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Acquaculture, Agro Universities, Webinar

125 students and faculty members virtually participated in the programme

The a-IDEA, Agri-Business Incubator of the ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, recently organised a Sensitization Programme on ’Entrepreneurship Development in Fisheries Sector for Students of ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai’ to sensitise about the entrepreneurial opportunities in fisheries.

Dr Gopal Krishna, Director & Vice-Chancellor, ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai emphasised the importance of integrating all the disciplines of agriculture and allied sectors from an Entrepreneurship perspective.

Dr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad urged the participants for including the concept of fish for climate, equity, income and sustainable development in the agricultural ecosystem in general and the Entrepreneurship business model in particular.

Dr NA Vijay Avinashilingam, Additional CEO, a-IDEA, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad apprised about the process of incubation and start-Up industry.

Sai Krishna, CEO, fishyfarmers.com and an entrepreneur in aquaponics sector also shared his experiences in the journey of turning his idea into a successful start-up.

125 students and faculty members virtually participated in the programme.

125 students and faculty members virtually participated

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Finance

The funding will fuel the company’s accelerating release of disruptive products

Pivot Bio, a leading nitrogen innovator in agriculture, announced the close of a $430 million Series D funding led by DCVC and Temasek, bringing the total equity raised to more than $600 million. The funding will fuel the company’s accelerating release of disruptive products focussed on replacing the $60 billion of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser sold each year just to sustain corn, wheat and rice.

Pivot Bio has replaced synthetic nitrogen on more than 1 million crop acres in 2021 alone, representing more than 300 per cent growth year-over-year and unprecedented agricultural product adoption. Pivot Bio’s clean nitrogen immediately decreases and permanently prevents synthetic nitrogen emissions from the environment, potentially avoiding approximately $200 billion of environmental impact.

Generation Investment Management, G2 Venture Partners, and Rockefeller Capital Management join returning investors in Pivot Bio’s Series D, including Series D co-leads DCVC, also the Seed, Series A lead, and material investor in all funding rounds since the company’s inception, and Temasek, also Series C co-lead; Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the Series B lead and Series C co-lead; Continental Grain Company; Prelude Ventures; Pavilion Capital; Bunge Ventures, the venture capital arm of the leading global agribusiness and food company Bunge; Tekfen Ventures; and Roger Underwood, the co-founder of industry-leading biological technology company Becker Underwood. Pivot Bio’s next stage of growth will focus on rapidly scaling its US business and expanding into key international markets.

Pivot Bio is selling the first disruptive agricultural products in decades through a direct-to-grower model by creating mutual trust and economic success for both the farmer and the company.

The funding will fuel the company’s accelerating

Agrotech, Machinery – Post-harvesting

The facility in Amb, Himachal Pradesh, is spread across 29 acres and has been set up with an investment of Rs 200 crores

Sonalika Group has taken a quantum leap to set up a new high tech facility at Amb, Himachal Pradesh, with an investment of Rs 200 crores to roll out advanced quality harvesters. Sonalika’s new plant at Amb is spread across 29 acres and is designed with a multi-stage CED (Cathode Electric Deposition) paint process is often seen at car manufacturing facilities. Established with an investment of Rs 18 crores, the CED paint process involves a 14-stage treatment process that ensures rust-free and a longer period of harvester’s performance.

 

Parallelly, Sonalika has launched the most advanced harvester available in India, the Sonalika Samrat at Rs 25.5 lakhs. The self-propelled harvester is fully equipped with next-gen technologies that not just reduce the tedious labour tasks during the harvesting season but also remains economical, thereby leading to quick savings for farmers. The new combine harvester from Sonalika will maximise crop yield and avoid quality deterioration as well as minimise any crop losses. The Sonalika Samrat facilitates operations like reaping, threshing & winnowing. It is designed for farmers to obtain maximum yield with ease and comfort in operations during harvesting of wheat, paddy, barley, soybean, sunflower, mustard, green gram along black gram.

 

Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Group said, “Our new plant at Amb, HP has been installed with world-class technologies to manufacture high-tech harvesters that significantly increase farmer’s productivity. The state-of-the-art facility has been equipped with a world-class CED paint shop for rust-free performance from our products for years after their purchase. Our latest launch, the Sonalika Samrat combine harvester has been designed to maximise farmer efficiency during harvesting. It is fully equipped with next-gen technologies and boasts modern comfort along with styling for customer’s delight. We at Sonalika are fully passionate about driving farm mechanisation for our farmers to achieve farm prosperity.”

