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Acquaculture, Acts & Schemes – Centre

The country had exported fish valued Rs 46,589 crore during the 2018-19 fiscal. 

 

 

Fish export from India, the world’s fourth largest exporting nation, is likely to decline by 5-10 per cent in 2019-20 due to demand compression in the wake of COVID-19 crisis, Union Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday in press conference. 

The country had exported fish valued Rs 46,589 crore during the 2018-19 fiscal. The US, Middle East, UK and China are main export destinations for fish.

On number of COVID-19 positive fishermen, the minister said the Centre does not have a separate data, but would collate it from state governments.

“As per the latest inputs, there is not much impact on exports. There would be maximum 5-10 per cent fall in exports,” Singh told media.A final report on export status expected in June. There is a gap of 3-4 months after fiscal year to collate the fish export data.

The shipments were affected during initial days of the nationwide lockdown clamped to fight COVID-19 disease. But the situation began to improve after the government exempted fishing activities from the lockdown rule from mid-April onwards, he said.

The shipments to key destinations, including China, are happening now, Singh added. A senior Fisheries Ministry official said that sluggish global demand because of the lockdown in some countries has impacted the country’s exports. But, now the situation has begun to improve and normalcy in exports are expected soon.

Promote export of seaweed & ornamental fish

Asserting that there is huge potential to increase India’s fish exports in the coming years, the minister said the government plans to promote export of seaweed and ornamental fish.

Seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation will be promoted through self-help groups in the coming days, he said, adding that the Centre is working in 2-3 states on seaweed.

Besides, the minister said export-hub will be created in north India especially in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, where export varieties fishes like prawn cultivation will be promoted in saline water.

“So far, south India was a major export hub for fishes. Now, north India too will emerge as an export hub,” he said, adding that modern technology will be adopted in improving fisheries sector. 

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) 

About the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Singh said about Rs 20,050 crore will be spent under the scheme in next five years to make the fisheries sector robust. The target of PMMSY is to enhance fish production to 22 million tonne by 2024-25 from the current level of 13.75 million tonnes in 2018-19.

It mainly aims to create fisheries infrastructure, reduce post-harvest losses, modernise and strengthen value chain and double export earnings to Rs 1,00,000 crore. Besides, it also aims to encourage private investment and generate about 55 lakh jobs over next five years, he added.

The country had exported fish valued Rs

E-commerce, Supply Chain

It aimed at enhancing downstream reach of tech-enabled solutions for the food supply chain

 

Pioneering Ventures announced newly closed acquisition of Indian agri-tech company Lateral Praxis today. The move is aimed at enhancing downstream reach of tech-enabled solutions for the food supply chain including information access, apps, data analytics and risk mitigation. The acquisition recognizes significant shifts in the Indian food system in recent years which bring forward an immense potential for using technology and data to improve operational efficiencies and quality in daily supply chain activities. The systematic generation of data intelligence also allows to create valuable services and improve decision making of all parties in the food ecosystem. 

Founded in 1999 by agri-tech stalwart Suniti Gupta, Lateral Praxis has worked closely with central and state governments, ministries and departments, along with farmer communities at village/panchayat level to build, configure and implement knowledge-based systems. The Mumbai-based company currently works with a strong core team to deliver solutions for online payment platforms, information aggregation and data mining for a varied customer base.

 Speaking about this development, Dr Pablo Erat, co-founder of Pioneering Ventures, said: “End-to-end supply chain digitization has been a core pillar of our strategy. We have been working successfully with Lateral Praxis for many years and I am confident that the team will further boost our technology and data expertise. The acquisition is an important milestone in the implementation of our strategy to accelerate the development of our fully integrated food technology platform and help us drive large-scale transformation across the food ecosystem through data intelligence-based services.”

Elaborating on this development, Suniti Gupta, Founder-CEO of Lateral Praxis and a known agri-tech expert in India said: “As Indian agriculture and food sector gets ready to embrace next generation, tech-enabled future, the time is ripe for positive disruption. Our experience and core competencies will be augmented well by Pioneering Ventures’ expertise and presence across the food supply chain, helping us jointly scale up our solutions and delivery. We look forward to joining the PV family.”

 

It aimed at enhancing downstream reach of

Agro Universities

 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs such as digital communication, pamphlet distribution and street plays. 

