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Company News, Dairy, India, Start ups

Experience centre showcases both packaged and unpackaged products

Sid’s Farm, a premium D2C dairy brand based out of Telangana, announces the inauguration and commencement of its first-ever store-cum-experience centre in the presence of Shaik Ghouse Mohiddin, Additional Chief Construction Engineer, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, GoI. This immersive and retail destination offers customers the opportunity to both purchase and consume Sid’s Farm’s high-quality, healthy, and pure products in the well-appointed and carefully designed store. Located within the premises of the DRDO Township in Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, the centre intends to provide its services to more than 2,000 residents, spread across all ranks and staff, in the locality.

A distinguishing feature of the experience centre is its product mix which is a combination of both packaged as well as unpackaged items. Customers can additionally take advantage of doorstep delivery from this store should they like to do so. The unique store-cum-experience centre will be catering to bulk demands as well and to this end also offers catering support supplies to its customers. Quality and customer focus are the two unchanging pillars of Sid’s Farm operating code.

Dr Kishore Indukuri, Founder, Sid’s Farm said, “We have for long now been catering to more than 15,000 customers at their doorsteps every morning. While we encourage our customers to visit our farm, plant, and laboratory on Saturdays to see the effort we put in to ensure pure and clean milk free from antibiotics, hormones, and preservatives, we feel that this experience centre would be the perfect peek into our quality and processes for a much larger audience. We are extremely thankful to DRDO, Ministry of Defence, for allowing us this opportunity and the space on-campus. We intend to aggressively increase the count of such stores across the city in the coming days.”

Experience centre showcases both packaged and unpackaged

India, Interaction, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

State officials chalk out a comprehensive action plan for effective control of paddy stubble burning during the ensuing season

Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare attended a farm demonstration on crop residue management at village Rangian in Kharar tehsil, District SAS Nagar, Punjab and interacts with farmers.

The objectives of the Crop Residue Management (CRM) Scheme includes :-

– Protecting environment from air pollution and preventing loss of nutrients and soil micro-organisms caused by burning of crop residue.

– Promoting management of crop residue by retention/incorporation into the soil or collection for further utilisation through the use of appropriate mechanisation inputs.

– Promoting Farm Machinery Banks for custom hiring of crop residue management machinery to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership.

– Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration, capacity building activities and differentiated Information, Education and Communication strategies for effective utilisation and management of crop residue.

Dr Likhi puts emphasis on effective control of paddy stubble burning during the ensuing season, the States should  chalk out a comprehensive action plan at micro level, establish a mechanism to ensure effective utilisation of machines, promote use of bio-decomposer in a complimentary mode with the CRM machines, promote ex-situ utilisation of straw by way of mapping demand from adjoining industries like biomass based power plants, bioethanol plants etc.

State officials chalk out a comprehensive action

Agro Universities, India

Scientists play a key role in making Madhya Pradesh a leading state in agriculture

The 59th Foundation Day function of Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur was held online and the Chief Guest, Narendra Singh Tomar said on the occasion that if Madhya Pradesh has emerged amongst the leading states in the field of agriculture today, the role of Agricultural University, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Indian Council of Agricultural Research lies at its strong foundation.

Tomar said that the Jabalpur Agricultural University is known across the country as an Institute of Excellence and this is a matter of pride for the people of the state working in the agriculture sector. Ever since this university was established in the year 1964, it has made a great contribution in advancing and upgrading the agricultural sector in the state. Madhya Pradesh has repeatedly received the prestigious Krishi Karman Award in the field of agriculture. 

Tomar said that farmers have to depend on nature in spite of the availability of sufficient resources. In this regard, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided a shield to the farmers in the form of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Claims worth INR 1.22 lakh crore has been settled against crop loss to farmers during the last 6 years.

Scientists play a key role in making

Agro chems – Chemicals, India, Sustainability

The improved Basmati rice varieties pave the way for sustaining India’s leadership in Basmati rice exports across the world

The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) held the ‘Kisan Sampark Yatra’ in the rice growing region of Haryana and Punjab to obtain farmers’ feedback on the three newly released IARI Basmati varieties. IARI had distributed 1 kg per acre seeds of the newly developed disease resistant Basmati rice to farmers during the Krishi Vigya Mela held at Pusa, New Delhi earlier this year for cultivation.