 

The facility in Amb, Himachal Pradesh, is

Acquaculture, Agrotech

Global sales are expected to reach $27 billion by 2031

Hydroponics market size was estimated to be $2 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $27 billion by 2031 at a CAGR of 26.9 per cent. Hydroponics is a climate conformable and beneficial innovation that fascinates the way toward growing plants by utilising mineral supplement arrangements in sand, rock, or fluid without utilising soil. It has been embraced by the different governments and non-legislative associations for its benefit in consumable food safety.

The expanding preference for hydroponics by various domains and industries as a production strategy is expected to drive market improvement during the forecast period of 2021-2031, according to insightSLICE, market intelligence and strategy consulting company.

In an enclosed space farming system, namely, greenhouse farming, the danger of waterborne infections represents a significant issue to cultivators. Considering that the supplement induced water is recycled all through the system, any sort of waterborne sickness that enters the supplement storage, influences the entire harvest as it can spread all through. Producers regularly keep their plants dispersed to forestall swarming, which is frequently how microbes enter the system.

To battle the occurrences of waterborne sicknesses, producers are dependent on utilising screen or paper channels and extra filtration systems to check the presence and spread of waterborne infections in the system.

Aquaculture production has acquired prevalence among commercially produced vegetable manufacturers since it is a proficient strategy to ensure inputs and manage activities concerned with plant sickness and bugs, along with not being a tedious technique needing labour to supervise bigger areas of activity.

As hydroponics disposes of the requirement for soil fumigants and can yield good quality and quantities of well-known vegetables, ranchers in the province are expected to perceive hydroponics as a preferred development strategy.

The demand for exotic food products has been continually evolving at a higher rate in virtue of the altered buying preference of customers. The expense of these outlandish items is high, as the greater portion of these items is imported, and subsequently, a few organisations related to research along with universities are zeroing in on setting up a more simplified version of hydroponics systems to speed up the production of exotic foods grown and fulfil the raising requirement.

Expanding attentiveness among the customers regarding the consumption of organic as well as exotic vegetables may likewise fuel the market later. Prodigious expense is the lone significant disadvantage in innovation. Nonetheless, a great deal of research and development movement is being done internationally to decrease the expense associated with innovation in all forms.

The decisive business players are fixated on incorporating high benefits, developing accentuation on food safety standards, and expanding utilization of organic vegetables in salad form, worldwide is another contributing factor in market alteration at present. High initial expense and low innovation exposure among the general populace worldwide are the primary factors controlling the development of the market currently. The innovation is intricate when contrasted with other horticultural techniques.

Warming, ventilation and cooling presume a critical part in the furtherance of indoor producers, as the system monitors and controls cooling, dehumidification, and keeping up with the ideal temperature inside the production area. The central air system is fundamental for the activity of aquaculture and hydroponic cultivates.

Further, the monetary expenses of the system over other gear and utilities that go into hydroponics the central air ventilation is evaluated to encounter an expanding demand. The total aquaculture system market is postulated to observe quicker development in virtue of the occurrence of fluid hydroponics system, which is relied upon to develop at a notable CAGR. Among total hydroponics, open systems would develop at a quicker speed, given the expanding degree of products and framework advancements.

Global sales are expected to reach $27

AgroPolicy, Pulses

Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman, IPGA thanks the Department of Consumer Affairs for hosting a video conference for better co-ordination among multiple associations

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) has welcomed the government’s move on amended stock limits notification. 

 

Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman, IPGA, reacting to the amended stock limits notification said, “IPGA has been following up with the Department of Consumer Affairs and had urged for a meeting of all stakeholders to present the issues faced by the trade as a result of the stock limits. We are grateful to Piyush Goyal, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and senior officials of the Department of Consumer Affairs for hosting a video conference recently wherein IPGA coordinated with multiple other associations to participate in the video conference.” 

