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R&D

The new Ceratina fioreseana bee belongs to a group of important pollinators for plants and crops. 

The new bee species was first identified by Favizia Freitas de Oliveira, a research scientist with the Institute of Biology at Brazil’s Federal University of Bahia and Hebert Luiz Pereira, a Bayer consultant whose firm, HP Agroconsultoria focuses on bee production and conservation. In 2017, both began working with Henrique Fiorese, whose family owns the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Farm, where the discovery was made. 

 Through Bayer’s Forward Farm initiative, the company collaborates with independent farmers like Fiorese in locations throughout the world to share knowledge about modern and sustainable agriculture through first-hand experiences. Pereira and Freitas de Oliveira noticed the new species, which is a solitary bee that does not live in colonies, while studying other bees that were building their nests inside insect hotels that had been installed on the property by Bayer, as well as living in nests located in thick wooded areas within the farm’s nature preserve and its vegetable gardens. 

The new Ceratina fioreseana bee is a member of the Ceratina (Ceratinula) subgenus, which occurs with 38 species in the Americas, 15 of which are found in Brazil. As a solitary bee, it lives alone, does not produce honey nor does it have a queen, however it belongs to a group of important pollinators for plants and crops.

“We collected some (female and male) specimens in the field survey,” said Freitas de Oliveira. “In addition to these, we identified 72 other species of native Brazilian bees during a rapid assessment to monitor pollinator diversity around soybean crops.” 

 “This discovery reinforces the harmonic coexistence between agriculture and the bee population,” said Cláudia Quaglierini, Tropical Intelligence Manager for Bayer. “Through this partnership, we could see that taking good agricultural practices into account, we are able to verify the diversity and productivity of pollinators that have existed on the farm for more than 30 years. In fact, bees can bring better productivity results through pollination.”

 

 

The new Ceratina fioreseana bee belongs to

Agro Universities, North America, Poultry

Auburn researchers are working on ways to find and utilize alternative water resources for irrigating crops

As fresh water supplies become increasingly limited and the world’s population continues to grow, US based Auburn University College of Agriculture researchers are working on ways to find and utilize alternative water resources for irrigating crops. “One proven source that can meet this demand is wastewater,” said Brendan Higgins, assistant professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering.

Higgins is leading a research team that has received a four-year $499,577 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA, to study the possibility of using poultry processing wastewater for irrigating in controlled-environment agriculture.

The first challenge, he said, is that nutrients in the wastewater should be in the appropriate form for stable crop production. Secondly, the crops irrigated with wastewater must be free of pathogens, and, lastly, the negative effects of antimicrobial chemicals in the poultry wastewater must be mitigated.

Researchers will meet the project’s goal by engaging in four major research activities:

  1. Develop an innovative wastewater treatment reactor that uses algae and bacteria deployed together to clean the water and transform existing nutrients into forms that are usable by plants.
  2. Test the ability of the above reactor, along with other non-chemical treatment steps, to clean the water of pathogens so it is safe to use for crop irrigation.
  3. Grow lettuce—a model crop that presents a “worst-case scenario” from a food-safety standpoint—to test the system’s performance.
  4. Develop a set of engineering models derived from the experimental data.

The Auburn project will be located at the College of Agriculture’s Charles C Miller Jr Poultry Research and Education Center.

While the research project will be focusing on growing lettuce, Higgins sees the potential for using wastewater on a variety of crops.

Auburn researchers are working on ways to

Acquaculture

The two field schools will contribute greatly to the extension and advisory services delivery

The ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and Sasya Shyamala Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sonarpur, Kolkata inaugurated the two Farm Schools – Aquaculture Farmer Field School (AFFS) and Livestock Farmer Field School (LFFS) in Sonarpur Block, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal on 13th January 2021.

Dr Saroj Kumar Swain, Director, ICAR-CIFA, Bhubaneswar, Odisha urged farmers’ cooperation to get connected with the ICAR-CIFA and SSKVK for their fisheries and other farming activities. He highlighted the popularity of AFFS piloted by the Institute in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Dr Swain stressed that the two field schools will contribute greatly to the extension and advisory services delivery.

