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Agro Universities, Dairy, Interaction, Live Stock, Poultry, Sustainable Energy

Discussions were held on natural resource management; livestock production and subsidiary occupations; processing, value addition and FPOs

The two-day Virtual Kisan Mela concluded at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) amidst panel discussions on natural resource management; livestock production and subsidiary occupations; processing, value addition and farmer-producer organizations (FPOs).
 
Dr JS Mahal, Director of Extension Education, expressed his gratitude to the farmers, farm women and youths of Punjab for making the mela a big success. Farmers are being provided facilities in Punjab and even at Singhu and Tikri borders, he said, while advising them to download Farm Inputs App for the purchase of quality seed.
 
During the discussion on ’Natural Resource Management,’ Dr OP Choudhary, Head, Department of Soil Science and moderator of the session expressed concern over groundwater depletion and crop residue management and made a call for conserving natural resources for clean air, water and food. The university has evolved various technologies, such as judicious use of fertilisers, adoption of less water requiring crops, fertigation, mulching, etc. for natural resource conservation, he added.

Dr GS Kocher, Head, Department of Microbiology; Dr MS Bhullar, Head, Department of Agronomy and Dr Sanjeev Chauhan, Head, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, spoke on biofertilisers recommended for 18 crops (mainly wheat, paddy, maize, legumes, potato, onion, turmeric, etc.); operation of PAU Happy Seeder and weed management; and agro-forestry, respectively.
 
In the second panel discussion on ’Livestock Production and Subsidiary Occupations,’ Dr Jaspal Singh, Senior Entomologist, and Dr Shivani Sharma, Assistant Mycologist, deliberated upon beekeeping and mushroom production as profitable enterprises, respectively. Experts from GADVASU and PAU advised the farmers to acquire training in subsidiary occupations like dairy, pig, goats, poultry and fish farming as well as beekeeping and mushroom cultivation before adopting them as enterprises. Dr JS Hundal, Professor, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences (GADVASU), was the moderator of the session.
 
The moderator of the last session on “Processing, Value Addition and FPOs” was Dr Mahesh Kumar, Head, Department of Processing and Engineering. During the discussion, Dr Poonam A Sachedv, Head, Department of Food Science and Technology, and Dr Kiran Bains, Head, Department of Food and Nutrition, said that departments are engaged in training and value addition of fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops; and provided information on nutritious food (avoiding white sugar, tea with no sugar, etc.) respectively.

Discussions were held on natural resource management;

China, Supply Chain, Trade

Eyes long-term growth strategy

Farmmi,  an agriculture products supplier in China, has announced that its subsidiary Zhejiang Farmmi Biotechnology Co, is continuing its growth with another new product order for its popular dried whole Shiitake mushrooms. The customer will export Farmmi’s Shiitake mushrooms to Southwest Asia.

Yefang Zhang, Farmmi’s Chairwoman and CEO, commented, “We remain focussed on executing our business strategy, led by organic growth at our many existing customers worldwide and a longer-term expansion of service opportunities. We are actively engaging with customers in discussions about how we can leverage our improved financial position, well-established supply chain relationships and farm-to-table logistics for mutual growth.”

Eyes long-term growth strategyFarmmi,  an agriculture products

Animal Health, Live Stock

NEOGEN’s acquisition of CAPInnoVet will provide entry into the fast-growing $12B+ retail parasiticide market

NEOGEN Corporation has recently acquired Atlanta-based CAPInnoVet, a companion animal health company that provides pet medications to the veterinary market. NEOGEN’s acquisition of CAPInnoVet will provide entry into the fast-growing $12B+ retail parasiticide market. CAPInnoVet will integrate into NEOGEN’s Animal Safety business segment, which includes veterinary instruments, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and diagnostic products.

“The acquisition of CAPInnoVet provides NEOGEN a strategic pathway into the parasiticide market and naturally aligns within our Animal Safety business segment,” said Doug Jones, Chief Commercial Officer, NEOGEN.

