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Home2022February (Page 7)
Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance

The company has reported a total income of Rs 100.57 Cr

AIMCO Pesticides has posted a net profit of Rs 4.28 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as against a net profit of Rs 2.70 crores for the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company has posted a net profit of Rs 1.14 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

AIMCO Pesticides has reported a total income of Rs 100.57 crores during the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as compared to Rs 80.44 crores during the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company has reported a total income of Rs 38.22 crores during the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2021, AIMCO Pesticides has reported a total income of Rs.235.72 crores as compared to Rs.131.64 crores during the nine months ended December 31, 2020.

The company has posted a net profit of Rs 8.03 crores for the nine months ended December 31, 2021, as against a net profit of Rs 3.87 crores for the nine months ended December 31, 2020.

The company has reported a total income

Agrotech, Seeds

Tribal districts of Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada will be benefitted

ICRISAT in partnership with the World Vegetable Center has established naturally ventilated hi-tech nurseries in the state’s tribal districts of Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada of Odisha. The polyhouse nurseries became operational in December 2021.  

The three nurseries, one each in Pungar village in Kunduli Gram Panchayat, Padargam village in Temera Gram Panchayat and Singari village in Kumudabali Gram Panchayat, are being operated by Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Dr Arshad Pal, Scientist, World Vegetable Center, informed that the nursery structures are equipped with facilities of fertigation MixRite, foggers, etc., and each nursery structure can produce about 300,000 quality vegetable seedlings per batch. The members of SHGs were trained in raising soil-less seedlings using cocopeat and portrays.

Dr Prasad Kamdi, the project’s Coordinator for Nabarangpur District, pointed out that local availability of good quality seedlings can fulfil the seedlings requirement, reduce mortality during transportation and the transportation cost of seedlings.

Dr Aviraj Datta, the project’s Coordinator for Koraput District, informed that the cost per seedling of tomato has come down significantly from Rs 5 to 7 to about half a rupee for the farmers in OLM-ICRISAT project sites.

Tribal districts of Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada

AgroPolicy, Trade

Expands export basket to 205 countries

Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) celebrated its 36th Foundation Day today. APEDA actively supported the Government in taking the export of agricultural products to $20.67 billion in 2020-21 from $0.6 billion in 1986 when it was founded. APEDA also helped expand the export basket to 205 countries.

The share of APEDA exports ($20.67 billion) constituted 49 per cent of overall agri- product exports in 2020-21 out of which, Cereals and fresh horticulture comprised 59 per cent, Cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items 23 per cent and animal products 18 per cent.

The target given to APEDA in the current financial year (2021-22) is $ 23.7 billion, out of which more than 70 per cent i.e. $17.20 billion has been achieved till January 2022, and the remaining target is expected to be completed within the stipulated time period.

“Notwithstanding several logistical challenges faced in the global trade of commodities, India’s agricultural and processed food exports have grown at a steady pace in the last decade,” Dr M.Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said on the occasion.

“The visionary approach, aggressive and consistent efforts of APEDA have enabled India to position itself as a consistent and quality supplier of agri products,” Dr Angamuthu added.

Expands export basket to 205 countriesAgricultural Products

Agrotech, Machinery – Post-harvesting

MustGrow’s technology outperformed the chemical standard at multiple rates with statistical significance

MustGrow Biologics Corp announced the successful postharvest trials in both disease control and sprout suppression of stored potatoes conducted by a third-party independent laboratory. MustGrow’s organic mustard plant-based technology outperformed leading synthetic chemical standards for the treatment of stored potatoes for both Fusarium dry rot disease and sprouting. No combination solutions currently exist that treat both disease and sprouting – making MustGrow’s application unique in addressing both postharvest issues in potatoes simultaneously.

MustGrow’s post harvest development programme may now transition to Sumitomo Corporation across the Americas (potatoes and bananas) and Bayer across Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (potatoes only). Further testing and trials are required to evaluate commercial potential. Additional post harvest applications may also be trialled, including disease control in large shipping containers.

MustGrow had previously announced separate collaboration agreements with Sumitomo Corporation and Bayer to evaluate the efficacy and commercial potential of MustGrow’s technology.

MustGrow’s mustard-derived technology was trialled versus hydrogen peroxide, a leading synthetic chemistry standard, to measure control (kill) of Fusarium dry rot (Fusarium sambucinum conidia and F sambucinum). MustGrow’s technology outperformed the chemical standard at multiple rates with statistical significance. Disease control was measured after the five-week interval, highlighting the effectiveness of MustGrow’s technology at killing not only the Fusarium dry rot itself but also the disease’s ability to reform and replicate.

