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Agrotech, India, Supply Chain

It provides better access to high-quality agri-inputs and agronomic advisory to make apple farming disease and climate-resilient.

In order to facilitate the modernisation of India’s apple value chain, Bayer CropScience Limited is partnering with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for a three-year collaborative project. Bayer and GIZ have already worked together from 2015 to 2018 in the AVID project (Apple Value Chain Interventions for Development) that was undertaken in key districts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Bayer and GIZ reaffirmed the cooperation for another three years, from 2021 to 2023. 

The new project will support over 5,500 apple smallholders in Himachal Pradesh with better access to high-quality agri-inputs and agronomic advisory to make apple farming disease and climate-resilient. This Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Bayer and GIZ will work on creating efficient supply chains, establishing market linkages, and bringing in value chain interventions to improve the incomes and livelihoods of apple smallholders.

The new project is part of the ‘One World No Hunger’ initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). An important element in GIZ’s approach is connecting the private sector, research institutions and local stakeholders to introduce value chain developments.

The project also seeks to collaborate with key institutions such as the Dr YS Parmar University for Horticulture and Forestry in Solan, Himachal Pradesh; the State Department of Agriculture; Government of Himachal Pradesh and HPMC (Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing And Processing Corporation Ltd.) to leverage synergies, promote knowledge sharing and technical exchange, and jointly undertake capacity-building measures.

It provides better access to high-quality agri-inputs

Agro Universities, Agrotech

More than 100 farmers and rural youths virtually attended the training program

The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Narayangaon, Pune – II, Maharashtra recently organised a three-day Virtual Training Programme on ‘Scientific Beekeeping for the Farmers’ from April 27-29, 2021. The programme was organised in association with the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM)- Mini Mission – I.

Dr Lakhan Singh, Director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra urged the farmers for making beekeeping an integral part of farming to attain higher profits on a regular basis. He also encouraged the rural youths to come forward and become beekeeping entrepreneurs.

Dr Dattatray B Gawade, SMS, Plant Protection, KVK, Narayangaon, Pune – II, Maharashtra briefed about the training course and the role of the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) for the overall promotion and development of scientific Beekeeping in a mission mode to achieve the goal of sweet revolution in the country by giving attention on capacity building.

The program was aimed at orienting and empowering the farmers about scientific Beekeeping. More than 100 farmers and rural youths virtually attended the training programme.

 

More than 100 farmers and rural youths

Agro Universities, Foodgrains, R&D

 It aims to harness state of the art technology to find solutions for the world’s wheat farmers and consumers. 

John Innes Centre has announced a strategic collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), for joint research, knowledge sharing, and communications to further the global effort to develop the future of wheat.

Wheat is threatened by climate change-related drought and heat as well as increased frequency and spread of pest and disease outbreaks.The new collaboration, building on a history of successful joint research achievements, aims to harness state of the art technology to find solutions for the world’s wheat farmers and consumers.

 CIMMYT Deputy Director General for Research Kevin Pixley said, “Our combined scientific strengths will enhance our impacts on farmers and consumers and ultimately contribute to global outcomes, such as the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger.”

Director of the John Innes Centre, Professor Dale Sanders commented, “Recognising and formalising this long-standing partnership will enable researchers from both institutes to focus on the future, where the sustainable development of resilient crops will benefit a great many people around the world.”

Thematic areas for collaboration

Scientists from CIMMYT and the John Innes Centre will work jointly to apply cutting edge approaches to wheat improvement, including:

  • Developing and deploying new molecular markers for yield, resilience and nutritional traits in wheat to facilitate deploying genomic breeding approaches using data on the plant’s genetic makeup to improve breeding speed and accuracy
  • Generating, sharing and exploiting the diversity of wheat genetic material produced during crossing and identified in seed banks
  • Pursuing new technologies and approaches that increase breeding efficiency to introduce improved traits into new wheat varieties
  • Developing improved technologies for rapid disease diagnostics and surveillance
  • Plans for future collaborations include establishing a new laboratory in Norwich, UK as part of the ‘Health Plants, Healthy People, Healthy Planet (HP3)’ initiative. 

An important goal of the JIC-CIMMYT collaboration is to expand the impact of the joint research breakthroughs through knowledge sharing and capacity development. Stakeholder-targeted communications will help expand the reach and impact of these activities. 

