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Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities

Discusses livelihood security and ecological engineering for innovative pest management

The ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, Bihar recently organised a national webinar on ’Entomophagy for livelihood security and Ecological Engineering for innovative pest management’.

 

In his welcome address, Dr Ujjwal Kumar, Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna briefed about the importance of entomophagy for livelihood security and the role of host plant resistance for innovative pest management.

Prof RK Gupta, Head (Division of Entomology), Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu & Kashmir deliberated on the ’Ecological Engineering for Pest Management.’ He also stressed the importance of ecological engineering for pest management being a new paradigm to enhance the natural enemies of pests in an agro-ecosystem.

 

The main objective of the webinar was to create awareness and update the knowledge of the scientists, faculties, extension workers, NGOs, policymakers, students and other stakeholders on entomophagy for livelihood security and Ecological Engineering for innovative pest management.

 

The webinar registered 273 participants.

Discusses livelihood security and ecological engineering for

Start ups, Webinar

The webinar was held in collaboration with Parshotam Associates

The Punjab Agri Business Incubator (PABI), Directorate of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana recently organised a webinar on ’Government Subsidies and Grants for Startups’ in collaboration with Parshotam Associates.

 

Iqbalpreet Kaur Sidhu, Business Executive, PABI introduced the resource person, Deepinder Kaur, Fellow Chartered Accountant and Partner, Parshotam Associates, Ludhiana Corporate Office briefed about various state and centre government subsidies and grants for entrepreneurs and the parameters required to qualify for those benefits. PABI Startups under cohort I and II attended the webinar and found the session very informative and fruitful. Rahul Gupta, Assistant Manager proposed the vote of thanks.

The webinar was held in collaboration with

Agrotech, Finance

The programme is part of COVID-19 relief for sustainable agriculture development in India

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that they are jointly sponsoring a $55 million (approximately Rs 400 crores) credit guarantee to address the economic impact of COVID-19 by supporting loans to farmer producer organisations, ag-tech companies, and companies engaged in clean energy solutions for the agriculture sector. The initiative will introduce and support clean technologies for smallholder farmers, particularly women, that improve market linkages and increase incomes while having a positive impact on the environment.

 

Called the ’India Covid Response Program for Agriculture Transition,’ the eight-year programme will reach more than 200,000 smallholder farmers in India and is supported by direct grants from several international foundations and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Furthermore, the financial support will be complemented with technical assistance led by the Rabo Foundation to focus on areas of business management and help in building stronger linkages to the markets. Loans to farmer producer organisations will be provided by three Indian lenders – Samunnati Financial, Maanaveeya, and Avanti Finance.

 

“At USAID, we believe that providing farmers with access to cleaner, more affordable technology can improve the livelihood and climate resilience of the community. In addition, clean technologies offer a sustainable alternative to meeting agricultural demand, address food insecurity and improve nutritional outcomes. This support will address the health and economic needs of vulnerable farmer communities severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Warren Harrity, Director, Program Support, USAID/India. 

 

“Only by joining forces and creating valuable partnerships, can we provide smallholder farmers with the space and opportunities they need to improve their livelihoods and adapt to the challenges of climate change. This not only supports the farmers who receive the direct support; it also benefits their local communities and environment in India,” said Pim Mol, CEO, Rabo Foundation.

 

“We are glad to be part of this mission empowering collectives for the benefit of smallholder farmers with a transition towards more sustainable livelihoods. We strongly believe that aggregation can solve multiple problems faced by smallholder farmers and this initiative can go a long way towards scaling the collectives through encouraging participation by mainstream capital providers,” remarked Manish Thakkar from Avanti Finance.

 

Anil Kumar SG from Samunnati Financial mentioned, “This initiative will offer customized financial solutions to entities interested in adopting climate-smart and green solutions.”

 

“To counter COVID-19’s effects on the agricultural sector, this timely project will play a catalytic role in making smallholder farmers more climate change resilient while simultaneously directly impacting the communities we serve,” said Dr Gouri Sankar from Maanaveeya.

 

The programme is part of COVID-19 relief

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, R&D

The project is funded under the Ministry of DoNER and aims to support Nagaland farmers

G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Culture and Tourism during his three-day official visit to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland between September 23 and 25, inaugurated development works and reviewed various ongoing developmental schemes in Nagaland. 

