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Home2021October (Page 7)
Agrotech, Environment, Europe, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

The decision was taken due to the ongoing disruptions to the procurement environment and shortages of core components, especially semiconductors

CNH Industrial will temporarily close several of its European agricultural, commercial vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities in response to ongoing disruptions to the procurement environment and shortages of core components, especially semiconductors.  
 
CNH Industrial is constantly reviewing its production schedules in response to this highly dynamic environment and plans to shut the concerned plants for no longer than eight working days in October. The company remains committed to optimising its manufacturing operations to meet continued strong demand and best serve its dealers and customers.

The decision was taken due to the

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech

BVT will have exclusive access to BIOGARD’s biological insecticide Beauveria bassiana ATCC 74040 for bee vectoring uses

Bee Vectoring Technologies International announced its first commercial agreement with BIOGARD, a division of CBC (Europe), one of the leading bio protectant companies in Europe. Through the agreement, BVT will have exclusive access to BIOGARD’s biological insecticide Beauveria bassiana ATCC 74040 for bee vectoring uses throughout the European Union and Switzerland.

 

“This first commercial agreement with a partner in the EU represents a major step in BVT’s growth,” said Michael Collinson, Chairman, BVT. “It is the most significant global milestone for BVT since acquiring EPA registration in the US in 2019. The agreement will enable BVT to operate in the EU through the development and registration of a bee-vectoring product extension of an already-accepted biological active substance, rather than awaiting approval of a new active substance submission – a process that can take up to 3 years. It is also a clear indication that the industry has begun to recognise the value of our bee vectoring system as an effective way to deliver crop protection.”

 

Through the agreement, BVT will develop a biological insecticide solution for delivery to crops through BVT’s proprietary bee vectoring platform using BIOGARD’s active substance registration. This could be either stacked alongside BVT’s biological fungicide, Clonostachys rosea strain CR-7 (CR-7), for a complete fungicidal plus insecticidal solution for certain crops, or used as a standalone when some diseases are not present. Bee vectoring uses up to 98 per cent less product per crop hectare compared to traditional application methods since the active ingredient is delivered directly to crop flowers with no waste. The agreement also includes a long-term arrangement for BIOGARD to supply the active substance to BVT.

BVT will have exclusive access to BIOGARD’s

AgroPolicy, Live Stock, R&D

The programme envisages carrying out surveillance of important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic as well as transboundary pathogens in India, including the North-eastern part of the country

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, GoI has supported a mega consortium on ‘One Health’. Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of launched the First ‘One Health’ project of DBT through video conferencing. The programme envisages carrying out surveillance of important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic as well as transboundary pathogens in India, including the North-eastern part of the country. The use of existing diagnostic tests and the development of additional methodologies when required are mandated for the surveillance and for understanding the spread of emerging diseases.

 

Dr Swarup in her address during the launch of the programme remarked that this consortium, consisting of 27 organisations led by DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad, is one of the biggest health programmes launched by the Govt of India in post-COVID times. The One health consortium consists of AIIMS, Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, IVRI, Bareily, GADVASU, Ludhiana, TANUVAS, Chennai, MAFSU, Nagpur, Assam agricultural and veterinary university and many more ICAR, ICMR centres and wildlife agencies.

 

Subsequently, Dr Swarup, Secretary, DBT inaugurated the International mini-symposium on ’Essentials of One Health’ through video conferencing. She emphasised the need for a holistic approach to understanding the health of humans, animals and wildlife to minimise the damage caused by future pandemics. International and national speakers shared their views on initiating and nurturing the concept of ‘One Health’ where man, animal, plants and environment are needed to be considered complementary to each other for maintaining the health of all.

The programme envisages carrying out surveillance of

Agro Universities, Environment, R&D, Sustainable Energy

The byproduct can be useful for several purposes like industrial pollution control, water purification, food and beverage processing, and odour removal

A team of scientists have used tea and banana waste to prepare non-toxic activated carbon, which is useful for several purposes like industrial pollution control, water purification, food and beverage processing, and odour removal. The newly developed process avoids the usage of any toxic agent for synthesising activated carbon, thus making the product cost-effective as well as non-toxic.

