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AgroPolicy, Agrotech, IT, Start ups

The EoI will help to build consortia and deploy a bouquet of solutions from several startups and tech-focused organisationstransformation with new age technologies

The Telangana government has recently released an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the selection of Project Implementation Partners (PIPs) for the ‘Saagu-Baagu’ project. The EoI will build consortia and deploy a bouquet of solutions from several startups and tech-focused organisations, to establish proof of value and accelerate adoption and use of agritech solutions.

The state government and World Economic Forum (WEF) have jointly invited proposals from startups, Farm Producers Organisations (FPOs), industries, academia and civil society to showcase end-to-end value chain transformation with new-age technologies, under its ‘Saagu-Baagu’ project.

The last date for submission of proposals is September 30 and the state government will conduct a virtual pre-bid conference for interested stakeholders on September 7.

The Telangana government and WEF have shortlisted a list of 30 priority solutions using emerging technologies like AI, IoT, remote sensing, and blockchain among others to solve unique problems and create an impact on farmers’ lives. Any proposal by the EoI will be required to have at least five distinct use-cases across various segments of any given agri value chain. The government will engage the selected PIPs on a pro-bono and non-exclusive basis, and under a Public-Private Cooperation (PPC) framework to offer active support.

Intending to realise the benefits envisaged by the AI for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) initiative, the Government of Telangana, in association with C4IR India conceptualised a project called ‘Saagu Baagu’ (Agriculture Advancement). The Saagu-Baagu project is the first-of-its-kind public-private initiative for agritech in India. It is aimed at bringing value addition with mainstreaming of innovative new-age technologies in agriculture. This can potentially uplift the lives of more than 65 per cent of India’s population which depends on agriculture for their livelihood. The objective is to increase farmers’ income, saving the environment and also enhancing trust and transparency.
 

The EoI will help to build consortia

Acquaculture, Sustainable Energy

The four-year project will use novel ingredients from the circular economy with a low carbon footprint

Nofima, the Norwegian Institute for applied research within the fields of fisheries, aquaculture, and food research, has launched the Millennial Salmon Project with partners across the value chain to accelerate the development of sustainable solutions for the future of farmed salmon.

The goal of the four-year project is to create the most sustainable-farmed salmon using novel ingredients from the circular economy and with a low carbon footprint while addressing the initiative’s “millennial principles of life” – living healthy; leading a purposeful live; trusting peers; and considering their societal and environmental impacts.

With a €1.3 million budget, the Millennial Salmon Project is primarily funded by the Research Council of Norway and is made up of leading organisations, Nofima, InnovaFeed, Corbion Algae Ingredients, Cargill, SINTEF Ocean and Auchan.

The project will study two alternative feed ingredients – protein-rich, insect-based feed ProtiNova from InnovaFeed, and algae-based omega-3s, AlgaPrime DHA from Corbion, both of which offer minimal land use.

The evidence-based study will test the levels that are required to optimise the physical and nutritional needs of salmon, discover the practical and functional properties of both alternatives, as well as demonstrate the environmental and societal aspects of the suggested innovations. SINTEF Ocean will be conducting a life cycle analysis of the resulting Millennial Salmon feed.

The Millennial Salmon Project addresses the industry demand by working to provide by 2025 an integrated solution to salmon farmers that balances the raw materials in the feed basket and provides greater flexibility from the use of finite marine resources and land-demanding resources. The Millennial salmon will be a healthy product for the consumer, but also a healthier farmed animal, fed with and grown with higher levels of omega-3s derived from microalgae.

The four-year project will use novel ingredients

IT, Start ups

The start up has received $70,000 for the flagship product, SeedVision- Seed Classifier and Quality Analyser

Bengaluru-based agritech start-up Agdhi has received Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) which is a flagship programme of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council  BIRAC. Agdhi has received a grant from BIG for $70,000 for their flagship product, SeedVision- Seed Classifier and Quality Analyser.

