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Acquaculture, Agro Universities, R&D

Grey Mullet fish can be farmed in diverse farming systems with a potential output of 4 tones per hectare with high profitability  

The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai has successfully bred the Grey Mullet (Madavai), a high-valued commercial Brackishwater Fish for the first time in the country. It has been initiated in line with the Government of India’s vision for increasing the fish production under the Blue Revolution Mission. The Institute launched the breeding technology during the “Stakeholders’ Meet” organized at the Muttukadu Experimental Station, Chennai.

In his address, Dr Joykrushna Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR applauded the Institute’s achievement towards species diversification to increase the fish production in the enormous stretch of underutilized brackishwater resource in the country. Dr Jena complemented the team of scientists from the Fish Culture Division and ICAR-CIBA in the unique achievement that is a landmark in the Indian Brackishwater Aquaculture.

Dr K.K. Vijayan, Director, ICAR-CIBA, Chennai highlighted the fish’s versatility that it can be farmed in diverse farming systems like Monoculture,  Polyculture and Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture Mode (IMTA) with a potential output of 4 tonnes per hectare / crop with high profitability. The successful breeding and larval production were achieved using the pond reared bloodstock in 2016-17. Dr Vijayan emphasized that during this season by December-January, the Institute has completed producing its third batch of Hatchery-Reared Grey Mullet Fingerlings.

The Director outlined the releasing of the indigenous species-specific functional pelleted feeds for the broodstock (Cephalus BroodPlus) and nursery (Cephalus NurseryPlus) developed by the Nutrition Division of the Institute.

The enterprising farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were distributed the first batch of hatchery-produced Grey Mullet Seeds and species-specific feeds for Grey Mullet.

Grey Mullet fish can be farmed in

AgroPolicy

Ethanol production capacity in the country would increase to the required level of 1500 crore liters by 2025

The Government of India has recently notified a ’Scheme for extending financial assistance to project proponents for enhancement of their ethanol distillation capacity or to set up distilleries for producing 1st Generation (1G) ethanol from feedstocks such sugarcane, rice available with Food Corporation of India, maize, etc. vide notification dated 14  January 2021’.

With a view to ensuring maximum participation by the entrepreneurs and cooperation by State Governments, a meeting was held through Video Conferencing on 27 January 2021 under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution. In the meeting, State Governments, Industry Associations viz ISMA, AIDA, NFCSF, ASSOCHAM, CII, etc. and concerned departments of Central Government have apprised about the details of the Scheme, so that the entrepreneurs of their States/Associations can be sensitized to actively participate and avail the benefit of the Scheme.

It was informed that excess sugar of about 60 Lakh Tonne will be diverted to ethanol, helping sugar mills to timely payments of cane dues to farmers, additional utilization of food-grains of about 135 Lakh Tonne will help in increasing the income of farmers, investment by entrepreneurs will help in the creation of employment in rural areas.

It is expected that with the participation of entrepreneurs and states, ethanol production capacity in the country would increase from the present 684 crore liters to the required level of 1500 crore liters by 2025. There is enough availability of raw material like sugarcane, molasses, damaged food grain (broken rice), FCI Rice, maize etc. Remunerative prices of ethanol from various feed-stocks including sugarcane juice, B-Heavy molasses, C-Heavy molasses, rice available with FCI, damaged food grains and maize have also been fixed. Prices of ethanol are fixed on the basis of prices of raw materials and not on the basis of prices of crude oil.

Ethanol production capacity in the country would

E-commerce, Supply Chain, Warehousing

UPL will help TeleSense strengthen its sales channel by introducing monitoring solutions for post-harvest commodity storage and transport  

 UPL Ltd. has announced a strategic collaboration with TeleSense®, a California-based IoT (Internet of Things) innovator revolutionizing post-harvest grain storage and transport. UPL will help TeleSense strengthen its sales channel by introducing monitoring solutions for post-harvest commodity storage and transport to multiple stakeholders across the agriculture value chain.

“Through our OpenAg Purpose, we collaborate with innovative partners to facilitate progress towards reducing food waste while enabling farmer resilience,” said Jai Shroff, CEO of UPL. “With around one third of global food production lost annually due to food waste, this is a problem our industry cannot ignore. Our partnership with TeleSense represents a new vision for how grain is stored, handled and transported by creating a more efficient, data-driven supply chain that will reduce food waste, improve food quality and increase sustainability.”

