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Company News, People, Start ups

The new appointments aims to augment BigHaat’s robust growth plans.

Hyderabad based BigHaat, India’s largest Digital Agri Platform, today has announced the recent addition of three senior leaders to further strengthen the company’s operations and align the organization best for the next phase of growth. Joining BigHaat’s C-Suite are Vishaal S. Wadhwani as Chief Finance Officer, Richa Hukumchand as Head – of Data Sciences and Analytics, and Indronil Ghosh as Head – of Supply Chain Management.

“We are excited to welcome the three proven, highly talented leaders to BigHaat”, said Sateesh Nukala and Sachin Nandwana, Co-Founders of BigHaat. “Each of the leaders brings a series of outstanding achievements and a depth of experience to accelerate growth and deliver innovative solutions to our customer needs.”

Vishaal Wadhwani joins BigHaat after being associated with Ernst & Young as Senior Manager – Tax and Regulatory for 7 years. Being a qualified CA and law graduate, he is one of the most recognized financial executives in the business looking back on over 15 years of experience. Prior to taking up this new role, he spearheaded the corporate finance segment at Enzen Global Solutions Pvt Ltd where he illustrated the growth capital and entailed fundraising of over USD 100 Mn.

Richa Hukumchand, a former scientist at DRDO, the country’s premier defense research organization, and a seasoned technology professional with more than 14 years of experience will head the Data Science and Analytics wing. Her appointment shall help BigHaat to achieve its vision of providing a data-driven digital ecosystem for the farmers. She brings to the table her expertise in end-to-end technology design, enterprise architectures & implementation of research-led engineering products across defense, space, and agri-tech sectors that will add value to further achieve and embark on the untrodden path in the farming sector of India.

The supply chain being the most challenging vertical, Indronil Ghosh has been roped in to disrupt conventional practices in the Agri domain, with more than 12 years of experience, and has been driving excellence in his past organization including Reliance and ITC. Ghosh would be driving the BigHaat Supply Chain Management across India making BigHaat as farmer’s first choice for providing the best quality inputs focusing on timely turnaround and delivery catering to their needs across the length and breadth of the country.

The new appointments aims to augment BigHaat’s

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Fertilizers, R&D

The state-of-the-art Nano-urea plant of IFFCO at Kalol can produce 1.5 lakh bottles of urea per day and company is planning eight more such plants.

Agrochemical major IFFCO has declared that it has secured the patent on its revolutionary Nanotechnology-based fertilizers IFFCO Nano Urea and IFFCO Nano DAP.IFFCO has received the patents on its revolutionary IFFCO Nano Urea and IFFCO Nano DAP for 20 years from the Patent Office of the Government of India.

A true novel example of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Krishi, this is a giant leap forward in the realization of PM’s dream of Sahkar se Samriddhi or Prosperity through Cooperation, mentioned the company in the release.

 Dr. U S Awasthi , MD IFFCO shared the good news through a tweet. The MD wrote, “This intellectual property of IFFCO Nano Urea and Nano DAP will strengthen the Indian economy by reducing input cost to agriculture, double the income of farmers in line with the dream & inspiration of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji.”

It bears recalling that IFFCO Nano Urea and IFFCO Nano DAP are next-generation fertilizers benefiting farmers and the environment. These products will be instrumental in reducing soil, air, and water pollution.

These novel products require fewer quantities to produce high quantities of quality crops, while at the same time keeping the soil healthy. This effort to save our soil from excessive use of chemicals, a long-standing vision and commitment of IFFCO, underlines the release.

It bears recalling that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated World’s First Nano Urea Plant by IFFCO & dedicated it to the Nation in a largely attended cooperative event, held at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat in May this year.

Speaking on this occasion, Modi said that he feels extremely happy to inaugurate the world’s first Nano-fertiliser plant. He further said that the power of one bag of urea will now be available to farmers in a half-liter bottle which will reduce transportation costs and will benefit small farmers immensely.

“The state-of-the-art Nano-urea plant of IFFCO at Kalol can produce 1.5 lakh bottles of urea per day and they are planning eight more such plants. This will truly revolutionize the sector making agriculture in India Atmanirbhar thus reducing dependence on urea imports’ ‘, the PM said congratulating IFFCO.