“We are excited to be joining the NEOGEN team. Becoming a part of NEOGEN will allow us to not only further advance our vision of providing high-quality pet medications at a significant value to pet owners but also join a company that has similar values,” said Rudy Hauser, CAPInnoVet co-founder and CEO. “I would like to thank the CAPInnoVet team for their commitment and dedication to making this company a success. We are extremely appreciative of their contributions; we certainly would not have been this successful without them, and for that, we are deeply grateful.”

CAPInnoVet was founded in 2014 as a key provider of differentiated companion animal health products, providing better access to high-quality and high-value pet medications.

NEOGEN’s acquisition of CAPInnoVet will provide entry

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Live Stock

TRIFED will empanel PurtyAgrotechas supplier to TRIBES INDIA and procure pearls

An MoU was recently signed between Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) and PurtyAgrotech of Jharkhand in New Delhi. The MoU between TRIFED and PurtyAgrotech will promote the art of growing pearls among other tribal entrepreneurs across India and tap the potential of this market.

 

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda said, “The government is taking up ambitious transformational programmes which will prove to be a game-changer for the tribal livelihoods in times to come.” Munda was speaking at the onboarding of major initiatives for boosting tribal livelihoods.

 

Speaking at the occasion Pravir Krishna, MD, TRIFED said, “TRIFED is working day and night to find new and better marketing opportunities both domestically and internationally for the unique tribal products and Minor forest produce.” He further added that these two new initiatives will become operational from October 2, 2021, this year and will give a new thrust to tribal livelihoods.

 

TRIFED will empanel PurtyAgrotechas supplier to TRIBES INDIA and procure pearls which shall be sold through the network of 141 Tribes India outlets and various e-commerce platforms.

 

Under the tech for tribal initiatives, Buddhan Singh Purty will be developed as a Master Trainer and transfer of technology and techniques in the form of knowledge sharing with more tribal SHGs to promote aquaculture in self-reliant tribal entrepreneurs. PurtyAgrotech can be further developed into Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Cluster and further value addition and processing leveraging the SFURTI scheme of MSME. VDVK Clusters engaged in pisciculture where the pond is available can be used for oyster breeding which can be taken up simultaneously as an additional business activity. Besides, it is planned to develop 25 VDVKCs in Jharkhand where such aquaculture business for pearl farming activities can be carried out.

 

The breeding of oysters and the development of pearls is a sustainable business and can easily be emulated by those tribal gatherers who have access to the nearby water body. TRIFED plans to handhold those VDVK Clusters involved in pisciculture by initially identifying them and help them further develop oyster breeding in it.

 

 

TRIFED will empanel PurtyAgrotechas supplier to TRIBES

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy

The project was launched by Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala launched a pilot project on telemedicine services, to be operated by AIIMS Raipur through the National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC), for members of the fisheries cooperatives under the central sector flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). Members of fisheries cooperatives in Chhattisgarh will be able to consult doctors from AIIMS, Raipur for their medical needs.

Rupala, while handing over a cheque for the Rs 50 lakh to Dr Nitin M Nagarkar, Director and CEO, AIIMS Raipur to kickstart the pilot project, said, “This would ensure that members of the fisheries cooperatives in Chhattisgarh, whenever in medical need, will be able to approach health specialists of AIIMS, Raipur from their remote locations through telemedicine facility.”

Rupala further said, “Telehealth services have tremendous potential in our country where healthcare facilities are heavily concentrated in urban cities while those in remote area like villages and coastal areas remain deprived of such benefits.”

Proposed as a startup activity by AIIMS, Raipur for the next three years, the project is being launched in a pilot mode from five centres namely PHC Patan (Durg district), PHC Saja (Bemetara), PHC Ratanpur (Bilaspur), PHC Dhamtari (Chamtari) and AIIMS Raipur (Raipur). It is a joint effort by the Central Government, Government of Chhattisgarh, NCDC and AIIMS Raipur.

Later on, more districts will be covered under the project. With the launch of the facilities, the government aims to bridge health disparities among fishermen and fisherwomen communities associated with their respective cooperatives in the Chhattisgarh State, explained NCDC MD Sundeep Nayak.

The decision to launch the telemedicine facility was taken after it was found that many members from the cooperatives were shying away from availing medical services either because of living in far off areas, poverty or due to covid fears.

