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Agro Universities, Oilseeds

Discussions were held on the commercialisation of high yielding new varieties

The ICAR-Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research (DRMR), Bharatpur, Rajasthan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Star Agriseeds, Sri-Ganganagar, Rajasthan for the non-exclusive Licensing of the Rapeseed-Mustard Hybrid NRCHB506.

 

Dr PK Rai, Director, ICAR-DRMR, Bharatpur and Saurabh Pandey, Representative, Star Agriseeds signed the MoU on the behalf of their respective organisations.

 

In his address, Dr Rai stressed that the commercialisation of the high yielding new varieties shall help to bring more areas under the improved varieties for enhancing the production and productivity of oilseeds, especially, the Rapeseed-Mustard in the country. Dr Rai outlined the development of the Ready-to-License other high yielding varieties by the Directorate. He also stated about the registration of some traits-specific germplasm which can also be shared through the MoU.

 

The senior officials of both the organisations were present during the occasion.

 

Discussions were held on the commercialisation of

AgroPolicy, Nature, Sustainable Energy

Partnership to push the use of PUSA decomposer to more farmers to eliminate crop stubble burning

NABFOUNDATION, NABARD and nurture.farm are entering into an MoU to #EndTheBurn. The partnership will see these three entities collaborating to push the revolutionary PUSA Decomposer enzyme developed by IARI, Delhi. The simple nurture.farm phone application will allow farmers across Punjab and Haryana to avail the facility of having an SHG member come over to the farm with all the required infrastructure.

Spraying the PUSA decomposer will allow the farmers to sow the next set of crops in less than eight days. This is a remarkable breakthrough since the farmers would no longer have to employ the usage of hazardous methods to decompose their stubble. Additionally, the #EndTheBurn campaign will also provide direct livelihood opportunities to 4000 SHG members by training them as Krishi Mitras (field partners). The partnership aims to handhold the farmers in a very organic manner throughout the process and provides capacity building support to them through an uberisation model involving boom-sprayers and other farm mechanization opportunities. In keeping with the development mandate, all three agencies will be focusing on empowering women in these states to emerge as #EndTheBurn champions.


Speaking on the occasion, Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm, stated, “In phase 1, nurture.farm served more than 25,000 farmers, and this partnership will help us take the initiative in the upcoming years to a more extensive level. Our association with NABFOUNDATION will add impetus to creating rural livelihood and empowering women with the latest Agri technologies to help transform their lives and of the farmers whom they will be associated with.”

Dr GR Chintala, Chairman, NABARD remarked, “Through NABFOUNDATION, our convergence with nurture.farm will allow us to leverage our strengths and bring about colossal change in the Indian agriculture ecosystem. The magnitude of this change can be quantified through the direct impact on the lives of the farmers and SHGs, and the indirect impact on the residents of North India who would now be able to breathe better for several winters to come.”

Partnership to push the use of PUSA

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, Pulses

According to Bimal Kothari, Vice-Chairman, India Pulses & Grains Association, while the main festive season will come to an end after Diwali, the wedding season that will start by mid-November will ensure some sustained offtake as well

The policy interventions by the government to allow the import of key pulses under OGL till December 31 have yielded positive results for the Indian consumer.

According to Bimal Kothari, Vice-Chairman, India Pulses & Grains Association, there is a money liquidity crisis in the market, putting downward pressure on prices that have now levelled off to the advantage of the consumers. Going forward, we expect the demand and supply ratio to remain balanced and consumer prices will remain stable. The offtake of pulses, though lesser compared to previous years, has also improved a little during the festive season and with the opening of the HoReCa sector. While the main festive season will come to an end after Diwali, the wedding season that will start by mid-November will ensure some sustained offtake as well. The prices have reduced by 8 per cent to 10 per cent from the August levels and have remained stable during this festive season. Prices for tur have dropped by Rs 6 to Rs 7 per kg while Urad and Masoor prices have dropped by Rs 5 to Rs 6 per kg. Even with Chana, the trade expected some shortages but that did not happen and prices for Chana remained just around or a little higher than MSP.”