SeedVision is an AI-based seed phenotyping method that classifies critical parameters of a seed in a few minutes. The product would help the farmers get good seeds for cultivation and help growers improve the number of cycles because of faster payment realisation from seed companies. The automated technique provides an efficient method for seed sorting compared to manual inspection, and the reports are accessible on a real-time basis.

Vaibhav Kashikar Co-Founder and Director (Marketing) – Agdhi, said, “We are delighted to announce the grant we have received that will support start-ups like us in bringing technology closer to market and help in the commercialisation of the product across India.”

He further added that with a vision to disrupt technology in the agriculture sector, we plan to bring new technologies like blockchain, edge computing, IoT, and microbiology in agriculture.
 

The start up has received $70,000 for

E-commerce, Trade

Guar seed, guar gum refined splits to have a weightage of 63.43 per cent and 36.57 per cent in GUAREX

National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, India’s  leading  commodity exchange has recently launched the futures contract on NCDEX GUAREX, India’s first sectoral index in the agri-commodities basket.   

NCDEX GUAREX is a price based index tracking the price movement in the futures contracts of its underlying i.e. Guar Seed and Guar Gum Refined Splits on a real-time basis. The weightage of Guar Seed and Guar Gum Refined Splits in the index will be  63.43 per cent and 36.57 per cent, respectively.

“I take pride in announcing the launch of NCDEX GUAREX futures – India’s first sectoral agri-index futures contract.  I am sure the contract will garner interest from all sets  of participants,  including the physical market participants” said Arun Raste, MD and CEO, NCDEX.  

The Exchange had launched the indicative or spot contracts for NCDEX GUAREX on July 5, 2021,  disseminating the real-time values on its website. GUAREX futures is a cash-settled contract and encompasses an entire sector within one product.  Initially,  NCDEX GUAREX futures contracts expiring in September 2021 and October 2021 will be made available for trading.

“NCDEX GUAREX will soon be able to establish itself as a benchmark for the Guar Complex,  both in the domestic and international markets, making it a value proposition for Eligible Foreign Entities, to hedge their price risk on Indian bourses,” Arun Raste added.

“GUAREX Futures is a price-based index and hence has immense potential while adopting different trade strategies such as arbitrage and calendar spreads. A cash-settled product that is easy to trade will not only appeal to retail participants but will also reckon with the requirements of the institutional players like mutual funds,” said Kapil Dev, Chief Business Officer, NCDEX.  

Guar seed, guar gum refined splits to

Agrotech, Sustainable Energy

Sound’s dual-technology platform uses biochemistry to tap into the natural capabilities of the plant to increase the speed and efficiency of agriculture

Sound Agriculture, a company tackling sustainability through groundbreaking advancements in both food and agriculture, has secured a $45 million investment led by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer. Northpond Ventures, a leading science and technology-driven venture capital firm also participated in the round, along with existing investors Cavallo Ventures, Fall Line Capital, S2G Ventures, and Syngenta Group Ventures. 

 

Sound is advancing two novel technology platforms that leverage plant and soil biology to radically improve food production. The first is Sound’s on-demand breeding platform that offers a paradigm shift in breeding by accelerating plant trait development ten times faster than current technologies without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). 

 

The second is a nutrient efficiency platform poised to replace 30 per cent of global nitrogen fertiliser use – the equivalent of removing 200 million cars from the road, with patented technology that allows crops to access more nutrients from the existing microbiome. 

 

The financing will be used to scale both platforms to address critical issues in the food and agriculture industry, which is responsible for 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to declining water quality and soil health. With the potential for global supply shocks due to climate change and rapidly changing consumer preferences, the need for a more adaptable and resilient food system has never been more evident. 

Sound’s dual-technology platform uses biochemistry to tap

Agro Universities, Water

Discussions were held on the importance of effective water management through crop planning and water conservation in rainfed agriculture

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Washim, Maharashtra organised a ’Kisan Mela-cum-Awareness Programme’ in the adopted village Shirsala of Malegaon Block. ’Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ is being organised from August to November 2021.