The state-of-the-art Nano-urea plant of IFFCO at

Poultry

The minister inaugurated the integrated farming unit of “Moringa and Backyard Poultry” at ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad, Telangana

Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj has inaugurated the integrated farming unit of “Moringa and Backyard Poultry” at ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad, Telangana on July 1, 2022. “The Poultry Farming is one of the most important ways to alleviate malnutrition in the rural areas providing an additional income to the poor families and nutritional security to the poor and landless farmers”, said Giriraj Singh.

The Union Minister appreciated the performance of the improved Chicken Germ Plasm developed at the Directorate. He stated that the Directorate is striving hard to develop the suitable technologies for both the commercial & backyard poultry and also in the new frontier areas of nutrition, health and biotechnology.

Singh accentuated the model will help in reducing the feed cost and competitiveness for human food like Maize and Soybean. He also urged to encourage the youths to take-up the technology through start-ups. The need for exploring the possibility of branding and marketing of Moringa Fed Chicken Egg and Meat was stressed by the Union Minister.

The Guest of Honour, Dr G Narendra Kumar, IAS, Director General, National Institute for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad accentuated on the collaboration between the two organisations for the farmers’ welfare and benefits.

The minister inaugurated the integrated farming unit of “Moringa and

Biofuel industry, Sustainability

This is a first-of-its-kind novel initiative by two leading CPSEs, to support the country’s commitment to achieving renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse emissions

NTPC RE Limited (NTPC REL) a fully owned subsidiary of the NTPC Limited has recently signed an MoU with National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) to collaborate in the field of renewable energy and green chemicals and mutually explore opportunities for the supply of 90 MW RE-RTC power in phases (30 MW in Phase-1 & 60 MW in Phase-2) and synthesising 50 TPD Green Ammonia for captive use for production of Industrial products by NFL.

This is a first-of-its-kind novel initiative by two leading CPSEs, to support the country’s commitment to achieving renewable energy targets and reduce greenhouse emissions.  

This comes in the backdrop of NTPC announcing its Green Hydrogen initiatives and plan to build the country’s first pilot projects for synthesising green Methanol, setting up green hydrogen filling station, green hydrogen blending into PNG and green energy storage project.

This is a first-of-its-kind novel initiative by

Agro Universities

The study was conducted by Prof Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, faculty of the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras and Rekha Rajesh, Research Scholar, IIT Madras

Indian Institute of Technology Madras researchers have identified a bacterium that can turn agricultural waste into industrial enzymes through a cost-effective and environment-friendly process.

Industrial enzymes such as alpha-amylase and cellulase are in high demand in various industries that deal with textiles, paper, detergents, and pharmaceuticals. The IIT Madras researchers studied how a bacteria called ‘Bacillus sp PM06’ can aid in producing industrial enzymes and value-added products from agricultural waste.

The study was conducted by Prof Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, faculty of the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras and Rekha Rajesh, Research Scholar, IIT Madras. The findings of the research have been published in the reputed peer-reviewed journal Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.

Highlighting the key applications of the research, Prof Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, said, “The organism which we have isolated has a fermentation capacity to hydrolyse very low-cost lignocellulosic wastes without pre-treatment, thus reducing the cost of bioprocess for production of enzymes and industrial metabolites.”

Further, speaking on how this research compares with existing technology, Prof. Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, said, “The most challenging aspect of bioconversion is the development of a one-step process which includes pre-treatment, enzyme hydrolysis and microbial fermentation thus minimising environmental impact. Many researchers are focused on isolating single microorganism producing multiple enzymes to solve the issues. But, IIT Madras researchers are successful in isolating a novel strain from sugarcane pressmud.”

Thus, the researchers studied the bacteria, Bacillus sp PM06, which was isolated from sugarcane waste press mud. This bacterium helped in the production of industrial enzymes and value-added products from agricultural waste. The wheat barn was found to be the most effective substrate followed by sago waste and rice barn. 

The study was conducted by Prof Sathyanarayana

Agrotech, Horticulture, R&D, Supply Chain

HarvestHold Fresh®, a post-harvest solution can be used on a wider variety of fruits and vegetables including the addition of 18 crops.

Denver based Verdant™ Technologies announced approval from the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of an expanded label of HarvestHold Fresh®, including the addition of 18 crops.

The latest addition of crops for use with HarvestHold Fresh includes asparagus, avocado, banana, bell pepper, blueberry, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cucumber, kiwi, lime, mango, mushrooms, okra, papaya, pineapple, spinach, strawberry, and sweet corn. The 18 added crops are in addition to apricot, broccoli, grapes, melons, nectarine, peach, persimmon, plum, and tomato, which were approved by the EPA in September 2021.

