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Discusses various initiatives to increase cooperation in the dairy sector through R&D, genetic improvement, and trade and investment

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala recently visited Brazil from May 16-20, 2022 on invitation from the Marcos Montes Cordeiro, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Brazil and led a delegation of experts from animal husbandry and dairying sector and representatives of the private sector.

Rupala held discussions with his Brazilian counterpart and both Ministers agreed to further strengthen the mutually beneficial ties.
Rupala held meetings with Presidents of the Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders (ABCZ), the Mayor of Uberaba, the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), and the Brazilian Cooperatives Organization (OCB) and discussed ways to increase cooperation in the dairy sector through R&D, genetic improvement, and trade and investment.

Rupala visited the facilities of UPL, an Indian multinational company that manufactures and markets agrochemicals and also offers crop protection solutions. During the visit, the minister was accompanied by Dr B Arun Prasad, Director, Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute and Dr Neelesh Nayee, Senior Manager, Animal Breeding, National Dairy Development Board among other members of the delegation.

Discusses various initiatives to increase cooperation in

Net profit declined by 45 per cent to reach Rs 243.57 crores in the same quarter

Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals has reported a 101 per cent growth in total income at Rs 3331.67 crores in Q4FY22 as compared to Rs 1656.01 crores in the same period in Q4FY21.

However, the company’s net profit declined by 45 per cent to reach Rs 243.57 crores in Q4FY22 versus Rs 447.89 crores for the period ended March 31, 2021.

EPS for the fourth quarter dropped by 45 per cent to reach Rs 5.85 as compared to Rs.10.76 for the period ended March 31, 2021.

The company’s board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 3.00 (i.e. 30 per cent) per equity share of Rs 10 each.

For FY22, the company’s total income grew 26 per cent to reach Rs 16136.83 crores as compared to Rs 12766.38 crores during the Financial Year ended March 31, 2021.

The full-year net profit dropped by 5 per cent to reach Rs 1565.98 crores in FY22 as against Rs 1654.76 crores for the financial year ended March 31, 2021.

The company has reported EPS of Rs 37.62 for the financial year ended March 31, 2022, as compared to Rs 39.76 for the financial year ended March 31, 2021.

Net profit declined by 45 per cent

Meritorious students from engineering colleges get financial assistance & opportunities to work on live agri-mechanization projects

Swaraj Tractors, part of Mahindra Group, has awarded scholarship to 58 students including 15 girls under Mera Swaraj Education Support Program. The ‘Mera Swaraj Education Support Program’ was launched last year for engineering students across the country and aims to create a future pool of engineers.

Over 1500 engineering students applied for this scholarship this year out of which 148 students were shortlisted post screening and written test. A team comprised of senior members of Swaraj assessed the shortlisted students and finally awarded scholarship to 58 meritorious students.

During the assessment, all shortlisted students got the opportunity to converse with the seasoned professionals from Swaraj and gathered valuable inputs for their career development. This program is designed to support meritorious engineering students from economically weak background to provide them financial assistance along with holistic industry exposure.

Through the ‘Mera Swaraj Education Support Program’, students will not only receive financial support for four years, subject to consistent academic performance but will also get practical exposure to modern tools and technologies through plant and field visits. As a part of their internships, they will also work on live farm-mechanization projects mentored by industry experts. All students under this program will be subsumed into Swaraj’s final placement process. Also during their internships, the students will be allowed to work on live farm-mechanization projects and shall be mentored by industry experts.

Meritorious students from engineering colleges get financial

 Future Agriculture Leaders of India Program aims to make agriculture attractive for the next generation by providing interactive learning and exposure to cutting edge agriculture and agribusiness.