As far as Rabi sowing is concerned, it is a little early to predict anything as sowing is just about starting. However, we feel that the stability of Chana prices during this year will encourage higher sowing and the heavy rainfall in September has also ensured a good water table in the soil which too will help Chana sowing. We will have a better idea of the sowing numbers by the end of November or the first week of December.

According to Bimal Kothari, Vice-Chairman, India Pulses

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain

Releases operational guidelines for horticulture cluster development prog

Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar addressed a National Conference on ’International Year of Fruits and Vegetables’ organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The minister also released operational guidelines for the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme and QR code of the guidelines. 

The conference was organised as part of the celebration of the ’International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, 2021’ declared by United Nations Organization. The theme for this year is ’Awareness about the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables for baa lanced and healthy diet and lifestyle.’

The ministry has identified 10 globally popular Exotic fruit crops of commercial importance and 10 important indigenous fruit crops with high nutritional and nutraceutical properties. The State Horticulture Departments have also been given targets for the years 2021-22 regarding area expansion for these crops. During the current year, 8951 hectares area for exotic fruits and 7154 hectares area for indigenous fruits will be brought under cultivation.

Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India said that horticulture has become the growth engine of Indian agriculture. 

Shri Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India informed that the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) have also organised a webinar with the theme of “Mainstreaming Indigenous Fruits and Vegetables for a Food and Nutrition Secure Future” for celebrating the Year of Fruits and Vegetables. 

Shri Garth Atkinson, International Expert made a presentation on ’Global shift in Horticulture Supply Chain.’ 

Rajbir Singh, Joint Secretary (MIDH), Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India presented an overview of the event on the international year of fruits and vegetables while Dr SK Malhotra, Horticulture Commissioner, gave a theme presentation during the seminar.

The conference was also attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, senior officers of Embassy of Israel, Embassy of the Netherlands, Green Innovation Centre, GIZ, officers from National Horticulture Board, Coconut Development Board, ICAR Institutes and all State Horticulture Missions along with leading growers /processors/farmers across the country.

 

Releases operational guidelines for horticulture cluster development

Nature, Sustainable Energy, World

The regenerative agriculture projects will be phased over the next five years

Knorr will launch 50 regenerative agriculture projects across the world to reduce food’s impact on the climate. Knorr’s 50 regenerative agriculture projects to be launched over the next five years build on more than 10 years of sustainable agriculture collaborations with farmers and suppliers, which has resulted in 95 per cent of Knorr’s vegetables and herbs being sustainably sourced, globally. But with food contributing to more than one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and being a leading cause of soil and species loss, sourcing and growing in a way that minimises impact is not enough.


The regenerative agriculture projects will be phased over the next five years, to be scaled to 50 projects with partners by 2026, globally. The three projects started this year are showing promising results in the US and Europe.

 

 

The regenerative agriculture projects will be phased

Agrotech, Environment, Sustainable Energy

The CropOS technology platform combines data science, plant science and food science to predict breeding targets that enhance the nutrition, flavour and sustainability of a crop

Benson Hill, a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants with its cutting-edge food innovation engine, recently announced the opening of its new Crop Accelerator, a state-of-the-art, controlled environment research facility located near the Company’s St Louis headquarters. The Crop Accelerator is operational ahead of schedule and under budget, with the facility’s first soybean and yellow pea seeds planted in September.

Benson Hill’s CropOS technology platform combines data science, plant science and food science to predict breeding targets that enhance the nutrition, flavour and sustainability of a crop. The Crop Accelerator will enable rapid testing and selection of target candidates, and insights and data points gathered during each growing cycle will further enhance the predictive capabilities of the CropOS platform. This cycle of feedback will accelerate the company’s ability to develop new offerings, including the continued expansion of its robust portfolio of proprietary ingredients designed to serve the growing alternative meat market that is forecasted to reach approximately $140 billion by 2029.