The expanded label also includes flexibility for recycling HarvestHold Fresh sheets after application. “Expanding our HarvestHold Fresh offering into many additional crops is going to bring tremendous opportunity to fruit and vegetable growers around the U.S.,” said Gordon Robertson, CEO of Verdant Technologies. “We are confident in the value our technology delivers across a wide range of commodities, and we’re looking forward to partnering with customers to provide the simplest and most effective post-harvest solution to keep their produce fresher for longer.”

HarvestHold Fresh is an innovative shelf-life extension solution providing the simplest and most flexible post-harvest delivery method on the market. Through its breakthrough delivery method of industry-standard 1- methylcyclopropene (1‑MCP), HarvestHold Fresh significantly reduces waste in the perishable produce supply chain and offers unmatched storability and portability.

Verdant Technologies has received U.S. state approvals for HarvestHold Fresh in 49 states, with anticipation of approval in California by late 2022. Verdant™ Technologies is an emerging leader in the ag tech industry, offering HarvestHold® product life extension technology for floral and produce products

HarvestHold Fresh®, a post-harvest solution can be

Machinery – Post-harvesting

Domestic sales in June 2022 were at 39825 units, as against 46875 units during June 2021

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES), part of the Mahindra Group, has recently announced its tractor sales numbers for June 2022. Domestic sales in June 2022 were at 39825 units, as against 46875 units during June 2021.

Total tractor sales (Domestic + Exports) during June 2022 were at 41848 units, as against 48222 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month stood at 2023 units.

Commenting on the performance, Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited said, “We have sold 39825 tractors in the domestic market during June 2022. With good prices for Rabi output, cash flow with farmers is good. Government’s approval on increase in MSP for all Kharif crops and forecast of a normal monsoon is very positive for a bumper Kharif crop. Though Kharif sowing is lagging in the first fortnight of the season than last year due to deficient rainfall in key kharif states, further advancement of Southwest monsoons across the country brings in positive sentiments and is likely to boost the tractor demands in the coming months. In the exports market, we have sold 2023 tractors with a growth of 50 per cent over last year”.

Farm Equipment Sector Summary – June 2022
 JuneYTD June
 F23F22%ChangeF23F22%Change
Domestic3982546875-15%1133839584818%
Exports2023134750%5126408126%
Total4184848222-13%1185099992919%

Domestic sales in June 2022 were at 39825 units,

Agri Genomics, Webinar

The 7-day online workshop was attended by over 350 young researchers and faculty members belonging to the various fields of biotechnology

A “National Workshop-cum-Webinar on Genome Editing” has been organised from June 27 to July 3, 2022 online with an objective of communicating the advances in science and technology to young students and researchers. This workshop was organised under the Chairmanship of Prof KC Bansal, Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi, who is a former Director of the premier institution of ICAR, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR).

Co-Chaired by a world-renowned scientist Prof Yiping Qi, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, USA, the 7-day online workshop was attended by over 350 young researchers and faculty members belonging to the various fields of biotechnology.

Speakers included Dr KA Molla, Scientist, NRRI, Cuttack; Dr Siddharth Tiwari, Scientist, NABI, Mohali; Dr P Chander Shekhar, Principal Scientist, CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad; Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty, Senior Scientist, CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi; Dr Viswanathan Chinnusamy, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi and Dr Naveen Bisht, Staff Scientist V, NIPGR, New Delhi. The scientists who will be speaking during the next three days include Dr Kavita Babu, Principal Investigator, IISc, Bangalore; Dr Deepti Trivedi Vyas, Scientist, NCBS, Bangalore; Dr Amit Ghosh, Assistant Professor, IIT, Kharagpur; Dr Basudev Ghoshal, Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Dr D T Singh, Founder & President, CloudSeq Pte Ltd, Singapore.

Prof KC Bansal highlighted the current state of Gene Editing and mentioned that since Government of India has recently issued guidelines easing the norms for bio-safety assessment for developing genome-edited crops, more opportunities have opened into the research and development in this field, and therefore, this workshop is the need of the hour. The Gene Editing technology enables the manipulation of targeted genes in a precise and efficient manner in many organisms and cell lines, and has become indispensable for all life sciences researchers globally, ranging from agriculture to pharma to health sectors.

