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Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

Dobhal was previously the Head of UPL’s agro-formulation business. 

Agro-chemical major UPL Ltd has recently announced that said it has appointed Ashish Dobhal as Regional Director for India.  Dobhal takes over from Sameer Tandon, who has now been appointed as Regional Director for ASEANZ (Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand), the company said in a statement.

Dobhal was previously the Head of UPL’s agro-formulation business. He has a rich experience of over 20 years in the field of agri-business. Ashish Dobhal has been part of UPL journey since more than 17 years. He has worked in different countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc. He has taken many challenges upfront and has turned them into success consistently. He is seen as someone who takes up challenging assignments and delivers. With the help of our digital and fintech initiatives, he will be playing a pivotal role in more than doubling UPL’s business in India in a short time frame.

Dobhal was previously the Head of UPL’s

R&D

On average, farmers receive 27 per cent of what consumers pay for the food they eat at home

Based on an approach originally applied to the US, researchers implemented a standardised method to evaluate the importance of food value chains between farmers and consumers. This yardstick was applied to data from 2005-2015 on 61 middle and high-income nations that account for 90 per cent of the global food economy.

The findings showed that, on average, farmers receive 27 per cent of what consumers pay for the food they eat at home. The study focussed on 3/4th of the food that is consumed in the same country where it is produced. For the other 25 per cent, that is consumer expenditures on imported foods, the farmer share is even less.

The study concluded that the already vast proportion of food money going to post-farm activities (processing, distribution and service activities close to the consumer) is only likely to increase.

The study highlights the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 and set for 2030, as a way to gauge the impact of the growing food value chain sector. What happens to food between farm and consumer will be crucial to many SDGs including those targeting hunger, poverty, and responsible production and consumption.

More to the point, the multi-step processing from farm to the table may not be compatible with sustainable development, the study says.

On average, farmers receive 27 per cent

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech

 This distribution agreement marks expansion into the broad acre crops market 

 

 Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., an international leader in sustainable BioProtection and plant health solutions to support global agricultural needs, has entered into a partnership with ATP Nutrition of Manitoba, Canada to distribute Stargus Biofungicide on Canadian broad acre crops; primarily canola, dry beans, peas, soybeans and sunflower. These products represent more than 30 million acres in Canada where the biocontrol market is estimated to be growing at 12-15 per cent CAGR.

 Kevin Helash, chief executive officer of Marrone Bio Innovationssaid, “This partnership complements our existing distribution in Canadian specialty crops and, as we look to expand globally, allows us to bring additional broad acre crop products to the market more efficiently.”

Stargus Biofungicide is a broad spectrum product with multiple modes of action powered by a novel, patented strain of formulated Bacillus bacteria. The biofungicide effectively targets white mold and stalk rots caused by Sclerotinia, common diseases in some of the most dominant broad acre crops in Canada.

“Expanding our distribution into broad acre crops globally is a key commercial strategy for Marrone Bio in 2021,” added Tim Knight, Marrone Bio’s senior director of sales, North and Central America. “Growers are looking for alternative solutions to manage crop disease and field trials have shown using a BioUnite™ approach – combining the power of biology with the performance of chemistry and tank mixing Stargus Biofungicide with a standard fungicide – will produce better control and increased yields.”

ATP Nutrition is a science-based company that focuses on the three key areas of production agriculture: plant nutrition, biostimulants (biologicals) and analytical tools.

“We are committed to provide biological options for growers that drive yield in a sustainable way. The ATP Nutrition and Marrone partnership is a natural fit since the synergistic effect of combining biological and biostimulant products with nutrient products will improve both nutrient uptake and use efficiency while addressing abiotic stresses,” added Jarrett Chambers, president of ATP Nutrition.

 

 This distribution agreement marks expansion into the

AgroPolicy, IT

The MoU will help to integrate the existing IIDS platform of DIC with the proposed Kisan Sarathi programme of ICAR

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology have signed an MoU to facilitate farmers by providing location-specific ‘Demand-Based Tele Agriculture Advisories.’

The event was presided over by Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), Sanjay Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR) and Abhishek Singh, MD and CEO, DIC.

The objective of the MoU is to integrate the existing Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS) platform of DIC with the proposed Kisan Sarathi programme of ICAR and its implementation through the ICAR network to reach a large number of farmers across the country.