A key element of this collaboration will be deploying our innovations to geographically diverse regions and key CIMMYT partner countries that rely on smallholder wheat production for their food security and livelihoods,” said CIMMYT Global Wheat Program Director Alison Bentley.

 It aims to harness state of the

Acquaculture, Agro Universities, Agrotech

The issues like enhancing the domestic ornamental fish production & constraints in marketing, promoting the domestic retail trade of ornamental fish were discussed.

The ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, Odisha in association with the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, New Delhi and the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad organized the National Virtual Consultation on “Indian Ornamental Fisheries 2.0 – The Way Forward” from 22nd to 24th April, 2021.

In his inaugural address, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying & Ministry of Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India urged for the indigenous manufacturing of aquariums and the accessories for the Atma Nirbhar Bharat. He also stressed on promoting the aquarium as hobby, thus, enhancing the production of ornamental fish to develop the ornamental fisheries sector in the country. 

Atul Chaturvedi, I.A.S., Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India; Dr. C. Suvarna, I.F.S., C.E.O., NFDB, Hyderabad; Dr. J.K. Jena, Deputy Diretor General (Fisheries Science), ICAR along with other senior officials from the various Departments of Government of India, State Agricultural Universities and ICAR Institutes also virtually participated in the programme.

The different thematic areas like enhancing the domestic ornamental fish production & constraints in marketing, achieving self-reliance in manufacturing of aquarium accessories, quality feed, medicines & aquatic plants, promoting the domestic retail trade of ornamental fish & hobby promotion and boosting the ornamental fish exports and issues in imports, etc., were discussed during the programme.

Around 32 Key Stakeholders from the different key segments of the sector also shared their opinions in the programme. The event registered a total participation by more than 2,000 other stakeholders.

The issues like enhancing the domestic ornamental

R&D, Seeds

Syngenta’s new Barosor gives growers another way to ward off the persistent virus, alongside the company’s ToBRFV-resistant beefsteak variety called Lansor, which was introduced in December.

 As a virulent virus poses a growing threat to tomato crops around the world, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has expanded its line of tomatoes resistant to the disease.

With the introduction of a new beefsteak tomato, the Barosor, Syngenta now has two tomato varieties resistant to the highly transmittable Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV).

The virus, which first emerged in Israel in 2014, has spread to fields and greenhouses across the Middle East, Europe, Mexico, North America and other parts of the world. It damages the quality and yield of tomato crops and has forced the temporary shutdown of some major greenhouse operations.

Syngenta’s new Barosor, which will be available this summer in time for fall planting, gives growers another way to ward off the persistent virus, alongside the company’s ToBRFV-resistant beefsteak variety called Lansor, which was introduced in December.

Lansor is already being planted in Middle East and Mediterranean countries where the virus emerged, and it is proving effective. “There’s clear evidence that the resistance works,” says Ruud Kaagman, Syngenta’s global crop unit head for tomatoes.

Amid the widening threat, there is strong demand for the virus-fighting seeds, Kaagman says. “Growers are very eager to change to these resistant varieties.”

The global market for tomato seeds is estimated at $1.2 billion. The value of the worldwide tomato industry, including marketing, distribution and sales, is nearly $200 billion. Syngenta, the world’s second-leading supplier, offers more than 350 varieties of seeds across 35 segments, including beefsteak, plum, cherry and specialties.

The two new beefsteak varieties are the first in what is expected to be an expanding line of ToBRFV-resistant tomatoes for Syngenta. “Broad resistance will be built in the portfolio during the next several years,” says Kaagman.

Syngenta’s new Barosor gives growers another way

Agro Universities, R&D, Seeds

Developed by using the conventional cross breeding technique, MACS 1407 variety is suitable for cultivation in the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states 

Accepting this challenge, scientists from MACS- Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi have developed higher yielding varieties and improved practices for the cultivation of soybean. Using the conventional cross breeding technique they developed MACS 1407 which gives 39 quintals per hectare making it a high yielding variety and is also resistant to major insect-pests like girdle beetle, leaf miner, leaf roller, stem fly, aphids, white fly and defoliators. Its thick stem, higher pod insertion (7 cm) from ground, and resistance to pod shattering make it suitable even for mechanical harvesting. It is suitable for rain-fed conditions of north- east India.