 

In his address, the Chief Guest, Narayan Ingole, Progressive Farmer insisted on micro-irrigation and stressed the need for ’More Crop Per Drop Technique’ and the adoption of advanced techniques for soil water conservation.

 

The promoters of Olandeshwar Farmers’ Producers’ Organisation Ramchandra Patil Ingole, Damodhar Sarda, Sanjay Sharma, Dattarao Ingole and Dajiba Patil were present as the guests of honour during the occasion.

 

Dr RL Kale, Head & Senior Scientist, KVK, Washim, Maharashtra highlighted the role of technical backstopping followed by a scientific interaction with the KVK Scientists for the Scientific Management of Farming. He also outlined the importance of effective water management through crop planning and water conservation in rainfed agriculture. The farmers were apprised about the micro-irrigation systems, rainwater harvesting, water conservation, appropriate crops, and efficient water management for livestock and aquaculture.

 

The participating farmers were distributed with the ’Vegetable Nutri Kit’ and ’Saplings of Nutritious Plants’ during the occasion.

Discussions were held on the importance of

Agro Universities

Farmers were sentisised on fall armyworm invasion, identify the damage needful curative action

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ropar under Directorate of Extension Education and ICAR ATARI Zone-1, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana organised a farmers’ awareness camp at village Jhandian-Kalan for the management of fall armyworm in maize.

Dr GS Makkar, Deputy Director, KVK Ropar apprised that the camp was a part of KVK’s campaign on sensitising farmers to be wary of fall armyworm invasion. 45 farmers from different villages participated in the programme. While sharing the details, Dr Makkar added that fall armyworm has become the problem of plenty and timely identification of damage and needful curative action are must for harvesting good returns. “Careful scouting of maize crop throughout the growing season is highly important”, he added.

Dr Pawan Kumar discussed that the larvae vary from greenish-brown, light brown or light grey. Female lays eggs in groups of 100-150 eggs on the lower or upper surface of the leaves. Young larvae feed by scraping the leaf surface and later causing damage to the central whorl leaves where a large amount of faecal matter can be seen. The damage starts in patches, spreads rapidly in the entire field if not monitored carefully and managed timely. Farmers were also advised to follow recommended chemical control measures with needful precautions.

Ankurdeep Preeti shared information on the role of agroforestry in promoting the diversity of natural enemy fauna. The programme ended with field visits to nearby maize fields.

Farmers were sentisised on fall armyworm invasion,

Agro Universities, Machinery – Post-harvesting

The unique thresher depods and separates the green peas from the crop

The Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana has entered into an important memorandum of undertaking (MoU) with Sokhi Manufacturing Company, Samrala, Punjab for the refinement, modification and promotion of the ’Portable Green pea Thresher-cum-Depodder.’

 

Dr Navtej Singh Bains, Director of Research, PAU and S Hardam Singh, Director, Sokhi Manufacturing Company, Samrala, Punjab signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations. Dr GS Manes, Additional Director of Research (FM&BE), informed that the ’Portable Green Pea Thresher-cum-Depodder’ is a unique thresher that threshes, depods and separates the green peas from the crop. 

 

Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Additional Director of Research (Horticulture) emphasised that this machine will mechanise the threshing of pea crop, therefore, will increase the area under the pea crop, which will encourage the cultivation of pea crop for diversification of agriculture in Punjab. 

 

Dr Mahesh Narang, Head, Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering reported that the pea thresher has a throughput capacity of 4.0 t/h and output capacity of green pea about 1.0 t/h. Dr Ashok Kumar, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology congratulated the Head and team of scientists Dr Rajesh Goyal and Dr Manpreet Singh Dr GS Mangat, Additional Director of Research (NRM), PAU and Dr Amarjeet Kaur( Associate Director Technology Marketing & Intellectual Property Right cell were also present on the occasion.