 

 

National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) in collaboration with Arya Collateral Warehousing Services organised a Webinar on Mitigating Farmer Distress by FPOs on the onset of Corona Pandemic.  Prasanna Rao, MD and CEO, Arya Collateral Warehousing Services,  Vartika Jaini, Founder, Vriddhi Rural Prosperity Services,  Shenoy Matthew, GM, Arya Collateral Warehousing Services and Dr Shuchi Mathur, Assistant Director and Chairperson, Centre for Institution Building, NIAM were the main speakers of Webinar. 

The various data points were being highlighted at the webinar were:

  1. Out of the 92 FPOs studied, 48 took serious initiatives about member awareness of Covid-19.
  2. 24 FPOs distributed food and groceries to vulnerable communities, 56% FPOs reported labours returning to villages.
  3. 67% FPOs business were highly impacted, 49% FPOs reported a shortage of Finance, 11 out of 18 FPOs dealing in Vegetable reported losses with a reduction of 35% of sales as compared to last year.
  4. 28 FPOs took proactive measures to counter business risk. The core reasons contributing towards these impact were Reduced Market Demand, Shortage of Finance and Logistics Breakdown.

The webinar highlighted the major initiatives taken by 41% (28) FPOs took a proactive response to COVID-19 to counter business risk. 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs including digital communication, pamphlet distribution and street plays. They communicated regarding the prevention measures from COVID-19. They explained the need for social distancing. Some undertook the distribution of masks (5), Cash advance to members (2) and reaching out to vulnerable communities within their areas (24).

 It is also evident that FPOs are not a go-to institution in the mind of the local administration. In only 4/67 cases, district administration proactively reached out to FPOs in the initial time of the lockdown, 3 of them were in one district. In 9 cases, either FPO sourced permission letters or engaged on behalf of farmers with the establishment. Social distancing and limited hours of operation made access to essential services difficult for member farmers, particularly those living at a distance. 

Two FPOs reported making an advance to farmers against their standing crops. They also enabled new local markets within their vicinity, enabling produce of some of the members reaching nearby consumers. In an environment looming with uncertainty and anxiety, FPOs present a vehicle for providing credible advice to farmers. In the majority of the surveyed cases, members tried reaching out to FPO during the period of lockdown. In four cases, FPOs have called and advised their farmer members not to resort to distress selling and assured buying support immediately once the lockdown was over.

The next few months will be rife with uncertainty. With the extension of the lockdown and more dynamic decision making based on emerging situations with respect to spreading of COVID-19, the government policy will attempt to balance health and livelihoods, FPOs and other community institutions can be a key partner in the response.

Shortage of Labour is a serious issue in processing plants for non- perishables- oilseeds, grains and pulses. In the absence of these processing plants, the demand for perishables is likely to drop, leading to farmer distress. Poultry is an important industry that besides supporting 10 lakh poultry farmers, also supports maize and soya bean value chains. Urgent coordination with the poultry industry to dispel wrong notions created in consumer minds connecting chicken with the virus is essential.

 

 

 48 FPOs mentioned running awareness programs such

E-commerce, IT, Oilseeds

The 3F Akshaya mobile app mobile app aims to educate and empower the farmers 

 

 

3F Oil Palm Agrotech Pvt. Ltd, a leading oil palm company in India, today announced that it has launched ‘3F Akshaya’ mobile app, first-of-its-kind app in the country for oil palm farmers. This integrated mobile app, which is available on Google Play Store, will let the farmers avail comprehensive services and details from the company; right from ordering fertilizers and up to getting crop loans. 

Aimed at enabling ease of cultivation, 3F Oil Palm Agrotech has developed this mobile app to educate and empower the farmers. Through this mobile app, the company will provide farmers the expertise which will help them to follow best cultivation practices by optimizing costs while increasing their income by getting more productivity from the fields. 

With the launch of 3F Akshaya mobile app, farmers across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and North East India will immensely benefit by getting access to wide range of services. Initially, about 20,000 farmers of Andhra Pradesh will immediately get access to this mobile app during the first phase of its launch and the rest will be enabled in a phased manner. All the farmers will undergo field and remote training via this mobile app. 