 

The processing of tea generates a lot of waste, generally in the form of tea dust. This could be converted to useful substances. The structure of tea was favourable for conversion to high-quality activated carbon. However, conversion to activated carbon involves the use of strong acid and bases, making the product toxic and hence unsuitable for most uses. So a non-toxic method of conversion was needed to overcome the challenge. 

 

Dr NC Talukdar, Former Director, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and Dr Devasish Chowdhury, Associate Professor, used banana plant extract as an alternative activating agent for the preparation of activated carbon from tea wastes.

 

Oxygenated potassium compounds contained in the banana plant extract help in activating the carbon prepared from tea waste. An Indian patent has recently been granted for this.

 

The banana plant extract used in the process was prepared traditionally and is known as Khar, which is an alkaline extract from the ashes of burnt dried banana peels. The most preferred banana for this is called ‘Bheem Kol’ in Assamese. Bheem Kol is an indigenous variety of bananas found only in Assam and parts of North East India. To make Khar, first, the peel of the banana is dried and then burnt to make an ash out of it. The ash is then crushed and made into a fine powder. Then using a clean cotton cloth, water is filtered through the ash powder, and the final solution that we get is called khar. The natural khar which is extracted from banana is called ‘Kol Khar’ or ‘Kola Khar’. This extract was used as the activating agent.

 

The main advantage of this process is that starting materials, as well as activating agents, are both waste materials. In the developed process use of any toxic activating agent (e.g., toxic acids and bases) for synthesising active carbon is avoided. Thus, this process is green for the first time plant materials have been used as an activating agent for the first time. This novel process of synthesising active carbon makes the product cost-effective as well as non-toxic.

The byproduct can be useful for several

Agrotech, Singapore

The forum invites the industry to the hybrid conference with an accompanying exhibition this November in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

VNU Asia Pacific and DLG (German Agricultural Society) organized the Pre-Networking and Press Event of the upcoming “AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA Regional Summit – Smart Farming for Sustainable Food Systems” on October 12, 2021. Taking place at DLG’s online platform for the global agricultural community `DLG Connect´, participants took the opportunity to learn about the upcoming summit in November and connect with other experts in sustainable and smart agriculture.

As official co-host of the AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HORTI ASIA Regional Summit, Dr. Thongplew Kongjun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) gave the official welcome remark, followed by Dr. Vanida Khumnirdpetch, Director of the Bureau of Foreign Agricultural Affairs sharing Thailand’s vision on Smart Production for Sustainable Food Systems.

The Federation of Thai Industries presented the province Nakhon Ratchasima, which is not only the heart of Thailand’s crop production but also the province where the Regional Summit is going to take place. The innovative companies CLAAS, Varuna AI & Robotics Ventures, Gessner Industries, and Planet elaborated on their contribution to more sustainable food systems, while Mr. Karsten Ziebell from a German-Thai Cooperation Project explained how the concept of cluster farms can lead to more sustainable farming and invited to the 1st Clusterfarm Future Conference.

With this event, organizers and partners aim at introducing the AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA Regional Summit and invite the industry to the hybrid conference with accompanying exhibition this November in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Dr. Thongplew Kongjun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives stated in this welcome remark that “the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is pleased to co-host the AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA Regional Summit. This summit will serve as a platform where stakeholders, especially farmers and young smart farmers, can exchange and share experiences for future farming together with their existing networks in Thailand and Southeast Asia, which will enable us to foster sustainable food systems. Let us work together for a better future.”

“The UN Food System Summit 2021 as part of the “Decade of Actions” is awakening the world to the fact that we must work together to create the future of food and agricultural systems to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, the AGRITECHNICA ASIA & HORTI ASIA Regional Summit is a place where international knowledge and innovations can offer technical solutions to local farmers and businesses”, Dr. Vanida Khumnirdpetch, Director of the Bureau of Foreign Agricultural Affairs, highlighted the importance of collaboration and innovation for more sustainability in agriculture.