The Crop Accelerator is designed to provide a more than twenty-fold expansion in testing capacity and incorporates automation and imaging capabilities to streamline operations and throughput. The 47,000 square-foot facility features dynamically adaptive Conviron growth houses and chambers, equipped with multi-channel LEDs, additive CO2, temperature, humidity and lighting controls.

The CropOS technology platform combines data science,

Agrotech, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting, Sustainable Energy

Receives Tractor of the Year > 50 HP Award 2021’ for the New Holland 5620 TX

New Holland Agriculture, a business unit of CNH Industrial (CNHI) have been conferred with the Tractor of the Year > 50 HP Award 2021’ for the New Holland 5620 TX at the third edition of the Farm Power Awards. The company also bagged awards in the ‘Most Wanted Implement of the Year’ and ‘Best Harvesting Solution of the Year’ categories for the New Holland Square Baler BC5060 and the Forage Cruiser FR500 respectively.

Graced by the Director-General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, the Farm Power Awards are annually presented to recognise efforts of businesses, which have made significant contributions to the sector and impacted the lives of millions of farmers.

New Holland 5620 TX is the best suitable product in the above 50 hp segment with its advanced features like the highest useful power and high torque. It is known as India’s highest PTO power Tractor in its category. It also has the best-in-class features like 12+3 UG gear box, Reverse PTO, Independent PTO clutch, 2000kg lifting capacity, ROPS canopy, and high ground clearance among others.

New Holland Square Baler BC 5060 has played a major role in sustainable management of crop residue across India especially in the northern region, by enabling the use the crop residue (paddy straw, wheat straw, cane trash and other crop residues) for the generation of electricity/power, solidified fuel as pellets, briquettes etc.

Forage Cruiser FR500 is a self-propelled harvester, with best-in-class automated features, that analyses and responds to adverse conditions promptly. The machine is directly connected to the New Holland PLM system (GPS-Satellite), allowing it to record vital field parameters such as area mapping, yield mapping, crop moisture, and vital fodder harvester crop parameters online, allowing farmers to feed optimum nutrients while lowering feeding costs.

Receives Tractor of the Year > 50

Agro Universities, Live Stock

Launches IPDK, which is 100 per cent field-deployable starting from the sample extraction till the interpretation of the results

Dr Bhupendra Nath Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Science), ICAR and Dr Amrish Kumar Tyagi, ADG (Animal Nutrition & Physiology), ICAR released the ’Immunochromatography-based Pork Detection Kit (IPDK)’ developed by the ICAR-National Research Centre of Meat, Hyderabad.

Dr SB Barbuddhe, Director, ICAR-NRC on Meat, Hyderabad signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the MR Labs, Hyderabad for the Licensing of the Technical Know-how for the kit during the occasion.

Dr Naveena BM, Principal Scientist, Dr Rituparna Banerjee, Scientist and Dr SB Barbuddhe, Director, ICAR-NRC on meat acted as the team members for developing the kit.

The kit is 100 per cent field-deployable starting from the sample extraction till the interpretation of the results. Having the capability of completing the test within 15 minutes, the kit is highly sensitive (0.5 per cent w/w), species-specific and does not require any specialised laboratory set-up, refrigerated storage or skilled manpower.

Launches IPDK, which is 100 per cent

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities

Discussions were held on how nano-sulphur application will improve crop growth, enhance absorption of major plant nutrients

The ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Devdhar Chemicals, Pune, Maharashtra (Incubatee) for ’Evaluation of ICAR-CIRCOT Nano-sulphur as Fertilizer and Pesticide.’

Dr Sujata Saxena, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai and Ritika Devdhar, Joint MD, Devdhar Chemicals, Pune signed the MoU on the behalf of their respective organisations.

Dr Saxena briefed about the institute’s nanotechnology-related research and development activities. She emphasised that the nano-sulphur application will improve crop growth, enhance absorption of major plant nutrients, reduce fertiliser losses and result in increased crop yield. 

Devdhar stated that it is pertinent to act seriously and create awareness to reduce unscrupulous fertiliser application.