Dr AK Singh, Director, IARI said farmers were advised not to sell the produce of these seeds in the market, instead provide it to other farmers so that the new varieties could multiply and be grown in larger volumes.

Basmati rice is an export commodity with annual forex earning of  INR 25,053 crores during 2021-22. Pusa Basmati rice varieties namely, Pusa Basmati 1121, Pusa Basmati 1509 and Pusa Basmati 6 occupy more than 90% of the area under Basmati rice cultivation in GI area of Basmati rice in India and account for more than 90 percent of the Basmati rice exports from India. 

Bacterial blight and blast are the most devastating diseases in Basmati rice which cause significant yield losses as well as affect the Basmati grain and cooking quality. Conventionally, these diseases are managed by use of chemicals like streptocyclin and tricyclazole.

Through concerted research, ICAR-IARI develop an improved version of these three Basmati rice varieties with inbuilt resistance to Bacterial blight and blast diseases with the aid of molecular marker assisted breeding resulting in development and release of Pusa Basmati 1847, Pusa Basmati 1885 and Pusa Basmati 1886 in 2021. The three improved Basmati rice varieties with resistance to both Bacterial blight and blast diseases, will pave the way for sustaining India’s leadership in Basmati rice exports across the world, said Dr AK Singh.

The improved Basmati rice varieties pave the

Dairy, India, Live Stock

MBS will also offer specially customised financial services to dairy farmers associated with Dairy Co-operative Societies (DCS) in the dairy value chain.

Extending banking services in the rural hinterland of Assam, Manipal Business Solutions (MBS) partners with Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services Society (ARIAS) to deepen financial inclusion in the region, and the grant signing ceremony was held in Guwahati in presence of, Roshni Aparanji Korati, IAS, State Project Director, ARIAS Society.

Rural citizens are currently traveling miles to deposit a cheque or simply withdraw cash from their bank account, to address this challenge and bridge the urban-rural divide, MBS will reach the last mile and offer financial services such as savings, deposits, withdrawal, and micro pensions to farmers, landless agriculture labourers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers in the rural regions of Assam.

Under this collaboration, MBS will enable the digitalisation of the dairy value chain in focused districts of Assam. The company will also offer specially customised financial services to dairy farmers associated with Dairy Co-operative Societies (DCS) in the dairy value chain.

MBS will work closely with the leading financial intuitions to offer tailor-made products such as cattle loans, livestock insurance, personal loans, savings and investment services, payments, etc. for dairy farmers. These financial services will be delivered through the Dairy Cooperative Societies (DCS), and FPOs at the village level to reduce credit and transaction costs.

Kamaljeet Rastogi, CEO, Manipal Business Solutions said “MBS in its objective of digitising the dairy value chain will reach out to more than 1 lakh dairy farmers in Assam. Thereby aiming to digitise 1000+ Crore dairy payments annually.” 

MBS will also offer specially customised

Agrotech, India, Opinions, R&D

 By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur Capital

How do we feed 10 billion people worldwide by 2050? Sounds simple enough? Produce more food, right? Sadly, it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), uses the largest amount of water sources and is one of the highest polluting activities. Simply growing more food is unsustainable. So, let’s start answering the question by putting things in perspective:

There is ample evidence to suggest that we are already growing enough food to feed more than 10 billion people. Despite this, hunger exists. The problem is not so much about food production as it is about a lack of efficiency in agri-food systems across the board.

Further, climate change is sending global climatic systems into a state of flux and rapid change. Agriculture is extremely sensitive to shifting weather patterns, droughts, excessive rain and other climatic aberrations, which makes it acutely sensitive to the effects of climate change.

Systemic inefficiencies in agri-food systems are associated with various parts of the value chain, ranging from agri-inputs to crop development and final food production. Traditionally, addressing these inefficiencies has involved the use of digital technologies to collect and distribute data and improve the value chain with data-driven decision making.

However, the last decade has seen the advent of synthetic biology as a new innovative approach towards improving agri-food systems. Furthermore, synthetic biology can not only address inefficiencies, but also make agriculture more climate-resilient.

What is the synthetic biology approach?

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health issue across the world, more so in countries limited to rice as their staple food. Two scientists in the 1990s decided to find a disruptive solution to this. They fortified the rice with beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, by genetically engineering the conventional rice crop. Known as the Golden Rice Project, this is a great example of the synthetic biology approach, wherein natural biological systems are engineered to result in certain desired outcomes.