The farmers can login this unique 3F Akshaya mobile app through their company ID. They can check their collection status, details of transactions including the ledger balances and plot data etc. Farmers can also place orders for fertilizer inputs, micro-nutrients and other farming inputs against FFB. They can optionally choose the field delivery of the products they ordered. The ‘Quick Pay’ feature available in 3F Akshaya mobile app provides instant payment option to farmers. Using this option, they can receive the payment within 24 hours itself. They can also request for a bank loan through this mobile app.

Speaking on the occasion,  Sanjay Goenka, CEO and MD, 3F Oil Palm Agrotech Limited, said, “We always try to deploy the best technology to enable ease of cultivation for the farmers and this is one such an attempt in that direction. 3F Akshaya mobile app is an encyclopedia of oil palm which supports the farmers in many ways. We strongly believe that with the introduction of this unique new mobile app, our oil palm growers’ community will immensely benefit from the technology interventions. This tool will definitely bridge the gap between the company and the farmers by ensuring a continuous flow of data between us. Using Akshaya Mobile App, farmers will be able to access the global best oil palm cultivation practices to get more yields and better prices for sure”.

 

Using this mobile app, farmers can also request for trained workers (labour) who can support them to cut clusters in the farms and also get access to field level staff for getting the right advice. If they found disease or issue in the field, they can send a picture of the plant via this mobile app and directly call the company’s agriculture expert for a solution. The experts who analyze the disease or issue based on the information provided by the farmer and will guide them accordingly. All the company field executives will be available to help and support the farmers on a real-time basis, as they are also integrated to the Akshaya Mobile App.

The 3F Akshaya mobile app mobile app

E-commerce, R&D, Seeds

The hybrid variety Jayam – 2 is highly tolerant to TYLCV virus.

Advanta Seeds has been the fastest growing company in the hybrid vegetable seed business in the year 2019-2020. It is purely an Indian company, giving top priority to the interests of the farmers. With its strong Research & Development, and management, the company holds the first position in the business of ladyfinger seeds. Advanta Seeds is rapidly increasing its expenditure into developing seeds of tomato, chilli, cauliflower, sweet corn and other vegetable seeds. 

In this regard, Advanta Seeds has come up with a new variety of tomato seeds called “Jayam-2” for the tomato growers. Jayam – 2 is a unique variety in itself, capable of bearing excessive fruit during the summer season and is highly tolerant to TYLCV virus. Jayam-2 has the ability to bear fruits for a long time with the ability to produce more in a short time. 

The fruits of its plants are very solid, attractive bright red colored and are mostly of similar size. Due to the uniform size of the fruit, the farmers can grow a lot of fruits of “A” grade. The tomatoes grown from these seeds can be transported from a faraway place without having chances of getting rotten during the transportation due to the good quality of the tomatoes. 

During the year 2019, farmers from the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam and West Bengal had cultivated crops using seeds of Jayam-2 and have been successfully cultivated the crops. The farmers are getting very encouraging response from other farmers and the government. The yield potential and disease-resistance of these seeds are what most of the farmers are excited about. 

 In all the mandis, fruits of Jayam-2 are sold on priority basis and farmers are very happy due to good income from other varieties. Farmers are preparing to cultivate Jayam-2 from next year on a large scale. 

 

 

The hybrid variety Jayam - 2 is

Seeds, World

The purpose of gene banks is not just to preserve seed, but to use its biodiversity to address the needs of the future.

Seed security is the first step towards food security. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) preserves 28,000 unique seed samples of maize and 150,000 of wheat at its genebank in Mexico.

The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard opened in 2008. Since then, CIMMYT has duplicated and deposited 50 million seeds — 170,000 samples of maize and wheat at Svalbard. 

This year, CIMMYT sent 24 boxes of seed, with 332 samples of maize and 15,231 samples of wheat. These seeds travel more than 8,000 km from CIMMYT’s genebank in Mexico to the Global Seed Vault in the Arctic. 

A supermarket, rather than a museum

This treasure, kept in the global network of genebanks, is key to ensuring sustainable, nutritious agricultural systems for future generations. The purpose of genebanks is not just to preserve seed, but to use its biodiversity to address the needs of the future — and the needs of today. 