TeleSense uses scalable sensor technology on an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to monitor the temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels of stored grain. It leverages fixed and portable sensors to monitor the current and future condition of stored grain, while automating the detection and mitigation of potential issues such as hotspots, excess moisture, or pests. Machine learning algorithms provide users with alerts needed to effectively manage and predict grain quality, ensure safety, improve operational efficiency, and increase profitability. Adding TeleSense technology to UPL’s portfolio complements its robust range of gas monitoring, safety and detection devices as well as fumigants.

“Our partnership with UPL represents an unprecedented commitment to reducing food waste, ensuring food security, delivering supply chain sustainability, and increasing profitability for growers,” said Naeem Zafar, Co-Founder and CEO of TeleSense. “The food value chain continues to evolve and become more complex. It takes disruptive innovation to deliver solutions that will keep up with the rate of change, and TeleSense is uniquely positioned to lead the way in delivering the future of post-harvest grain management.”

 

UPL will help TeleSense strengthen its sales

Warehousing

It aims to empower women in the agribusiness agricultural value chain and enhance their voice in financial decision making 

Sponsored and guided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Arya worked alongside the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) in a farm value chain intervention program. The focus was to empower women in the agribusiness agricultural value chain, enhance their voice in financial decision making and nurture their ability to drive collective action. 

Through UNDP-India’s COVID Response project, Kamyab Prerna Farmer Producer Company has completed its first market linkage transaction with Sheetala Mata Prerna Producer Group where they sold 251 quintals of paddy to Maa Mundeshwari Mini Rice Mills. 

Despite paying a price higher by 15 per cent to the farmers as a contribution to earnings, the FPO made Rs. 10,000 as profit post all payments. Enabling high returns for the farmers, this initiative helped farmers earn 20 per cent more than the existing practice and was deemed a profitable transaction for the FPO. 

Notwithstanding the procedural hiccups, this partnership provided an innovative mechanism to leverage credit limits of existing processors to support them in financing the aforesaid FPO to buy produce from farmers. This mechanism can be beneficial even to FPOs with modest working capital for value chain activities.

 There are around 118 million farmers in India operating 145 million landholdings; out of which more than 85 per cent are marginal and small holdings. Farmers in India have little knowledge of which crop to grow to attain maximum economic benefit and are often misled by middlemen. Empowering the farmers, this initiative facilitated the procurement of a variety that has better market acceptability.

 The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of building resilient farming communities. Through this multilateral-public-private partnership, farmers and FPOs are benefitted gravely as it helps in bridging the demand-supply gap, enabling farm level value addition, reducing food loss and waste and controlling price volatility. 

This initiative is being undertaken in 12 blocks in Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Gorakhpur, Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh currently that will benefit approximately close to 4000 small and marginal farmers, mostly women, over a period of 6 months.

It aims to empower women in the

Agrotech

SOURCE Soybeans also increases access to nitrogen by stimulating native nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil

California based Sound Agriculture has announced that its flagship nutrient efficiency product, SOURCE, is now available for use on soybeans in addition to corn. SOURCE gives crops access to natural forms of nitrogen and phosphorus, supporting increased yield with less impact on the environment. Trials from 2020 show that SOURCE Soybeans increases yield by 2.4 bushels per acre with a 75% win rate.

Like corn, soybeans rely on a steady supply of nitrogen and phosphorus to grow and produce grain. Most of the phosphorus that growers apply gets locked up in the soil in a form that is unavailable to crops. When phosphate gets bound to other elements in the soil, like calcium and iron, phosphate-solubilizing microbes (PSM) are required to break these bonds and unlock phosphorus for use by the plant. SOURCE Soybeans activates PSM populations in the soil to release phosphorus and provide more nutrition throughout the growing season.

SOURCE Soybeans also increases access to nitrogen by stimulating native nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) in the soil, ensuring that the plant has enough nitrogen throughout the growing cycle. Similar to other legumes, soybean plants form root nodules that host NFB to provide plant-available nitrogen. However, toward the end of the season during grain-fill, the NFB are not able to keep up with the nitrogen needs of higher-yielding soybeans. Using SOURCE Soybeans provides the extra boost of nitrogen needed during this time to maximize yield.

SOURCE Soybeans has a new active ingredient specifically tailored to the needs of soybeans. This reliable foliar chemistry is easy to use, as it does not require special equipment and there are no tank-mix limitations.