The Future Agriculture Leaders of India Program will hold its FALI 8 Convention on June 4 and 5, 2022 on Jain Hills in Jalgaon.  In its eighth year, FALI has established itself as a unique, high impact program that makes agriculture attractive for the next generation by providing interactive learning, field visits, business plan contests, and exposure to cutting edge agriculture and agribusiness. The Board of Directors met and agreed on the expansion plans for FALI.  Over the next ten years, FALI is expected to increase the number of students and schools by 25 per cent a year in Maharashtra and Gujarat, adding Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.  At this rate, FALI would have backed the creation of over 250,000 future leaders of Indian agriculture.  The Directors also agreed on programs for FALI alums, internships, scholarships and seed funding for FALI alumni ventures.

The Directors of FALI also reviewed the plans for the FALI 8 Convention to be held on June 1-2 and June 4-5 on Jain Hills in Jalgaon.  Over its first eight years, FALI has received strong support from several leading agribusinesses of India: Godrej Agrovet, Jain Irrigation, UPL, Bayer and StarAgri.  At the FALI Convention on June 4 to 5, senior managers of these companies will participate along with leaders of about ten other agribusinesses and banks interested in supporting FALI 9 and beyond.  These companies see that the results of FALI has shifted attitudes of students and their parents, who before saw subsistence farming as an unattractive career for their children.  FALI students have taken home modern agriculture practices and with FALI, parents see modern, sustainable agriculture and agro-enterprise as a promising path for their children.

 Future Agriculture Leaders of India Program aims

Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare  addressing at International Summit ‘Artificial Intelligence & Digital Applications in Agriculture’, organized by FICCI

Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India said that as the technology advances in India, we will soon have sensor-based use of drone application for which we all stakeholders have to jointly collaborate. “The eco-system is now in place, and it is up to the industry and Start-ups to leverage this eco-system,” she added.

Biswas said, “Once the sensor-based applications of drones start then we might not require huge data generation. Currently, we don’t have sensor based targeted approach of application of pesticides on nutrients through drones.”

Biswas further stated that in terms of mechanization, India is 40 percent mechanized country, but we now need some parameters by which we can also assess our technological progress as well including use of drones, AI, IoT, etc.

She also urged various universities and institutes working on judicious use of pesticides through drones to share the data and research findings with all stakeholders. We are saving up to 30 percent of the pesticides and it will come down further when we adopt targeted approach as part of the sustainable agriculture, she added.

Highlighting the importance of Start-ups, Biswas stated that the Start-ups should work on solutions at lower cost for the farmers along with providing good after sales service. “I urge the Start-ups to come forward and provide these services. The government agencies should also involve Start-ups to find solutions for certain services,” she noted.

Dr V Praveen Rao, Vice Chancellor of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) said, “Due to labour scarcity, we are now seeding rice directly through drones. We are introducing high intensity planting of cotton in the state, and we want to use drones for this as well”.

Dr SK Malhotra, Former Agriculture Commissioner, Chairman, CIB&RC and Prjoject Director, DKMA said that we are now focusing on smart farming.

T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee & Group President, TAFE Ltd said that drone is going to change the way the Indian agriculture will work and technology in agriculture will make it easy for everyone to access.

Dr JP Singh, Additional Plant Protection Adviser & Secretary, CIB&RC and Hemendra Mathur, Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Agri Start-ups & Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund also shared their perspective.

Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture

The agreement will initiate a joint effort in nurturing deep-science innovation in agriculture

The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), has signed a MoU with Centre for Food Technological Research Institute, CFTRI, in presence of Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology, Government of India and Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of Agriculture & Farmer’s Welfare, Government of India.

The agreement will initiate a joint effort in nurturing deep-science innovation in agriculture, food technology and allied areas towards sustainability and food security in India’s agri sector. It was formally inked by Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, CEO and Director of C-CAMP and Dr Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director, CFTRI at the third edition of the ongoing TechBharat Conclave in Mysore.

On the occasion of the signing Dr Saiyed said, “We are delighted to formalise this pact with CFTRI, India’s leading food technology research institute. The agreement will identify and foster agri innovations and agri entrepreneurships led by the twin pillars of deep-science and sustainability.”