Climate change is already impacting resource-poor farmers and consumers in low- and middle-income countries. Researchers and breeders at CIMMYT are rolling out solutions to these challenges, based on the diverse genetic resources kept in the gene bank. As a result, farmers can use new varieties that yield more, needless inputs, and are more tolerant to drought or heat.

Our internal estimates show that about 30% of maize and more than 50% of wheat grown worldwide can be traced to CIMMYT germplasm. 

Humanity’s legacy

Maize and wheat originated about 10,000 years ago. Since then, it’s survived war, drought, diseases, migration, birds, low yields — and the hard choice between feeding children and planting again. 

Keepers of genebanks around the world are only the depositors of this legacy, which belongs to all humanity. CIMMYT will continue to preserve these seeds and to make their biodiversity available to researchers and famers, to solve today’s and tomorrow’s most pressing issues.

 

The purpose of gene banks is not

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

HIL will supply 25 tonnes of Malathion Technical for locust control programme to Iran

 

 State-owned HIL Ltd will supply 25 tonnes of pesticides to Iran to control locust, the government stated in recent.”HIL is now in the process of production and supply of 25 tonnes Malathion Technical for supply to locust control programme to Iran under Government to Government arrangement,” an official statement said.  

The External Affairs ministry has approached HIL for manufacturing and supply of this commodity to Iran.Despite logistics and other challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown, HIL (india) Ltd, a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertlizers, ensured timely production and supply of pesticides for farming community.

 The company has exported 10 tonnes of fungicide Mancozeb to Latin American country Peru and another 12 tonnes will be exported in the next one week.

HIL has also signed an agreement with the agriculture ministry for the supply of Malathion Technical to Rajasthan and Gujarat for locust control programme. HIL had manufactured and supplied 67 tonnes of Malathion Technical till last week. 

HIL supplied Malathion technical to municipal corporations for dengue and chikungunya control programme.During the lockdown period till May 15, 2020, HIL produced 120 tonnes of Malathion Technical, 120.40 tonnes of DDT Technical, 288 tonnes of DDT 50 per cent, 21 tonnes of HILGOLD (water soluble fertiliser), 12 tonnes of Mancozeb Fungicide for exports and 35 tonnes of different agrochemical formulations.

 

HIL will supply 25 tonnes of Malathion

E-commerce, IT

The online forum supports farmers and advisors to ask questions and get quick responses from the global agriculture community 

 

 

ICL Fertilizer is going to launch a new, international and interactive advisory crop nutrition forum, AgroPro.com, created in response to the agronomic communication challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Online, the AgroPro community offers a speedy and supportive way for farmers and advisors to ask questions and get quick responses from the global agriculture community and from our ICL team of international agronomists. 

AgroPro.com is the most comprehensive, easy-to-use and interactive network responsively offering on-demand, and up-to-date fertilizer information and solutions for optimizing nutrition management of field crops, orchards, plantations, ornamentals and turf.

 Using AgroPro is free of charge. Whatever your crop or region, once signed up to the AgroPro community you can post a crop nutrition question, share a resource, join a discussion thread, add a comment, easily search for any content, and browse through previous discussions and Q-andA’s. 

As a member of the AgroPro community, you can join groups with shared interests and get push notifications when new content comes online. 

Maya Grinfeld, head of ICL’s marketing department, says “As the crisis caused by COVID-19 unfolds, we know that farmers worldwide are still eager for concrete information to improve their crops. In response to that we consulted ICL’s agronomists around the world about how we could help, and together we initiated AgroPro.com”.

Hillel Magen, ICL’s Agronomy VP, adds “This is the first time the extensive professional knowledge and network of ICL agronomy experts, gathered from all across the world from multiple crops and agroclimatic regions, has been made available – directly and indefinitely – to everyone. We believe, at times like this, that knowledge is a force for good that everyone should be able to access and benefit from”.

The AgroPro.com team is available 24/7 for interaction with its community of farmers, advisors and agronomists. Thoroughly interactive and in multiple languages, the AgroPro international community is the go-to source to network and collaborate for advice, encouragement and practical information for crop nutrition – whether fertilizer, fertigation or foliar feeding.