Katharina Staske, Managing Director of DLG Thai explained “We are collaborating with quality conference partners, who are leading specialist organizations like the International Rice Research Institute and the Thai Society of Sugarcane Technologists. The combination of experts from the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the private sector sharing the latest innovations as well as practitioners demonstrating best practices live from the field will create a unique place for knowledge exchange and networking.”

“The conference with over 70 speakers from Thailand and worldwide will focus on topics such as efficient and sustainable sugarcane, cassava, rice and maize production as well as precision and smart farming, plant protection, water management and cluster farming as well as new markets such as vertical farming and bioeconomy,” added  Mr. Heiko M. Stutzinger, Managing Director, VNU Asia Pacific.

The AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HORTI ASIA Regional Summit, to be held as a hybrid online and in-person event on 16 and 17 November, offers farmers and farming specialists from Thailand and South East Asia not only innovative farming systems and a wide range of solutions for improving crop production but also access to a worldwide network of international companies and experts. Under the guiding theme “Smart production for sustainable food systems”, the Regional Summit addresses the challenges of sustainable food production facing farmers from Southeast Asia and especially Thailand. The AGRITECHNICA ASIA and HORTI ASIA Regional Summit event, which is organized by DLG (German Agricultural Society) and VNU Asia Pacific, takes place at the Imperial Hotel and Convention Centre Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, and online at DLG Connect.

Further Information and registration now to get the best deal:

www.agritechnica-asia.com/regional-summit | www.horti-asia.com/regional-summit or group delegation call +662 1116611 (VNU Asia Pacific) to get a special rate.

The forum invites the industry to the

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities, Floriculture, IT

The minister recently visited ICAR-NRC for Orchids, Sikkim

Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare during his recent visit to the ICAR-National Research Centre for Orchids, Pakyong, Sikkim emphasised on lab-to-land programmes to enable the state to emerge as an organic destination for tourists and consumers.

 

The minister apprised the participants about the significant increase in the efforts of the Central Government for improving the socio-economic conditions of the farmers, especially, small and marginal farmers through the various schemes like Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, 1.5 times increment in MSP and Formation of 10,000 FPOs throughout the country.

 

Choudhary encouraged the farmers for utilising the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund to take-up the value-addition activities in agriculture. While visiting the laboratories and farms of the Centre, he also interacted with the farmers on the various aspects of Orchid Cultivation ranging from production to marketing.

 

The minister also launched two mobile apps — ’Orchid Pest Management’ developed for farmers to assist management of pests of orchids and OrchidMAN to assist the orchid collectors in recording the passport data during the collection of orchids on the occasion.

 

Loknath Sharma, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Sikkim urged the ICAR Institutes to work in collaboration with the state departments. He also encouraged the farmers to participate in the state government Mission on Swanirbhar Sikkim in agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry.

The minister recently visited ICAR-NRC for Orchids,

Environment, Sustainable Energy

The Gigaton Challenge aims to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalent 1 Gigaton by 2040

UPL has announced the launch of a new series of initiatives to be deployed globally which will leverage sustainable methods to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide equivalent 1 Gigaton by 2040. At an event in Sao Paulo, hosted by Jai Shroff, CEO, UPL, Mauricio Macri, Executive Chairman, FIFA Foundation, and attended by Youri Djorkaeff, CEO, FIFA Foundation, UPL has launched ‘The Gigaton Challenge’, uniting sustainable food production and education. The Gigaton Challenge will create new carbon credits to incentivise and support farmers for adopting sustainable and regenerative practices.

 

Thes initiative has the potential to generate $15 billion of additional income for farming ecosystems worldwide.

 

Between 2021 to 2024, the Gigaton Challenge will initially follow a pilot phase in Brazil, Argentina India, the US and some European countries, which will be followed by a scaling-up phase from 2025 to 2040 worldwide. 

 

The Gigaton Challenge aims to reduce atmospheric

Environment, World

To showcase eucalyptus fluff at Index 20 in Geneva

Suzano, the world’s leading eucalyptus pulp producer and one of Latin America’s largest companies, will showcase its new innovative fluff pulp, Eucafluff, for the first time at Index 20 in Geneva on October 19 to 20.