MustGrow's technology outperformed the chemical standard at

People, R&D

Pingali was commended for distinguished contributions to the field of agricultural and applied economics, particularly for his work on agricultural development and food systems improvements

Prof Prabhu Pingali, Chair, ICRISAT Governing Board, has been elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Wednesday, January 26. He was commended “for distinguished contributions to the field of agricultural and applied economics, particularly for his work on agricultural development and food systems improvements.”

“It is an honour to be named an AAAS Fellow in recognition of my work in pursuit of knowledge that can help lift the rural poor out of deprivation and alleviate malnutrition in the developing world,” said Prof Pingali, accepting the accolades. “This honor would not have been possible without the contributions of the students, research fellows, postdocs, and other collaborators I have worked with throughout my career.”

It may be noted that a few days earlier Prof Prabhu was named as part of the Indian government’s technical advisory committee for evaluation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). With this appointment he will be working closely with Indian government officials, academics and researchers to provide advice on technical aspects of the evaluation plan by Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of the Niti Aayog (Planning Commission) as it evaluates food subsidies under the NFSA.

Pingali was commended for distinguished contributions to

Foodgrains, Interaction, Pulses

Chief guest Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog and experts, Policymakers call for Agriculture Research Intervention, Policy Support to boost Pulse Production to address food security.

 India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for India’s pulses trade and industry, successfully hosted virtual celebrations on the 4th World Pulses Day on behalf of India conveying a global message of “Go Green with Pulse Protein”.

IPGA hosted a live webinar with eminent speakers like; Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog as the Chief Guest, Dr S K Malhotra – Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and  Sunil Kumar Singh, Additional Managing Director, NAFED as key note speakers.

Some of the other eminent speakers were Cindy Brown – President, GPC, Greg Cherewyk, President – Pulse Canada, Sachin Khurana, India Representative, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, Robynne Anderson – President, Emerging Ag Inc., Prof. Rajiv K Varshney – Research Program Director, Accelerated Corp Movement, ICRISAT, Varun Deshpande – Managing Director, The Good Food Institute India, Vastal Lilani – President, Overseas Agro Traders Association Myanmar and Dr Roshani Sanghani – Allopathic Doctor Hormone Specialist Aasaan Health Solution, Mr. Sunil Patwari – President, Singapore Pulses Federation and Yogesh Thorat, MD, Maha FPC. Ms Akanksha Ghai (BVeg Foods), Tarak Badkas (Altein Ingredients), Chandni Jafri (Earth Craft Shop) Chirag Sabunani (Supplant Foods) are the panellists for discussion on Smart Protein: A new frontier in pulse innovation. Manisha Gupta, Editor- Commodities and Currencies, CNBC 18 was the moderator at the event.

 Bimal Kothari, Vice Chairman – IPGA said, “Citing that India has a large processing industry with several thousand dal mills across the country. Most of the dal mill units are too small and do not enjoy scale of economies. The govt. should consider instituting a ‘Dal Mill Modernization Fund’. To modernize Dal mills”.

 Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog said, “Pulses are drought-resistant, are affordable sources of protein and also help keep soil healthy. Pulses moreover, have genetic diversity and this paves the way for development of more pulse varieties that are climate-change resilient.”

Dr S K Malhotra – Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said, “We have reached to self-sufficiency from pulses deficiency. The next year 2023 will be celebrated as International Year for Millets and pre preparations are on”.

 Sunil Kumar Singh, Additional Managing Director, NAFED, said, “Government of India has been taking a slew of initiatives to boost pulse production. If the pulse production reaches 30 million MT, it would be a good way to provide pulses at an affordable price. This cannot be achieved through one part of the value chain alone and therefore, underlines the role from farm level to retail level so that this cheap source of protein is available to the poor to help reduce malnutrition.

Elaborating on the research conducted on these lines, Rajeev Varshney, Research Program Director – Accelerated Crop Improvement underlined the importance of genomic sequencing to boost crop varieties.

Chief guest Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog

Agro chems – Chemicals, R&D

Spiromesifen acts as a very effective insecticide and miticide that controls red spider mite in brinjal, whitefly and mite in cotton

Best Agrolife Limited (BAL) has been granted registration for indigenous manufacturing of Spiromesifen Technical u/s 9 (3) by Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee in the 436th RC meeting on February 9, 2022. With this BAL becomes the first Indian agrochemical company to manufacture Spiromesifen Technical in India.

Spiromesifen acts as a very effective insecticide and miticide that controls red spider mite in brinjal, whitefly and mite in cotton, European red mite and red spider mite in apple, chili & Okra, yellow mite in chili etc.

While the market for Spiromesifen in North America, Latin America, Europe, Brazil, Spain, and Germany is growing at a moderate rate, there is a huge demand for this in the Asia Pacific and it is growing significantly. As of now, it’s available in one solo formulation – Spiromesifen 22.9 per cent SC in India where the market size is around 400 KL.