The ministers acknowledged the contribution by both organisations in the development of agritech and agri entrepreneurships in India and appreciated this effort of unifying ecosystems for greater impact.
The new signing is envisioned to augment C-CAMP’s current efforts in Agritech and allied space under its recently launched Centre of Excellence for Agri Innovation in collaboration with the Govt of Karnataka. It will also strengthen science-based entrepreneurships in the CSIR affiliated CFTRI.

The agreement will initiate a joint effort

Future plans for collaborative work with development departments were presented and discussed

The ICAR-Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH), Srinagar and Jammu & Kashmir Advisory Board for Development of Kisans, Jammu & Kashmir jointly organised the ‘Farmers, Kisan Board Members, Development Department Officials and Scientists / Experts Interface Meeting’.

The Chief Guest, Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare Department, Government of Jammu & Kashmir asserted on the government’s commitment with a single focus objective to enhance the farmers’ income manifold through the better technological interventions in farming. He urged the participating farmers, scientists and officers of agriculture and allied Sectors, in particular, horticulture to work beyond the production and productivity to focus mainly on the value-addition, branding, marketing and packaging, etc.

During the meeting vision and progress of ICAR-CITH, Srinagar and future plans for collaborative work with development departments and SKUAST-K, Srinagar were presented and discussed.

Prof (Dr) Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice-Chancellor, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences & Technology, Kashmir underlined the SKUAST-K’s role in rejuvenating the orchards and the research fields to increase the production with high density plantations.

Dr Om Chand Sharma, Director, ICAR-CITH, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir highlighted the institute’s role for carrying out the basic, strategic and applied research on the major temperate horticultural crops.

Ghulam Rasool Mir, Director (Horticulture), Government of Kashmir and Abdul Hamid Wani, Secretary, Jammu & Kashmir Advisory Board for Development of Kisans complemented the Institute for organising the programme.

The senior officials of ICAR-CITH, Srinagar and State Government Departments deliberated during the occasion.

More than 300 Officers, Kisan Board Members and Farmers participated in the programme.

 

Future plans for collaborative work with development

Singh was addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on agri-tech and food-tech in the Mysuru

Union Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh said that agri-tech start-ups are critical to India’s future economy.

Addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on Agri-Tech and Food-Tech in the Mysuru, Dr Singh said, a new wave of agri-tech startups has come up in India in the last few years due to enabling policy environment to address the problems of Indian agriculture such as supply chain management, use of outdated equipment, improper infrastructure, and inability of farmers to access a wider range of markets with ease.

The minister noted with satisfaction that young entrepreneurs are now quitting their jobs in IT sectors and MNCs to establish their own startups and these young entrepreneurs are now beginning to realise the fact that investing in agriculture is one of the very few safe and profitable businesses.

Dr Singh said, “Agritech startups are providing innovative ideas and affordable solutions to a number of challenges faced all across the agricultural value chain and it has the potential to change the face of Indian agriculture sector and eventually raise farmers’ incomes.”

He said, these startups and budding entrepreneurs have become the missing link between the farmers, input dealers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers connecting each of them to each other and providing strong marketing linkages and quality produce on time.

Dr Singh added, “The third edition of TechBharat on the theme “Transforming India’s FoodTech, AgriTech & Agronomic Landscape is a timely one as agriculture is one of the important pillars of the Indian economy as 54 per cent of Indian population depends directly on agriculture and it accounts for around 20 percent of GDP.”

Dr Singh strongly advocated the use of modern and new technology in Agricultural sector and pointed out that countries like Israel, China and the US have transformed several agriculture practices in their country with the use of technology. He said, these countries have demonstrated that assortment of technology like hybrid seeds, precision farming, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, geo-tagging and satellite monitoring, mobile apps and farm management software can be applied at every stage in agriculture process to increase productivity and farm incomes.