 Santosh Jaybhay, ARI scientist who led this work said, ‘MACS 1407’ showed 17% increase in yield over the best check variety and 14-19 per cent yield advantage over the qualifying varieties. It is highly adaptive to sowing from 20 June to 5 July without any yield loss. This makes it resistant to the vagaries of Monsoon as compared to other varieties

Indian Scientists have developed a high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean. This newly developed variety called MACS 1407 is suitable for cultivation in the states of Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North-Eastern states and its seeds will be made available to farmers for sowing during the 2022 Kharif season.

MACS 1407 require an average 43 days for 50 % flowering and take 104 days to mature from the date of sowing. It has white coloured flowers, yellow seeds and black hilum. Its seeds have 19.81 % oil content, 41 % protein content and show good germinability. This high yielding, pest resistant, low water and fertiliser requiring soybean variety, suitable for mechanical harvesting has recently been released by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties of Agricultural Crops under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India making it legally available for seed production and cultivation.

 

Developed by using the conventional cross breeding

Agro Universities, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

The electric tractor will be more environmentally friendly than other types of tractors.

Central Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute, Budni (MP) has tested the first-ever electric tractor in the Institute. The institute received the application for an electric tractor under Confidential Test initially. Accordingly, the institute has tested the tractor & released the Draft Test Report in February 2021.

After the release of the draft test report, the manufacturer has requested for conversion of the nature of the test from “Confidential to Commercial” and the competent authority has accepted the request of the manufacturer. Accordingly, the test report was released as a Commercial Test Report. The electric tractor will be more environmentally friendly than other types of tractors.

Central farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute, Budni (MP) has obtained the NABL Certificate of Accreditation for CMVR Test Laboratory on March 30, 2021.

Accreditation is the third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying the formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks. Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) is a body that includes Testing including Medical Laboratory, Calibration Laboratory, Proficiency Testing Provider, Certified Reference Material Producer.

 

The electric tractor will be more environmentally

R&D, Seeds

It combine FBSciences’ proven Transit technology with crop-specific mixes of nutrients designed to support early crop health.

FBSciences has recently announced the launch of the new SuperSede line of seed treatment products beginning with SuperSede Soybean and SuperSede Cotton, and following with SuperSede Small Grains and SuperSede Corn in the coming months. These products combine FBSciences’ proven Transit technology with crop-specific mixes of nutrients designed to support early crop health. FBSciences will provide these seed treatment products for downstream seed application opportunities at the dealer and grower level.

All of FBSciences’ seed treatment products result in increased vigor and improved emergence in seedlings, allowing growers to establish a stronger start to the season. Seed-applied products assist in overcoming abiotic stresses – including the cold, wet conditions that seeds are subject to at planting and during germination. FBSciences’ SuperSede products assist in even germination in the field, resulting in a higher stand count with increased uniformity of stand.

FBSciences’ SuperSede products have a notably low use rate and can be used in combination with insecticides and fungicides on the seed, working as an enhancing complement to a grower’s existing seed treatment program.

The first product in the line, SuperSede Soybean, designed for use with soybeans as well as other legumes, addresses the particular concern in early legume growth.

Another product launching is SuperSede Cotton. Trials on cotton, a notoriously difficult crop in early season growth, have shown that FBSciences’ seed-applied products and technologies resulted in a 9 per cent average increase in plant population and a 12 per cent average increase in cotton yield.

 

It combine FBSciences’ proven Transit technology

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance

Sales grew by 14% to a Q1 record-high of $1,109 million, driven by continued robust 15% volume growth

 ADAMA Ltd. reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. Ignacio Dominguez, President and CEO of ADAMA, said, “In the first quarter, we continued our strong growth to achieve another Q1 record high sales performance, with robust demand for our crop protection products supported by generally higher crop prices. Although our growth was somewhat mitigated by a softer pricing environment in many regions, and further offset by higher procurement costs and a growth-driven increase in operating expenses, we nevertheless were able to deliver a pleasing improvement in our bottom line. Our strong Q1 performance reflects our continued ability to weather the ongoing pandemic-related challenges, and to provide much needed crop protection solutions to growers around the world.”

Sales grew by 14% to a Q1

Agro chems – Chemicals, China, Finance, Inputs, Seeds

Sales of first quarter of 2021 were $7.1 billion, up 20 percent compared to Q1 2020. 

Syngenta Group Co., Ltd.  has reported strong results for the first quarter of 2021. First quarter sales were $7.1 billion, up 20 percent compared to Q1 2020. This corresponds to a growth of 18 percent at constant exchange rates (CER). First-quarter EBITDA increased 19 percent (29 percent at CER) to $1.5 billion.