 

The Union Minister inaugurated the state soil testing laboratory at the state directorate of soil and water conservation in Kohima, Nagaland. The project is funded under the Ministry of DoNER and aims to support Nagaland farmers and help achieve profitable crops in this predominant agrarian land. 

 

He said “ I come from a rural background and understand the importance of technological intervention in soil. This soil testing laboratory is a state of the art system and I am sure that the agricultural fraternity in Nagaland will benefit.”

The project is funded under the Ministry

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agrotech

The silk yarn production centre will ensure local availability of Tussar Silk yarn, create local employment and reduce the silk production cost

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has taken a historic initiative to set up Odisha’s first ever Tussar Silk Yarn Production Centre at Choudwar in Cuttack district. The silk yarn production centre will ensure local availability of Tussar Silk yarn, create local employment and reduce the silk production cost. The silk yarn production centre was inaugurated by KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena.

 

The silk yarn production centre will create direct employment for 50 artisans including 34 women, besides providing livelihood support to over 300 tribal farmers engaged in cocoon farming. This will also create indirect employment for weavers and reelers in the state. Every kilo of raw silk produced, creates employment for 11 artisans out of which six are women.

 

“Silk is the timeless heritage of India which is integral to our culture and tradition. It is also a key component of the Indian textile industry, particularly Khadi. With commissioning of this silk yarn production centre, Silk yarn will be produced locally and thus reducing the cost of Silk production. This will give a major boost to the sale of the famous Tussar Silk of Odisha and strengthen the traditional craft of Silk,” Saxena said.

 

Set up for Rs 75 lakh, the silk yarn production centre is capable of producing 200 kg of silk yarn worth Rs 94 lakh annually. The production capacity of this unit will be gradually increased to meet the increasing demand. This silk yarn production centre is equipped with advanced machinery like silk reeling machine, re-reeling machine, spinning machine and others.

 

The silk yarn production centre will ensure

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain, Trade

Several technical sessions are lined-up for the two-day summit

Union Minister of State for Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Ministry of Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated a two-day North East Summit on Food Processing Opportunities in Shillong, Meghalaya.

Patel formally initiated the summit at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong to build partnership for inclusive growth in the food processing sector.

Patel stated that three important factors form the base for success – information, connectivity and communication and that the food processing sector is also dependent on these factors. He cited the example of how producing a product at a place where it can also find its purpose can lead to a successful venture and added that the industry itself has the power to generate employment and also aid in profit generation for the organisation, the state and the entire nation.

“Government of India has come up with schemes to aid the distribution of products,” he informed adding that the only concern is being able to clearly articulate the issues or challenges faced during processing. “We should discuss the issues properly and only then we can succeed. Discussion paves way for success. We all have the power of thinking and the strength to face any challenge that comes up,” said Patel while addressing the gathering at IIM Shillong.

Member of Board of Governors IIM Shillong, Atul Kulkarni stated that in the Northeast, there are only 60,000 units registered under MSME, which accounts for only 0.7 percent of the country’s total registered units. He highlighted the lack of awareness of government schemes among the public.

Sharing some of the challenges that the entrepreneurs face in the region, he said that insufficient institutional support and inadequate R&D are some that can be resolved by the ministry. Among the challenges, poor infrastructure and less financial support is what is dragging the region down even though there is potential, stated Kulkarni. He added that there is entrepreneurial competence in the NE region, which is a good sign and it can be capitalised to generate more income for farmers and provide employment opportunities.

During the event, successful entrepreneurs from different parts of the region shared their endeavours and challenges about their journey including the well-known Arunachal Pradesh-based Wine Brewer, Tage Rita and Manipur’s Proprietor of Meira Foods, Shubra Devi.

IIM Shillong Director, Prof DP Goyal, Members of the North East Council, Khadi Gram Udyog, Experts, Entrepreneurs and dignitaries from different walks of life were also present at the event.

Several technical sessions are lined-up for the two-day summit where experts from different fields will be delivering lectures. The summit is aimed at building partnership for inclusive growth in food processing sector in the region.

 

Several technical sessions are lined-up for the

Live Stock, Supply Chain

The intended strategic partnership brings together Fuite Group’s world-class animal nutrition manufacturing capabilities with Cargill’s deep global expertise in animal nutrition

Cargill Animal Nutrition has announced its intention to enter into a strategic partnership with Dutch family-owned animal nutrition group Fuite to build a state-of-the-art premix, concentrate and young animal nutrition production facility in Hasselt, the Netherlands. The move comes as Cargill’s land lease for its production facility in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, will expire.

