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Agrotech, Finance, Thailand

Ongoing pandemic, supply and demand risks and fiscal risks can disrupt the region’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery  

 

 

 Southeast Asia’s agri-food remains critical to the region’s economy and plays a pivotal role in its future economic development, having demonstrated its resilience in challenging circumstances in 2020. The sector can be a key driver of the region’s economic recovery, but supply and demand risks, fiscal policy risks and a drawn-out pandemic could disrupt post COVID-19 recovery, according to a report by Oxford Economics.

 The Economic Impact of the Agri-Food Sector in South East Asia report highlighted that the agri-food sector’s role in driving Southeast Asia’s economic recovery, creating employment and putting food on the table at stable prices, is pivotal.

Findings from the report show that in 2019, the agri-food sector made a GDP contribution of US$717 billion across Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and marked a 30 per cent increase from 2015. The sector is also responsible for almost half (48%) of the entire workforce with 127 million jobs, and contributed a total of US$95.6 billion in tax revenues across the region.

The report investigated the sector’s economic impact across four Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Reviewing five years of economic activity, it presents key insights on where and how the sector adds value to these economies, its future trajectory, and challenges faced going forward.

The report also found that while the agri-food sector remained resilient in the face of COVID-19, the pandemic’s lingering impact has left a mixed outlook for the sector. According to the report’s Economic Recovery Matrix, Indonesia faces the greatest risk to recovery, while the Philippines and Thailand also showed important vulnerabilities due to their dependence on tourism to revive their food industries. Out of the four markets, Vietnam ranks the lowest in terms of recovery risk.

Commenting on the findings, FIA Executive Director, Matt Kovac, said the report showed that the agri-food sector holds an unparalleled position in the region’s economy and plays a pivotal role in its future economic development. The agri-food sector’s performance is critical to household wellbeing and it is an economic powerhouse, responsible for millions of jobs and a major contribution to total economic output and government tax receipts.

James Lambert, Director of Economic Consulting Asia, for Oxford Economics said, “As the region looks to emerge from the pandemic stronger, it is important that policymakers provide the most conducive conditions for the agri-food industry to successfully rebuild itself, and that fiscal policy is carefully planned, designed, and communicated. That will allow the industry to continue to provide the economic benefits it has delivered over recent decades.”

The report recommends that for governments to develop successful fiscal responses that do not inhibit the recovery of the agri-food industry, three conditions need to be met: using education to influence behaviour; favouring regulatory standards over taxes; and maintaining a constant conversation with the industry.

Ongoing pandemic, supply and demand risks and

Agrotech, World

Moolec is developing products based on multiple crops to obtain functionalised alternative protein concentrates

Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (Bioceres), a fully-integrated global provider of crop productivity solutions designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality, has entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of a 6 per cent ownership interest in Moolec Science Ltd., a Molecular Farming company pursuing a hybrid concept between plant and cell-based technologies for the production of animal-free food solutions.

Moolec is developing products based on multiple crops to obtain functionalized alternative protein concentrates and isolates. Through genetic engineering, the company aims to produce animal-free solutions at a much lower cost than that offered by existing technologies, by using the scalability of plant-based production systems to leverage the functionality attained through cellular agriculture.

Moolec has developed and fully de-regulated the world’s first bovine protein derived from modified safflower grain, a patented technology branded under the SPC name. Using “plants as bioreactors,” Moolec has set its sights on developing other animal proteins and improved oils from crops such as soybeans, peas, wheat, and oat, which can then be formulated into sustainable hybrid meat, dairy, and egg replacements.

According to a recent report, worldwide alternative proteins market valuation reached $14.95 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow considerably over 2020-2025. Rising demand for plant-based food products is driving the industry growth due to increasing health, environmental -mainly GHG emissions- and animal welfare consciousness among consumers.

 

 

Moolec is developing products based on multiple

Agro chems – Chemicals, R&D

The global isoprenol market is significantly being influenced by the growth of the agrochemicals industry

In the agrochemicals sector, isoprenol is widely utilised to make insecticides and pesticides. The global isoprenol market is significantly being influenced by the growth of the agrochemicals industry.

Isoprenol is being investigated for possibly engineering antiviral drugs for the treatment of Covid-19. Manufacturing companies in the global isoprenol market are capitalising on the unparalleled demand for antiviral drugs and growing efforts to keep economies going during the outbreak of coronavirus.  On the other hand, due to supply chain disturbances, agrochemical manufacturers around the world are restricting their access to Chinese distributors, which is likely to impact the market significantly.