The online forum supports farmers and advisors

E-commerce

Its precision agriculture tools help farms and machines run more efficiently with lower inputs and higher yields 

AGCO, a global leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of agricultural machinery and solutions recently announced it is focusing on bringing farmers sustainable high-tech solutions.

 “Our new vision—Sustainable high-tech solutions for farmers feeding the world—better represents our approach to helping our farmers and our business continually find better and more sustainable ways to raise the food people need, all around the world,” said Martin Richenhagen, President and Chief Executive Officer of AGCO Corporation. “As the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day last month, we felt it was the right time to stress the importance of sustainability in our company’s vision,” Richenhagen added.

 Agriculture is one of the most essential industries in the world. As the population grows to a projected 10 billion people by 2050, the potential impact agriculture can have on the health of our planet is tremendous. As a global leader in agriculture, AGCO has a responsibility to help ensure we make a positive impact for the farmers who use our solutions, the communities they feed and the environment we all share, the company has said in the statement. 

AGCO precision agriculture tools help farms and machines run more efficiently with lower inputs and higher yields. Sustainable productivity arises through technology, innovation and integrated solutions to grow more food and deliver higher farm income. 

Environmental concerns are also driving society’s perception of agriculture, including animal welfare. AGCO is a market leader for cage-free egg equipment and creates solutions to reduce stress and maximise comfort while maintaining healthy animals and encouraging natural behaviour.

 5 areas AGCO focusing on to provide sustainable high-tech solutions: 

Advanced farm machines require less fuel and need to make fewer passes in the field, reducing compacted soil and increasing soil fertility.

Precision technology and agronomic solutions enable farmers to grow and harvest more per acre, making the most of our farmland.

Better sprayer technology enables farmers to apply products only where needed, reducing inputs to grow healthy food.

More efficient harvesting equipment means more crops are captured in the field, and better grain and seed storage mean more goes to market.

Next-generation biosecurity, housing and feeding solutions mean safer, healthier and more productive conditions for swine and poultry.

“We don’t want to stop at meeting the needs of today’s farmers; we must support future generations,” said Eric Hansotia, Chief Operating Officer, AGCO Corporation. “We need to continuously bring to market high-tech solutions to support farmers in producing nutritious food while reducing resource and environmental impacts,” Hansotia added.

 

Its precision agriculture tools help farms and

E-commerce

The acquisition aims to scale up its Spices business and expand its footprint across the country. 

 

 

ITC Limited entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA)  to acquire 100% of the equity share capital of Sunrise Foods Private Limited (SFPL), a company primarily engaged in the business of spices under the trademark ‘Sunrise’, subject to fulfilment of various terms and conditions.

ITC’s Aashirvaad range of spices is already a market leader in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the company is one of India’s leading producers and exporters of high-quality spices.

Sunrise is over 70 years old brand and is a market leader in eastern India in spices category, the brand has built a loyal consumer base, anchored on a differentiated product portfolio tailored to regional tastes and preferences in the spice segments.

The proposed acquisition is aligned with ITC’s strategy to rapidly scale up its FMCG Businesses in a profitable manner, leveraging its institutional strengths viz. deep consumer insight, a deep and wide distribution network, agri-commodity sourcing expertise, cuisine knowledge, and strong rural linkages and packaging know-how. 

The proposed acquisition will augment the company’s product portfolio and is aligned to ITC’s aspiration to significantly scale up its Spices business and expand its footprint across the country. The deep consumer connects and distribution strength of SFPL in the focus markets, together with synergies arising out of the sourcing and supply chain capabilities of the Company’s Agri-Business and its pan-India distribution network, will provide significant value creation opportunities for the company.

The acquisition aims to scale up its

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce, Finance

For fiscal year 2019-20, the company’s net profit increased to Rs 474.5 crore from Rs 337.1 crore in 2018-19.

Bayer CropScience Ltd recently reported a net profit of Rs 31.5 crore in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 fiscal on strong revenue. 

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 57.1 crore in January-March quarter of the last fiscal, a regulatory filing said.

Total income rose to Rs 458.7 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 252.2 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Expenses also rose to Rs 422.2 crore as compared with Rs 356.9 crore a year ago. 

For fiscal year 2019-20, the company’s net profit increased to Rs 474.5 crore from Rs 337.1 crore in 2018-19. Commenting on the performance, Bayer CropScience CEO and Managing Director D Narain said a good monsoon in 2019 ensured sufficient water reserves for rabi sowing. 