SOURCE Soybeans also increases access to nitrogen

Acquaculture

The research will focus on improving the sustainability and bio-security of aquaculture production systems

WorldFish has recently strengthened its research partnership with the Lake Victoria Fishing Organization (LVFO) to guide the development of sustainable aquaculture in East Africa.

The new agreement marks a step towards competitive, gender-equitable and sustainable commercial aquaculture and fisheries management in the Lake Victoria Basin. The research will focus on improving sustainability and bio-security of aquaculture production systems, management of aquatic genetic resources, and access to commercial networks for aquaculture related businesses, as well as supporting skills development in local workers for aquaculture-related businesses.

Bordered by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake directly supports food, nutrition and economic security for around 2 million people. The catch and biomass of commercial species in the lake, in particular Nile perch and Nile tilapia, have declined, contributing to reductions in per capita fish consumption in the region. In response, the East African Community (EAC)—a regional intergovernmental organization.

The research aimed at boosting aquatic food availability through the development of environmentally-friendly and equitable aquaculture models will be undertaken through the EU-funded EAC project for promoting aquaculture in the Lake Victoria Basin (TRUE-FISH Project). WorldFish will technically assist the LVFO—a specialized institution of the EAC—in strengthening aquatic animal health conditions, fish breeding and the zoning of Lake Victoria for the protection of biodiversity. The research generated will be used to advise on the adoption and implementation of regional and national policies, regulations, and associated implementation guidelines regarding the management of aquaculture development and biodiversity and genetics.

The research will focus on improving the

AgroPolicy

In span of 17 years FAGMIL has paid a cumulative dividend Rs 101.34 Crores i.e., 1382 per cent of the initial paid-up capital of Rs 7.33 Crore.

Union Minister of Chemical & Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda has received a dividend receipt of Rs 12,51,00,000 for FY 2019-20 from Brigadier Amar Singh Rathore, CMD, FCI Aravali Gypsum & Minerals India Limited (FAGMIL). Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, Secretary (Fertilizers) was also present during the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Gowda said that FAGMIL has been consistently paying dividend to the Government of India since last few years. In span of 17 years the Company has paid a cumulative dividend Rs 101.34 Crores i.e., 1382 per cent of the initial paid-up capital of Rs 7.33 Crore. He appreciated the results and growth achieved by the Company and expressed hope that the Company will grow exponentially and generate higher dividends in coming years.

FAGMIL was incorporated on February 14, 2003 consequent upon hiving off Jodhpur Mining Organization (A unit of M/s Fertilizers Corporation of India (FCIL)). It commenced operations w.e.f. 01.04.2003 with an authorized capital of Rs.10 Crore and paid-up capital of Rs 7.33 Crore. During the year 2017-18 Company issued Bonus share capital of Rs 22.67 Crore (fully owned by Government of India) resulting in paid up capital of the Company increasing to Rs 30.00 Crore.

In span of 17 years FAGMIL has

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Webinar

Webinar highlights the need to focus on FPO for quality production, storage, transportation facilities, sustainable farming and resource utilization. 

The ICAR-Central Institute for Women in Agriculture, Bhubaneswar, Odisha and All India Coordinated Research Project (Home Science) Centre, College of Community Science, Central Agricultural University, Tura, Meghalaya organized an International Webinar on ’FPO – A Collective Approach in Agriculture Production System for Economic Empowerment’.

 In his keynote address, Dr P. Das, Former Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension) ICAR outlined the history of FPOs, understanding farm requirements, number of FPOs in the country (7,500) and certain guidelines which were given by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India recently. He stressed that accordingly, especially, for the North-East Region, each FPO should have a minimum of 100 farmers.

 Dr. S.K. Srivastava, Director, ICAR-CIWA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha apprised the participants about the FPOs’ role in making Atmanirbhar Bharat and facilitation of the women farmers to achieve gender equality through the approach of Local to Global. 

Earlier, in welcome address, Dr. Puspita Das, Dean In-charge, College of Community Science, Central Agricultural University, Tura, Meghalaya briefed about the need of FPOs for the farmers to get assured market and good quality produce for getting the likable benefits. Dr. S. Basanta Singh, Director of Instruction, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur stressed on the importance of the Webinar’s topic to the present day scenario of the country.

 Dr. Lipi Das, Principal Scientist & Nodal, All India Coordinated Research Project, ICAR-CIWA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha emphasized on the need to focus on FPO for quality production, storage, transportation facilities, sustainable farming and resource utilization, etc.