Dr SK Roy, Director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone – V, Kolkata applauded both the efforts of both the organizations in helping the farmers to adopt the scientific integrated farming system. He also emphasized on innovations in extension and training.

Sagar Mehera, Joint Secretary, Government of India and Swami Shivapurananda, Vice-Chairman, SSKVK, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute, Kolkata were also present during the occasion.

Dr Tara Sankar Pan, Deputy Director, ARD, Government of West Bengal assured of help in promoting scientific livestock farming.

The joint efforts of Dr BN Paul, Co-ordinator, Scheduled Caste Sub Plan Scheme, and Dr NC Sahu, Head, Sasya Shyamala Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kolkata led to the execution of establishing the AFFS and LFFS for empowering over 5,000 farmers in 20 nearby villages in adopting aquaculture and animal husbandry technologies.

Around 200 farmers and farm women attended the program.

The two field schools will contribute greatly

Agro Universities

This one-day event was held to synergize the combined strengths of both institutions to serve the farmers better

The ICAR-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, Punjab has recently organised an interaction-cum-demonstration workshop with the scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, Punjab.

This one-day event was held on January 13, 2021, to synergize the combined strengths of both institutions to serve the farmers better. A total of about 50 Scientists & Subject Matter Specialists-cum-Assistant Professors from KVKs and ICAR-CIPHET took part in this live workshop

Dr Inderjeet Singh, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU, Ludhiana, Punjab marked his presence as the Chief Guest along with Dr Rajbir Singh, Director, ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Ludhiana, Punjab as the Special Guest of the occasion. Dr Indrajeet Singh encouraged the scientists to have a broad vision to serve the society and help the farmers in transforming their lives. He highlighted the role of animal husbandry in the prosperity of farmers. Dr Singh told this interface meet will synergize the combined strengths of both the institutions to serve the farmers better.

He added that an MoU has been already signed between GADVASU and CIPHET to encourage collaboration in research and extension activities in the areas such as engineering interventions in animal husbandry especially for animal shelters, animal feed, fisheries, etc.

Demonstrated of pilot plants for several post-harvest technologies was conducted for scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Barnala, Mohali, and Tarantaran. Technologies viz. Groundnut milk, Wadi Making, Makhana Processing, Live Fish Carrier System and Fish Descaling Tool, Agro Processing Centre, Corn Cob Drying, Protected Cultivation, etc. were demonstrated.

This one-day event was held to synergize

Agrotech, Finance, Start ups

With the Series C investment, the company plans to strengthen the technology platform and expand geographically to other parts of India.   

Based in Gurgaon and Patna, Agritech start up DeHaat has announced that it has raised USD 30 million from various investors to fund its expansion plan and strengthen technology platform.

The company raised USD 30 million in Series C funding, led by Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures). RTP Global co-invested in the round with participation from existing investors, Sequoia India, FMO, Omnivore & AgFunder, the company said in a statement.

 Shashank Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, DeHaat said ,”The recent investment from marquee investors like Prosus Ventures, RTP Global and others is a strong validation of our goal to become the world’s largest farmer aggregator and will help us scale up in both size and scope,”.

DeHaat is a technology-based business to farmers (B2F) platform which offers full-stack agricultural services to farmers, including distribution of high-quality agricultural inputs, customized farm advisory, access to financial services, and market linkages for selling their produce.

With the Series C investment, the company plans to strengthen the technology platform and expand geographically to other parts of India. Currently, DeHaat is operating across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

With the Series C investment, the company

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Finance, Seeds

Domestic crop care business grew by 15% and seeds business by 38% albeit on a smaller base.

Rallis India Limited, a TATA Enterprise and a leading player in the Indian agri-inputs industry announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 December 2020.

Announcing the results, Sanjiv Lal, Managing Director and CEO, Rallis India said, “During the current crop season, our business has witnessed a favourable demand resulting in an overall growth of 7 per cent. In the domestic market, growth in Rabi’s sowing area was supportive and our domestic crop care business grew by 15 per cent and seeds business by 38 per cent albeit on a smaller base. Export demand also witnessed a revival, as the revenue shortfall vs PY narrowed in Q3.  All our capex projects are progressing satisfactorily and are on schedule. As the world witnesses a new strain of the COVID-19 virus, employee safety continues to be our priority.”

