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AgroPolicy, Webinar

The panellists were unanimous to launch a campaign for regulatory reform in the UK

The Biopesticide Summit held virtually was well attended with more than 200 people linking up to view live throughout the three-hour event. The summit focussed on regulatory challenges and called for reform to create a regulatory environment that nurtures and supports the bioprotection industry. This is a worldwide issue, but the UK environment is particularly open to change right now, thanks to the post-Brexit situation. 

 

Adrian Dixon, UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Chemicals Regulation Division, started with an encouraging opening presentation that made it clear that the UK is open to discussions with the industry about developing appropriate regulations and processes for new bioprotection products. 

 

Building on this promising start, Jennifer Lewis, Executive Director of the IBMA, outlined her vision of a successful regulatory system. David Cary, Former Executive Director at the IBMA, outlined the rationale for a change in the EU, and Thorben Looije, Owner Director of Valto, shared his own experiences of trying to register a new bioprotection product in the EU. 

 

Looije’s presentation was a striking example of the problems that small companies face when dealing with the current system, and the damage that the system can do to small bioprotection businesses. The evidence supporting calls for regulatory reform was overwhelming. Streamlining the regulatory process for bioprotection products in the UK and the EU would enable the authorities’ deadlines to be met and would allow the struggling SMEs that make up the BioProtection Industry to fill the growing gaps in pest control market. 

 

Professor Shashi Sharma, President of the World BioProtection Forum. “People are looking to the scientific community to come up with a solution to the damage caused by the excessive use of toxic chemical pesticides, and BioProtectants can provide that solution – we just need to get them to market.”

 

Tristan Jervis, the Senior Public Affairs Consultant, explained how the World BioProtection Forum’s lobbying campaign will make use of the unique window of opportunity in post-Brexit Britain. The UK government has just announced that a new unit is being set up to shed certain EU regulations, and it has declared its support for sectors making for a greener environment (given the importance of the green agenda as a pillar in the UK’s industrial strategy). 

 

In this political climate, post-Brexit and post-COVID, the case for regulatory reform is likely to receive a sympathetic and fair hearing. Jervis called on the industry to support the World BioProtection Forum’s campaign, both in terms of adding political weight to the campaign, and by helping to fund the campaign activities. 

 

“Success depends on us all pulling together now, as an industry,” said Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman, World BioProtection Forum. “We now know that policymakers will listen, but we need enough voices to make enough noise! If we have enough companies supporting the campaign, willing to put their logos and names behind us, then policymakers will listen and we can finally make the regulatory changes we have been requesting for more than 20 years.” 

The panellists were unanimous to launch a

Agrotech, Europe

The Advisory Committee of WBF has elected the new President and Vice President

Professor Shashi Sharma, a former Director to the Western Australian Government in Plant Biosecurity, and Professor and Chair in Biosecurity and Food Security at Murdoch University (Australia), and Professor Zhibing Zhang of the University of Birmingham, UK, have been elected President and Vice President, respectively, of the World BioProtection Forum (WBF). The elections took place during a recently held meeting of the WBF Advisory Committee.

 

Professor Sharma has more than 35 years of international cross-sector experience in the food and agriculture sector, having worked, collaborated, managed, coordinated, directed, participated, networked and/or led initiatives in over 30 countries across five continents. 

 

Professor Zhibing, who has built an international reputation for developing original work on micromanipulation of single micro-/nanoparticles and encapsulation/ bio encapsulation, brings to the table an academic perspective. He has undertaken research projects on product formulation engineering in collaboration with more than 40 national and international companies, leading to a wide range of industrial applications.

 

“The appointments of Professors Shashi Sharma and Zhibing Zhang reflect a key focus of the WBF in connecting industry and academia,” commented Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman, WBF. “If we can connect these two sectors effectively, then collaboration will lead to innovation and commercialisation, and we will move the whole BioProtection industry forward.”

 

“There is a lock of global and vision in the bio protection sector,” declared Professor Sharma. “For the past 25 years, we have been reactive, but a strategic approach must be taken if we are to find global solutions to the problems facing us today. We need new systems, new technologies and new approaches for providing 21st-century solutions to 21st-century problems. The WBF is in a good position to offer that leadership and to help the BioProtection industry finally realise its potential.”

 

Professor Zhibing Zhang FREng said, “Food safety and environmental protection are two long-term grand challenges we face on this planet, which require global collaborations between industry and academia. The founding of the World Bioprotection Forum is timely, as it can facilitate such collaborations to develop innovative products for bio protection in the post-covid world.”