Following a robust full year 2020 performance, Syngenta Group continued its strong growth trajectory in Q1. All businesses delivered broad-based, double-digit growth. EBITDA increased significantly and EBITDA margin was maintained with a focus on operational efficiency.

Syngenta Group’s cutting-edge technology and industry-leading R&D pipeline continues to fuel growth. The Group’s Biologicals sales have grown by more than 40 percent compared to the same period last year, and with recently acquired Valagro, sales more than doubled.

Syngenta Group China has grown strongly across all segments. Modern Agriculture Platform (MAP), which provides farmers access to market-leading technologies, tripled in revenue from Q1 2020. Biologicals more than doubled in size, supported by the recent acquisition of Valagro.  MAP has tripled revenues to more than $280 million in Q1, facilitating farmer access to the latest, innovative technologies and practices, and enhancing their profitability. The farmer-centric ecosystem continued to rapidly expand in China, now present in 365 locations and partnering with over 200 organizations, connecting growers, markets and consumers. Recent acquisitions of Winall Hi-tech Seed’s stake (Winall) and Jiangsu Huifeng Bio Agriculture’s domestic activity (Huifeng) further helped strengthen business in China.

 Q1 synergy-driven sales grew 45 percent year on year. Group-wide synergies continued to advance from last year’s more than $400 million sales and over $200 million profit contribution.

The world entered 2021 with lower stock-to-use ratios for key agricultural commodities compared to recent years. Higher consumption, in particular in China, supports higher grain prices which benefits farm income, and in turn underpins demand for Syngenta Group’s advanced products and solutions. 

Syngenta Group CEO Erik Fyrwald said, “Syngenta Group’s focus on bringing innovative sustainable products and services to farmers all over the world has enabled us to continue to accelerate our growth. With our cutting-edge technology and digital tools, we are helping transform agriculture to fight climate change.”

 Syngenta Group CFO Chen Lichtenstein said, “We delivered strong sales and profit growth across all business units. Our success in China is fuelled by our strong offering and farmer-centric ecosystem. We aim to continue driving growth, focusing on operating margins and further accelerating our innovation pipeline.”

Sales of first quarter of 2021 were

Agrotech, IT, Start ups

It aims to help farmers across the country to manage their accounts efficiently, thus cutting down on losses.

Shivrai Technologies, an Indian AgTech company, has recently announced the launch of their B2C Farm accounting mobile application, Farmizo Khata. Joining hands with Yono by SBI, they aim to help farmers across the country to manage their accounts efficiently, thus cutting down on losses. Shivrai also owns their own B2B brand, FarmERP.

Through this new venture with Yono by SBI, they aim to make their application increasingly accessible.
 
This free-of-cost application will not only efficiently manage their accounts but will also give them a platform to analyse and calculate their profits, losses, and expenses, thus enabling them to make a wiser purchase, harvest, and production decisions. It is curated in the simplest possible way for smallholder farmers to benefit from it.
 
How does it work?
 
Users can create their profiles by entering basic information. Post that, the software will guide them to register their plot by entering Plot details and Crop Information. This software will also assist the farmers in Geo-Tagging their crops. In the next step, the farmers would be required to add their expenses incurred on each plot, along with their income details and profit and loss amounts on the software’s dashboard. After doing this, the software would automatically generate the Exact Cost of Production of each crop as per kg and acre. This would include the Auditor cost, the marketing and housekeeping cost, etc. In the end, the software would create a ‘Khata’ with a complete view of all the transactions in a simple ledger.

It aims to help farmers across

Agro chems – Chemicals, E-commerce

Atul consumes a portion of the Monochloroacetic Acid (MCA) directly in its own production of crop protection chemicals. 

Nouryon and Atul successfully started production at Anaven, a new joint venture in Gujarat, India, that will help meet the rapidly growing demand in India’s agricultural, personal care and pharmaceutical markets.

Anaven is India’s largest monochloroacetic acid (MCA) production site, with a current capacity of 32,000 tons of MCA per year, with the possibility of a rapid expansion of up to 60,000 tons per year. MCA is used as an essential raw material for a variety of products, such as adhesives, pharmaceuticals and crop protection chemicals. Atul consumes a portion of the MCA directly in its own production of crop protection chemicals.

