food waste, protect vital vaccines and reduce emissions of climate-damaging refrigerant gases.

The project supports Rwanda’s National Agricultural Export Development Board’s (NAEB) five-year strategy to double agricultural exports by 2024-25.

 

Aims at doubling agricultural exports by 2024-25A

Agrotech, R&D, Start ups

Startups to bridge technology gap for farmer collectives

Eight startups incubated at the Agri-Business Incubator (ABI) and the iHub at ICRISAT have demonstrated technology-backed solutions for Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) management systems.

It includes last-mile digital learning and extension services, personalized crop advisories and management, agribusiness convergence platforms, on-demand farm machinery and service management, optimized fertilizer application units to reduce input costs and impact on the environment.

Deep learning solutions for quality check at farm-gate and low-cost community-owned post-harvest processing units for value addition are also being implemented. 68 participants including Chief Executive Officers of FPOs, agencies promoting FPOs, civil society organizations, banking institutions and corporate from 17 states of India were part of an online event where the technologies and business ideas were presented.

Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi) has been working diligently for bringing FPOs and technology startups together and providing institutional support.

Jonathan Philroy, Manager at ABI-ICRISAT said that FPOs and startups have gained a lot of attention, especially in the past few months for their potential to address smallholder farm challenges and spur rural economic growth. Another event with a second set of incubated startups is expected to be held later this year.

 

 

Startups to bridge technology gap for farmer

E-commerce, Seeds

 It aims to help progressive farmers get more than double yield to their crops

Bayer Crop Science Limited has introduced Spring hybrid Maize sowing in Jammu region, which is also a lucrative alternative to wheat crop, to help progressive farmers get more than double yield to their crops thus contributing their part towards Government’s mission of doubling farmer’s income by 2022.

Pertinently, there was no maize cropping during the spring season in Jammu region and the farmers mostly depended on wheat cultivation which was not that productive and profitable and also not feasible sometimes causing huge loss to the farmers.

With the efforts of Bayer Crop Science Limited’s Territory Business Manager, Kailash Pandey and the enthusiasm and a deep urge to grow among the farmers, this spring Maize sowing recorded tremendous response and yield as well from several parts of Jammu region. About 2 MT of Spring Corn Maize DEKALB 9108 had been sown only in two districts of Jammu and Samba where the farmers have got more than double crop yield besides huge financial benefits through selling of their green maize plants after harvesting of the crop. 

According to Kailash Pandey, Jammu region has abundant potential and scope as well for this Spring Maize cultivation and other hybrid cereal and vegetable seeds of the company which will not only multiply the production manifold but will certainly give a big fillip to agriculture profile of the region. 

He said that Maize is the third largest cereal crop in India after rice and wheat and its significance as a source of large number of industrial products besides its uses as human food and animal feed additionally make it an emerging cereal crop of increasing importance.

 It aims to help progressive farmers get

Agrotech, North America

Chitnis replaces Dr Scott Angle who accepted a position as VC at the University of Florida 

 

    

Prominent Indian-American scientist Dr Parag Chitnis has been appointed as the Acting Director of the prestigious National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which drives all federally funded agricultural research in the US. 

Chitnis was named Associate Director for Programmes earlier this year and leads implementation of NIFA’s approximately $1.7 billion research projects. 

“Dr Chitnis brings more than 31 years of scientific research and experience to the Director’s office,” US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said while announcing the name of Chitnis as NIFA’s Acting Director.

Chitnis replaces Dr Scott Angle who accepted a position as Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Florida in Gainesville. 

“He (Chitnis) has been instrumental in providing steady leadership and support to NIFA during its transition to Kansas City last fall, in addition to playing a lead role on NIFA’s Project CAFÉ (Collaboratively Achieving Functional Excellence) initiative which aims to help NIFA maximize business operations to better serve its customers,” Perdue said. 

Chitnis did his BSc in botany/plant breeding from the Konkan Agricultural University in Maharashtra and an MSc in genetics/biochemistry from New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute. He did his PhD in biology from the University of California in Los Angeles.

                                                                                                                                                                        Source- PTI                               

Chitnis replaces Dr Scott Angle who accepted