 

Kothari added, “We are happy that the continuous and sustained efforts of IPGA have borne fruit and thank the ministers for taking the prompt decision to support the trade by issuing this amendment withdrawing the stock limit on imported pulses and enhancing the limits for millers to six months or up to 50 per cent of their annual milling capacity, enhancing the stock limit for wholesalers has also been enhanced to 500 MT with 200 MT limit for a single variety. We also welcome the decision to restrict the stock limit to tur, urad, masoor and chana and exempting all the minor pulses like kabuli chana, lobia, peas, beans, etc. We are confident that this will smoothen the supply of pulses in the coming months and stabilise the prices of pulses during the forthcoming festive period.”

Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman, IPGA thanks the

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Dairy, Finance, Schemes - Govt

Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) offers financial support to entrepreneurs, private companies, MSME and Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) 

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, with a view to provide dedicated focus towards promoting & facilitating investments in the Indian Dairy sector, has setup Dairy Investment Accelerator under its Investment Facilitation Cell. This Investment Accelerator is a cross functional team constituted to serve as the interface with investors. It shall provide support across the investment cycle:

  • Offering specific inputs for evaluation of investment opportunities
  • Addressing queries about application to govt. schemes
  • Connecting with strategic partners
  • Providing on-ground assistance with state departments & relevant authorities

Further, the Dairy Investment Accelerator will work with DAHD to organize a series of events with global & local industry participants and one-on-one discussions with the investors to understand their perspectives, facilitate direct interactions with government officials and connects with other players in the industry.

Dairy Investment Accelerator is also generating awareness among investors about Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development fund (AHIDF). AHIDF is one of the flagship schemes by DAHD, Government of India whereby Rs. 15,000 crore fund has been setup for offering financial support to entrepreneurs, private companies, MSME, Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), and Section 8 companies. Eligible entities can avail the benefits of the scheme to set up new units or expand existing units in areas of dairy processing & related value addition infrastructure, meat processing & related value addition infrastructure and Animal Feed Plant.

The DAHD encourages all the private companies, individual entrepreneurs, and start-ups,who are interested in investing in Dairy sector, to reach out to the Dairy Investment Accelerator on dairy-accelerator@lsmgr.nic.in.

 

Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) offers

AgroPolicy, Pulses, Supply Chain

Move to benefit farmers comes at a time when prices of pulses are showing a declining trend

The Centre has taken steps to crack down on the rising prices of pulses that would help farmers in a big way. Considering the softening of the prices and feedback received from state governments and various stakeholders, the government has relaxed stock limits for millers and wholesalers and exempted importers from the same. These entities shall however continue to declare stocks on the web portal of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The stock limits shall be applicable only to tur, urad, gram and masur.

The revised order provides that stock shall be applicable only on tur, masoor, urad, and chana, for a period up to October 31, 2021. It has been decided that importers of pulses will be exempted from stock limits and shall continue to declare stocks of pulses on the portal (fcainfoweb.nic.in) of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

For wholesalers, the stock limit will be 500 MT (provided there should not be more than 200 MT of one variety; for retailers, the stock limit will be 5 MT; and for Millers, stock limits will be last the six months’ production or 50 per cent of annual installed capacity, whichever is higher. The relaxation for millers will have a down-streaming effect in terms of giving assurance to farmers at this critical juncture of Kharif sowing of Tur and Urad.

Respective legal entities shall continue to declare the stocks on the portal (fcainfoweb.nic.in) of the Department of Consumer Affairs. In case the stocks held by them are higher than the prescribed limits, then the farmers shall bring it to the prescribed stock limits within 30 days of the issue of this notification.

It may be noted that the Government of India has been making continuous efforts to crack down on prices of essential commodities like pulses and had taken various measures like the stock declaration of pulses by the stockholders of different categories on May 14, 2021, and thereafter imposition of stock limits on pulses on July 2, 2021.

With the active cooperation of States /UTs and all stakeholders involved in the pulses trade, in a short span of two months, there were 8343 registrations by entities and stocks worth more than 30.01 lakh MT was declared on the web portal of the Department.

Prices of tur, urad, moong and gram started are showing a consistently declining trend. Beginning with the declaration of stocks on the portal by stockholders from mid-May of 2021 and constant monitoring of the same by central and state governments, to the imposition of stock limits for augmenting supplies in the first week of July, the interventions have consistently been aimed at cooling the retail prices of pulses. Wholesale prices of all the pulses (except Masur) have fallen by 3 to 4 per cent in the last two months and retail prices over the same period for all the pulses (except Masur) have fallen by 2 to 4 per cent.