ICAR and DIC have agreed to collaborate to develop and deploy ICT platforms to establish and operate a multi-media, multi-way advisory and communication system for supporting various agricultural activities at the local level. IIDS would be deployed at ICAR which is a push-and pull-based system wherein agriculture-related information can be pulled from the farmers using mobile phones. IIDS gives an option to farmers to receive individual needs-based information for only those services to which they have subscribed. The experts at the back end will have access to the farmers’ database while responding to their queries. In this manner, experts would be able to understand the problems raised by farmers or field problems in a better way (KYF – Know Your Farmer) and expeditiously provide appropriate solutions to the farmer in a personalised manner.

Currently, the IIDS platform has been deployed in North-Eastern states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana which would be extended to all over the country with this MoU with ICAR.

The DIC will be providing the entire technical solution with support for development, hosting and managing the requisite ICT platform. The ICAR will be managing and monitoring the entire operations through their extension services network in the form of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), various domain-specific research institutes and network of agricultural universities etc., in a phased manner.

Dr AK Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR, Dr Vinay Thakur, Senior Director (Research), DIC, Dr Anil Rai, Assistant Director General (ICT), ICAR, Dr Randhir Singh Poswal, Assistant Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR, Dr TS Anurag, Pr Research Scientist, DIC and Anshul Porwal, Pr Software Developer, DIC were the other dignitaries present on the occasion.

The MoU will help to integrate the

Environment, IT, Start ups

The coalition will be working towards decarbonising the European food systems while maximising benefits such as soil health and farmer resilience

CropIn has joined the newly formed European Carbon+ Farming Coalition to accelerate progress towards the carbon neutrality goals of the European Green Deal. This initiative is catalysed by the World Economic Forum’s CEO Action Group for the European Green Deal and is part of the emerging food and nature platform, 100 Million Farmers: Transitioning towards Net-Zero, Nature-Positive Food Systems. The coalition will be working towards decarbonising the European food systems while maximising benefits such as soil health and farmer resilience.

 

CropIn as one of the partners in the European Carbon + Farming Coalition, will take a farmer-centric approach and focus on increasing the uptake of regenerative and climate-smart agriculture practices, identifying the roadblocks to adoption, and designing solutions with economic, practical and ecological benefits to the farmers. It will also work to develop financial tools to empower farmers in managing transition risk and recommend the right set of farmer incentives. This initiative aims to be a sizable contributor to Europe’s net-zero emission plan with the adoption of smart processes such as no-till, cover crop, and nutrient and manure management while maximising other benefits such as soil health and farmer resilience.

 

Krishna Kumar, CEO, CropIn, said, “Digital and data-driven platforms are key enablers in bringing large-scale transformation by engaging stakeholders, including farmers, that will join the program. CropIn is excited to be a part of the European Carbon+ Farming Coalition. Leveraging on our decade long experience of working in 52 countries with our agtech platform, we have been able to map the ag knowledge graph which will help us to contribute positively to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon world. Farmers would be the key contributors to the success of the coalition and hence a data-driven adaptive solution would be of great value to support their transition towards sustainable & zero-carbon farming.” 

 

The organisations partnering in the emerging European Carbon+ Farming Coalition currently are BASF, Bayer, CropIn, European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF), EIT Food, Hero Group, Planet, Swiss Re, University of Glasgow, World Economic Forum, Yara International ASA & Zurich Insurance Group. 

The coalition will be working towards decarbonising

Dairy, Finance

Under the project around 4,000 village milk cooperative societies across Rajkot, Surat, Bharuch and Surendranagar districts were surveyed

Anandpara Village Dairy Co-operative Society of Rajkot has installed the first Micro ATM payment centre at the doorstep of milk producer members. Rajkot District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, Gopal Dairy which is affiliated dairy union of Amul has taken the initiatives and taken concrete steps to digitalise the rural economy.  

Gordhanbhi Dhamaliya, Chairman, Rajkot Dairy has virtually inaugurated the AADHAR-based Amul Micro ATM facility for the milk pouring members of Anandpara Village society. He said that any member can visit the milk society and withdrew the money through Amul Micro ATM and get the payment immediately. It is a big relief for farmers as members need not to visit bank incurring time and traveling cost. He also mentioned that such type of transaction is safe during a pandemic and there is no need for any type of credit or debit card as the entire transaction is based on thumb impression.

Dr RS Sodhi, MD, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) (Amul) said lack of digital banking technology in remote villages has given the idea to start this project. Under the project around 4,000 village milk cooperative societies across Rajkot, Surat, Bharuch and Surendranagar districts were surveyed to get an idea about the actual difficulties faced by them.