The Advisory Committee of WBF has elected

Agrotech, North America

NV5 will provide digital aerial imagery of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests over the five-year duration of the contract

NV5 Global, a provider of professional and technical engineering, geospatial, and consulting solutions, announced that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected NV5 for an $8 million contract to provide geospatial services to support forestry management in Alaska. NV5 will provide digital aerial imagery of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests over the five-year duration of the contract.

 

The data collected by NV5 will contribute to the management of the USDA Forest Service’s National Forests and other critical natural areas in Alaska. The imagery will support the management of the region and provide information to policymakers, resource managers, and the public about the condition of forests and trends that may impact the sustainability of forest lands.

 

“Geospatial data is a disruptive technology that continues to provide new insights for the management of natural resources, including shoreline resilience, water resources and conservation, and forest health and management,” said Dickerson Wright, PE, Chairman and CEO, NV5. “NV5 geospatial is a leader in the development of innovative data collection and analytics solutions to support natural resources management, and we are pleased to contribute to the sustainable management of forests in Alaska and across the country.”

NV5 will provide digital aerial imagery of

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, Trade

Prahalad Singh Patel has been appointed the MoS in MoFPI

Pashupati Kumar Paras from Bihar has been inducted as a Cabinet minister and given the charge of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The portfolio was earlier with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. 

 

Prahalad Singh Patel from Madhya Pradesh has been appointed the MoS in MoFPI.

 

Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who was earlier handling the Minister of State for Health has now joined the food processing ministry as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Prahalad Singh Patel has been appointed the

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech

The interim injunction restrains Natco from manufacturing, distributing, exporting, offering to sell or selling any product which contains FMC’s leading insect control active ingredient

FMC Corporation announced that the Delhi High Court has granted the company an interim injunction against NATCO Pharma. The interim injunction restrains Natco from manufacturing, using, distributing, advertising, exporting, offering to sell and/or selling any product which contains chlorantraniliprole, FMC’s leading insect control active ingredient.

FMC filed the lawsuit against Natco at the Delhi High Court in October 2019 for potential patent infringement of certain Indian patents covering chlorantraniliprole. FMC sells chlorantraniliprole in India under the trade name Rynaxapyr active, which is the primary ingredient in Coragen and Ferterra insecticides.

Coragen and Ferterra insecticides are approved for controlling pests on rice, sugarcane, vegetables, maize as well as other important crops. These insecticides and their patented active ingredients are well known by farmers and recognized for their favourable safety and environmental profile, which has earned them a green label from India’s regulatory body.

“FMC Corporation invests heavily in research and development to bring innovations to farmers throughout India and around the world. We are deeply committed to ensuring farmers use genuine crop protection products from legitimate sources,” said Michael Reilly, Executive VP, General Counsel and Secretary, FMC.

The interim injunction restrains Natco from manufacturing,

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Dairy

Rupala will be assisted by Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and L Murugan, who has been appointed as Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

Parshottam Rupala has been promoted as a Cabinet minister and will head the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy. Rupala (66), who belongs from the Patel community in Gujarat, will be in charge of the ministry formed in 2019 to promote allied farm activities for enhancing farmers’ income. Earlier, Rupala was holding charge as minister of state for agriculture in the Union Cabinet.

 

Sanjeev Kumar Balyan will continue as Minister of State (MoS) for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and along with him, L Murugan has been given the charge as Minister of State (MoS) of this ministry, who will assist Rupala.

Rupala will be assisted by Sanjeev Kumar

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Organic, R&D

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare raises concerns about India’s Basmati Rice exports with the EU

A virtual meeting between Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Janusz Wojciechowski, Member of the European Commission, Agriculture was recently held. Both dignitaries discussed EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and the recent India market reforms; EU Farm to Fork Strategy and UN Food System Summit and bilateral cooperation; G20 Agriculture Minister process and fixation of the Maximum Residue Limit of Tricyclazole in Indian Basmati Rice by the EU. 

 

The Member of the European Commission, Agriculture explained in detail the recent reforms undertaken by the EU in the Common Agriculture Policy as well as the EU Farm to Fork Strategy to make agriculture green as well as sustainable. He also mentioned that the EU has set a target of bringing 25 per cent of the area in the EU under Organic Farming by 2030. 

 

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare explained the scenario of agriculture in India and the dominance of small farmers and the commitment of the Government of India towards the welfare of farmers in India. The agriculture minister highlighted the recent initiatives taken by the Government of India to increase the incomes of the farmers, the launch of agriculture infrastructure fund with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore for development of farm gate and agriculture marketing infrastructure in rural areas, scheme of formation of 10000 FPOs to help small and marginal farmers in marketing of agricultural produce. He enlisted the steps being taken by the Government of India to make agriculture sustainable and environment friendly which included encouragement of application nano-urea and organic farming under the Pramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. He also highlighted the initiative of encouraging organic farming on either side of the Ganga river up to 5 Km through the formation of clusters wherein 11 lakh farmers have already enrolled. 