Vimal Alawadhi, Managing Director – Best Agrolife Limited said, “Spiromesifen will give leverage to BAL to introduce its patented & innovative formulations as our R&D Team was already working on it to bring its improved formulations in the form of novel combinations where not only efficacy of the product will be more but also its scope and market size will further increase by strategic alliances with leading companies in the domestic and international market. Our novel products will emerge as a very effective solution in the management & control of Mites in various crops like Tea, Vegetables & Fruit crops, etc. ultimately improving the quality & yield of the produce. Rising population and compelling food security, is driving up demand for such advanced molecules like Spiromesifen in the country.”

Spiromesifen acts as a very effective insecticide

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain, Transportation

It aims to increase the share of air carriage of Agri-produce like horticulture, fishery, livestock and processed products.

Covering 29 states, Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was announced to enhance the existing provisions, majorly on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, North-Eastern States and tribal areas.

For facilitating and incentivising movement of agri-produce by air transportation Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides full waiver of Landing, Parking, Terminal Navigational Landing Charges (TNLC) and Route Navigation Facility Charges (RNFC) for Indian freighters and P2C (Passenger-to-Cargo) Aircrafts primarily around 25 airports focusing on North Eastern, Hilly and Tribal region and 28 airports in other regions/areas.

Krishi Udan Scheme is a convergence scheme where eight Ministries/Departments namely Ministry of Civil Aviation, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Development of North-eastern Region (DoNER) would leverage their existing schemes to strengthen the logistics for transportation of Agri-produce.

The States which are covered under the Krishi Udan 2.0 Scheme namely, Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The Scheme aims to ensure seamless, cost-effective, time-bound air transportation and associated logistics for all Agri-produce originating especially from North East (including Assam), hilly and tribal regions of the country.

It aims to increase the share of

Organic, Schemes - NABARD

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’ has been launched virtually on February 9, 2022

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched an agroecology-based programme JIVA on February 9, 2022, that will promote natural farming under its existing watershed and wadi programmes in 11 states.

In order to stimulate a long-term wider scale transformation of food and agriculture systems in these areas and for ensuring sustainability of interventions made so far, it is proposed to introduce agroecological approaches in Natural Resource Management (NRM) portfolio of NABARD.

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’ (meaning “a living being or entity imbued with a life force”) has been launched virtually between 3 PM to 4 PM on February 9, 2022. The event will be graced by Dr G R Chintala, Chairman, NABARD. P V S Suryakumar, DMD, NABARD, Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, MoA&FW, Dr S K Chaudhari, DDG (NRM), ICAR, Heads/representatives of GiZ and KfW in the country will be sharing their thoughts.

“We will invest Rs 50,000 per hectare under this programme,” NABARD Chairman G R Chintala said in the virtual launching event.

“While the best practices will be implemented on 200 hectares in each project, these 200 hectares will be a learning and proselytising platform to the whole village,” he added.

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’

Biofuel industry, People

William C. Holmberg Award is being presented to distinguished individuals around the world for their trailblazing contribution to the Bioeconomy

Prestigious 2022 William C. Holmberg Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement in the Bioeconomy’ was announced to Dr. Pramod Chaudhari, Founder and Chairman, Praj Industries. He is the first Asian recipient of this global honor that recognizes his exemplary work in Bioeconomy.

Since 2014, William C. Holmberg Award is being presented to distinguished individuals around the world for their trailblazing contribution to the Bioeconomy. Award is named after the first recipient Lt. Col. William Holmberg, for his pioneering contribution in Bioeconomy and as an architect of renewable fuels program at Dept. of Energy (DoE) & Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USA.

Instituted by the US-based, Biofuels Digest, William C. Holmberg Award is a culmination of critical evaluation by a global panel of industry experts and veterans. Previous recipients of the award comprised of lawmakers, industry regulators and global corporate head- honchos, all from either US or Europe.

 Jim Lane, Founder and Editor – Biofuels Digest mentioned that “Dr Pramod Chaudhari was the unanimous choice of judges for his steadfast leadership in Global Bioeconomy supported with technological advances in the field of Advanced Bioeconomy to help fulfil the dream of Net-Zero Civilization. I congratulate him for this remarkable achievement.”

 Dr Chaudhari said that “I see this as a testament to team Praj’s continued endeavours since past four decades in developing and deploying innovative technology solutions in helping conserve the environment. I am particularly happy that the world is taking due notice of India’s capabilities in energy transition through Bioeconomy.”

On 17th March, Dr Chaudhari will be conferred with this award during the ongoing flagship Global Conference at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC) 2022 at Washington DC, USA.