Rob Vancko, Vice President of Construction at Nouryon and Chairman of Anaven, said: “Through this partnership with Atul, we can leverage Nouryon’s global leadership in MCA in order to meet the fast-growing demand from customers across multiple markets in India, while also continuing to drive innovation and sustainability in the region.”

The Anaven plant is also the only zero-liquid discharge MCA production site in the world, meaning that zero wastewater exits the plant – a critical factor in India where water is scarce. The plant is also highly focused on continuous safety and was constructed with zero injuries.

Sunil Lalbhai, Chairman and Managing Director of Atul said: “Thanks to our partnership, we can apply Nouryon’s state-of-the art technology in the new plant while creating forward and backward integration with our bulk and agri-chemicals businesses. The Anaven plant will ensure a reliable supply of a key raw material for the Indian market, giving a growing number of farmers, doctors and households better access to daily essentials.”

Sobers Sethi, Senior Vice President Emerging Markets at Nouryon, added: “This investment and partnership with Atul underscores Nouryon’s growth ambitions in targeted end-markets, such as agriculture, cleaning and personal care, particularly in the emerging markets of Asia. Securing the supply of this essential ingredient is even more important in times when global supply chains are under pressure due to COVID-19.”

Nouryon has MCA plants in the Netherlands, China and Japan, and operates an organic peroxide and metal alkyls production site in Mahad, India.

 

 

Atul consumes a portion of the Monochloroacetic

Agrotech

The Area Specific Mineral Mixture (ASMM) technology developed by the ICAR-NIANP was earlier commercialized to KMF, Nandi Agro Vet.

 

The ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bengaluru, Karnataka has commercialized its Area Specific Mineral Mixture (ASMM) Technology to the Vet Needs Labs on a non-exclusive basis through the AgrInnovate India on April 24, 2021. 

Dr Raghavendra Bhatta, Director, ICAR-NIANP, and BR Shivakumar, Proprietor, Vet Needs Labs signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on the behalf of their respective organisations for the licensing to manufacture and sell the formulation in the presence of Dr Sudha Mysore, CEO, AgrInnovate India Ltd. and the ICAR-NIANP team.

The ASMM technology developed by the ICAR-NIANP was earlier commercialised to Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), Bengaluru; Nandi Agro Vet. Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru, the Totgars Co-operative Sale Society Ltd., Uttar Kannada, Karnataka and Vijayarathna Industries. The impact of the technology has been estimated to be about Rs 419 crores.

 

The Area Specific Mineral Mixture (ASMM)

Agro Universities, North America, R&D

It will evaluate the efficacy of BVT’s proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 applied with bee vectoring technology against disease (primarily Anthracnose) under local conditions. 

 Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. today announced a new R&D trial with Rutgers University’s Agricultural Research and Extension Centre for the 2021 growing season. The Company has also secured its first sales commitments in New Jersey, with two berry growers joining the growing ranks of BVT customers.

The Rutgers trial is being conducted on blueberry crops in four New Jersey locations, and will evaluate the efficacy of BVT’s proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) (CR-7) applied with bee vectoring technology against disease (primarily Anthracnose) under local conditions. Commercially-managed bumblebees and honeybees will be used with BVT’s natural precision agriculture system.

“The Rutgers trial and the grower commitments align with our 2021 commercialization objectives. We have already accelerated penetration in the US Southeast, Midwest, and now Northwest berry markets, with revenues secured, and have also started initial trials in California. We have real momentum going in the US, and anticipate it will keep building in coming seasons”, said Ian Collinson, Sales Manager at Bee Vectoring Technologies.

“When it comes to industry influence, Rutgers is the absolute leader for agriculture in New Jersey. Growers look to and trust them, so this trial with such an authoritative body is a strong first step in our expansion in this important market,” said Everett Hendrixon, Midwest and Eastern US Territory Manager at Bee Vectoring Technologies.

The Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Upper Deerfield (Cumberland County) focuses on work that can be applied to high-quality small fruits, vegetable crops, field crops, trees and ornamentals, with emphasis on crop protection and integrated pest management.

The blueberry blooming period started in mid-April, and the New Jersey growers are already using BVT’s natural precision agriculture system on about 20 of 550 acres under production. Based on common practice and the actions of previous growers trialing the system, the Company expects these growers will add BVT on progressively more acreage in the coming two to three seasons based on positive results and the outcome of the trials with Rutgers.

 

It will evaluate the efficacy of BVT’s