 

The agriculture minister acknowledged India’s support to the UN Food Systems Summit and informed the EU delegation that he will be leading the India delegation to the Pre-Summit being organised from July 26 to 28, 2021 virtually.

 

Tomar also raised the issue of fixing the Maximum Residual Limit (MRL) of Tricyclazole used in rice crop which has been a concern for India and is affecting India’s Basmati Rice Exports to the EU. All the required studies and documents have been submitted to the EU in May-2021 and MRL will be fixed by the second quarter of 2022 before next season.

 

Tomar suggested that until then the issue may be resolved through other mitigation measures. A Member of the European Commission said that such issues are not under his mandate, however, he assured the Indian side to raise the issues with his concerned colleagues in the European Commission. 

 

Both the dignitaries thanked each other for providing useful information on India-EU cooperation as well as agriculture reforms in respective regions and also promised to work for the welfare of small and marginal farmers.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Start ups, Webinar

Partner to make agri tech accessible for farmers through vernacular sessions

The 28th edition of the series of agricultural presentations was recently held. The series of agricultural presentations by technology developers across the Indian research Institutes and their incubated start-ups have helped showcase around 150 agricultural technologies across different themes, farm management, post-harvest management, allied agriculture, etc. These have been garnered under the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), Government of India. The presentations are made primarily for the demand members (Industry and Incubators) to evaluate the technologies and to stitch the supply side and demand side of agriculture through technology.

Speaking at the 28th edition, Dr AK Singh, Deputy Director-General, (Agricultural Extension) ICAR, pointed out that KisanMitr is helping to develop technology solutions for the problems faced by the farmers. He congratulated the Office of PSA, ICST, NSRCEL for facilitating the process of making technology and innovations that are developed in research laboratories across the country reach farmers across the country. Applauding the organisation of vernacular sessions of these webinars, he also hoped that the upcoming webinars will bring together more farmers to talk about their problems, and what technology solutions they need.

He opined, “One farmer will help train many more farmers. So, if we train one with technology, they will help transfer knowledge too.”

Dr Singh called out to the KVKs to be flag bearers and help reach these solutions to reach the farmer by organising a viewing session in KVK offices for farmers for demonstration of technologies. 75e KVKs have, till now, partnered for this outreach.  

Among the voluntary organisations that are facilitating the vernacular language sessions for farmers are VIT School of Agricultural Innovations and Advanced Learning, VAIAL (Tamil), and Grameena Incubation Center (Telugu). The teams are in talks with others for sessions in Gujarati, Marathi, and Rajasthani. The upcoming sessions in Tamil and Telugu are planned to be held on July 10 and 17 respectively. Coming months, the plan is to telecast these sessions in other regional languages as more KVK partners join the initiative.

Partner to make agri tech accessible for

Agrotech, Finance

Mycionics, in partnership with Whitecrest Mushrooms and Piccioni Brothers Mushroom Farm, will deploy and demonstrate the commercial viability

Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organisation behind Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster, has announced almost $4.2 million in collaborative funding for a multi-partner project, led by Mycionics, that will deploy advanced robotic solutions to revolutionise the mushroom harvesting processes.

Mycionics, in partnership with Whitecrest Mushrooms and Piccioni Brothers Mushroom Farm, will deploy and demonstrate the commercial viability of the Mycionics robotic harvesting system. The Mycionics system will fully automate mushroom harvesting using novel advanced robotics and automation. The entire harvesting process will be optimised through the application of data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Mycionics will be the first company in the world to successfully automate the end-to-end mushroom harvesting process for the fresh market.

“This is exactly the type of project we aim to support through the Innovation Superclusters Initiative,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Leading-edge Canadian companies like Mycionics promote Canadian solutions to global problems. This project pushes technological boundaries, develops advanced manufacturing and creates good jobs for Canadians while exporting groundbreaking technology to the world.”

As a complete system, Mycionics robotic harvester will increase the yield of a growing room through a ’smart graze harvesting’ strategy, picking over 24 hours and allowing the system to pick each mushroom at the optimal time instead of being restricted to harvesting only during normal working hours. Additionally, the ability to harvest robotically and the use of data analytics will increase food safety, traceability and disease detection.

As Mycionics grows and develops as a company, it will create numerous high-tech jobs in rural communities in Canada and around the world. The company is poised to see significant growth as they begin servicing farms throughout North America and Europe.