Key findings of the market report:

Manufacturers offering diverse products utilising its ability to produce synthetic aromas

Special terpenoids are being offered by manufacturers for use in various synthetic fragrance chemicals. Citral is well known for its fresh and natural lemon aroma and is now being produced commercially for the manufacturing of aroma chemicals.

Scope of use in agrochemicals to open up avenues of growth

Firms in the global isoprenol market are paying much attention to the exponential growth of the crop protection business in developing countries.

Health industry and electronics industry to offer a plethora of opportunities

High-performance plastics are being made with advanced polymers. This trend is expected to provide additional prospects for isoprenol manufacturers

The global isoprenol market is significantly being

Sustainable Energy

AlgaPrime DHA’s low carbon footprint is due to three primary elements of its production system

Corbion, the global market leader in algae-based feed ingredients, announced the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) results for AlgaPrime DHA. The assessment concluded in 2020 and ISO 14040/44 reviewed, analysed the environmental impact of AlgaPrime DHA’s sustainable production. Further analysis with publicly available data affirmed that the omega-3 feed ingredient has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional sources of fish oil. 

To make AlgaPrime DHA, microalgae are grown in closed fermentation tanks where they transform renewable, sustainable, non-GM plant sugars into algae containing omega-3-rich oil in a matter of days. AlgaPrime DHA’s low carbon footprint is due to three primary elements of its production system:

  • Powered by renewable energy
    The AlgaPrime facility sits among sugar cane fields and is located next door to a sugar cane mill. The sugar cane waste is used as a renewable source of energy to fully power the sugar mill and the algae facility.
  • High yield feedstock
    Sugar cane used to grow AlgaPrime DHA via fermentation is one of the world’s most productive sugar sources, compared to other sugar feedstock sources, like corn and wheat. This means that the more sugar produced per hectare of land, the more omega-3s can be produced per hectare.
  • Efficient use of land
    A hectare of land produces both the fuel and feedstock to grow AlgaPrime DHA, with zero-deforestation impact confirmed by historical satellite data.

AlgaPrime DHA’s low carbon footprint is due

Agrotech

The AI Excellence Center is formed to research the blend of artificial intelligence, algorithms, automation, and big data/analytics to build cutting-edge business solutions to drive the tea industry forward in global markets.

India’s leading AgTech startup, AgNext Technologies in collaboration with the Tea Research Association has successfully set up an AI Excellence Center at Tea Research Institute, Jorhat. In this collaborative effort, AgNext Technologies will fully work on solving the quality quotient of the tea industry with artificial intelligence, IoT, and data-driven technologies. This excellence center will focus on innovation, improvement and enhancement of the tea quality across the supply chain and build sustainability at the core. 

The AI Excellence Center is formed to research the blend of artificial intelligence, algorithms, automation, and big data/analytics to build cutting-edge business solutions to drive the tea industry forward in global markets. This center will also be a go-to destination for Academia and Industry for technical know-how, knowledge, development of unique technologies, and application areas.

AgNext has also built multiple solutions for commodities like spices, grains and Milk. The company is aiming to solve the old-age prevalent problems of the $1.65 Billion Tea industry with the amalgamation of computer vision, IoT and molecular science. 

AgNext has already deployed a digital ballometric solution – TRAGNEXT that determines the Fine leaves count and surface moisture level of Tea Leaves without human intervention and removes the subjectivity from the quality assessment process.

Now at the AI Excellence center, AgNext will work on developing the solution for multiple level quality problems from garden-to-cup. At AI excellence center, AgNext will focus on digitizing the quality across all the midstream processes from procurement to final processed tea through advanced technologies thus, aiming to reduce operational & quality losses by bringing more transparency, standardization. 

 

The AI Excellence Center is formed to

E-commerce, Europe, R&D

VITAL Biodynamics is the first line of biodynamic products launched jointly by three of the companies that make up the Biocontrol unit of the Rovensa Group 

Idai Nature, a company specialised in the manufacture of natural solutions for agricultural biocontrol, has launched VITAL Biodynamics, its line of products specialised in biodynamic agriculture with Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) certificate, VITAL Biodynamics.

Biodynamic agriculture is a type of agriculture that bases its activity on placing the living components of a holding in an interrelated set that balances the nutrient arrangement between agricultural production and other elements that cohabit on the farm, in order to work the land in the most respectful way possible.