The unique thresher depods and separates the

Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Webinar

Discussions will be held on the expected production of pulses, government perspective, export import etc

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) will organise Kharif sowing overview webinar under the aegis of the IPGA Knowledge Series. The webinar will be held on August 27, 2021, at 5 pm.
 
Dr SK Malhotra, Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India will present an overview of the government’s perspective about Kharif sowing and expected production of pulses. Nirav Desai, Director – GGN Research will present an overview of the trade’s perspective about Kharif sowing and expected production of pulses. Dr D S Pai, Head – Climate Research and Services, Indian Meteorological Dept will talk about the performance of the monsoons so far and what the near future holds in terms of weather conditions.   

                            
B Krishnamurthy, MD, 4P International will speak about the prospects of the forthcoming Urad crop in terms of carry-forward stocks, quantities imported last year, sowing and acreage and expected production this year. Nitin Kalantry, CEO, Kalantry Food Products will speak about the prospects of the forthcoming Tur crop in terms of carry-forward stocks, quantities imported last year, sowing and acreage and expected production this year. Punit Bachhawat, MD, Prakash Agro Mills will speak about the prospects of the forthcoming Moong crop in terms of carry-forward stocks, quantities imported last year, sowing and acreage and expected production this year.

Discussions will be held on the expected

Agrotech, Environment

Bayer Crop Science will provide the seeds of the Delisher cherry plum tomato for cultivation

Bayer Crop Science will partner with Pinduoduo for its annual Smart Agriculture Competition. Tomato has been chosen for this year’s competition. For the competition, Bayer Crop Science will provide the seeds of the Delisher cherry plum tomato for cultivation. The company will also offer its crop protection expertise, environmental monitoring and disease management.

 

To be held till March 2022, teams from around the globe will take part in the Smart Agriculture Competition to develop ’one-click planting’ models for growing tomatoes, using nutrition science, algorithms, sensor technology and intelligent greenhouses. The objective is to boost the yield and nutritional content of tomatoes while ensuring the process is cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

 

As China’s largest agriculture platform, Pinduoduo spearheaded the creation of the Smart Agriculture Competition as a way to gather the top minds in agronomy and computer science to develop technology that can help smallholder farmers and spur agricultural modernisation.

 

Pinduoduo is organising the competition together with the China Agricultural University and Zhejiang University. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Wageningen University & Research are serving as technical advisers.

 

“Through the Smart Agriculture Competition, we hope to interest more young scientific talent in agriculture so that they can apply their talents to helping farmers,” said Andre Zhu, Senior VP, Pinduoduo. 

Bayer Crop Science will provide the seeds

Start ups

Building crop residue based products

Inception– 2017

Location– Pune

Domain– Crop waste management

Founders– Shubham Singh and Dr Himansha Singh

Total team strength– 10 full-time members and supported by 2 part-time members

Total funds raised– Rs 1.1 crore

Investors/ Mentors– Techstars, other awards and grants; Incubation at Venture Centre, Pune

Revenue generated since inception– NA

 

Key Highlights-

  1. Working towards crop waste management by providing additional revenue to the farmers
  2. Making packaging products from an innovative process which ensures less water consumption and Zero Level Discharge
  3. Craste engineered boards are best substitute to wood for the furniture and construction industry
  4. Tree Free, crop waste-based boards help to future proof the global shortage of wood
  5. The formaldehyde-free adhesive used in Craste panel boards lets our customers breathe cleaner air without poisonous fumes

 

Founder Speaks-

“We are setting up our pilot plant for Craste engineered boards and we plan on building strategic alliances to ensure that our engineered boards are adopted widely in the construction and furniture industry.  We are overwhelmed by the interest received from the market and we intend to scale up at the earliest to meet demands from our international clients as well.”