“This project serves to highlight exactly what NGen hopes to achieve through its supercluster project funding,” said Jayson Myers, CEO, NGen. “The Mycionics project brings together multiple partners from different sectors of the economy to develop and build a world-class advanced manufacturing solution. In the process, Mycionics will create jobs, establish a Canadian supply chain for machine parts and assembly, help build out the entire advanced manufacturing ecosystem, and have a lasting and positive impact on Canadians and the economy.”

“Our partnership with NGen will accelerate commercialisation of Mycionics patented robotic mushroom harvesting to solve the increasing labour shortage affecting mushroom farms globally. Mycionics robotics were designed to simply integrate with existing mushroom farm infrastructure commonly used throughout the world,” said Michael Curry, CEO, Mycionics.

This is one of many projects funded by NGen through Canada’s Innovation Supercluster Initiative. NGen is investing $192 million of Supercluster funding and is aiming to leverage at least another $358 million of industry investments in collaborative industry-led projects before the end of March 2023 to facilitate collaboration and accelerate the implementation, scale-up, and commercialisation of advanced technologies for manufacturing in Canada.

Mycionics, in partnership with Whitecrest Mushrooms and

Foodgrains, Transportation

 Bhalia wheat variety is grown in the rainfed condition without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat

In a major boost to wheat exports, the first shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported today to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat. The GI certified wheat has high protein content and is sweet in taste. The crop is grown mostly across Bhal region of Gujarat which includes Ahmadabad, Anand, Kheda, Bhavanagar, Surendranagar, Bharuch districts.

The unique characteristic of the wheat variety is that grown in the rainfed condition without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat. The Bhalia variety of wheat received GI certification in July, 2011. The registered proprietor of GI certification is Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat.

This initiative is expected to give boost wheat exports from India. In 2020-21, the wheat exports from India witnessed a significant growth of 808  per cent  to Rs 4034 crore from Rs 444 crore reported in the previous fiscal. In US dollar terms, the wheat exports rose by 778 per cent to $ 549 million in 2020-21.

India exported substantial quantity of grain to seven new countries – Yemen, Indonesia, Bhutan, Philippines, Iran, Cambodia and Myanmar during 2020-21.In the previous financial years, only small quantities of wheat were exported to these countries. Wheat exports did not take place to these seven countries in 2018-19 and only 4 metric tonne of grain was exported in 2019-20. The volume of exports of wheat to these countries rose to 1.48 lakh tone in 2020-21.

 

 Bhalia wheat variety is grown in the

Dairy, Interaction, Live Stock

Discussions were held on how to maximise returns by taking guidance from Siddhagiri Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Kolhapur

Siddhagiri Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Kolhapur, Maharashtra recently organised ’Agriculture Exhibition on Indigenous Cow’. PP Adrushya Kadsiddheshwar, Chairman, Siddhagiri Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kolhapur, Maharashtra urged farmers to rare and conserve Indian cow breeds. He also stressed farmers develop as entrepreneurs and emphasised forming the Farmers’ Producers’ Organisations for better linking to the markets.

 

Dr Ravindra Singh, Head, Siddhagiri Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kolhapur, Maharashtra urged farmers to establish indigenous cow-based goshalas and dairy units with the technical help of KVK.

 

About 22 indigenous breeds namely — Gir, Sahiwal, Lal Kandhari, Kankarej, Khillar, Deoni, Dangi, Ongole and other breeds were exhibited during the exhibition. The event saw a total participation of 530 people.

 

Discussions were held on how to maximise

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech

APH1 demonstrates effective control over a broad panel of weeds at commercial dose rates

AgPlenus, a company designing effective, sustainable crop protection products by leveraging computational biology and chemistry, and a subsidiary of Evogene, has achieved positive results in a Proof of Concept (POC) testing of a resistance trait for its leading novel Mode-of-Action (MoA) herbicide product candidate, APH1.

The preferred agricultural practice in field crops is utilising herbicides that only affect weeds, and not the commercial crop. Among other benefits, this allows farmers to apply the herbicide during the growing season without risk to the commercial crop. Therefore, there is importance in developing herbicides to which commercial crops have inherent tolerance, or for which resistance can be developed. The announcement focuses on the progress in developing a resistance trait to AgPlenus’ leading herbicide candidate, APH1.

APH1 demonstrated effective control over a broad panel of weeds at commercial dose rates, including control over weeds that are known to have resistance to existing herbicides. The achievement of the milestone now being reported follows the conclusion of greenhouse tests demonstrating that model plants modified with a resistance trait, and treated with APH1, was resistant to it, showing no damage after application.