With the market launch of VITAL Biodynamics, Idai nature stands as the first international company to incorporate a specific line aimed exclusively at biodynamic agriculture, responding to the requirements of the society that demands food grown in the most natural way possible.

Since its origin, Idai Nature has offered farmers natural solutions without chemical waste, for this reason, many of the products in the general catalogue of the company have been certified as FIBL without the need to adapt their formulas, highlighting the respect for the environment and the sustainability of which the Valencian company shows.

Idai Nature is a Spanish biotechnology company specialised in the development and manufacture of products based on microorganisms and novel botanical extracts with a biofungiidal, biobacteride and/or bioinsicctic character. Since 2018 , it has been part of the Rovensa Business Group leading its agricultural Biocontrol unit.

One aspect to keep in mind is that VITAL Biodynamics is the first line of biodynamic products launched jointly by three of the companies that make up the Biocontrol unit of the Rovensa Group: Idai Nature, Agrotechnology Group and AgrichemBio, which shows the use of synergies and the rapid growth of the unit.

 

 

VITAL Biodynamics is the first line of

Agro Universities, R&D

Being held from 22nd March to 1st April 2021, it will focus on innovative technologies like climate-resilient technologies, Sustainable Food Production (Post Harvest Technology) 

 Indian Institute of Technology Madras is partnering with African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) to organize an e-training program on technologies for rural areas and their livelihoods (farm and non-farm) with a focus on creating access to value chains and markets.

The training program, which began on March 22, 2021, would be conducted till April 1, 2021. The event is being organised by Team SIDDHI, the technology and Sustainable Development platform of IIT Madras with an emphasis on social relevance and global impact.

Select technologies, solutions and approaches developed by IIT Madras in collaboration with its partner institutions would be showcased during the program. The course is being held for the benefit of middle and senior-level executives from government departments, ministries, and agriculture engineers and scientists engaged in policy formulation, implementation, planning and appraisals.

Addressing the inaugural session held on 22nd March 2021, Dr. Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary-General, AARDO, said, “Having 125 participants from 25 countries is very encouraging and this is a testimony to the importance of transferring appropriate technologies to the rural areas of the countries from where the participants are coming from. We are finalizing a MoU to connect AARDO and IIT Madras as well as RuTAG and other institutional networks to leverage and capitalize on their already-developed synergy”.

The objectives of this e-training program include:

  • To provide a forum for sharing innovative affordable technologies among AARDO member countries
  • To develop framework and policies for transfer of rural technologies
  • To use innovative affordable rural technologies for raising the living standard of rural people,
  • To create awareness towards replacing traditional/ obsolete technologies with environmentally friendly and climate-resilient technologies.

Speaking about the unique aspects of this program, Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras, said, “I hope this e-training provides food for though and going forward, we will hopefully be able to actualize and implement some of these technologies developed by IIT Madras in association with partners through technology transfer agreements”. 

The components of this course include:

  1. i) Innovative Technology for Sustainable Food Production (Post Harvest Technology) – Value Addition
  2. ii) Technologies Enhancing Productivity of Small Farmers

iii) Technologies Facilitating Access to Value Chains and Markets

iv) Technologies supporting Financial Inclusion

v) Policies and Initiatives Conducive to Development and Transfer of Technologies from Lab to Farm

vi) Technologies Facilitating Collectivization, Bulk Purchase of Inputs and Traceability

vii) Intellectual Property Right (IPR) and Technology Transfer

viii) Developing Institutions for Rural Technologies

Being held from 22nd March to 1st

IT, Start ups

It will pave way for fintech revolution by connecting Banking and Insurance Sector to Agriculture 

The leading agri risk-monitoring company, Skymet, has launched a digital platform ‘skAIgeo’ (Skymet’s new geospatial avatar) to provide its 10 years of geospatial proprietary farm-level data repository to the public free of cost.

This digital platform paves the way for farmers to enhance crop yield and decrease crop risks. skAIgeo formulate a predictive and prescriptive business intelligence solution for banking sector that leverages Agri-alternate data for effective credit risk assessment and loan recovery. skAIgeo helps the insurance sector to customise polices or programs after evaluation of crop risk assessment using different indices.

The platform aims to tap into the geospatial business valued at Rs 30,000 crore, targeting 1 million farmers this year and work towards the financial inclusion of rural India. The launch is in sync with the Prime Minister’s announcement of liberalising regulations on geospatial data and maps of the country.