Amul Micro ATM system has been developed with joint efforts by GCMMF (AMUL) Fintech Company, Digivridhi with banking partner Federal Bank who arranged the cash delivery at villages which was the key challenge of this project.

 

 

Under the project around 4,000 village milk

Agrotech, World

ADAMA’s novel fungicide formulation increases efficacy to improve crop yield while reducing environmental impact

ADAMA, a leading global crop protection company, is introducing a novel proprietary formulation technology that delivers improved penetration efficiency and excellent systemic movement in plants, resulting in higher efficacy in ADAMA’s prothioconazole-based products.

ADAMA’s novel fungicide formulation based on the company’s own Asorbital Formulation Technology combines its unique mix of solvents and surfactants, creating a new and extraordinary carrier technology that increases efficacy to improve crop yield while reducing environmental impact. The new formulation with the built-in adjuvant moves the fungicide beyond the generic active ingredient by increasing its penetration efficiency and providing excellent systemic movement through the plant to speed up delivery from the point of contact on the leaf to the site of action within the fungal cell.

In the UK, ADAMA continued its global roll-out of one of its self-produced prothioconazole-based products, SORATEL. This is ADAMA’s first product featuring the new Asorbital Formulation Technology and offers improved cereal and OSR disease control compared to competitor products. Based on field trials conducted in the UK, SORATEL is up to 13 per cent more effective against fusarium and up to 8 per cent more effective against Septoria than the current market leader.

SORATEL, ADAMA’s first prothioconazole-based products featuring the new Asorbital Formulation Technology is launching in the UK, Australia, Canada, as well as New Zealand, and the company is continuing to progress towards obtaining registrations for this product in other global markets. More prothioconazole-based products featuring the Asorbital formulation technology will be launched in the future.

ADAMA’s novel fungicide formulation increases efficacy to

Agro Universities

Motivates farmers to adopt water and labour-saving technologies

The Department of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), recently organised an online training webinar on ’Successful Cultivation of Kharif crops and Water Saving’ in collaboration with the State Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Block Sudhar, Ludhiana. The webinar witnessed 50 farmers, scientists, and agriculture development officers participating.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr Kuldeep Singh, Head, Department of Extension Education, motivated the farmers to adopt water and labour-saving technologies. He also called upon farmers to shift area from paddy to maize as there are many high yielding hybrids of maize were available and PMH 13 was the newest in the list released by PAU.

Dr Jasvir Singh Gill, Assistant Agronomist discussed in detail the paddy cultivation through DSR method. He explained every necessary detail that farmers should keep in mind while practicing the DSR. He explained the various agronomic practices like field preparation, sowing time, seed rate, irrigation and weed control for getting success in DSR technique. He emphasised that farmers should follow the recommended sowing time and varieties in DSR for reaping the maximum benefit.

Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, Block Agriculture Officer, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, motivated the farmers to adopt various water saving technologies and urged the farmers to adopt the maize cultivation.

 

Motivates farmers to adopt water and labour-saving

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Cold Storage, Supply Chain, Warehousing

EOI called for development of cold chain facility for perishable commodities, including onions through private entity

Union Minister for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Railways & Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal recently reviewed the storage plan for essential commodities in the country. He informed that Expression of Interest (EOI) has been called for the development of cold chain facility for perishable commodities, including onions through private entity.

Goyal said that the nation needs a single, technologically modern storage management infrastructure. He added, “We must think in terms of convergence and aggregation of all storage infrastructure in the country.”

Goyal said that the “whole of the government approach” is needed rather than stand-alone departmental storage plans. Goyal further advised all to have more synergy between the effective utilisation of the agriculture infrastructure Fund and the creation of modern storage infrastructure.

He mentioned that the modern, cost-efficient storage infrastructure at the grassroots level and at the block level is great way to increase farmers’ income.

In India, warehouses are spread over different undertakings and authorities at 20,433 locations. They include Railway Goodsheds-7400, PMC Principal & sub-market yard- 7320, Fci-545, CWC-422, SWC’s 2245, NSC, NAFED, NCCF-73, CONCOR-60+, cooperatives- 2000+, warehouses with state governments HAFED-100+, Highway Logistics Park (under process) -35, Inland Waterways Complex-8, Ports-200+ Airports (cargo)-25, where warehousing infrastructure of required type and size can be developed, upgraded or modified converted for safe storage of essential commodities.