As per the MoU, the ICAR-CIRCOT will supply the Nano-Sulphur and Devdhar Chemicals will evaluate its efficiency in the different field crops (onion, groundnut, garlic and sunflower) and analyse its effects on the post-harvest quality parameters of the various crops.

Discussions were held on how nano-sulphur application

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain

With an annual production of more than 2.2 million metric tonnes, the apple from J&K contributes to 87 per cent of the national production

Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar and the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha virtually inaugurated the Apple Festival, organised for the first time in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. 

 

Appreciating the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s efforts, Tomar said that the government is doing good and speedy work for the development of agriculture in the UT with the funds provided under various schemes by the central government.

 

Tomar said that apple and Kashmir are synonymous with each other, it is the main crop and this important event will provide a better platform to apple growers and other stakeholders here under the able leadership of Sinha. 

 

With an annual production of more than 2.2 million metric tonnes, the apple from J&K contributes to 87 per cent of the national production and is linked to the livelihood of about 30 per cent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that under the leadership of Sinha, the work of filling the gaps in the field of agriculture is being done at a very fast pace. 

 

Tomar expressed happiness that high-density plantation has been done in 2300 hectare area under a special scheme in the UT and the largest quarantine centre for high-density planting material is also being opened.

 

During the programme, cheques and certificates related to various schemes were given to the farmers. Booklet on Horticulture was also released. Local public representatives, apple growers, farmers, entrepreneurs, agricultural scientists and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary (Agriculture), Jammu and Kashmir delivered the welcome address and Director General (Horticulture) Ejaz Ahmed Bhatt proposed a vote of thanks.

With an annual production of more than

Agrotech, Finance

EBITDA increases 13 per cent to $0.8 billion

Leading agriculture innovation company Syngenta Group announced strong sales growth for the third quarter and the first nine months ending on September 30, 2021. Sales in the third quarter were $6.5 billion, up 27 per cent compared to the prior-year period (+24 per cent at CER). Third-quarter EBITDA increased 13 per cent (+20 per cent at CER) to $0.8 billion.

 

Sales for the first nine months grew 25 per cent ($4.2 billion) year-on-year (+20 per cent at CER) to $21.0 billion. EBITDA for the 9 months stood at $3.5 billion, 18 per cent higher year-on-year (+22 per cent at CER).

 

In the first nine months of 2021, Syngenta Crop Protection sales grew 19 per cent (+17 per cent at CER) to $9.9 billion.

 

Sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 12 per cent; in North America, sales increased by 15 per cent; sales in Latin America grew 27 per cent; sales in the Asia Pacific (excluding China) grew 20 per cent; and in China, sales increased by 33 per cent.

 

In the first nine months of 2021, ADAMA sales grew by 19 per cent (+16 per cent at CER), with continued robust growth in all key regions, pushing year-to-date sales to $4.2 billion. ADAMA continues to address higher procurement and production costs.

 

Syngenta Seeds sales grew 25 per cent (+23 per cent at CER) to $2.8 billion in the first nine months of 2021. Syngenta Group China, consisting of the Group’s seeds, crop protection, crop nutrition, digital activities in China and MAP, achieved sales of $5.9 billion in the first nine months of the year and grew 49 per cent compared to the previous year (+37 per cent at CER).

 

EBITDA increases 13 per cent to $0.8

Agro Universities, Environment, North America

OSU researchers will work closely with Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Texas A&M University and other universities in the region on a five-year project

Oklahoma State University (OSU) has received more than $2.6 million to research ways to improve agricultural production while reducing environmental impacts. The information was given by Kevin Wagner, Director, Oklahoma Water Resources Center at OSU.

OSU researchers will work closely with Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Texas A&M University and other universities in the region on a five-year project funded by the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. OSU will receive more than $2.6 million of the $10 million competitive grant.

Although the scope of work under the grant is expansive with several multi-year components, Wagner said some aspects will benefit producers right away. Among his efforts, Wagner will monitor the quantity and quality of runoff water from fields where regenerative practices have been implemented, lead the modelling team and assist with stakeholder engagement and outreach. In addition to Wagner and Warren, there are several other key OSU researchers whose work will overlap in many areas.