The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution recently took a meeting, in which the Minister of State was also present, with various stakeholders’ Associations, including importers, millers, wholesalers and retailers of Pulses, to discuss issues connected with imposition of stock limits on pulses. All the major associations assured their full cooperation towards the declaration of stocks on the web portal of the Department of Consumer Affairs and in ensuring that there is no hoarding and artificial scarcity.

Move to benefit farmers comes at a

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, IT, Supply Chain

More than 125 farmers of western Uttar Pradesh participated in the awareness drive

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)’ and Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) have taken an innovative step to sensitise farmers involved in the cultivation of Basmati rice.

As a part of the initiative, BEDF in association with the Rice Exporters Association of Uttar Pradesh has launched an awareness campaign to encourage farmers for growing high-quality Basmati rice at Jahangirpur under Gautam Budh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. As part of the nationwide celebration of 75 years of India’s independence or ‘AzadiKaAmrutMahotsav’, BEDF launched an awareness drive for farmers for judicious use of chemicals in basmati paddy cultivation.

Through the awareness creation programme, farmers were informed that Basmati rice cultivation is an Indian tradition and it is a collective responsibility to maintain this tradition as there is a huge demand for Basmati rice in the global market. The farmers have been requested to get themselves registered on basmati.net through State Agriculture Department.

More than 125 farmers of western Uttar Pradesh participated in the awareness drive, wherein they were told to use the right quantity of chemicals and fertilisers to produce high-quality Basmati that will help them in increasing the demand for Basmati rice in the world resulting in increasing the income of farmers.

APEDA through BEDF has been assisting the state governments in the promotion of basmati rice cultivation. APEDA has also suggested the usage of certified seeds to maintain the quality of the products by farmers along with scientific use of chemical fertilizer to ensure quality production of basmati rice which would further give a boost to basmati rice exports from the country.

Basmati.net is developed by APEDA and is aimed to provide a common platform to all stakeholders in the supply chain to enter details of activities undertaken by them as part of the Basmati value chain.

APEDA has been promoting rice exports through collaborations with various stakeholders in the value chains. The government had set up the Rice Export Promotion Forum (REPF), under the aegis of the APEDA. REPF has representations from the rice industry, exporters, officials from APEDA, ministry of commerce and directors of agriculture from major rice-producing states including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

More than 125 farmers of western Uttar

AgroPolicy, Logistics, Supply Chain, Warehousing

The winners will be announced on October 31, 2021

The government announced the launch of the National Logistics Excellence Awards. The framework of awards has been finalised in consultation with the logistics associations and forum user industry partners. The awards are in two categories, the first group includes logistics infrastructure/service providers and the second one is for various user industries. There was wide-scale appreciation from user industries for giving due recognition to various players involved in the logistics supply chain.

The awards will highlight best practices including consolidation, process standardisation, technological upgrade, digital transformations, and sustainable practices. “Through these awards, we aim to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained operational excellence, adopted digitisation and technology, improved customer service and pursued sustainable practices, among other achievements,” said Pawan Agarwal, Special Secretary, Logistics Division.

He further added that “For user industries, the awards will showcase efforts towards supply chain transformation, supplier ecosystem development, skill development, automation, and other similar endeavours.”

The awards will also be an opportunity to laud the extraordinary measures organisations have taken to address the deficiencies exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic including last-mile delivery start-ups, development of cold storage facilities, effective transportation of oxygen, and uninterrupted supply of essential goods and services to the needy.

The industry participants and officers from line ministries welcomed the initiative to recognise the logistics sector which is playing an important role in economic development. An important outcome of the event will be a library of case studies on best practices in logistics, showcased as a ’Logistics Excellence Gallery’ at the website of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Logistics service providers and end-user industries doing exceptional work in the field of logistics will be featured in the gallery.

Organisations will be invited to submit entries via the ministry of commerce and industry website. Shortlisted entrants will present their case to a National Jury panel, which will decide the winners. The panel will be chaired by the Special Secretary, Logistics Division, and will comprise senior representatives from line Ministries, Logistics and Supply chain experts from leading academic and research institutions, and CXO-level professionals from user industries and service providers.

The winners will be announced on October 31, 2021. All case studies by finalists in the National Jury round will be showcased in the Logistics Excellence Gallery.