“The idea is to extend healthcare facilities to members of fisheries cooperatives societies in remote areas as well as cut down their medical expenditure. The penetration of quality healthcare services in remote areas will also create health awareness among the fisheries community,” said Nayak. He explained that after the consultation if it was found that the patient needed more specialised treatment, an ambulance service would be available.

“It will also help them to take a more informed decision on prevention, diagnosis and health conditions,” said Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, while appreciating the collaborative efforts of AIIMS, Raipur with NCDC. It will be a guiding light for the startups to initiate innovative projects.


 

The project was launched by Parshottam Rupala,

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain

The state governments are requested to ensure that wide publicity of the uniform specifications is made among the farmers

Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for the first time issued uniform specifications for Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) for grade A & Common Rice have in case of procurement of Fortified Rice Stocks, of which 1 per cent of FRK (w/w) should be blended with normal rice stock.

 

The department issued the uniform specifications of food grains for Central Pool procurement for the ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21. These specifications as per standard practice have been issued in respect of paddy, rice and other coarse grains namely jowar, bajra, maize, ragi. These specifications also include standards of rice for the issue to States/UTs for distribution under TPDS and other welfare schemes based on the uniform specifications of rice for KMS 2020-21.

 

The state governments are requested to ensure that wide publicity of the uniform specifications is made among the farmers to ensure that they get the due price for their produce and any rejection of the stocks is completely avoided. 

 

All States/Union Territories and Food Corporation of India have been advised that the procurement during KMS 2020-21 may be strictly by the uniform specifications. It may be pertinent to mention that to protect and promote the interest of farmers, the Government of India has preponed, Kharif Procurement Period from September 26, 2020, in respect of Haryana and Punjab and for the rest of the country from September 28, 2020. The Food Corporation of India and States Procurement Agencies have been directed to ensure hassle-free procurement and Minimum Support Price (MSP) payments to farmers.

The state governments are requested to ensure

AgroPolicy, Trade

A slew of events will take place to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav

The government is going to institutionalise a 24-hour helpline for assistance to exporters and resolution of issues. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, said, “We aim to make ‘Brand India’ a representative of quality, productivity, talent and innovation,” while delivering the keynote address at the launch of Vanijya Saptah at SEZ Noida to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
 
Sessions will be held to focus on ‘From Farm to Foreign Lands’ (>10 lakh tea plantation participants); Vanijya Utsav covering all 739 districts; 35 Export Promotion Events / Exhibitions, in each State / UT by EPCs; Virtual Investor Summit in North East and Swachhta campaign and tree plantation by 250 SEZs.

A slew of events will take place

Dairy, Live Stock

MilkyBest+ and NutriBest have are launched at the feed mill in Ganapathipalayam, Udumalpet

Suguna Feeds has launched cattle feed variants- MilkyBest+ and NutriBest at its feed mill in Ganapathipalayam, Udumalpet. Suguna Feeds launched the new variants which are available for purchase pan India on http://sugunafoodsindia.com/. The launch will address the challenges faced by farmers like unavailability of the consistent quality pellet feed, adulterated raw materials and so on, the pioneers in the poultry business.

 

A statement from Suguna Foods mentioned, “Ware happy to expand in all prospects and provide a unique and high-quality selection of cattle feed at economical price to meet numerous challenges faced by farmers taking into consideration their challenges.”

MilkyBest+ and NutriBest have are launched at

Agrotech, Interaction, Start ups

Startup founders will be able to initiate contacts, focus on new-age agricultural technology

DBT-BIRAC Regional BioInnovation Centre (BRBC) will organise Mentor Mixer on AgriTech Innovation at Venture Center, Pune on September 22 and 23, 2021. The event will be an opportunity for startup founders to meet and network with mentors – industry professionals, senior entrepreneurs and investors, and vice versa. The event aims to initiate contact, introduce people and catalyse mutually rewarding interactions and relationships. The Mentor Mixer will focus on new-age agricultural technology and funding opportunities for agriculture startups.

The event will have Nilesh Lele, Founder Partner, RampUp Advisory; Dr Smita Kale, Manager, Bioincubation, Venture Centre; Dr Mugdha Lele, Senior Manager, Social Innovations, Venture Centre; Renuka Diwan, CEO, BioPrime AgriSolutions; Jasveer Singh, Founder, Sense it out, IoT-based Agritech Startup; Kshitij Thakur, Founder, Agrograde.