 

The Rotterdam plant has long served as a key production location for Provimi animal nutrition products and will continue to do so in the next period. Cargill acquired Provimi in 2011 and since continued to rely on the Rotterdam facility as well as the Provimi brand.

 

The intended strategic partnership brings together Fuite Group’s world-class animal nutrition manufacturing capabilities with Cargill’s deep global expertise in animal nutrition. The two companies are closely collaborating on the development of the new factory, which will enable Cargill to continue to offer its complete portfolio of Provimi products to its customers.

 

“At the level at which both companies operate, both seek to bundle exclusive qualities”, said Joris van Wichen, Commercial Director, Cargill Animal Nutrition North-West Europe. 

 

The new facility is expected to be fully online in 2024, at which time Cargill will transition production from the current Rotterdam facility. Cargill is engaging with its social partners as appropriate, including initiating a consultation process on the foreseen changes with its Works Council. 

 

The intended strategic partnership brings together Fuite

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Organic

The high value-added nutrition products cover crop needs at each stage of development

Seipasa, a Spanish company that specialises in the development and formulation of bioinsecticides, bio fungicides and biostimulants for agriculture, has recently announced the launch of its new BioActive line, a set of high value-added nutrition products covering crop needs at each stage of development. 

BioActive is initially to be sold on the Spanish market as a top-quality, premium product line that provides complete, efficient nutrition for fruit, vegetable, extensive and ornamental crops. It has three product references, formulated and developed according to Seipasa’s Natural Technology model and authorised for use in organic agriculture under the UNE 142500 standard.

Juan Manuel López, Seipasa’s Marketing Manager, explained the aim of this new BioActive line is to offer products that have a differentiating value for nutrition management in agriculture: “BioActive has been built on the premium concept, applying it to agriculture. This is a line of products that provides high added value, aimed at producers who want to ensure the superior level of excellence and quality of their crops.”

The BioActive Line comprises three references. Riguer Flow is a rhizosphere equalizer developed to improve soil structure. Its action helps reduce water and saline stress. Filer Flow is a solution designed to enhance fruit swelling and ensure the maximum quality of the final harvest. Roker Flow is a formulation based on BioActive compounds that encourages orderly growth of plant tissues and optimises photosynthesis. 

The high value-added nutrition products cover crop

Agrotech, Sustainable Energy

Bolsters food system commitments

Royal DSM recently organised ANH Sustainability Conclave to advocate the need for sustainability in animal protein production. The conclave provided a platform for leaders to come together and bolster DSM’s strategic food system commitments. With its set of measurable commitments announced last week, DSM is striving to ensure double-digit on-farm livestock emission reductions by 2030. 

 

The conclave was attended by the presence of eminent speakers including B Rajagopal, President DSM India; Riad Meddeb, UNDP Representative; Ivo Lansbergen, President DSM ANH; David Nickell, VP Sustainability DSM ANH; Carlos Saviani, Manager Sustainability DSM ANH; Justin Wang, Regional Vice President DSM ANH GAPAC; Rajeev Murthy, Head DSM ANH South Asia and other representatives. 

 

B Rajagopal, President, DSM India said “We at DSM have accepted the challenge to make animal farming sustainably possible. We believe that science and innovation can unlock the true value of sustainability and with public-private collaborations, the industry can achieve tangible, measurable improvements in the sustainability of animal farming.” 

 

Riad Meddeb, UNDP Representative said, “The pandemic has increased the burden on agri-food systems. It is time to accelerate the pace towards realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals which are a call to action towards a better and sustainable future. The agriculture industry must embrace the digital revolution and leverage data-driven farming to increase productivity, efficiency and profits. By providing a platform for the industry to collaborate, UNDP’s Global Centre in Singapore is an effort in the direction to devise sustainable solutions globally.” 

 

Rajeev Murthy, Head DSM ANH South Asia said, “The production systems must gear up as consumers increasingly demand sustainable products. With our expertise and commitment towards a sustainable future, we, at DSM, are set to play a crucial role in the sustainable transformation of the industry.” 

 

DSM recently launched Sustell, the first-of-its-kind intelligent sustainability service, which combines an advanced, powerful sustainability calculation tool that utilises real farm data, with expert knowledge and tailor-made, practical solutions and business development projects to unlock the value of sustainability.