Suzano believes in the power of eucalyptus and innovation to provide solutions to the environment’s great challenges. It is within this context that it developed Eucafluff: the world’s first 100 per cent eucalyptus fluff, a renewable raw material with a lower carbon footprint than most equivalent pine fluff-based products which simultaneously provides consumers with efficient and high-quality products.

Currently, 75 per cent of Eucafluff’s sales are overseas, in which 70 per cent are sold in Asia, including in major markets like China and Japan. Eucafluff has been adopted by leading companies in the global market producing hygiene products for millions of people.

Eucafluff is the result of nearly 15 years of R&D combining Suzano’s expertise in both innovation and sustainability (known as innovability), which it employs across all areas of the business.

As well as being more sustainable, Eucafluff outperforms competitors when it comes to rewetting, net retention and comfort due to the unique morphology of Suzano’s eucalyptus hardwood, which is smaller, thinner and highly compressible.

Eucafluff is made from eucalyptus trees planted on sustainably managed farms across Brazil.

To showcase eucalyptus fluff at Index 20

Environment

To plant 3.5M native bamboo clumps, trees in the country

Nestlé has recently launched a new initiative to plant two and a half million native bamboo clumps and a million trees over the next three years in the Philippines. This reforestation effort supports Nestlé’s goal to plant 200 million trees by 2030. It also forms part of the company’s plan to scale up actions in regenerative agriculture and deploy nature-based solutions to absorb greenhouse gases and contribute to achieving Nestlé’s net-zero target by 2050.

Nestlé is conducting the new reforestation initiative with One Tree Planted, a non-profit environmental organisation focusing on global reforestation, and EcoPlanet Bamboo Group who champions the industrialisation of bamboo as a sustainable fibre source. Nestlé has kicked off its global reforestation program across the Americas supported in part by its ongoing partnership with One Tree Planted, before expanding it to several countries.

The project is targeting the island of Mindanao for this reforestation initiative. Nestlé sources coffee beans from this region. Planting bamboo native to the Philippines in this sourcing region (known as ’insetting’) aims to absorb greenhouse gas emissions, conserve local biodiversity, improve water quality and restore degraded soils.

To plant 3.5M native bamboo clumps, trees

Agrotech, IT

The app allows to get an on the spot assessment of the commodity’s sample within minutes

Agri logistics conglomerate Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) has officially launched the beta version of the quality check mobile application for agricultural commodities under its proprietary AgriReach umbrella.
 
Initially introduced for wheat, which is a staple food grain in most parts of India, the app’s capabilities will be progressively extended to include other important food grains and pulses like chana (chickpea), maize, rice, guar (cluster bean), moong and tur (pigeon pea) over time.

The app allows the user to get an on the spot assessment of the commodity’s sample within minutes, without having to use equipment like a sieve, weighing scale, etc., or to take it to a lab for testing.
 
The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store on handheld devices like mobile phones and tablet PCs running on the Android OS. The SLCM Group had applied for a patent on the AgriReach QC
app in August 2018.

The app allows to get an on

Finance, Start ups

The round of funding will help ReshaMandi to expand into newer territories and operationalise R&D work

ReshaMandi, India’s first silk-tech startup that serves as a B2B marketplace for silk farmers, businesses, and retailers in India, announced a Series A funding round of $30 million, led by global alternative investment manager Creation Investments and other investors. This round featured a mix of equity and some debt. 

 

The equity funding includes new investors such as nine Unicorns, Venture Catalysts, Sandeep Singhal from Nexus, Brijesh Agarwal, founder of IndiaMART, and Omnivore, which also led the seed round of ReshaMandi. Debt investors include Northern Arc, Alteria, Innoven, and Stride Ventures.

 

Mayank Tiwari, CEO, ReshaMandi, “The round of funding will allow us to expand into newer territories and operationalise our R&D work while helping further stakeholders reap the benefits of our innovations and efficiencies.”

 

“Shortly after this round, a whole new range of saris and other fashion wear will be available in Tier-II towns in India where we are expanding,” said Utkarsh Apoorva, Co-founder, and CBO, ReshaMandi. 