Startup founders will be able to initiate

Agrotech, Sustainable Energy

The synergy will help to deliver new, actionable insights and encourages more efficient use of resources and increased sustainability in the sector

Satellite data providers ConstellR and ScanWorld are set to combine their respective thermal infrared and hyperspectral imagery expertise to deliver high-value Earth Observation data to enable a wide range of sustainable agricultural applications. 

 

Based in Germany, ConstellR is pioneering the use of thermal infrared imagery for high-precision agriculture, crop health monitoring and sustainable resource management. Using surface temperature as the key indicator, this data uses evapotranspiration as a fundamental measure of crop water need; critical for irrigation and yield monitoring. Critically, this data allows farmers to mitigate potential crop losses long before irreversible damage occurs.

 

Belgium-based ScanWorld is leveraging hyperspectral imaging to collect data from across the electromagnetic spectrum. This technique allows the detection of very small changes in plant physiology, allowing measurement of proteins and identification of diseases to support worldwide agriculture and forestry management. 

 

The synergy between these two essential earth observation data sources, therefore, helps deliver new, actionable insights and encourages more efficient use of resources and increased sustainability in the sector.

 

The Memorandum of Understanding between ConstellR and ScanWorld will include work on the harmonisation and interoperability of data products, development of joint data products and services, as well as the potential for entering into joint commercial projects.

 

The partnership also ensures future interoperability with existing programmes. “This partnership increases our complementarity with large institutional missions such as the Copernicus programme in Europe or the Surface Biology and Geology System at NASA in the US,’’ says Max Gulde, CEO, ConstellR, “thus enabling us to deliver an even better service to our customers in the agriculture and beyond. In fact, I believe that what we are building here will be a game-changer for all ESG related monitoring activities and enable a global quantification of key metrics with unprecedented accuracy, precision, and timeliness.”

 

“We both benefit from a world-class techno-scientific background” adds Guerric de Crombrugghe, ScanWorld General Manager. “This drives us towards high-quality products, which is a key requirement when it comes to delivering operational services. This is crucial in agriculture – the harvest depends on it – but in other sectors too. Combined with affordability, this is a real game-changer.”

 

The synergy will help to deliver new,

Agrotech, Sustainable Energy

The event addressed the social and environmental trade-offs and challenges posed by climate change in the area of agriculture

The inaugural Open Symposium, hosted by the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, Somerville College, and UPL, has recently outlined a series of policy positions, technological interventions, and collaboration opportunities that can contribute to global efforts to reshape the role of food systems in the face of climate change.

Ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit and COP26 – the inaugural ‘Food Future in a Changing Climate’ OpenAg Symposium took place at the University of Oxford. The event united a select group of leading academics, policymakers, technology investors, industry pioneers, and NGO innovators from across the globe to address the social and environmental trade-offs and challenges posed by climate change in the area of agriculture.

The Open Symposium opened with an introduction by Jan Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon and Somerville’s Principal, and by Her Excellency the High Commissioner of India to the UK, Gaitri Issar Kumar. The keynote was led by Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School and former Chair of the Science Advisory Council to the UK.

Jai Shroff, Global CEO, UPL, said: “At UPL, we take a wholly optimistic view of the opportunity that exists for farms and farmers to nourish the planet while feeding the population. This transformation will not be easy, but the discussions we have heard at this inaugural Open Symposium show that the will and the means exist to meet this challenge if we continue to work together.”

The event addressed the social and environmental

Agrotech, North America, Trade

The investment will further solidify the company’s position in the value chain

Benson Hill, a US-based food technology company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants with its cutting-edge food innovation engine, has announced the closing of its acquisition of a soybean crushing facility in Seymour, Indiana.

The investment will further solidify the company’s position in the value chain to support the production of a robust portfolio of proprietary, non-GMO, identity-preserved and sustainable soy protein and oil ingredients for the human food and animal feed markets.