Using advanced techniques in genetic engineering, systems biology and bioengineering, synthetic biology provides disruptive innovative solutions for the most complex problems in the agri-food value chain–developing biological stimulants and pesticides, advanced crop development with climate resistant traits and efficient food production.

While this seemed impossible just a decade ago, synthetic biology has seen a major transformation. DNA sequencing and gene synthesis costs have reduced by more than 100x and faster gene sequencing techniques such as NGS have been developed. All this has led to a significant increase in the data on genomics. This data is being used to develop specific interventions in the agri-food value chain.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

 By Suraj Nair, Lead (TechSprouts), Ankur CapitalHow

Agrotech, India

By Dr Shyam Gunnamreddy, Founder & CEO, Samhitha Crop Care Clinics

Blockchain technology gained extensive traction because of its vital role in the fintech sector. It has now been seen to have vast applications beyond cryptocurrencies and the agriculture sector is not an exception. Technology has drastically transformed the agriculture sector along with healthcare, real estate, banking, and so on. As per market predictions, blockchain is all set to become a game-changer in India with a whopping $176 billion of business potential by 2050.

Considering the capabilities of blockchain, the agriculture sector in India is all set to propel it to a whole new level, continuing its contribution to the $5 trillion economy. There are nearly 150 startups working on the application of blockchain technology in the agriculture sector. Even today, the Indian agriculture sector is undergoing several issues that need immediate resolution for scalability and growth of the sector. The agritech startups leveraging the potential of blockchain technology are helping the agriculture sector in numerous ways.

With India being an agrarian economy, agriculture is considered the primary source of livelihood for around 58 per cent of the country’s population. It is one of the most important sectors, and yet a slow adopter of tech-driven solutions and techniques. It was the outbreak of the pandemic that devastated the food supply chain across the world and resulted in the accelerated adoption of technology.

In recent years, the agritech startups have introduced technology-based solutions that give a boost to the resilience of the sector. By embedding blockchain technology in agriculture, it has become easier to fortify farming in India through different use cases of blockchain technology.

Data generation and processing

Agritech startups are embedding IoT sensors and blockchain technologies to consolidate information on multiple steps of farming –from evaluating the quality of seeds, to crop tracking and the journey of crops from the farm to the market. Amidst the extensive farming process, it is imperative yet complex for farmers to keep track of the farming process. With IoT-enabled smart farming systems, it becomes easier to manage the effect of temperature, pH, soil moisture, humidity and light on the crops. These devices generate data and help farmers make well-informed decisions based on data storage.

Further, to make the data more insightful, machine learning algorithms are applied to the data gathered from the sensors. This enables predictive models to drive high use cases for crop quality recommendations, crop identification, crop yield and crop demand prediction. With the captured information, farmers are also able to have a sense of control over the irrigation of fields.

The advantages

Traditionally, the method of storing data on a centralised server has several risks associated with a single point of failure. However, the usage of blockchain technology stores data across every node, which prevents centralisation of authority, making the exchange of data seamless with specific stakeholders and greatly reduces risk. This brings efficiency to the entire crop or food production value chain.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

By Dr Shyam Gunnamreddy, Founder & CEO,

Agrotech, E-commerce, India, Opinions

By Tarun Arora, Director, Single Family Office, IG International

Business-to-Business (B2B) is a business model in which the agritech sector obtains goods and/or services from another company. More than any other sector, agribusiness has the most to gain from a B2B business strategy. From the production of agricultural products to their marketing, B2B has revolutionised the industry’s customary internal processes. It has brought technology to the farm, thereby increasing output; it has opened up new markets by going directly to consumers; it has eliminated middlemen, thereby increasing the growers’ profit margin; and it has vastly improved logistics, which was a major concern and a source of loss for the producer.

The B2B model has fit in like a glove, ushering in many advantages into the inner workings of the agritech sector. Using technology, agritech businesses are establishing market connections, including B2B markets and digital agricultural platforms. In recent decades, a substantial portion of the conventional supply chain across several industries has experienced a major setback.

B2B marketplaces have emerged as a solution to this problem  by providing excellent items at affordable pricing and dependable delivery schedules, along with regular credit terms. They are immediately capable of addressing India’s agricultural input concerns.

Due to the multitude of connections on these digital platforms, agricultural enterprises are able to locate new prospects, clients, and suppliers, as well as manage the daily challenges encountered by farmers. Farmers may get the necessary data, procedures, and efficiencies from them for both pre-harvest and post-harvest applications. In addition, B2B marketplaces provide a variety of buying and selling channels.