– Shubham Singh, Founder, Craste, Pune

 

 

Building crop residue based productsInception- 2017 Location- Pune Domain-

Finance, Seeds

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on logistics

S&W Seed Company has announced certain unaudited preliminary financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. Preliminary core revenue for fiscal 2021 is expected to be approximately $69.8 million, compared to core revenue for fiscal 2020 of $59.9 million, an expected increase of approximately 16.5 per cent. Preliminary total revenue for fiscal 2021 is expected to be approximately $84.0 million, compared to total revenue for fiscal 2020 of $79.6 million, an expected increase of approximately 5.5 per cent.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on logistics, as experienced in several industries across the globe, contributing to delayed shipments to the company’s customers and also increasing its costs of goods sold.

Approximately $5.0 million of revenue that the company expected to recognise in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 is instead expected to be recognized in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The company expects gross profit margins to be approximately 16.3 per cent for fiscal 2021, with an estimated impact of approximately $1.5 million from increased shipping and transportation costs. Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2021 is expected to be in a range of $13.0 to $13.2 million.

S&W Seed Company has not finalised its financial statements for the fourth quarter or a full year of fiscal 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative

Agrotech

Dr Bhanwala will mentor and advise Arya as it scales/develops and reimagines the ecosystem

Arya, a leading agritech player, has appointed Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala as a Non-Executive Independent Director of the company. Dr Bhanwala will mentor and advise Arya as it scales/develops and reimagines the ecosystem through a comprehensive portfolio of agri services powered by its platform Arya.ag. 

 

Between 2013 and 2020, Dr Bhanwala was chairman of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), which oversees all aspects of agricultural credit as well as the supervision of regional rural banks and cooperative banks. Before that, he was the Chairman and Managing Director of India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL). He had begun his career at Nabard and worked there for almost three decades.

 

Since leaving Nabard in 2020, Dr Bhanwala is serving as Executive Chairman of Capital India Finance, a non-banking financial company and is also an adviser to agritech venture capital firm, Omnivore. 

 

“We believe that his deep understanding of India’s agricultural landscape will be an asset to us as we build equitable agro value chains assuring inclusive growth and greater transparency, said Prasanna Rao, Co founder and Managing Director, Arya.

 

Dr Bhanwala said, “Arya has been working at the farmgate to strengthen agriculture value chains through its integrated range of services. I am happy to be a part of this dynamic team as they create more technology-enabled, viable options for enhancing the market power of smallholders and their organisations.”

 

Dr Bhanwala will mentor and advise Arya

Agrotech, Start ups, Sustainable Energy

Announces three top submissions for working designs in motor drive solutions for solar pumps

Infineon Technologies recently concluded the ’Infineon Solar Pump Motor Drive Design Challenge 2021’, with the announcement of three top submissions for working designs in motor drive solutions for solar pumps. Organised in collaboration with Invest India; and in partnership with Avnet India, the challenge sought a viable solution for solar pump motor drives to enable local manufacturers in India to reduce overall dependency on imports, and support the domestic solar pump ecosystem.

 

After several preliminary rounds later, Infineon selected ten finalists from over 300 start-up applications. Young entrepreneurs from across the country submitted their solutions to a jury whose members included technology experts from Infineon.

 

The challenge aimed to support the Government of India’s countrywide ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Make In India’ and ‘PM-KUSUM’ initiatives, by making life easier and greener with microelectronics from Infineon.

 

Konmos Technology won the challenge, Sunmint Energy secured the first runner-up spot and Ether Energy secured the second runner-up spot. The winning teams were awarded electronics gadgets worth a total of up to Rs 8 lakh. Alongside, the winning team was also offered an opportunity to further build on their solution as part of a pilot project with the challenge industry partners, Amber Enterprises and Virtual Forest, with funding of up to Rs 5 lakh.

 

Vivek Mahajan, VP and Division Head for Industrial Power Control, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific said, “This initiative is aimed at bridging the gap between the real and the digital world, by bringing together techies and the business experts on the same platform and build a viable, marketable solution which will support the Indian solar pump industry.”

 

Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India said “This challenge comes at an opportune time, as India is working at unprecedented speed to accomplish the SDGs, especially in renewable energy & sustainable development.”

Announces three top submissions for working designs