This, coupled with stable commodity prices, favourable climate and strong portfolio performance in corn and horticulture, helped in achieving the strong growth in Q4, he added.

“However, COVID-19 developments in late March and the ensuing lockdown led to short-term disruption in consumption for crop protection products,” he said.

According to the company, 2019-20 annual results reflect synergies from the integration of Monsanto India Ltd with Bayer CropScience Ltd, which was completed on September 16, 2019.

“The integration is well on track and as of March 31, 2020, the company has started seeing good first contributions arising from the consolidation of employee talent, product portfolios and business operations to meet mid-term synergy and one-time cost targets,” it said.

The company said its board has recommended a dividend of Rs 25 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, subject to shareholders’ approval.

In June 2018, German chemical and pharma major Bayer AG had announced completion of the USD 63 billion mega-deal to acquire US-based biotech major Monsanto to create the world’s biggest agrochemical and seed company.

 

For fiscal year 2019-20, the company’s net

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

The companies plan to launch three new herbicides that target top-of-mind weed control challenges faced by growers across multiple crop segments. 

HELM Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high-quality crop protection and fertilizer products and Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd. (ISK), have entered into a long-term collaboration for the commercial development of three novel crop protection herbicides. 

Under the initiative, HELM will partner with ISK Biosciences Corporation (ISKBC) of Concord, Ohio, a subsidiary of Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, in the commercial development of the new market offerings beginning in 2020. 

“Both companies are excited about the far-reaching potential of these new generation products,” says Dave Schumacher, President of HELM Agro US. “Our strategic alignment with ISK is a significant milestone for us, and one that will enhance our commercial activities and ability to deliver greater value to the market.”

 Naoto Tani, Senior Vice President of ISK Biosciences Corporation says, “For ISK Biosciences, this is truly a great opportunity to continue offering solutions to American growers. As a company focused in research and development, we are highly committed to continued innovation with integrity. We are excited as a company to be trusted in bringing new products to the U.S. market.” 

New Innovations Revealed

The companies plan to launch three new herbicides that target top-of-mind weed control challenges faced by growers across multiple crop segments.

First in the line-up – a new PPO inhibitor herbicide developed from a new ISK molecule for rapid and effective pre-plant burndown of broadleaf and grass weeds. 

A novel active ingredient for the corn, cotton and soybean markets, this new technology receives high performance ratings in controlling a broad spectrum of weeds across a wide variety of crops and geographies, including ALS, triazine and glyphosate -resistant species. 

Additional characteristics include an ultra-low use rate, broad tank mix compatibility and expanded use as a desiccant for cotton.Classified as a Group 14 herbicide, the product will be formulated as a suspension concentrate with EPA registration expected in 2020.

 

Second on the list – a non-selective burndown herbicide for specialty crops featuring a new active ingredient from the ISK development pipeline. Grapes will be the first high-value crop to garner access to the technology for broad spectrum control of grass and broadleaf weeds, including many resistant to other herbicide classes. 

EPA and state registrations for the new herbicide are anticipated for later this year. Further registrations for citrus, pulse crops and tree nuts are expected in 2022. To accommodate grower preference, the product will be developed in a water dispersible granular (WDG) formulation. 

The third product forthcoming – a co-formulation of the active ingredients tolpyralate and nicosulfuron for selective postemergence broadleaf and grass control in field corn and seed corn.

 Product highlights include a low use rate, superior crop safety features and a wide application window. 

Synergy-based Success

“The industry is on the brink of a new era of innovation,” says Schumacher. “We believe these three products will significantly work in growers’ favor to overcome many of today’s most serious weed control challenges.”

With a new strategy in place, Schumacher says his Company is on course for rapid growth over the next several years.

“Combining ISK’s research strengths with HELM’s product development and marketing expertise is an incredibly strong formula for success. HELM is transforming itself to be laser-focused on the customer while sharpening its portfolio with cutting-edge technologies that improve on-farm productivity and profitability. We’re excited about the future and our plans for customer success in the adoption of this new technology.”