 Consolidated Key Highlights – Q3

The Company recorded consolidated revenues of ₹570 Crs for the quarter ended 31 December, 2020, a growth of 7 per cent over PY of ₹534 Crs. Profit before tax (before exceptional items) was at ₹56 Crs, with a growth of 16 per cent over PY of ₹48 Crs and the profit after tax (after exceptional items) was ₹46 Crs, registering a growth of 20 per cent over PY of ₹38 Crs.

 

Consolidated Key Highlights – 9M

The Company recorded consolidated revenues of ₹1958 Crs for the nine months ended 31 December, 2020, a growth of 3 per cent over PY of ₹1906 Crs. Profit before tax (before exceptional items) was at ₹284 Crs, with a growth of 18 per cent (PY ₹240 Crs) and the profit after tax (after exceptional items) was ₹220 Crs, registering a growth of 20 per cent (PY ₹183 Crs).

 

Key Developments –

  • Continued high focus on safety and health of employees, amidst the pandemic
  • 1 new insecticide and 3 new crop nutrition products launched
  • Continued up stocking of raw materials to avert production disruptions due to potential supply chain issues
  • 14% revenue growth on YTD basis in the domestic formulation business. Strong support by flagship brands

Domestic crop care business grew by 15%

Agro Universities, IT

It will help Farmers’ Producers’ Organisations (FPOs) to connect with the forward and backward linkages.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Institute of Millets Research (ICAR-IIMR), HYDERABAD, in association with Youkta Agritech, a Social Enterprise launched a digital platform for the benefit of Farmers’ Producers’ Organizations (FPOs) to connect with the forward and backward linkages. 

The Chief Guest, Y.K. Rao, Chief General Manager, Regional Office, NABARD, Hyderabad applauded the Institute for hand-holding the FPOs to become local business hub in Millets.The Guests of Honour, N.K. Anumala, DGM, Andhra Pradesh Regional Office, NABARD and Dr Ashok Alur, Director, Centre of Excellence on FPOs, Government of Karnataka apprised the participants of the respective states about the schemes available for strengthening the FPOs.

  Neeraj Kumar Verma, Chief General Manager, Regional Office, NABARD, Bengaluru, Karnataka highlighted the schemes available to the FPOs for sustainability.In his address, Dr Vilas A. Tonapi, Director, ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad stressed on the need of digital platforms to connect the various stakeholders with timely information for better farming. 

Dr B. Dayakar Rao, CEO, Nutrihub & PS, ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad outlined the Institute’s role in connecting the dots between the Start-Ups and FPOs. He also underlined the creation of 50+ Start-Ups by the Nutrihub, ICAR-IIMR in the last year.

 Dr Swamy Pentyala, Director, Youkta Social Enterprise, Hyderabad briefed the rationale behind the design of the productive platform. A total of 210 participants including 127 FPOs, farmers, entrepreneurs, Start-Ups, officials of NABARD and Agri-Extension Officers attended the programme.

It will help Farmers’ Producers’ Organisations (FPOs)

Agrotech, E-commerce, Seeds

This next-level partnership will place greater emphasis on grower education, productivity and profitability while continuing to support National Sorghum Producers (NSP) advocacy efforts 

Advanta Seeds US, a global seed company and parent of the premium seed brand Alta Seeds, is upping its commitment to National Sorghum Producers, increasing its support as a Gold level sponsor through the NSP Industry Partner program.

 “We have always appreciated Advanta’s support of NSP and sorghum farmers through its mission to provide high yielding, quality seed through premier research and development,” NSP CEO Tim Lust said. “Their innovation has played a key role in driving the sorghum industry forward, and we are excited about the new opportunities offered through this continued partnership.”

This next-level partnership will place greater emphasis on grower education, productivity and profitability while continuing to support NSP advocacy efforts. Today, NSP and Alta Seeds launched two resources for growers focusing on forage sorghum and sugarcane aphid (SCA) management. 