The winners will be announced on October

Agrotech, IT

Scales up to become part of OpenAg Network

nurture.farm, a digital platform for growers, farming communities and food systems, is scaling and expanding its global reach as a part of the OpenAg network. The OpenAg network was conceived by UPL, a leader in sustainable agriculture.

 

The nurture.farm platform fosters resilient farmers, making agriculture simple, profitable and sustainable for generations to come through technology-led solutions covering every step of the farming life cycle. nurture.farm, which was incubated by UPL, will operate as an open platform in the supply of products, innovation and mechanisation.

 

Dhruv Sawhney, COO and Business Head, nurture.farm said, “The impact of nurture.farm on farming communities represents significant progress in advancing our mission to reimagine sustainability for agriculture across the world and help farmers secure a brighter future. Our digital platform is helping farming communities that are facing several competing external risks and challenges including variable weather patterns, financial insecurity, and lack of access to information and mechanisation. We are democratising technology, creating a shared infrastructure and uniting farmers and buyers under a global community committed to driving sustainability. We look forward to taking our revolutionary platform to new markets, as we endeavour to change the game for farmers and make food systems more sustainable.” 

 

Through a holistic approach, nurture.farm has developed a comprehensive ecosystem of integrated solutions to increase accessibility, connectivity and resilience, and secure sustainable outcomes. 

 

The key solutions include:

  • farm – supports farmers at every step of the farming life cycle by driving precision agriculture at scale through crop health solutions, advisory services, farm-level mechanisation & digitization.
  • retail – enables retailers & farmers to purchase authentic and high-quality agricultural input products (crop protection, seeds, farm equipment, feeds, and more).
  • trade – connects farmers and buyers through end-to-end traceability of sustainable practices, transparency of information, and convenient access to markets.
  • sustain – drives sustainable agriculture globally through regenerative practices and reward farmers for adopting them

As a part of its mission to create sustainable food systems, nurture.farm is encouraging regenerative agriculture practices through its selection of products, services, and projects. It is driving numerous new programmes, including stubble burning avoidance programmes, biological products, carbon credits and reward programmes to advance this mission.

Scales up to become part of OpenAg

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Live Stock

28 fishing harbour projects worth Rs 2,598 crore has been identified under Sagarmala for implementation by various agencies

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) is part-funding fishing harbour projects in convergence with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D) for the welfare of the fishermen community. There are 28 fishing harbour projects (Rs 2,598 crores) identified under Sagarmala for implementation by various agencies. Out of which, 17 projects (Rs 1,694 crore) have been partially funded under Sagarmala. Nine funded fishing harbour projects have been completed, state and district wise details of these projects are annexed. The concept and objectives of Sagarmala project are to reduce logistics cost for EXIM and domestic trade with minimal infrastructure investment.

All Sagarmala projects are being implemented by respective agencies and due process of impact assessment with regards to socio-economic (PAP, R&R, etc.) and environment is done by respective implementing agencies.
On the skill development front, a skill gap study of 21 coastal districts (spread across nine states and three UTs), has been completed. Domain ministries and concerned state governments have been asked to implement the district action plans.

In addition, MoPSW is funding skill development under Sagarmala-DDU-GKY Convergence programme Phase-I and II to enable skilling of the coastal population to meet the need of the growing maritime industry thereby leading to sustainable inclusive growth in the coastal areas under Sagarmala Programme. Details of person trained and placed through DDUGKY is annexed.

Sagarmala Programme of MoPSW is implementing the projects for the development of the fishing harbour and fish landing centres in convergence with Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMMSY) of MoFAH&D. The PMMSY inter-alia envisages creating gainful employment opportunities to about 5.5 million in fisheries and allied activities by 2024-25 through the promotion of inland fisheries and aquaculture, ornamental fisheries, cold water fisheries, development and management of post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure, fish marketing etc.

MoPSW undertook a third-party evaluation of their scheme/funded projects which included the pillar of Coastal Community Development projects.

28 fishing harbour projects worth Rs 2,598

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Interaction

The workshop’s aim was to guide doctors dealing with accidental exposure incidents that occur during improper or unsafe application of agrochemicals

CropLife India, an association of 15 R&D driven crop science companies, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra, organised a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme for the doctors. The programme aimed to disseminate the information to the doctors and reorienting them on ’Principles of Recognition and Treatment of Accidental Agrochemical Exposure,’ ensuring medical practitioners are equipped to treat patients affected by agrochemical exposure.