 Dr. Samarendu Mohanty, Asia Regional Director, International Potato Centre, Philippines shared his experiences on “Social and Economic Empowerment of Collective Action in Agriculture”. He also highlighted the different models of FPOs as Small Farmers Large Field (SFLF) existing in Vietnam and the implementation of such models in two Districts of Odisha. The Webinar registered participation by over 120 scientists, faculties and students from all over the country.

Webinar highlights the need to focus on

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy

The Union Minister applauded the invincible efforts of the agricultural scientists, teachers, students and farmers associated with the Council 

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare addressed the 92nd Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society. Tomar briefed about the science-driven path developed by ICAR to resolve the various agricultural and farming problems along with the government’s schemes for doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.

The Union Minister applauded the invincible efforts of the agricultural scientists, teachers, students and farmers associated with the Council. He also stressed that the farmers’ hard work and latest technologies developed by the agricultural scientists have helped the country to achieve an important place in the milk production and fisheries sector at the global level.

Underlining the un-parallel contributions of the Council and Agricultural Universities, the Union Minister urged to make the agricultural sector to be more employment-oriented with the help of the new education policy.  

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution emphasized on the pivotal role played by the Council in agricultural research and education.

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare stressed that the agricultural sector not only achieved record production of various necessary food crops, but also provided employment opportunities during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown period.

Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare stressed on the importance of agriculture for the development of a nation. The Minister stressed on the importance of improved varieties of seeds, storage facilities, lower cost of production, availability of proper fertilizers and efficient marketing systems for enhancing the farmers’ income.

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) outlined the Council’s major achievements for the year. Dr. Mohapatra stressed that along with the agricultural research and education, the Council is also dedicated to promoting the newest and latest agricultural technologies to the farmers. The various ICAR Products and Publications were also released on the occasion.

Dr. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, Shri Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India were also present during the occasion.

 

 

The Union Minister applauded the invincible efforts

North America, R&D

The collaborative research demonstrated a 13 per cent biomass improvement for red romaine lettuce using UbiQD’s orange-emitting, luminescent greenhouse product UbiGro, and a 9% increase for a new red-emitting film.

UbiQD, Inc., a New Mexico-based advanced materials company, announced that it has published the groundbreaking results of the first phase of its NASA-funded plant trials in the open-access Nature Research journal, “Communications Biology.” The study validates the use of quantum dots for optimised crop growth on space missions. The collaborative research and development project with the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (UA-CEAC) demonstrated a 13 per cent biomass improvement for red romaine lettuce using UbiQD’s orange-emitting, luminescent greenhouse product UbiGro, and a 9 per cent increase for a new red-emitting film.

The plant trial was designed to maintain all growth parameters except spectrum and showed improved photosynthetic efficiency under the film treatments compared to the unmodified control case. These results demonstrate the importance of light color on plant growth, and how this technology can improve crop productivity, both on Earth and in Space.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to develop an understanding of quantum dot capabilities to improve crop production,” said Gene Giacomelli, a professor of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona, who leads the work at UA-CEAC. “Ultimately, UbiQD’s technology is about the betterment of crop production, and will lead to new strategies for optimizing production in greenhouses.”

The collaborative research demonstrated a 13 per

AgroPolicy, Poultry

According to the WHO official website, there is no epidemiological data that suggests that the disease can be transmitted to humans through cooked food.

In view of the Bird Flu Pandemic, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a guidance document on “Safe handling, processing and consumption of poultry meat and eggs during bird flu Pandemic” for creating awareness amongst Food Business Operators (FBOs) and consumers.

The document aims to guide and create awareness among FBOs and consumers about safe handling and processing practices for poultry and eggs.

The document suggests that proper cooking inactivates the virus present inside the meat and eggs. Poultry meat and eggs from the areas affected by outbreaks in poultry should not be consumed raw or partially cooked. However, to date, no evidence indicates that anyone has become infected following the consumption of properly cooked poultry or poultry products, even if these foods were contaminated with the avian influenza virus.

According to the WHO official website, there is no epidemiological data that suggests that the disease can be transmitted to humans through cooked food.

Major Do’s and Don’ts suggested are: 1) Do not eat half-boiled eggs 2) Do not eat undercooked chicken 3) Avoid direct contact with birds in the infected areas 4) Avoid touching dead birds with bare hands 5) Do not keep raw meat in open 6) No direct contact with raw meat 7) Use a mask and gloves at the time of handling raw chicken 8) Wash hands frequently 9) Maintain the cleanliness of surroundings. 10) Eat chicken, eggs and their products after cooking. The virus is destroyed at 70°C if held for about 3 seconds.