The results indicate the potential for developing commercial crops with herbicide resistance to APH1, expanding its potential use to additional commercial crops. As previously disclosed, corn and other cereals already exhibit inherent tolerance to APH1, while additional important target crops, such as soybean, do not. Therefore, the development of a resistance trait to APH1 can facilitate the potential offering of APH1 to those additional crops.

AgPlenus’ herbicide programme focuses on the discovery and targeting of new MoAs to overcome herbicide resistance issues. AgPlenus’ herbicide candidate APH1 is the first chemical compound addressing a novel MoA from this program to reach the ’Lead’ stage. This MoA is not present in higher organisms such as mammals, which may favourably impact its potential safety profile.

In parallel, AgPlenus is working on developing crops resistant to its new MoA herbicides, to expand the potential of their commercial application. Crops that are resistant to herbicides enable the implementation of weed management practices that improve yield and profitability while lowering the environmental impact.

To achieve this POC, AgPlenus transformed tobacco plants to express a protein that made them resistant to APH1. These modified plants were grown in a greenhouse and sprayed with a high dose of APH1, equivalent to 2 kg/ha.

APH1 demonstrates effective control over a broad

Agrotech, IT

The initiative will lead to better accessibility of crop information for industry professionals and growers across the world

ADAMA, a leading global crop protection company and Agremo, a leading aerial analytics provider, have announced an expansion programme of the ADAMA Eagle Eye, a drone analytics farming platform powered by Agremo and operated by ADAMA.

 

Mutual efforts between the companies enable the collection of highly accurate crop data layers of growers’ fields to optimise the management of field trials and demo plots, supporting ADAMA’s product development and marketing activities and allowing better accessibility to crop information for industry professionals and growers across the world.

 

Georgiana Francescotti, Head of Global AgTech and Digital Services, ADAMA, says, “We are happy to expand our partnership with Agremo, to provide growers and Ag-professionals tools that enable effective and efficient use of agricultural inputs, which is an important part of every farmer’s success.”

 

The Agremo software extracts critical information from a drone map to provide different field and crop reports into the ADAMA Eagle Eye system. The reports illustrate actionable details on plant population, stand count, flowering estimate, weed, stress, pest, disease, drought, and field arable area.

 

ADAMA Eagle Eye analysis reports simplify field scouting and managing demo plots by taking the guesswork out of crop progress and reduces the need for a field visit. The additional data layer Agremo provides, will help ADAMA make smarter decisions about pipeline projects with vital insights using a visual data point. In addition, the report aids in a more focused discussion about the observations eliminates speculation regarding ADAMA products’ efficacy and provides conversational topics when meeting customers and growers.

 

Yalon Perelman, AgTech Project Manager, ADAMA, elaborates, “In 2021, ADAMA Eagle Eye powered by Agremo, will roll-out in 6 new countries in addition to the US. Agremo’s pilot network makes it possible to perform a more significant number of missions at a lower cost in wide geographical deployment. The ability to translate reliable information from the field into actionable and accurate data enables ADAMA’s teams to demonstrate the performance of its products while sharing the results with growers.”

The initiative will lead to better accessibility

AgroPolicy, Environment, Interaction

The India-centric summit will have a special focus be India-centric on ’Powering India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem’

’International Climate Summit 2021’ (ICS 2021), an initiative by the Environment Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be organised on September 3, 2021. The summit will be held in partnership with NITI Aayog, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, CSIR and the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

 

The summit will be India-centric, and action-oriented with a special focus on ’Powering India’s Hydrogen Ecosystem’. The summit sessions will focus on cooperative efforts that will help establish solutions for storing and transporting pressurised and liquefied hydrogen, to build a hydrogen economy and supply chain in India.

 

The summit’s agenda complements the initiatives through recommendations on the formation of an ’International Hydrogen Alliance’ similar to ’International Solar Alliance’, and the setting up of ’Centres of Excellence’ in select universities across India. Key initiatives will assist in capacity building through a strong knowledge base and R&D.

 

Co-organised in association with ITEN Media – India’s leading organiser of energy events, the summit is supported by Ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Power, Coal, Earth Sciences and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise. The Government of Norway has kindly consented to be the Partner Country for the Summit.

As a precursor to the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) scheduled in November 2021 at Glasgow, ICS 2021 is a step forward in the mission and aims to meet climate challenges through a consolidated approach and timely interventions.

 

Together with India’s Prime Minister and other world leaders, the summit will bring together nobel laureates, policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, experts and scientists to arrive at a consensus in matters about climate change and sustainability.

 

The India-centric summit will have a special