Many members of the team also will be involved in arranging regional on-farm field days and large, multi-state conferences hosted in Texas and Oklahoma for disseminating research results.

Additionally, Ali Mirchi, Assistant Professor, OSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, will use data collected by the research team to develop models to evaluate the watershed scale effects of regenerative practices. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) model will be used to predict the effects of management decisions on soil loss, water quality and crop yields at the field scale.

The OSU project encompasses short-term, medium-term and long-term goals over the next five years. However, Wagner and Mirchi said the data produced under the NIFA grant will likely yield more research opportunities, as well as additional benefits to Oklahoma and similar areas around the world.

The grant is part of the USDA’s recent investment of more than $146 million in sustainable agricultural research projects aimed at improving a robust, resilient, climate-smart food and agricultural system. NIFA’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program focuses on a broad base of needed research solutions, ranging from addressing labour challenges and promoting land stewardship to correcting climate change impacts in agriculture and critical needs in food and nutrition.

OSU researchers will work closely with Texas

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Logistics, Sustainable Energy

The scheme proposes to facilitate and incentivise the movement of agri-produce by air transportation

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, Rajbir Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, KekuGazder, CEO, AAICLAS, and Dilip Chenoy, Secretary-General, FICCI released Krishi UDAN 2.0. Krishi UDAN 2.0 lays out the vision of improving value realisation through better integration and optimisation of agri-harvesting and air transportation and contributing to agri-value chain sustainability and resilience under different and dynamic conditions. The scheme proposes to facilitate and incentivise the movement of agri-produce by air transportation. 

 

The enhanced version of the Krishi UDAN scheme was formulated with support from AAICLAS – a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Airports Authority of India and Invest India, India’s national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It offers a full waiver of Landing, Parking, TNLC and RNFC charges for Indian freighters and P2C at selected Airports of the Airport Authority of India primarily, focusing on NER, hilly and tribal regions.

 

The Krishi UDAN 2.0 will be implemented at 53 airports across the country mainly focusing on Northeast and tribal regions and is likely to benefit farmers, freight forwarders and Airlines. The Ministry of Civil Aviation plans to be pilot the scheme for six months, and, will introduce amendments based on the results of the evaluation and consultations with other stakeholders.

 

Scindia said, “The scheme will open up new avenues of growth for the agriculture sector and help attain the goal of doubling farmers’ income by removing barriers in the supply chain, logistics and transportation of farm produce.”

 

He added, “We want to take the Anndata to the highest level, by adopting the model of A2A – Agriculture to Aviation. The convergence between the two sectors is possible because of three primary reasons – evolutionary possible use of biofuel for aircraft in future, use of drones in the agriculture sector, and greater integration and value realisation of agricultural products through schemes like Krishi UDAN.”

 

 

The scheme proposes to facilitate and incentivise

AgroPolicy, Dairy, Poultry

Attendees were given complete information about these schemes, as well as how to apply on the scheme portal through the CSC itself

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying recently organised an awareness programme on entrepreneurship schemes of the department through common service centres (CSC) network by holding 2000 village-level camps across eight Union Territories and Goa. Attendees were given complete information about these schemes, as well as how to apply on the scheme portal through the CSC itself.

 

Minister for Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala addressed the farmers connected through camps. 

 

The minister stated that the schemes will bring a sharp focus on entrepreneurship development and breed improvement in rural poultry, sheep, goat and piggery including feed and fodder development. The rural Poultry Entrepreneurship component will give direct employment to 1.5 lakh farmers and 2 lakh farmers will be directly benefitted from sheep goats and poultry development. Fodder and fodder seed availability in the country will be increased by many folds through the creation of fodder entrepreneurs.

 

The programme was graced by Dr Sanjeev Balyan and L Murugan, Ministers of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and other dignitaries.

 

 

 

Attendees were given complete information about these