The 7-day online workshop was attended by

Agrotech, Finance

Total funding amount is $17 million which will be used to fund commercialisation and continued development the technology

Hico Capital, a subsidiary of SK networks based in US, has invested in a US AgTech startup. SK networks has announced on June 30(CDT) that the company will invest $4 million, via Hico Capital, its US investment subsidiary, in the Series A round for tractor automation solution provider, Sabanto (based in Chicago, Illinois, USA). Total funding amount is $17 million which will be used to fund commercialisation and continued development the technology.

Sabanto is a startup offering an automation solution for farming tractors and differentiates itself from competitors by delivering an automation solution deployable in conventional tractors currently in operation. In addition, as the solution is offered as an open platform, it is compatible with most of the tractor brands.

Hico Capital has made its investment decision based on the considerable growth potential of AgTech industry as well as Sabanto’s differentiated technologies. The US agriculture industry faces a series of challenges including aging farmers, shortage of labour, and rising costs, which have prompted the government and the market to consider automation technology as a possible solution.

Samuel Kim, Managing Director at Hico Capital commented, “The AgTech industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States, and Sabanto’s automation tech offerings will not only boost the operational efficiency of tractors but also contribute to the sustainability in agriculture.”

Total funding amount is $17 million which will be

Acquaculture

The global partnership will jointly develop and market insect meal to help aqua feed customers raise more sustainable seafood with less environmental impact

Cargill and Innovafeed are committed to actions that identify and grow planet-friendly ingredients, find new ways to reuse by-products and develop fish nutrition that promotes and enhances the health of farmed fish.

The agreement combines Innovafeed’s expertise in formulating precision insect ingredients and Cargill’s global animal nutrition capabilities to scale up the use of insect ingredients in multiple types of animal feed. Under this new contract, Cargill will benefit from high-performance and sustainable ingredients for salmonids. Insect-based feed has become a competitive alternative to other sources of protein at all levels, including nutrition, production, and sustainability.

Together, Cargill and Innovafeed maximise the use of resources to create a high-quality feed with much less waste.

“A contract of this size and scope for insect ingredients in aquafeed is a first in our industry and marks a major milestone in favour of more sustainable and efficient animal feed, thanks to novel ingredients and insects more specifically,” said Clément Ray, Innovafeed’s co-founder and CEO.

Innovafeed is transforming the feed industry and broadening the basket of performant and sustainable ingredients available to the aquafeed formulators. Insect-based feed has become a competitive alternative to other sources of protein at all levels, including nutrition, production, and sustainability.

The global partnership will jointly develop and

R&D

The acquisition adds biologically produced state-of-the-art pheromone insect control technology to FMC’s product portfolio and R&D pipeline

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire BioPhero ApS, a Denmark-based pheromone research and production company. The acquisition adds biologically produced state-of-the-art pheromone insect control technology to FMC’s product portfolio and R&D pipeline, underscoring FMC’s role as a leader in delivering innovative and sustainable crop protection solutions.

BioPhero has pioneered a highly efficient yeast fermentation process for manufacturing pheromones at significantly lower costs and with fewer production steps compared to competitors’ traditional chemical synthesis methods. Lower costs expand the pheromone addressable market from today’s focus on specialty fruit and vegetables to now include the large row crop market. FMC expects pheromones and pheromone-based products to contribute approximately $1 billion in revenue at above company-average EBITDA margin by 2030.

Mark Douglas, FMC president and chief executive officer, said, “BioPhero is a pioneer in the production of pheromones through a unique, highly efficient bio processing method—a game-changer in pheromone manufacturing technology. FMC’s broad market access, leadership position in the high-value insecticide market, formulation know-how and application expertise provide significant opportunities to bring sustainably advantaged pheromone technology to more agricultural markets around the world. We look forward to adding an extensive pheromone platform to our biologicals business and welcoming the BioPhero team to FMC.”

Pheromones can be used in an integrated pest management program to control the buildup of insect populations in farmers’ fields by disrupting the insect mating process, reducing overall egg-laying by adults and decreasing the next generation of the target insect population.

The acquisition adds biologically produced state-of-the-art pheromone

Agrotech, Start ups

Collaborations between innovators and agrochemical companies would play an imminent role in flattening the learning curve

ThinkAg along with CropLife India, the leading voice of the plant science industry in India have organised an Industry Round table “AgLab” – Connecting innovators with corporates – Drone Applications in Agriculture & Crop Protection – bringing together all stakeholders of the Agriculture Drone ecosystem with a ‘focused platform for partnerships’ for the start-ups and stressed on the need of fast tracking and large-scale adoption of drone technology for agrochemical spraying in the country. 