Bolsters food system commitmentsRoyal DSM recently organised

AgroPolicy, Agrotech

Narendra Singh Tomar was speaking at India@75: Expediting the Sustainable Growth of Agrochemicals Industry for Self-Reliant India organised by FICCI

Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare recently attended India@75: Expediting the Sustainable Growth of Agrochemicals Industry for Self-Reliant India, organised by FICCI. Tomar said, “Farmers are getting direct profits from new technology and various policies of the government in the country. As a way of example, he cited the price of saffron, which to modern technology has increased from Rs 1 lakh rupees per kilo to Rs 2 lakh.”
 
The Union Minister said that the agriculture sector is crucial for the country’s economy, which has proved its significance even in undesirable circumstances. He further mentioned that the government is making every effort to benefit farmers and that the farmers should get maximum benefits from the new technologies.
 
Tomar added that organic or natural farming must be encouraged, and it is necessary to maintain balance in farming. He also appreciated FICCI for its continuous support towards the development of the country.
 
Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Minister of State, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, remarked, “It is our responsibility to focus on judicious use of agrochemicals and reducing residue level. Research and development in the agrochemical sector should be strengthened and it is the need of the hour.”
 
Kailash Choudhary, Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, remarked that the ministry is providing soil health cards for every farmer. He also mentioned that the government has launched 10,000 FPOs to form a direct link with farmers and is working on value chain development for the sector.
 
Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog, mentioned that we need to work towards curbing the ill effects of agrochemicals and to obtain efficiency, agrochemical and biochemical plays an important role.” We need to focus on ‘waste to wealth’ from ‘waste to burning’.
 
Amber Dubey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India said, “We have to make manual spray a history and focus on drones.” The PLI scheme, he said, will help the drones sector in India to grow. To make life easier for the common people India is focusing on drone technology in the agriculture sector, he added.
 
Speaking on Atmanirbhar Krishi and Atmanirbhar Kisan, RG Agarwal, Chair, FICCI Crop Protection Committee & Group Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech on his presentation on Atmanirbhar Krishi and Atmanirbhar Kisan stated that Indian Agriculture has a huge potential and has reached 63rd rank in ease of doing business. Reforms, such as KYC system, needs to be introduced to track and monitor manufacturing facility.
 
Peter Ford, President Asia Pacific, Corteva Agriscience said, “India holds a prominent position in the world as it ranks fourth globally with the world’s largest arable land.” He mentioned that Corteva focuses on sustainable commitment and sustainable footprint in Indian agriculture.
 
A FICCI- PwC knowledge paper was released during the event.

Narendra Singh Tomar was speaking at India@75:

Acquaculture, Dairy, Live Stock

Urges more interaction between various stakeholders

A virtual interaction was held with Members of Parliament of Northern States namely, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Ladakh under the chairmanship of Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Joint Secretaries and senior officers of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, GoI. 

 

During the interaction, Rupala apprised the Members of Parliament about the current developments in the animal husbandry and dairying sector, scheme benefits and discussed various strategies for better implementation of livestock and dairy schemes in the field, so that a large number of farmers can reap benefits from the sector.

 

The minister informed that as per the recent Cabinet decision, the National Livestock Mission and Rashtriya Gokul Mission schemes now have a component of breeder farm entrepreneurs and fodder entrepreneurs. Under RGM, for breed multiplication farms for production and supply of high genetic merit heifers to farmers, 50 per cent capital subsidy will be made available to entrepreneurs directly. National Livestock Mission (NLM) will help in creating rural Entrepreneurship and also in creating better livelihood opportunities for unemployed youth and livestock farmers in the cattle, dairy, poultry, sheep, goat, piggery, feed and fodder sector paving the way towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat by giving 50 per cent subsidy through a hub-spoke model. 

 

The minister highlighted that the realigned National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) is focusing on milk procurement, processing, marketing and quality of milk and milk products and Livestock Health and Disease Control aims to reduce risk to animal health by prophylactic vaccination against diseases of livestock and poultry, capacity building of Veterinary services, disease surveillance and strengthening veterinary infrastructure. Further, the operationalisation of mobile veterinary Units (MVUs) in states will facilitate delivering animal health services at farmers’ doorsteps.

 

The minister envisaged that awareness campaigns should be organised across states with the active participation of the Union Government, state governments and district officials for better outreach of scheme benefits to the livestock and dairy farmers. The minister appreciated Members of Parliament for their participation in the interaction and assured that the Ministry will take up their suggestions towards further growth of the sector.