 

ReshaMandi plans to expand its agricultural business in all major silk-producing states across India while also establishing itself as a leader in weaving clusters like Banaras, Salem, Kanchipuram, Maheshwar, and Dharmavaram. The company also aims to extend its retail footprint further into Agra, Kota, Gorakhpur, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Satara, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Madurai, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kannur, over the next three to six months.

The round of funding will help ReshaMandi

Agro chems – Chemicals, R&D

Best Agrolife registered a 22 per cent growth in revenue

Delhi-headquartered Best Agrolife has been ranked 15th among the top 20 agrochemical companies in India. The ranking has been released by AgroPages an online media platform for the agrochemical industry devoted exclusively to the global agricultural business. Best Agrolife registered a 22 per cent growth in revenue, FY 2020-21 proved to be a significant year for the company. The company took progressive steps towards upgrading the portfolio from old generics to patented combinations and recently off-patented molecules.

Best Agrolife is preparing to increase its formulation plant capacity to 50,000 MTPA, which will be significantly higher than its present capacity. Considering its international footprints, the company is actively exploring various markets such as Africa, Asia, South East Asia and the Asia Pacific, European Union (EU) and the US and plans to own subsidiary companies in Africa, EU, and the US markets.

Best Agrolife registered a 22 per cent

Environment, Organic

Rolls out new product packaging that features a clean, bright design and its own unique associated animal

YACHAK, committed to providing a purely natural and organic source of energy that helps protect the trees, communities, and species of the Amazon rainforest, has rolled out a new product packaging that features a clean, bright design and its own unique associated animal. Each species is local to the Amazon Rainforest in South America where YACHAK takes its inspiration from, and plants trees as part of the brand’s reforestation efforts.

Through its partnership with the non-profit organisation One Tree Planted, YACHAK is working to restore nearly 300 acres of green space by planting 280,668 tree seedlings and will plant over 500,000 trees by 2024. The combined efforts have made long-term harvesting possible and have provided 72 farmers with sustainable income and employment. A portion of each purchase of YACHAK goes towards supporting One Tree Planted.   

Each unique flavour is made with USDA Organic ingredients including Yerba Mate, a species of the holly plant that grows in the central and southern regions of South America and provides a natural source of caffeine.

’Yachak’ is the name the indigenous Kichwa people of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon give to their Shamans. The brand is committed to providing a natural and organic source of energy that helps protect the trees, communities, and species of the Amazon rainforest.

Rolls out new product packaging that features

Agrotech, Environment

YV01, an autonomous spraying robot can transform the way vineyards operate and is backed by YANMAR’s long-established, cost-effective technology and quality

YANMAR has introduced a new, technological breakthrough for wine producers – a vineyard robot that offers a host of benefits for wine growing operations of all sizes including enhanced safety, productivity, cost reductions and versatility. YV01 is an autonomous spraying robot that can transform the way vineyards operate and is backed by YANMAR’s long-established, cost-effective technology and quality.

 

Due to its lightweight and compact dimensions, YV01 can climb and descend slopes of up to 45 per cent and won’t compress soils in any weather conditions. Furthermore, it is easily transportable on a small truck or trailer, whilst carrying a high payload of spraying fluids. Using an advanced spraying system, YV01 ensures that vines are precisely sprayed with the exact amount of droplets which means fewer spraying fluids are required

 

“YV01 offers cutting-edge autonomous technology and is flexible, lightweight and environmentally-friendly as it ensures highly accurate spraying on vines,” said Yanmar Europe, President, Peter Aarsen. He added: “It can be safely and simply operated by a nearby supervisor and it is ideally suited for vineyards which have narrow pathways and where the vines are not tall.

 

YANMAR’s electrostatic spraying mechanism accurately and precisely sprays plants producing healthier and cleaner vines. The process produces a fine stream of electrically charged spray droplets which are attracted to the plant leaves so that all surfaces, even hidden ones, are treated and excess spray is reduced to a minimum. Powered by a gasoline engine capable of extended use in the field YV01 is entering the testing and evaluation phase with an announcement about the start of sales expected during FY2022.

 

YV01 will be on show at the VITeff International Sparkling Wine Technology Exhibition till October 15 at Epernay, France.

YV01, an autonomous spraying robot can transform