SkAIgeo analyses 10 years of datasets with the help of AI/ML, geospatial technologies and data science. These scalable and free of cost geo-databases and is published on the platform for the direct consumption of students as well as Business firms including insurance, banking and agriculture firms. Skaigeo is also the best platform for researchers to come and acquire knowledge about different vegetation and hydro meteorological products for wholesome India.

 On the launch, Founder and Managing Director of Skymet, Jatin Singh said, “At skAIgeo, we have been building its digital platform in India for providing solutions for filling the gap between banks and farmers. The ‘digital lending solution’ provides farm score/ farmers financial health/repayment capacity using various parameters. Skymet is using remote sensing, Geo-tagging/fencing and overlaying cadastral maps over land records which helps in land and crop identification, crop acreage, and yield forecast. This solution is being used by SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and a few Maharashtra cooperative banks.”

 skAIgeo tracks indices such as the Greenness index, Crop health index, Soil moisture index, Standard precipitation index and many more with regularly updated 15 days National, District and Sub-district (tehsil) crop data. This data will further help insurance companies to develop customised agricultural policies and programs after evaluation of crop risk assessment for various indices. It also eliminates the burden of costly claim verifications on the ground, thus enabling faster, better and accurate payouts to the insured.  

The platform will also help in farm management using Asia’s largest network of IoT devices. The company has collected 1 million crop signatures PAN-INDIA with the deployment of eminent resolution crop cameras, 250-300 crop sensors, 27 lightning sensors each covering 4000-6000 km with 7000 Automatic Weather Systems and in-house drone flying capability. It also helps to maintain records of the farmers like authentic land ownership, mortgage, and irrigation details of the land for easy loan disbursements.

It will pave way for fintech revolution

AgroPolicy

The Director General urged for water harvesting and storage, selection of appropriate methods for irrigation, choosing crops based on water resources availability, etc., for judicious use of water.

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, in his inaugural address, of the ’World Water Day – 2021’ virtually organised on March 22, by ICAR highlighted many facets of water in human life along with the importance of rivers like Ganga, Yamuna and Narmada, etc., in Indian Culture. Rupala also underlined the role of women in water management and emphasised on the need to include water as part of school-level education.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) emphasised on the importance of rivers in human civilisations. He also accentuated on water stress, water conflicts globally. The Director General urged for water harvesting and storage, selection of appropriate methods for irrigation, choosing crops based on water resources availability, etc., for judicious use of water.

Around 1,500 delegates from the ICAR, CGIAR Centres, State Agricultural Universities, Central Agricultural Universities, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Farmers from the various parts of the country also virtually participated in the event.

 

The Director General urged for water harvesting

Agrotech

The partnership will focus initially on two main projects centred around vegetable production

Europe’s leading frozen foods company, Nomad Foods, and WWF, the world’s leading conservation organization, have recently announced a partnership that seeks to find agricultural solutions to the ’triple challenge’ of feeding a growing global population while tackling the climate crisis and reversing biodiversity loss.

The partnership will focus initially on two main projects centred around vegetable production. One, a blueprint for landscapes that can increase food productivity through “nature-positive” farming approaches; the other, dedicated to measuring the impact of biodiversity at the farm level to target interventions and find new ways of increasing pollinators such as bees and other species.

On pack communication for consumers, explaining how Nomad Foods brands and WWF are ’working together to protect bees, butterflies and plants’ will roll-out initially across four countries, starting with iglo Belgium and Portugal and Findus Spain in April 2021, followed by Birds Eye in the UK in June 2021.

Nomad Foods is continually building on its sustainable farming standards in line with global best practices.  It uses the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) as a benchmark for farmers and the target is for all suppliers to be verified as minimum silver and progress towards gold.

 

The partnership will focus initially on two

Agrotech, Inputs, Trade

This acquisition will expand Cargill’s network of grain and Ag service businesses throughout Canada 

Following a successful 22-year joint venture, Cargill will purchase south-eastern Saskatchewan crop inputs retailer, Precision Ag, in a move that deepens its commitment to farmers in the region.

The business will continue to operate as Precision Ag, based in Griffin, SK and there will be no changes for its 23 employees or at its four locations in Griffin, Odessa, Carlyle and Carnduff. Precision Ag’s leadership team will stay in their current roles for the next three years to ensure a seamless transition of the business.