William C. Holmberg Award is being presented

Agrotech

The company plans to impact the lives of 1 crore farmers by 2025 by leveraging its tech infrastructure

Unnati, a FinTech-driven agriculture ecosystem, however, has stayed well ahead in terms of utilising FPOs and robust tech infrastructure to enhance farmers’ lives and revolutionise the agriculture sector. The latest announcements by the government will help further the platform’s work and create a robust Agri ecosystem in India.

Giving farmers access to tech-led business solutions to enhance their economic strengths and market linkages, Unnati empowers them through FPOs, thereby increasing farmers’ overall income. The platform equips FPOs to leverage their collective strengths and bargaining power to access financial and non-financial farm inputs, services, and technologies to optimise transaction costs and tap into high-value markets.

Furthermore, Unnati has envisaged impacting small farmers by directly supporting FPOs through a host of services, including digital payments, banking, output sale, loans, brand promotions, and agri advisory and farm predictions.

Commenting on Unnati’s FPO partnership and the government’s latest policies, Amit Sinha, Co-Founder of Unnati, said, “Unnati has been committed to building a robust ecosystem where farmers can gain easy access to the market, know their inputs and increase the quality of their yield. We have partnered with FPOs to do the same. The latest policies announced by the government will help us take this to the next level and create a robust agriculture ecosystem where farmers can reap the benefits of having access to a technologically sound working system. On the back of the Budget, we will continue to work towards the betterment of farmers’ lives through a digital agri network.”

Unnati plans to partner with 10k+ FPOs which will subsequently impact the lives of 1 crore farmers by the year 2025.

The company plans to impact the lives

Interaction, Supply Chain

The main objective of the MoU is to develop a start-up programme on Mud Crab Seed Production

The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aqgromalin Farmtech Service Private Limited, a Farm Diversification Corporate Business Enterprise in Chennai on February 7, 2022.  

Dr K P Jithendran, Director, ICAR-CIBA, Chennai and Prasanna Manoharan, CEO, Aqgromalin signed the MoU on behalf of their organisations.

Dr Jithendran regarded the Mud Crab Farming as an economically viable production system and a potential species for the diversification. He said that as the stock-able size crab seed production is the critical gap, therefore, there is an urgent need for the transfer of the Mud Crab Nursery Seed Production Technology to the farmers.

The main objective of the MoU is to develop a start-up programme on Mud Crab Seed Production and scaling-up of the Mud Crab Farming with a supply chain.

The main objective of the MoU is

Agrotech, North America

USDA is now accepting project applications for fiscal year 2022

The US Department of Agriculture has announced its partnership for climate-smart Commodities opportunity, which would finance pilot projects to create market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, announces the expansion of the market by investing $1 billion in partnerships to support America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers and forest landowners, confirms Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack at Lincoln University.

“America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest owners are leading the way in implementing climate-smart solutions across their operations,” said Vilsack.

“Through Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA will provide targeted funding to meet national and global demand and expand market opportunities for climate-smart commodities to increase the competitive advantage of American producers. We want a broad array of agriculture and forestry to see themselves in this effort, including small and historically underserved producers as well as early adopters.

For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a climate-smart commodity is defined as an agricultural commodity that is produced using agricultural (farming, ranching or forestry) practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon.

Funding will be provided to partners through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation for pilot projects to provide incentives to producers and landowners to:

Implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands,

2. Measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits associated with those practices, and

3. Develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.

USDA is now accepting project applications for

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Company News

  Saffire Crop to offer 50+ products in its portfolio, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, and bio-stimulants.

Crystal Crop Protection Limited, has launched a new business in agrochemical retail- Saffire Crop Science that will leverage technology to offer global-standard products and services.

Saffire will usher in a technological revolution in the crops solutions and services, allowing farmers to access them more efficiently. The new company will provide a wide range of agrochemical products and services, all of which will be made feasible by innovative techniques and technology, resulting in increased profitability for all stakeholders in farming value chain.

 Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director, Crystal Crop Protection, said, “A technological revolution has swept enterprises over the last two decades, making them more efficient and accessible. Technology-driven companies are more collaborative, inclusive, and better equipped to channel the energies of stakeholders and ecosystems towards creating mega-brands. We look looks at agriculture and farming as an area of opportunity that has yet to realize its potential. The group formed a new entity, Saffire, to create growth opportunities for all stakeholders. Saffire will be backed by technology, enabled by partners, and powered by the Crystal Group.”

Saffire currently has a portfolio of 50+ products including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators and bio-stimulants. Through collaboration between all stakeholders, transparency across the chain, and fired by its entrepreneurial spirit, Saffire will offer products and services that are truly global in standard.

  Saffire Crop to offer 50+ products