Urges more interaction between various stakeholdersA virtual

AgroPolicy, Logistics, Supply Chain, Warehousing

The centre will contribute to cutting-edge research, knowledge-building and capacity building in logistics and supply chain management, through applied research and development activities

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai. 

 

Inaugurating the Centre, the Union Minister said the amount of interdependence in the globalised world calls for significant value addition on several fronts such as packaging, research on transportation, warehousing and more. 

 

“I hope the Centre of Excellence inaugurated will help the logistics sector become more cost-effective, make the sector more competitive, create new jobs, export more, engage better with the world markets, expand outreach and bring more economic activity to India,” he added. 

 

Addressing the NITIE community Goyal opined that India is at a very nascent stage of industrial engineering training, research and study. “There is huge potential in industrial engineering, you can transform the future of this country by the work you are doing. A lot of industrial engineering goes also into sectors such as restaurant design and operations, e-commerce businesses and delivery of public services as well,” the minister added. 

 

Speaking about NITIE, Goyal said, “When I saw the good work done by NITIE, I realised that some back-end support from government will help in public, private and academia working together as stakeholders and partners”. NITIE, located in Powai, Mumbai is a leading management education institute, pioneering in engineering management, and it is widely known for its transformative contribution in the field of supply chain management and operations. 

 

The centre will contribute to cutting-edge research, knowledge-building and capacity building in logistics and supply chain management, through applied research and development activities. The centre will act as a driving force to train and launch top-quality programmes to disseminate advanced knowledge and promote digitisation, analytics, and IoT Application and decision support systems through artificial intelligence and machine learning applications and Digital Twin and Control towers, to strengthen the monitoring and analysis of complex logistics operations. 

 

The centre will carry out research projects to find innovative solutions in collaboration with industry and national and international bodies. The focus will be on logistics and supply chain management along with sustainability and green supply chains. 

The centre will contribute to cutting-edge research,

Goat farming, Interaction

Discussions were also held on entrepreneurship development and parasitic disease control

The ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region (RCER), Patna, Bihar recently organised a national webinar on Scientific Goat Farming: From the Livelihood to Financial Security for the Farmers. In his inaugural address, the Chief Guest, Dr Devendra Swarup, Former Director, ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Goats, Makhdoom, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh shared his experiences about the goat farming and success stories of some goat farmers.

Dr B Rai, Director, ICAR-CIRG, Makhdoom briefed about the various programmes and research activities carried out by the institute. Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr Ujjwal Kumar, Director, ICAR-RCER, Patna outlined the current scenario of the goat sector in the country. He also highlighted the demand and supply gap in the goat sector.

Dr Ashok Kumar, Principal Scientist, ICAR-CIRG, Makhdoom, and Dr Rajesh Katoch, Dean (Students’ Welfare), Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science & Technology, Jammu & Kashmir marked their presence as the Guest Speakers during the occasion.

The webinar was aimed at creating awareness and updating the knowledge of researchers, academicians, field veterinarians, entrepreneurs, extension workers, students, and other stakeholders on the prospects of scientific goat farming, entrepreneurship development, and parasitic disease control.

Discussions were also held on entrepreneurship development

Agro chems – Pesticides, Interaction

Company representatives briefed hundreds of farmers on crop protection from Brown Plant Hopper attack

Delhi-based Best Agrolife recently organised an awareness campaign at Naultha Village (District Panipat) wherein the company representatives gave hundreds of farmers an awareness session on saving paddy crops from the Brown Plant Hopper attack. The seminar was conducted under the supervision of the Regional Sales Manager Sompal Malik. The farmers received insights that can be employed for protecting the paddy crops from the Brown Plant Hopper attack and producing the best crops.

The company also recommended farmers utilise products like Diron, Pymax, Dongle, Zodio, to protect the yields from harmful insects. The campaign also gave farmers a platform to come forward and discuss their concerns during planting, sowing, and harvesting with Best Agro’s employees. The farmers were keenly interested during the entire campaign.

Malik said, “The prevention of crops by the harmful insects is the most vital part in cultivating crops for the farmers’ community. It was pleasing to see the farmers participating in the seminar as it shows how eager the farmers are to learn new methods of controlling pests attacks and preventing their crops. He also added that Best Agrolife will continue to organise these kinds of seminars in the future for farmers’ betterment.”

Company representatives briefed hundreds of farmers on