Singh was addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on agri-tech

The policy amendment will reduce high input cost of raw bamboo and make the bamboo-based industries, mostly in the remote rural areas, financially profitable

Government of India has lifted the export prohibition on bamboo charcoal, a move that would facilitate optimum utilisation of raw bamboo and higher profitability in the Indian bamboo industry. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), which is supporting thousands of bamboo-based industries in the country, was persistently requesting the government to lift the export restriction on bamboo charcoal. Chairman KVIC Vinai Kumar Saxena had written to the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Piyush Goyal, seeking to lift the export restriction on bamboo charcoal for the larger benefit of the bamboo industry.

“All the bamboo charcoal made from bamboo obtained from legal sources are permitted for export subject to proper documentation/ certificate of origin proving that the bamboo used for making charcoal has been obtained from legal sources,” read the notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Chairman KVIC, Saxena thanked Minister of Commerce and Industries, Piyush Goyal for the policy amendment saying the decision would reduce the high input cost of raw bamboo and make the bamboo-based industries, mostly in the remote rural areas, financially profitable.

Notably, the Indian bamboo industry, at present, is grappling with extremely high input cost owing to inadequate utilisation of bamboo. In India, bamboo is mostly used in manufacturing of Agarbatti wherein, a maximum of 16 per cent is used for manufacturing of bamboo sticks while the remaining 84 per cent of bamboo is a complete waste. As a result, the bamboo input cost for round bamboo sticks is in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per MT as against the average bamboo cost of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per MT.

However, export of bamboo charcoal would ensure complete utilisation of the bamboo waste and thus make the bamboo business more profitable. Bamboo charcoal for barbeque, soil nutrition and as a raw material for manufacturing activated charcoal, has great potential in international markets like the US, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and the UK.

The policy amendment will reduce high input

World Bee Day celebrated in Gujarat 

World Bee Day was recently celebrated with the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stating that the government is working seriously to bring about a ‘Sweet Revolution’ in the country. On this occasion, a national level function was organised in Tent City-II, Ekta Nagar, Narmada, Gujarat in the presence of Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister. Tomar inaugurated an exhibition at the venue of event as well as honey testing laboratories and processing units at Pulwama, Bandipura and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Tumkur in Karnataka, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Pune in Maharashtra and Uttarakhand in a virtual mode from Gujarat

The centrally funded scheme, ‘National Beekeeping and Honey Mission’ aims to establish five big regional and 100 small honey and other bee products testing laboratories, out of which three world class state-of-the-art laboratories have been setup, whereas 25 small laboratories are in the process of being set up. 

 

World Bee Day celebrated in Gujarat World Bee

Unnati plans to spray 20,000 acres of land by the end of 2022 and increase the drones’ spray capacity 4x by next year

Unnati, a FinTech-driven agriculture ecosystem, has launched a Drone Spray service for farmers. The platform will be utilizing a fleet of DGCA-approved (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) drones to offer the service.

Equipped with a high-precision spray and features like “Return to launch’ and Geofencing” the drones have the capacity to spray water/pesticides/fertilizers for one acre of land in under 8 minutes, resulting in up to 95 per cent of water-saving. Leveraging AI, the drones will ensure optimal use of the spray system in a non-hazardous technique that prevents chemicals from entering farmers’ cardiovascular systems.

Amit Sinha, Co-Founder of Unnati, commented, “Drone technology is no longer a pipe dream, especially not for the agriculture sector. We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Drone Spray service for farmers. Unnati has always maintained a singular focus on bettering the lives of farmers across the country, and our latest service will take us a step closer to achieving that goal. We are confident that farmers will benefit immensely from the Drone Spray, a service that is efficient and not harmful.”

Unnati plans to spray 20,000 acres of land by the end of 2022 and increase the drones’ spray capacity 4x by next year. Furthermore, the platform has aligned itself with the Aviation Ministry’s long-term vision of making India a global drone hub and will be open to collaboration to ensure the benefits are leveraged by more farmers across the country.

Unnati plans to spray 20,000 acres of

The SDTC Sustainability Changemakers award is the first made-in-Canada program which recognizes home-grown innovation in sustainable technologies

Vive Crop Protection has received distinction as one of Canada’s inaugural Sustainability Changemakers for 2022, as awarded by the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) organization.