The virtual conference was attended by around 1000 participants from government and private hospitals across three districts of Maharashtra – Yavatmal, Osmanabad and Jalgoan. The workshop was part of CropLife India’s Stewardship programme, which intends to guide the doctors to deal with accidental exposure incidents that occurred during the improper or unsafe application of agrochemicals.
 
Addressing the medical professionals, Dr Debabrata Kanungo, International Expert (Medical Toxicology, Human Health Risk Assessment and Food safety), Former Additional Director General, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and Former Chairman, Scientific Panel on Pesticide Residues at FSSAI, said, “CropLife India has a history of creating awareness and building capacity on sustainable practices to farmers through its Stewardship programmes. CropLife India has been making a continuous effort through such programmes to reorient the doctors regarding the novel technologies of handling and managing exposure cases due to mishandling of agrochemicals. This virtual conference is an extension to the existing curriculum to support the farmer’s community and help doctors in dealing with the basic treatment for accidental agrochemical exposure.”

Sunil Borkar, Chief Quality Control Officer, Agriculture Department, Government of Maharashtra said, “Partnership of government and industry have been proven to provide the requisite knowledge transfer to the farmers to ensure safe and judicious use of agrochemical products. Awareness generation amongst the doctors will surely lead to timely intervention and management of farmers in case of any accidental exposure to pesticides. Our government is committed towards the sustainable growth of agriculture and continuous cognisance of the medical fraternity will aid the process.”

Asitava Sen, CEO, CropLife India, added, “CropLife India is committed to and has a long history for promoting safe and responsible use of crop protection products through Industry stewardship initiatives. It is widely understood that safe use of crop protection products helps to safeguard farmer’s wellbeing and encourages sustainable agriculture.”

CropLife India has developed a digital edition of Health Practitioners’ Handbook which is hosted on our website. Medical practitioners are requested to visit the CropLife India website croplifeindia.org and click on the ‘Doctors’ Manual’ tab on the top right corner.

Present in the Virtual Conference were Amol Yedge (IAS), District Collector, Yavatmal; Kaustaubh Diwegaonkar (IAS), District Magistrate & Collector, Osmanabad; Abhijit Raut (IAS), District Collector, Jalgoan; other senior government officials and delegates from our member companies and industry.

The workshop’s aim was to guide doctors

Environment, Interaction

Envirocare Green Awards received 250 + registrations from 10 countries

Envirocare Green Awards (EGA), an initiative started by Envirocare Labs, was hosted online on July 16, 2021. The objective was to inspire stakeholders to think green and contribute towards a world that is not only progressive but also responsible towards its provider.

This year, Envirocare Labs received 60+ applications from six countries including India, Nepal, Nigeria, Singapore, the UK and Egypt. The applications underwent a rigorous three-level screening, a preliminary screening conducted by the EGA secretariat team.

The jury members consisted of an esteemed panel from six countries including India, the US, Germany, the Netherlands, the Middle East and Nigeria and had Dr Amar Supate, Dr Rashneh Pardiwala, Dr Avin Ramaya, Benedict Odjobo, Dr Sarit Kumar Das, Karin Heinze, Dr Vaibhav Tidke, Imran Ustad, Dr SK Tyagi, Nilesh Korgaonkar and Dr Dyanesh Darshane.

21 applicants were shortlisted and further evaluated by a team of esteemed jury members and patrons. The applicants presented their work and talked about their concept in terms of creativity and innovation, impact, sustainability and scalability of their initiatives. Five winners and four special citations were selected owing to the exemplary work.

The five award winners were Centre for Environmental Research & Education (CERE – India) – Mumbai, Proplant Foods – Ahmedabad, Jalaposhan – Bengaluru, Kaybee exports – Thane and Mondelez – Thane.

Special citation awards were conferred to Mission Green – Mumbai, Green Rangers – Nepal, Battery Life 2 – Mumbai and a creative teacher Richard Wan from VVM Enterprises who composed environmental awareness videos for young children.  Agrospectrum was one of the media partners for the event.