According to the WHO official website, there

E-commerce, Europe, R&D

The innovative technology controls weeds with an electrical charge.

The leading Swiss cooperative fenaco and the German tech start-up crop.zone have concluded a cooperation agreement. This collaboration aims to support Swiss farmers with innovative and sustainable plant protection solutions from crop.zone, reducing the use of plant protection products. The technology was developed by crop.zone, while fenaco is taking on responsibility for introducing it onto the Swiss market and adapting the solution to the conditions there. As part of the collaboration, the weed control solutions from crop.zone are being brought into use for the first time in Switzerland. Their use on Swiss fields will be under scientific supervision. In addition, farmers interested in doing so will have the opportunity to try out the new technology under real conditions.

Within the framework of the cooperation contract, Michael Feitknecht, Head of Plant Production and member of the Board of Management at fenaco, is taking a seat on the advisory board of crop.zone and advising the start-up on strategic issues.

Michael Feitknecht, Head of Plant Production and member of the Board of Management at fenaco, said, “The technology from crop.zone gives us a new tool and embodies our principle ’Combination is the new innovation’. fenaco collaborates with start-ups which are developing innovative and sustainable technologies for agriculture. Switzerland is assuming a leading position worldwide by making farming more sustainable and is playing a crucial role in that.”

The technology from crop.zone kills weeds with an electrical charge, creating an innovative and sustainable method of weed control. The width of application is up to 12 metres. With a speed of spread of 4 km an hour, the crop.zone solution can treat around 3 hectares an hour. The crops are pre-treated, in an initial step, with a conductive liquid. The weeds are then killed in a targeted way through an electrical charge. This means that energy consumption is lower and the method is much more effective than other electrical technologies. The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) is, at present, clarifying whether the procedure can be authorised for organic farming.

The innovative technology controls weeds with an

Agro chems – Fertilizers, R&D

UNSW authors say that ammonia synthesis was one of the critical achievements of the 20th century

Chemical engineers at The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, have recently found a way to make ’green’ ammonia from the air, water, and renewable electricity that does not require the high temperatures, high pressure and huge infrastructure currently needed to produce this essential compound.

In a paper published in Energy and Environmental Science, the authors from UNSW and the University of Sydney say that ammonia synthesis was one of the critical achievements of the 20th century. When used in fertilizers that quadrupled the output of food crops, it enabled agriculture to sustain an ever-expanding global population.

But since the beginning of the 1900s when it was first manufactured on a large scale, the production of ammonia has been energy intensive – requiring temperatures higher than 400oC and pressures greater than 200atm – and all powered by fossil fuels.

Dr Emma Lovell, a co-author on the paper from UNSW’s School of Chemical Engineering, says the traditional way to make ammonia – known as the Haber-Bosch process – is only cost-effective when produced on a massive scale due to the huge amounts of energy and expensive materials required.

“The current way we make ammonia via the Haber-Bosch method produces more CO2 than any other chemical-making reaction,” she says.

 

UNSW authors say that ammonia synthesis was

Live Stock, Start ups

Licious ESOP offer will be extended to the blue-collared workforce; setting a new and unique benchmark in the industry.

Right on the heels of its aggressive market expansion to kick-start 2021, Licious, India’s largest fresh meat, meat products and sea food brand announced the launch of its maiden Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Known for its category-first initiatives, Licious ESOP offer will be extended to the blue-collared workforce; setting a new and unique benchmark in the industry.

 The programme will benefit over 800 employees across functions including processing centre staff, delivery boys, and corporate employees. This also reiterates brand’s commitment to providing equitable opportunities of wealth creation for all its employees across functions and recognising them for their hard-work and commitment. Options can be exercised over a period of 4 years from the date of grant. 

Commenting on their decision, Abhay Hanjura and Vivek Gupta, Co-Founders, Licious said, “Since our launch in 2015, Licious has grown from strength-to-strength. Be it in terms of category creation, market growth, customer delight, or our funding, has been possible only because of collaborative and consistent efforts. To this extent, we believe each individual and team, have an equally important role to play and therefore, access to the same rewards system. We have always been cognizant and vocal about this within the company and outside. The ESOP announcement is a manifestation of this cornerstone belief and yet another step in building a brand that raises the bar more ways than one.”

 

 

 

Licious ESOP offer will be extended to