 

EOI called for development of cold chain

Finance

Net sales for the Q4FY21 was reported at Rs 63.16 crore

Leading animal healthcare company, Hester Biosciences reported a standalone net profit of Rs 8.86 crore for the quarter ended March 2021 as against a net profit of Rs 5 crore in the corresponding period last year – a growth of 77 per cent. Net sales for the Q4FY21 was reported at Rs 63.16 crore, a growth of 52 per cent as compared to net sales of Rs 41.43 crore in the corresponding period last year. EPS for Q4FY21 was reported at Rs. 10.41 per share. 

 

The company can maintain healthy margins; EBITDA Margin was reported at 32.62 per cent and net profit margin at 14.03 per cent in Q4FY21. The Board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 10 per equity share (100 per cent) for FY21, subject to the approval of the shareholders. This dividend recommendation is in line with the company’s dividend policy to distribute a minimum of 18 per cent of the PAT.

Net sales for the Q4FY21 was reported

Agrotech, Seeds

Adopts two villages Adasa and Waroda in Vidarbha’s Nagpur district to revive cotton production

The South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) in collaboration with Agrovision Foundation, Nagpur, has launched Project Bandhan: A Knot of PBW Protection to embrace the cutting-edge innovation by tagging PB Knot to protect the cotton plant from devastating pink bollworm (PBW) (Pectinophora gossypiella). 

 

Project Bandhan is supported jointly by PI Foundation and Rasi Seeds and is being implemented across Vidarbha, Maharashtra, in partnership with cotton and textile value chain partners. The project aims at demonstrating mating disruption technology, promoting integrated pest management (IPM) based package of practices (POP) developed by ICAR-CICR, intensifying skill development and training programmes and amplifying effective PBW control measures to farmers across the Vidarbha region. As part of the launching ceremony, Project Bandhan has distributed high-quality Bt cotton hybrid seeds and IPM-based POP in four clusters to 500 smallholder farmers of village Adasa/Waroda of Nagpur. 

 

The unusual outbreak of PBW, a mysterious pest, hit cotton growers hard in Maharashtra in Kharif during 2020-21. There has been a noticeable increase in PBW infestation in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in recent years. Though large scale Bt cotton cultivation provides inbuilt protection against notorious American bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), the emergence of PBW has become the new enemy of cotton farmers. While Helicoverpa infestation resulted in definite yield loss, PBW infestation primarily affects the lint quality, though its early occurrence may even lead to a reduction in yield and significant losses. 

 

“We could pre-empt the emergence of PBW in cotton as we began to address its sporadic occurrence in Bt cotton-growing areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra as early as 2015. Contrary to the American Bollworm, we knew that PBW can be easily managed with proper agronomy, the time of sowing and effective pest control measures. We successfully implemented awareness and training programs across Vidarbha in the last three to four years, consecutively. The outbreak in 2020 was a wake-up call. We seized the opportunity to roll out innovative and environment-friendly mating disruption technology to manage pink bollworm in Kharif 2021,” explained Dr CD Mayee, President, SABC, New Delhi, and advisor to Agrovision Foundation, Nagpur. 

 

The Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) had approved the pheromone-based mating disruption technology in the IPM strategies for controlling the population of PBW in India for the first time in 2019-20. Available in the form of the solid metric dispenser rope (PB Knot), it can be easily tagged to the cotton plant. It releases sex pheromones to prevent male moth find females and mating, thus disrupting the reproductive cycle. The mating disruption is emerging as a powerful tool to manage pest such as PBW and has become a part of the IPM module. 

 

“Project Bandhan is an exemplary initiative to promote pheromone-based IPM production system of cotton. The novel PB Knot pheromone technology is easy to use, affordable and environmentally-friendly innovation to manage devastating pest such as PBW,” said Prashant Hedge, CEO (Agri-Business) at PI Industries. “As part of the CSR initiative, PI Foundation is keen to support the area-wide implementation of Project Bandhan and is committed to sustainable agriculture and environmental protection,” Hedge added.

 

“Rasi Seeds has been supporting the PBW campaign in Vidarbha for the last two years, implemented jointly by the South Asia Biotechnology Centre and Agrovision Foundation. Our joint efforts have resulted in the management of PBW, particularly in Vidarbha. We reinforce our commitment to support the innovative technology and programmes to improve cotton production and farmers’ realisation. Project Bandhan is a unique programme dedicated to showcasing the utility, the efficacy of novel mating disruption technology and IPM-based production system,” stated Dr Ramasami, Chairman, Rasi Seeds. 