 

The companies plan to launch three new

E-commerce, Poultry

S K Malhotra was addressing in the webinar on ‘Covid Impact on Maize Value Chain – Challenges and Prospects’ organized by FICCI 

 

 

 “Maize, known as Queen of cereals is the most important crop after rice and wheat”, said, S K Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India  

Addressing a webinar on ‘Covid Impact on Maize Value Chain – Challenges and Prospects’ organized by FICCI, Malhotra said, “Farmers are happy to cultivate maize, if there is a shortage in the production of maize, it will affect the poultry industry as well, because poultry is the biggest market for maize farmers.” 

Vivek Aggarwal, Joint Secretary (Crops & IT) & CEO-PM KISAN, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India stated in the webinar that it’s imperative to assess the cumulative demand and accordingly make a plan for increase in area and production of maize. 

Dr Ajai Kumar, Head of Government and Industry Affairs, South Asia, Corteva Agri Science, said, “Maize is an important crop for India as over 15 million Indian farmers are engaged in maize cultivation. There is a need for a proper regulatory framework so that maize production grows over the years.”

He said, “One of the major cause of concerns for maize farmers in the last 2 years has been the invasive pest Fall Armyworm (FAW) which has the potential to cause significant damage to maize output.” Dr Ajai highlighted that in the absence of suitable pest management, yield losses may be as high as 50%.  He further added that regulators need to adopt proactive approach for SAT (Seed Application Technology) solutions against FAW to support farmers.

 Amit Sachdev, South Asia representative, US Grains Council said, “Poultry industry is the biggest user of corn and needs support for expansion via value addition, processing and availability of reasonably priced corn.”

Unupom Kausik, President National Collateral Management Services Ltd shared his perspective on making Indian maize supply chain more efficient and competitive.

Chirag Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO 4700BC Popcorn also shared his perspective on developing Popcorn Maize capability in India. Mr B Soundararajan, MD, Suguna Holdings Pvt Ltd mentioned that better procurement system and technologies are required to reduce cost of production of maize.

S K Malhotra was addressing in the

Acquaculture, Start ups

 The company receives recognition for providing an AI-driven mobile advisory solution, FarmMOJO, to shrimp and fish farmers.  

 

 

Aquaconnect, a Chennai based aquaculture technology venture, has been recognised as one of the Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2020 for its AI-backed innovations in the field of aqua-farming. 

The World Changing Ideas Award is a global award dedicated to honouring businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged in flattening the curve of the climate crisis, social injustice, or economic inequality. 

Aquaconnect is one of the few Asian start-ups to have received the recognition amongst 3,000 entries. The company stated that it aims to innovate in the field of aquaculture technology by providing an Artificial Intelligence-driven mobile advisory solution, FarmMOJO, to Indian shrimp and fish farmers. 

Aquaconnect’s Farm MOJO mobile app uses machine learning technology to analyse feed and growth patterns in relation to animal health. The app provides insights to farmers and suggests appropriate advice for better disease management, the company said. 

Aquaconnect received this special recognition for an initiative that aims to enhance FarmMOJO’s disease prediction model in collaboration with Prof. Kenton Morgan and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative. 

This project targets to link aquatic epidemiology to the sector and benefit 120 ha of farm area in India in the next two years. Considering these initiatives, Aquaconnect has been selected as an honoree of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards 2020. 

Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO, Aquaconnect stated in an official statement: “We are honoured and delighted to be  recognised as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. It is an endorsement for our initiatives to promote AI for sustainable aquaculture practices. Our aim is to continuously evolve with futuristic technologies that facilitate best solutions for problems in the aquaculture sector.”

 The company had previously won the Indonesian Seafood Innovation Project award in 2019. 

The company is a brainchild of Rajamanohar Somasundaram, who is popularly known as the Aquaman of India, for making the AI-driven farm advisory tool more accessible to farmers in the rural and coastal regions of the country. The World Economic Forum recognised him as a ‘Young Global Leader in 2012’, considering his leadership and contribution in the field of mobile communication and information services. 

Through his venture, Aquaconnect, Raj and his team are promoting sustainable aquaculture (growing fish and shrimp) through technology interventions and he envisions Artificial Intelligence Technology, IoT, and satellite remote sensing, which could improve the productivity of the Indian aquaculture industry and make India the world’s aquaculture hub.

 The company receives recognition for providing an