“Advanta/Alta Seeds has long supported NSP’s mission of legislatively advocating and building profitable markets for sorghum growers across the country,” Barry Lubbers, North America Business Director for Advanta, said. “We believe our increased sponsorship, which includes the creation of the SCA and forage sorghum management resource pages on the association’s website, will further help sorghum productivity and profitability while underscoring our commitment to the sorghum industry.” 

Alta Seeds launched igrowth®, the first herbicide tolerant sorghum to market, in June 2020 and its partner UPL received approval for IMIFLEX™ in December, making the first commercially available pre and post emergent grass and broadleaf control technology system available to sorghum farmers for the 2021 growing season.

 

This next-level partnership will place greater emphasis

Schemes - Govt, Start ups

The launch of startup India seed fund intend to provide opportunities for new start-ups to flourish in the country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently announced the launch of a Rs 1,000 crore startup India seed fund intending to provide opportunities for new start-ups to flourish in the country.

Addressing the second day of Prarambh: Start-up India International Summit on Saturday, PM Modi said, “We are launching a Rs 1,000 crore start-up India Seed Fund to help new start-ups grow in the country.”

“We are trying to create a start-up system which is based on the mantra ’of the youth, by the youth, for the youth,” he added.

Under the Start-up India program, PM Modi said that the youth of the country has built a strong foundation in creating ideas and starting their business for the last five years. “We should aim that our start-ups and unicorns excel as global giants and lead in futuristic technology,” he said.

“More than 41,000 start-ups including nearly 5,700 start-ups in the IT sector, 3,600 in the health sector, and 1,700 start-ups in agriculture are engaged in work,” Modi noted.

Further, he said the start-up ecosystem has also given a chance to the economically unstable youth to showcase their talents and earn.

The Prime Minister also noted that the start-ups are spread across the country and have a presence even in Tier 2 states of the country.

Prarambh: Start-up India International Summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Start-up India initiative launched by PM Modi on January 16, 2016. The Summit is built on the foundation set through the 19-point action plan of the Start-up India initiative in 2016.

The launch of startup India seed fund

Agrotech, R&D

To identify innovative AI solutions to solve specific used-cases in the field of agriculture.

NASCOM, in collaboration with Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM), has launched an Innovation Factory – series of a grand challenge to identify innovative AI solutions to solve specific used-cases in the field of agriculture.

The challenge gives a chance for innovators to assist the Government of Telangana in helping farmers increase their income by working on three selected use-cases. These include precision farming for improving yield; Real-time price discovery and volume management and e-marketplaces and; Farmer lending using farm/output backed credit risk assessment.

Innovators will also be able to showcase their AI solution development capabilities at a larger scale and avail an opportunity to implement a pilot within the State of Telangana, with mentorship support from Government of Telangana entities. As a part of the challenge, winner will get a chance to win a prize money of INR 1 Lakh and INR 50,000 for the runner-up, per use-case.

The contest is open for start-ups, companies and institutions operating within India where one team will be allowed one entry per account. Each team will be given six weeks to work on the use-case where these teams will be judged on three focal criteria’s – approach, technique and results. The last date to register for the challenge is 24th January 2021. Winner will be announced on 30th March 2021.

To identify innovative AI solutions to solve

Foodgrains, Trade

The National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan explained their requirement or standards for Basmati rice imports from India. 

In a bid to boost exports potential of India’s agricultural and processed food products exports, APEDA has organized a Virtual Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) in association with Indian Embassy in, Azerbaijan. The meet brought together key stakeholders from the respective Governments and trade on a common platform for strengthening strategic cooperation between India and Azerbaijan in export of Basmati Rice.

This Virtual-BSM with Azerbaijan is the 16th in the series of such events organized by APEDA with various countries. Earlier such virtual Virtual-BSM was first organized with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) followed by Kuwait, Indonesia, Switzerland, Belgium, Iran, South Africa, Germany, The United States, Canada and Australia, Thailand and Nepal.

During the Virtual-BSM, presentations were made by of leading Basmati Rice Exporters. The National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan explained their requirement or standards for Basmati Rice imports from India.