Vive is one of 10 companies being honoured with the distinction based on outstanding growth and a track record for delivering on SDTC’s mandate of sustainability and economic benefits for Canada.

Vive utilizes nano-polymers to deliver a wide variety of crop protection products to farmers, helping them achieve greater yields and net return while reducing harmful environmental impacts. Using precision chemistry and their patented Allosperse® Delivery System, Vive helps growers minimize the use of chemicals such as fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. Vive has strong sales and revenue growth with product exports to the U.S. while continuing to create jobs in Canada.

“We are honoured to receive this recognition from SDTC,” said Darren Anderson, CEO of Vive Crop Protection. “This high-profile distinction affirms that our commitment to sustainable agriculture and the science behind it is just as important today as it is for the future of the industry.” 

The SDTC Canada Sustainability Changemakers award is the first made-in-Canada program which recognizes home-grown innovation in sustainable technologies. As the largest funder of Canadian sustainable small and medium sized companies, SDTC offers a unique window on the entrepreneurial organizations who are leading the change to a net zero economy and is proud to use that expertise to celebrate Canadian excellence.

Winners will be honoured during the SDTC Annual Leadership Summit in Ottawa. Companies receiving this year’s SDTC distinction were selected based on the following criteria:

  • Steady annual revenues greater than $10 million
  • A compound annual growth rate of 20 per cent or more over the last three years
  • Significant sustainable benefits and impact measured per SDTC’s proprietary methods of quantifying environmental benefits
  • Global footprint
  • Canadian presence and contribution to the local economy; at least 50% of the workforce and significant operations must be Canada-based and the company must demonstrate job growth.

The SDTC Sustainability Changemakers award is the

She will work on the development of an efficient in vivo haploid induction system in maize through gene-editing

Dr Priti Sharma, Assistant Professor (Biotechnology), School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has bagged SERB International Research Experience Award for the year 2022-2023 supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India for advanced training at University of Missouri, USA.

She will work on the development of an efficient in vivo haploid induction system in maize through gene-editing at Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, (USA) with Professor Bing Yang as mentor. Dr Priti will utilise innovative technologies such as CRISPR/CAS9 and unique maize germplasm available with the host laboratory.

Dr Parveen Chhuneja, Director, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, said the expertise so acquired will be applied for genome editing in other crops.

Sarvjit Singh, Vice-Chancellor, PAU; Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research and Dr TS Riar, Additional Director Communication, congratulated Dr Sharma for this achievement and wished her success in her future endeavours.

She will work on the development of

Discussions were held in collaborative research with regard to fruit cultivation and crop diversification

With an aim to forge ties with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), a five-member US delegation, led by Dr Raj Kahlon from the University of Merced in California, visited PAU to discuss the scope of joint venture. They interacted with the senior officials of PAU comprising Dr Shammi Kapoor, Registrar-cum-Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities; Dr Sandeep Bains, Dean, Postgraduate Studies; Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research; Dr GS Mangat, Additional Director of Research (Crop Improvement); Dr PPS Pannu, Additional Director of Research (Natural Resource and Plant Health Management); Dr GS Manes (Additional Director of Research (Farm Mechanisation and Bioenergy) and Dr Harminder Singh, Head, Department of Fruit Science.

Dr Kapoor, while welcoming the visiting delegation, informed them about the three major components of PAU including research, academics and extension. He welcomed the three potential areas of diversity in crops, suitable fruit varieties and exposure for students for the tie-up.

Dr Dhatt, while highlighting the achievements of PAU in the development of wheat and fruit crop varieties, discussed the collaborative research with regard to fruit cultivation.

Raj Kahlon suggested mutual cooperation in crop diversification and varietal development of fruits. Disclosing that there has been a water crunch in California during the last two years, he discussed potato processing in detail and showed keen interest in collaboration in citrus fruits like Kinnow.

Later, the delegation was presented a set of PAU publications.

Discussions were held in collaborative research with