Shomita Biswas, Joint Secretary (M&T), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India said, “It is time to make drones accessible for farmers. There are 200+ start-ups, engaged in manufacturing and providing drone services in agriculture, who would play a pivotal role. Empanelling with the State Governments and becoming custom hiring centres themselves; are the critical next steps for start-ups. 

The Government of India has added another intervention of involving the rural youth. Just with Bachelor in Science – agriculture degree, he/she can open a custom hiring centre, own a drone, and be an entrepreneur; employing others. Youth will be the ambassadors of Drone technology and hence we must leverage this segment. Start-ups in this sector can engage with the youth and other partners at village level and helping the growth of agricultural economy.

AsitavaSen, Chief Executive Officer, CropLife India, anchored the webinar shared, “CropLife India is committed to help develop a conducive ecosystem and quick adoption of Kisan Drones in India. Collaborations between innovators and agrochemical companies would play an imminent role in flattening the learning curve.” Sen added, “The purpose of the webinar is to offer a ‘focused and neutral platform for partnerships’ between the start-ups and Agrochemical/Agriculture input companies for knowledge sharing. Partnerships amongst stakeholders is critical to overcome the challenges and leverage the opportunities that this new technology offers.” 

Collaborations between innovators and agrochemical companies would

Agro chems – Chemicals

The company expects CAPSTONE and ZAAFU to make up more than 10 per cent of its crop protection portfolio’s fungicide category

A TATA Enterprise Rallis India Limited, has announced the introduction of two new fungicides, CAPSTONE and ZAAFU, which are intended to combat different types of neck blast and sheath blight.

The fungicide portfolio of Rallis India Limited is well known in the market, and the company expects CAPSTONE and ZAAFU to make up more than 10 per cent of its crop protection portfolio’s fungicide category.

Rallis India launches CAPSTONE for the first time on the Indian market to treat this disease. Fenoxanil and Isoprothialane are the main ingredients in CAPSTONE. Isoprothiolane is an inhibitor of lipid biosynthesis, whereas Fenoxanil is an inhibitor of melanin biosynthesis. For the first time in India, farmers will now have access to a mixture containing Fenoxanil. In collaboration with Nihon Nohyaku, a Japanese company that develops agrochemicals, this product was created in India.

CAPSTONE has a dual mode of action because it is a combination of two different action fungicides, giving it qualities like excellent efficacy, longer duration of disease control, no cross-resistance, and prevention against resistance build-up.

The systemic fungicide ZAAFU has a special formulation. Zaafu offers a great treatment for Sheath Blight and Sheath Rot in Paddy. It is a fungicide in the form of granules that are intended to be broadcast in the field along with the first top dressing of fertiliser.

The company expects CAPSTONE and ZAAFU to

Company News, Live Stock

The acquisition combines Cargill’s global network and deep expertise in animal nutrition technologies with Delacon’s pioneering knowledge and market experience in phytogenic feed additives

To support feed customers in this growing space, the world’s leading agribusiness company Cargill has announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Delacon, the globally leading expert in plant-based phytogenic additives.

“After a successful five-year partnership, Cargill and Delacon will build upon their combined deep history and long-term commitment to scientifically driven, sustainable customer solutions focused on animal health, feed efficiency, and performance,” said Adriano Marcon, Cargill animal nutrition president.

The acquisition combines Cargill’s global network and deep expertise in animal nutrition technologies with Delacon’s pioneering knowledge and market experience in phytogenic feed additives, a category that uses a broad range of herbs, plants and their extracts, such as essential oils, to improve livestock and aquaculture performance and promote animal health.

Markus Dedl, Delacon’s chief executive officer, shared his insights, “It is my responsibility to assure the frame for Delacon’s future growth, developing our ability to thrive, and taking phytogenic expertise to the next level. The acquisition will enlarge Delacon’s scope for future innovations and make phytogenic feed additives more available globally. Together, Cargill and Delacon will accelerate the pace of innovation and drive strategic, long-term growth.” 

With the addition of Delacon’s plant-based phytogenic products, Cargill is further committed to research, innovation, sustainability and collaboration in the digestive and immune health space.​

The acquisition combines Cargill’s global network and