The facility will ultimately have the capacity to process Benson Hill’s proprietary soybean varieties, including the first commercial plantings of its Ultra-High Protein soybeans, which will be harvested this fall.

The investment will further solidify the company’s

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities

Discussions were held on proper identification, monitoring, surveillance and timely management of the pest

A field day on ’Control of fall armyworm in maize’ was recently organised in kandi area of Punjab by Farm Advisory Service Centre, Gangian, Hoshiarpur under the aegis of The Director of Extension Education Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in village Lalota (Talwara). The field day was aimed to make farmers aware of the fall armyworm in maize and to address the problems of the farmers related to field and horticulture crops.

On this occasion, Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma, DES (Entomology) extended a warm welcome to the participating farmers and officials and guided the farmers regarding the incidence of fall armyworm on maize. He further motivated the farmers for proper identification, monitoring, surveillance and timely management of this pest.

Dr Indira Devi, DES (Horticulture) advised the farmers to adopt a kitchen and nutritional garden for nutritional security. She also guided the farmers in the growing of vegetable kits for the fulfilment of household requirements of vegetables rather than purchasing vegetables from the market.

Dr Vinay Kumar, ADO, Talwara threw light on different schemes provided by the department for the welfare of the farmers and advised the farmers to increase their area under Maize.

In the end, Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma, DES (Entomolgy) thanked all the experts for delivering informative lectures and farmers for listening attentively to the proceedings of this field day and assured all support for carrying out various extension activities in the future. A thorough question-answer session was held in which farmers raised the various queries and scientists made the reply. On this occasion, vegetable kits and the berseem seed was sold to farmers.

Discussions were held on proper identification, monitoring,

Europe, Supply Chain, Trade

Save Foods’ products aim to enable packers to meet strict EU regulatory requirements for residues

Save Foods, an agri-food tech company focused on developing and selling eco-friendly products specifically designed to extend the shelf life and ensure the food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables, has engaged a local commercial post-harvest expert in Turkey, who is well connected in the local produce market, particularly within the citrus sector, to introduce the company to local post-harvest operators with ties to the EU produce market.

 

According to the Union of Exporters of the Mediterranean Region, Turkey exported a record $2.7 billion in fruits and vegetables in 2020, up 21 per cent compared to 2019. According to Trading Economics, 22 per cent of that was sent to Germany. Mandarin oranges were the country’s leading fruit export, accounting for $437 million, followed by tomatoes and lemons.

 

Dan Sztybel, CEO, Save Foods, the company’s Israeli subsidiary, commented on the announcement, “The EU is an important market for Save Foods and Turkey is a natural gateway for us. Our treatments are extremely effective on mandarin oranges — Turkey’s leading export — as evidenced by our trusted relationship with Cuties, one of the best-selling produce brands in the US.”

 

The EU maintains maximum residue levels (MRLs) for pesticides in or on food to protect consumers against unnecessarily high residue levels and the associated health risks. Likewise, certain leading food retailers in Europe developed and implemented their own MRLs, which are often stricter than those imposed by the EU. Additionally, the EU recently released the “Farm To Fork Green Deal Initiative” which establishes concrete targets to reduce food waste and the use of pesticides in the EU by 50 per cent and convert a quarter of the total farmlands of the EU to organic cultivations — all to be achieved by 2030 at the latest.

 

Although not a member of the EU, it is estimated that more than 42 per cent of all Turkish exports go to EU member countries, and Turkey’s Ministry of Trade reports that EU exports exceeded €120 billion in 2020. This past July, the Turkish government announced its Green Reconciliation Action Plan in response to the above-mentioned EU initiatives, which signals Turkey’s increasing commitment to its agricultural industry and efforts to remain competitive in the EU.

 

Dror Eigerman, a post-harvest expert and member of the company’s advisory board, concluded, “Save Foods’ products offer a perfect solution for Turkish produce packers. Not only do they represent a green sustainable investment, but they also provide a safe, effective green treatment alternative that will allow the packers to comply with the EU’s new regulations. Our local expert is well-positioned to introduce us to suitable customers throughout the country. Preliminary discussions have been very well received and we are on track to initiate trials with several local packing houses for the upcoming growing season.”

Save Foods’ products aim to enable packers