The session began with Rahul Deshpande, CEO, Envirocare Labs addressing the gathering. He was proud of the work undertaken by the EGA secretariat and extended full support for this global event over the coming years.

This was followed by Dr Nilesh Amritkar, Founder Chairman, EGA who spoke about his vision, the concept of Envirocare Green Awards, the journey and how the objectives to encourage, empower and enlighten the minds towards sustainability are being met. He mentioned, “The nature has been calling out to us for help and the solution lies in three concepts – CSR, PSR and Green Balance Sheets.” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that has been implemented for years and is a familiar concept.

Dr Amritkar also emphasised that just as we give significance to the accounts balance sheet, organisations and individuals should adopt a new concept ‘green balance sheet’ which can be achieved and maintained by sustainable steps thereby creating a robust system for all.

The journey towards sustainability started with planting 100 saplings every year at the customer’s premises, the concept of EGA materialized in 2018, and each year the programme is gaining more and more significance. He said, “This year, we thought of making the event unique, by designing sustainable trophies that have been created using the waste wood material. Envirocare has always believed in the motto Encourage | Empower | Enlighten and with this, in mind, we have planted 121 trees through a foundation in a tribal area in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu honouring the jury, patrons, applicants, sponsors and EGA secretariat members.

Karin Heinze’s talked about how the organic world plays a pivotal role towards a sustainable future. Sarit Das shared his journey into the world of science and innovations to combat the environmental issues faced by our world. Arnab Deb elaborated on plastic waste and how we can move towards sustainability and overcome the bioaccumulation of plastic.

Envirocare Green Awards received 250 + registrations

Inputs, R&D

CarbonBoost product line includes four new crop-specific microbial products built with FBSciences’ proprietary biostimulant technology, FBS Transit® 

 

 

 FBSciences, a global leader in agricultural biologicals, launches their CarbonBoost® soil health product line, leveraging 15 years of experience and commercial success in plant health innovation to maximize carbon sequestration, increase soil carbon, and drive soil health. As part of FBSciences’ climate-smart agriculture mandate, they are tapping into their depth of research and expertise on the innate connection between soil and plant health to accelerate and amplify climate health benefits while boosting grower ROI and productivity.

FBSciences’ CarbonBoost product line includes four new crop-specific microbial products built with FBSciences’ proprietary biostimulant technology, FBS Transit®, which is proven to consistently provide increased yields, increased root length, superior nutrient uptake, mitigation of abiotic stress, and improved crop quality. The four microbial products include crop-specific microbial consortia in spore form designed to provide unique benefits optimized for specific high acre crops, including corn, cotton, soybeans, and specialty crops. FBSciences’ CarbonBoost products are created with high colony forming units (CFUs) which are dormant until activated on the field, for improved efficiency, product purity, and increased shelf life. The combination of FBS Transit technology with the specific soil-ameliorating consortia amplifies benefits to growers, with all the advantages of FBS Transit plus the supercharged effect of the microbes for exponentially enhanced plant and soil health benefits beyond those provided by FBS Transit or the biological consortia alone. For example, the soybean product includes multiple strains of high CFU Bradyrhizobia, the microbes that work in a symbiotic relationship with legumes to accelerate the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in the root nodules of the plant, making it plant-available and increasing soybean yield and growth. 

The CarbonBoost line also includes two soil conditioning products, FBS Humate Plus™ and FBS Organics Humate Plus™, which are FBSciences’ highly concentrated and effective humic acid products also built with FBS Transit technology. FBS Humate Plus launched earlier this year with extremely positive soil health benefits to growers, including a 15% increase in water use efficiency over a three-year period compared to the grower standard treatment, and a 13% increase in root length over a traditional humic acid. 

 Courtenay Wolfe, Chair and CEO of FBSciences said, “After 15 years of commitment to plant health innovation and impact with our biological technologies and products, we are leveraging our understanding of our FBS Transit technology to expand the climate-smart impact of our products while still increasing ROI for growers by focusing on building healthier soils and transforming agriculture through the interconnected relationship between soil, plant, and climate health”.

FBSciences is looking forward to the impact these new products will have in the field given the well documented soil health benefits and synergistic effects of their technologies with microbials. FBSciences is currently conducting global trials on the CarbonBoost soil health line and will announce the results in fall of 2021.

CarbonBoost product line includes four new crop-specific