“As we thought about our most strategic succession plan, we quickly agreed that selling to Cargill was the best decision given our shared values and interest in providing quality crop input services to farmers throughout Western Canada,” said Jay Gerry, Precision Ag’s general manager. “We’re excited for our employees and customers as they will continue to receive the very best this long-term partnership represents, as well as the world-class professional services and resources Cargill brings to the future of our business.”

The acquisition of Precision Ag expands Cargill’s network of grain and Ag service businesses throughout Canada, including an integrated mix of crop inputs, grain marketing, and consulting services for greater access and customer service with area farmers.

“We look forward to carrying on Precision Ag’s legacy of outstanding service and building on the expertise and trust our long-term partnership represents,” said Blaine Duncan, Cargill regional commercial leader. “As a global Ag leader, we’re strategically positioned to advance Precision Ag’s business model in such dynamic market conditions. We’re honoured the Precision Ag leadership team turned to Cargill to lead the next chapter of this business.”

 

 

 

This acquisition will expand Cargill’s network of

Agrotech

The committee submitted its report in May, 2014 recommending the use of satellite remote sensing data for various applications related to yield and crop health estimation for crop insurance

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar recently gave a written reply in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2021 about crop health estimation.

The Dr P K Mishra Committee was constituted in September, 2013 to review the implementation of crop insurance schemes in India. The committee submitted its report in May, 2014 recommending the use of satellite remote sensing data for various applications related to yield and crop health estimation for crop insurance.

In this regard, several activities have been carried out, such as –

  • Use of satellite remote sensing derived yield values for smart sampling and optimization of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) being conducted under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
  • Use of satellite remote sensing to assess the discrepancy between the actual sown area and the insurance area and compute the Areas Correction Factor (ACF).
  • Use of satellite imagery for resolving disputes between the State Governments and Insurance Companies related to crop yield estimates.
  • Yield data quality checking using remote sensing.
  • Qualitative crop loss and health assessment using satellite remote sensing.
  • Use of satellite remote sensing for assessing the areas of preventive sowing or failure of crop emergence.
  • Use of long-term satellite remote data for risk assessment which have been used for clustering of districts.

 

The committee submitted its report in May,

World

The market is expected to accelerate at a CAGR of almost 3 per cent during the forecast period

The cotton market is expected to reach $5.59 billion during 2021-2025, as per a new report from Technavio. The report also throws light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new opportunities and challenges that market players can expect. In this market analysis, the market is expected to accelerate at a CAGR of almost 3 per cent during the forecast period. The cotton market growth is attributed to government initiatives and support. However, the overconsumption of water due to poor management and water pollution might hinder the market growth. On the other hand, the strategic crop due to its versatility will present new opportunities in the coming years.

Governments across the globe are taking various initiatives to support cotton farming. For instance, the Indian government has come up with several export promotion policies. India’s DRDO is helping to produce yarns and eliminate the dependence on the import of Chinese products and other foreign clothing for military uniforms. Furthermore, with two-thirds of developing countries dependent on the export of commodities, a core part of UNCTAD’s work involves building countries’ capacity to move up the value chain and diversify their exports. These factors will drive the cotton market over the forecast period.

 

The market is expected to accelerate at

Environment, Water

This has led to the increase of water tables by around 10-20 meters in the project areas

The Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group has restored over 550 water conservation structures across the country that has led to a cumulative storage capacity of more than 33 Lakh Cubic Meter, along with 83,000 cubic meter of soil conservation. An area of over 1000 hectares has been bought under irrigation with an increase in crop intensity by 1.5 times, touching the lives of more than 60,000 people. The creation of water conservation and harvesting structures and reviving and rejuvenating the traditional water recharging structures has not only made potable water accessible to many, it has also enhanced the livelihood prospects of local community’s manifold.

The DS Group believes in building sustainable communities that are economically, environmentally and socially healthy and resilient. The company undertakes projects in critical areas such as Water Conservation, Livelihood Enhancement, Education and any relevant programs that help the communities and have a long-term sustainable impact.

‘Water conservation’ is a key focus area for the Group and many projects have been commissioned for water harvesting and conservation to replenish the groundwater and increase water availability in water-stressed areas in various parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

The customized programs work to improve water security in the areas identified as water critical by encouraging proactive participation of local communities by using & reviving traditional methods of water conservation. This has led to the increase of water tables by around 10-20 meters in the project areas.
 

 

This has led to the increase of