Precision is power

Precision agriculture is one of the most often used B2B services in the agricultural business. It enables you to maximise the productivity of each work shift by maximising your workforce. The data you get is current, making it more actionable and less static. Additionally, superior GPS technology enables your employees to operate in low-visibility conditions. You need not worry about blind areas since you can follow your agricultural equipment in real time using GPS data.

In addition, it lets the producer enhance and improve the soil, reduce the use of natural resources such as land, and water, and improve productivity by implementing a series of focused key interventions, a feat that may be accomplished with the application of sophisticated technology. In fact, it makes agribusiness a profitable and prosperous profession irrespective of climate change and other catastrophic occurrences.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

By Tarun Arora, Director, Single Family Office,

Agrotech, India, Interaction, Sustainability

Dhruv Sawhney, COO and Business Head, nurture.farm speaks to AgroSpectrum about the impact of the latest amendment in The Energy Conservation Bill, in August 2022, which empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme and future of the carbon farming industry in India. Edited excerpts;

nurture.farm, a digital platform for sustainable agriculture, is the first company in India to successfully generate and forward-sell agricultural-related carbon credits. Established in December 2019, nurture.farm brings together the best agriculture solutions, including remote sensing, farm mechanisms, online marketplaces, traceability, and market linkage. The company’s Alternate Wetting and Drying & Dry Seeded Rice (AWD-DSR) project covered 22,000 acres of rice paddy fields and involved over 2,500 smallholder farmers. Around 20,000 carbon credits were derived from this project. Its benefits included 15 – 30 per cent in water savings. During the last cropping season (Rabi), nurture.farm expanded the AWD-DSR programme across an additional 120,000 acres.

The company plans to create more carbon credits by further extending its projects. In 2022, nurture.farm’s Crop Residue Management (CRM) Programme will cover at least one million acres, while it will scale up its AWD-DSR project to 180,000 acres. nurture.farm has set a target to help Indian farmers generate one million carbon credits by 2023, thereby being the leading supplier of nature-based carbon credits in India.  Dhruv Sawhney, COO and Business Head, nurture.farm speaks to AgroSpectrum about the impact of the latest amendment in The Energy Conservation Bill, in August 2022, which empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme and future of the carbon farming industry in India. Edited excerpts;

How is nurture.farm contributing to the growth of the carbon farming industry in India?

Agriculture and forestry are the only two industries that offer viable opportunities to remove carbon from the atmosphere and provide long-term storage in the soil to help sequester it. These two industries contribute significantly to carbon emissions and will assist us in meeting our aspirations of restricting global temperatures to 1.5 degree C above the pre-industrial level.

India is the second largest food producer in the world. Our company is working with Indian farmers and helping them switch to sustainable practices, where they can produce more nutritious food while sequestering more organic carbon in the soil using less water, less energy, and fewer chemicals while producing less GHG emissions. These shifts to sustainable practices are critical in improving farmer resilience against the impacts of climate change.

Rice/Paddy cultivation accounts for 2 Gigatons of GHG emissions annually, and India is the second largest rice producer worldwide. nurture.farm is working with paddy farmers to reduce their methane emissions by 50 per cent, water requirements by 15 to 30 per cent  and improve their yields by 5 per cent.

nurture.farm forward sold the first set of agricultural carbon credits in India and compensated the farmers for this shift in practice. Additional income assistance and rewards go a long way in getting farmers to shift toward sustainable farming practices. This success story marks the dawn of sustainable agriculture in India which will bring in substantial revenues to the farmers and help mitigate global temperatures.

The latest amendment to The Energy Conservation Bill, in August 2022, empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme. What will be the impact of this amendment on the carbon farming industry in India?

We await more clarity and details on the carbon credit trading scheme. Our hope is that India will learn from the mistakes and shortcomings of other carbon markets such as Europe and China and deliver one of the most robust, transparent and trustworthy platforms on the lines of UPI and AADHAAR, and lead the carbon trading scheme globally. We have the opportunity to become the benchmark for the world and ensure we reward people who are reducing carbon emissions handsomely.

What are the challenges in the carbon farming industry in India? Secondly, what inputs are required to grow the carbon farming industry in India?

The Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme rolled out by the government in 2008  has not been able to accelerate investments to reduce energy consumption in energy-intensive industries due to the low carbon pricing. Hence India should focus on ensuring that the floor price is attractive and in line with the international trading prices.

Secondly, the lack of trust in “quality” credits from Indian projects in the past, led to the collapse of the carbon markets. We hope that stringent monitoring and recording protocols are  implemented to build trust amongst global buyers. There should be a stiff penalty for any carbon developer who does not deliver “Quality” Credits.

How do you foresee the future of the carbon farming industry in India and across the world?

The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), sponsored by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) with knowledge support from McKinsey, estimates that demand for carbon credits could increase by 15x or more by 2030 and up to 100x by 2050. Overall, the global market for carbon credits could be worth upward of $50 billion in 2030.

China grew at a tremendous pace between 1995 and 2015, but it did not pay attention to energy efficiency, and as a result had to build thousands of coal plants to support this inefficient infrastructure. We should learn from this and ensure that we shape this new growth with the most efficient and low-carbon or zero-carbon systems. Carbon credit revenue is essential to finance these cutting-edge technologies.

Indian carbon project developers will play a vital role as a supplier of carbon credits to global corporations taking pledges to become carbon neutral. This will be a new and flourishing industry for the next 30 to 40 years.

What are the growth strategies and plans of the company for FY 22-23?

nurture.farm will generate more than a million carbon credits in FY 22-23 and help hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers to switch to at least one sustainable agricultural practice. nurture.farm also plans to expand its geographic footprint to Latin America in FY 22-23.

                                                                                                                             By Dipti Barve

                                                                                                            dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

Dhruv Sawhney, COO and Business Head,

Agrotech, India, Industry Reports / Analysis

Since 2004, the Indian market for carbon credits has been expanding, but it is still in its infancy. The nation’s goal is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070. India developed the first exchange in Asia, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), to facilitate the trading of carbon credits. Many agribusinesses have already begun collaborating with farmers to help them sequester carbon, which will allow them to earn carbon credits. To maintain a transparent operating system in this sector, numerous advancements are still required on the regulatory and market fronts.

Global carbon pricing revenue in 2021 increased by almost 60 per cent from 2020 levels, to around $84 billion, providing an important source of funds to help support a sustainable economic recovery, finance broader fiscal reforms, or invest in communities as part of the low-carbon transition future, according to the World Bank’s annual “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing” report released on May 24, 2022. The report noted that the past year has seen some very positive signs, such as the significant increase in revenue that can be invested in communities and in supporting the low carbon transition.

Since 2004, the Indian market for carbon credits has been expanding, but it is still in its infancy. The nation’s goal is to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070. India developed the first exchange in Asia, the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), to facilitate the trading of carbon credits. Many agribusinesses have already begun collaborating with farmers to help them sequester carbon, which will allow them to earn carbon credits. To maintain a transparent operating system in this sector, numerous advancements are still required on the regulatory and market fronts.

The latest amendment to The Energy Conservation Bill, in August 2022, empowers the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme, as a step towards becoming carbon-neutral by 2070.

The scheme aims to reduce carbon emissions. Certificates will be issued to those who meet their emission targets. These certificates are tradeable. As per a recent report by the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), India’s carbon trading market ranked as the second highest globally in transacted volumes – generating 30 million carbon credits. The current pulse of the industry suggests that the Energy Conservation Bill is definitely a game-changer move by the government if implemented in its true spirit.

Applauding the move, Shailendra Singh Rao, Founder and Managing Director, Creduce, that provides services such as carbon trading to empower people and businesses to live a ‘carbon conscious’ life, stated, “The Bill will bring Bharat at par with the world and also provide much- needed guidance towards a carbon-neutral economy. The revision is to provide clarity on the generation, utilisation and as well as trading of Carbon Credits as well as rewarding acts of conservation. Not only will it define the emission standards at par with global ones but also act as a catalyst to promote energy efficiency in the private sector.”

India’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral nation by 2070 relies heavily on the large agricultural and industrial sectors cutting their respective emission levels.  The agriculture carbon trading market in India is at a relatively nascent stage but exhibiting a fast pace of growth with the entry of private players in the last two years. Farmers, as the major stakeholders in the agriculture sector can increase their income by way of earning and selling carbon credits as per their needs.

To read more click on: https://agrospectrumindia.com/e-magazine

Since 2004, the Indian market for carbon