The Virtual BSM was joined by His  Excellency Mr B. Vanlalvawna, Ambassador of India to Azerbaijan, Dr M. Angamuthu, Chairman APEDA, S.S.Nayyar, General Manager, APEDA, Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary, APEDA, Dr. D D Sharma, Director(BEDF), APEDA, Fuad Humbatov, Deputy Secretary General, The National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organisations of the Repuyblic of Azerbaijan (ASK), and Senior Officials of APEDA and Embassy of India, Azerbaijan, Indian Basmati Rice Exporters and rice importers of Azerbaijan.

Ever since the COVID pandemic, there is an increased shift of focus towards  CIS trade partners by India for creating new opportunities for alliance in agricultural and processed food sector.

The National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organizations

Agrotech, North America

The ATAC is comprised of senior representatives from across the US agricultural community

The Chairman of the Board of the National Industrial Hemp Council Patrick Atagi was recently appointed to the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Trade in Tobacco, Cotton, and Peanuts by United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer.

The Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee is comprised of senior representatives from across the US agricultural community who provide advice to the US Department of Agriculture and the Office of the US Trade Representative on trade policy matters including the operation of existing trade agreements and the negotiation of new agreements. Members of the six ATACs provide technical advice and guidance from the perspective of their specific product sectors.

The ATAC for Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts scope is to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and USTR on matters that are of concern to the United States and to its consumers, producers, processors, and traders of tobacco, cotton and peanuts in connection with the trade policy activities undertaken by the United States.

The committee also provides advice and information regarding trade issues that affect both domestic and foreign production and trade concerning tobacco, cotton and peanuts; and, furnishes advisory opinions and reports regarding trade policy as requested by the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Trade Representative, or their designees.

The ATAC is comprised of senior representatives

AgroPolicy, Poultry

The state government has put requisite information on Avian Influenza in line with the revised Avian Influenza Action Plan 2021 for both, the departmental officials and the general public. 

Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Department has started a Toll-free Helpline Number for farmers to report any unusual mortality of birds. The state government has put requisite information on Avian Influenza in line with the revised Avian Influenza Action Plan 2021 for both, the departmental officials and the general public. As gathered, necessary notifications regarding ’infected area’, etc. to check spread of the disease, have already been issued by the state.

In order to contain the incidences of Bird Flu without delay, the exercise of the powers conferred under Prevention And Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009, the state government has delegated all its requisite powers on District Collectors within their local jurisdiction in the state for prevention, control and eradication of Avian Influenza.

Following the advisories of the department, states are undertaking awareness generation activities through newspaper advertisements, social media platforms etc. Also, continuous efforts to generate awareness about Avian Influenza and how to deal with the situation is being shared among the general public through various media platforms including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook handles.

In Maharashtra, RRTs has been deployed and culling of poultry birds is underway in all the affected epicentres including CPDO, Mumbai. Further, in Madhya Pradesh, RRTs have been deployed. Culling operation of poultry is continuing in the epicentres of Haryana.

The state government has put requisite information

Foodgrains, R&D, Seeds

Dr Vijay Gahlaut proposes to carry this out through a process called epigenomic mapping

Heat stress causes a dramatic reduction in yield and quality loss of wheat, the food crop that nurtures more than one-third of the world population. In order to address this challenge, Dr Vijay Gahlaut, an Inspire Faculty, New Delhi Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is exploring the epigenetic route to modify gene expression in a manner that is stably transmitted but do not involve differences in the underlying DNA sequence, so that the heritable genes do not buckle under heat stress and non-stress conditions during different grain filling stages.

Dr Vijay who is faculty at the Biotechnology division at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, will identify the role of DNA methylation (a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule) patterns of heat stress-tolerant and heat stress-sensitive wheat genotypes during different grain filling stages. He proposes to carry this out through a process called epigenomic mapping, which will also help in the identification of natural epigenetic variation.

His recent publication in the journal ‘Genomics’ has shown the differential expression pattern of C5-MTase genes under heat stress suggesting their role in stress response in wheat. This could give a major clue to producing heat-tolerant productive wheat varieties.

The utilization of identical genes that differ in the extent of methylation is known as epialleles identified through his research could be one of the most promising solutions to improving wheat productivity by engineering elite wheat varieties with enhanced heat stress tolerance and increase grain yield.

 

Dr Vijay Gahlaut proposes to carry this