Adopts two villages Adasa and Waroda in

AgroPolicy, Trade, Transportation

The export also includes three GI certified Khirsapati and Lakshmanbhog from West Bengal and Zardalu from Bihar

In a major boost to mango exports potential from the eastern region, sixteen varieties of mangoes including three GI certified Khirsapati and Lakshmanbhog (West Bengal), Zardalu (Bihar) are being exported to Bahrain.

The fruits have been sourced from farmers in Bengal and Bihar by APEDA registered exporter, DM enterprises, Kolkata and imported by Al Jazeera group, Bahrain.

Recently, India has shipped a consignment of 2.5 Metric Tonne (MTs) of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Banganapalli and other variety Survarnarekha mangoes sourced from farmers in Krishna & Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh to South Korea.

The export also includes three GI certified

Dairy, World

The start-up introduces fast-to-market, highly functional, animal-free dairy proteins

Israel-based start-up Imagindairy is milking new technology to leave the cow out of the dairy equation. The company is creating true milk proteins that are indistinguishable from the real thing via a natural process of precision fermentation.

 

Imagindairy’s proprietary technology recreates nature-identical, animal-free versions of whey and casein proteins that can be used to produce dairy analogues. The proprietary technology radically lowers the burden of dairy livestock on the environment.

 

“Our microflora-based production method was inspired by nature to recreate these proteins,” explains Eyal Afergan, Co-founder and CEO, Imagindairy. The unique protein structure of dairy milk is what provides its characteristic texture, flavour, and nutritional value. Imagindairy’s animal-free dairy products boast the same complement of nutrients, from protein content to mineral composition, including calcium.

 

“Our vision was to deliver an animal-free version of the primary dairy proteins — whey and casein — that can allow product makers to match real dairy products in terms of protein concentration, nutrient profile, and the full sensory experiences of the animal-derived versions,” says Afergan.

 

Imagindairy was co-founded by a multidisciplinary team of prominent experts in microbiology, computational systems, and biotechnology with the support of the Israel-based The Kitchen FoodTech hub. The team, headed by Dr Arie Abo, a specialist in protein biochemistry, in collaboration with Tamir Tuller, a professor at Tel Aviv University, to advance emerging technology to overcome production bottlenecks and create a commercially viable, guilt-free milk product, without forfeiting quality or functionality.

 

“We developed an advanced protein production platform that allows us to optimise every step in creating milk proteins,” notes Tuller, Imagindairy’s co-founder and CSO. “This allowed us to achieve the yield that is needed to achieve commercial production.”

 

Imagindairy’s technology can be readily integrated into existing dairy food production facilities. The start-up already raised $1.5 million in seed funding, led by The Kitchen FoodTech hub, with contributions from the Israeli Innovative Authority, CPT Capital, New Crop Capital, and Entrée Capital, and will soon enter its A-round funding series.

The start-up introduces fast-to-market, highly functional, animal-free

Finance, Start ups

 Funds will be used for expansion to new markets and research and development to support more crops. 

 

 

Bangalore based agri-tech start up Fyllo, has raised Rs 3 crores from Indian Angel Network. Titan Capital, Lead Angels and others joined the round. The start-up will use the capital raised for its expansion to new markets and towards research and development to support more crops. 

Fyllo helps farmers grow export quality crops through its data-driven platform that is powered by IoT, AI, and Agronomy. The start-up has developed crop-specific models for irrigation, nutrients, diseases, pests, and weather management for each physiological stage. Besides, it also provides the best cultural practices at each stage of the crop. 

Speaking on the latest development, Sudhanshu and Sumit said, “Farmers need to make many decisions in real-time, but lack data and intelligence to infer from. They use trial and error techniques to make decisions to grow crops. In fact, they spend 25 per cent more money but the produce is 30 per cent less. We not only provide the data but also actionable insights. We believe Fyllo will help farmers to improve production by 25 per cent and the total cost of production will also reduce by $700. Plus, there will also be an improvement in export quality by up to 81 per cent, thereby fetching double the price on increased export produce. Having received the funding from IAN, we are looking to invest in expanding our brand to new markets.” 

 Padmaja Ruparel, Co-Founder at IAN said, “The market size for Precision agriculture in India is around $7 billion and growing 18 per cent YoY. And with Fyllo’s crop models, farmers can reduce input cost and wastage, and increase crop quality and quantity. We were very excited by Fyllo’s next-gen agriculture innovation providing farmers a solution on their mobiles. We do believe that Sudhanshu and Sumit can build an impactful business catering to Indian and global farmer community”

 

 

 Funds will be used for expansion to