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The Ceres Imaging technology will populate high-resolution images in Lindsay’s FieldNET® platform, which enhances growers’ ability to remotely monitor, control

Lindsay Corporation, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology, today announced a strategic partnership with Ceres Imaging, an Oakland, Cali, provider of high-resolution imagery analytics with support for precision agriculture.

The Ceres Imaging technology will populate high-resolution images in Lindsay’s industry leading FieldNET® platform, which enhances growers’ ability to remotely monitor, control, analyse and apply irrigation recommendations. The addition of Ceres’ imagery and access to its analytics platform will allow growers to monitor and adjust operations based on key indicators of crop performance such as emergence, canopy density, soil composition, water stress and nitrogen content. These indicators will provide valuable insights into crop health in alignment with Lindsay’s smart pivot innovation roadmap and enhance the ability of growers to choose solutions uniquely tailored to their needs.

The data connection between the FieldNET and Ceres Imaging platforms will be two-way, with Ceres imagery provided and shown in the FieldNET platform. In-depth analytics and recommendations, powered by FieldNET data, will also be accessible within the Ceres Imaging platform. Sharing encrypted data with permission of the grower allows the two platforms to work more efficiently and provide custom recommendations for optimal yield while supporting growers’ sustainable farming practices.

“Lindsay is committed to providing the latest technology to growers to help scale their organisation and maximise yields,” said Gustavo Oberto, President of Global Irrigation at Lindsay. “The Ceres Imaging offering is a natural addition to the toolkit we provide growers. We are excited about the work Ceres Imaging is doing with high-resolution thermal imaging and analytics today, especially as it pertains to precision irrigation, and the value this partnership will continue to create for our mutual customers. We know that no two fields, no two operations, no two crops are the same, so we are excited to provide our customers this choice among a suite of imaging options compatible with current and future irrigation innovations”

Ashwin Madgavkar, founder of Ceres Imaging, agreed. “Our passion for agriculture and helping growers maximise their potential is at the root of what we do at Ceres. We see that same passion and drive to create innovative solutions and analytics in Lindsay’s product lineup. We’re excited to partner with them and look forward to continued innovation.”

The Ceres Imaging technology will populate high-resolution

 The hybrid requires less water with ability to withstand extreme climatic conditions, nutritionally rich and needs less resources

Nagpur based Dharti Agro Chemicals Pvt. Ltd is the first in the world to introduce GMS based Cowpea Hybrids in market and has released three hybrids in Cowpea – Bubbly, Sherly and Poorvaja. They have given extremely good performance in farmer’s field giving up to 100 per cent heterosis in regular season of Kharif and up to 200 to 250 per cent heterosis in off season providing almost two times the profit as compared to the traditional varieties. Asian and African countries where consumption of such legumes is high, Hybrid Cowpea can be the trend of future providing food security. Its better shelf life allows its transportation to long distance market, getting more rates.

Dharti Agro Chemicals Pvt Ltd. works with farmers to get insights that eases decision making and they invest more in R&D of products that help farmers make the most of every acre. The hybrid with less water requirement, ability to withstand extreme climatic conditions, nutritionally rich; less resource-demanding have attracted the interest of farmers, which has resulted in increased area of production of this crop. Their short duration also facilitates intercropping or crop rotation and thereby increases the farm income.

Dr Manoj S Phalak, with the development of genetic male sterility using mutation breeding in Cowpea with highly innovative and efficient way of cross pollination mechanism led the foundation of hybrids in the crop. Hybrids of Cowpea are highly suitable for off season cultivation and are not photoperiod sensitive. Heterosis Breeding uplifts the whole physiology of the crop by utilizing benefits from sum total of all good genes and interactions thereof. This results in higher yields, better disease tolerance, wider adaptability, better fruit quality and enhanced response to fertigation.

“At Dharti, the need for nutritionally secure food system and other global challenges has always been taken as fundamental driving force. Hence, as our step towards sustainability, we believe Hybrid Cowpea is a successful approach for today and future. It has provided sturdy and profitable alternative to prevalent vegetable crops and plays a key role in crop diversification. We take it as a responsibility to ensure that our products are desirable for large as well as small farmers”, said Vaibhav Kashikar, Executive Director, Dharti Agro Chemicals Pvt Ltd.

 The hybrid requires less water with ability

Company forayed in Chhattisgarh through the online medium which will help the retailers and farmers of Chhattisgarh save time and lower the input costs

Dubai-based agrochemical company, AgFarm has introduced its entire product range in Chhattisgarh. The launch coincides with the Rabi crop sowing season in India, typically starting in the winter season. AgFarm entered the Indian market almost a year ago and enjoys presence in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

AgFarm’s comprehensive portfolio consists of highly effective and sustainable herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators that boost crop health and support farmers’ economic resilience and productivity by targeting the most damaging pests and diseases in all major crops. These products cover all the major crops and cash crops, fruits, oil seeds, and important vegetables.

“Chhattisgarh is famously known as the “Rice Bowl” of Central India, with the main crop being Paddy. Apart from paddy, oil seeds like Groundnut, Soybean, and Sunflower and cereals like maize are also grown in the state. AgFarm offers a complete range of crop solutions for all these important crops. Our foray into the state through the online medium will help the retailers and farmers of Chhattisgarh save time and lower the input costs for them as we will pass on the savings incurred towards supply chain management to them. Further, it will also facilitate them to establish a direct digital connection with the company, which will enable us to understand their requirements and concerns better. Besides, modern social listening and digital analytics will also help us reduce the turnaround time and provide our customers with products at affordable prices,” says Sandeep Singh Chauhan, Director, AgFarm.

Company forayed in Chhattisgarh through the online

AmpliFYR increases seedling root and shoot growth in corn, soybeans, wheat

 US based company, EVOIA Inc. has announced its first product—a seed treatment manufactured from biochar. AmpliFYR is being launched for spring 2023 use in corn, soybeans, wheat, and other row crops. Available in 15 states and made from biochar extract, AmpliFYR increases seedling root and shoot growth.

 The seed treatment is compliant with:

  • USDA National Organic Program standards by the California Department of Agriculture (CDFA) and Organic Materials Review Institute
  • USDA BioPreferred program as 100% biobased
  • Fertilizing Materials Law and Regulations of California

 ″Farmers are continually faced with the challenge of feeding the world, while managing their farms in a sustainable way, ″ stated Juliette MacKay, CEO of EVOIA. ″AmpliFYR supports both the farmer and the seed, helping the seed to establish and helping the farmer with the potential to increase profits. We are very proud that our introductory product has made great strides to benefit the farmer in 2023. ″

AmpliFYR increases seedling root and shoot growth

MoU will be helpful for improving camel production system through promotion of its utility in biomedical research. 

The ICAR-National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaborative research & development and exchange of knowledge.  

Artabandhu Sahoo, Director, ICAR-NRCC and Captain Sridhar Warrier, Registrar, IISc signed the MoU on behalf of the respective organisations.

Artabandhu Sahoo briefed about the present association of NRCC, Bikaner and IISc, Bengaluru on research program aimed at safer and more effective anti-snake venom development and emphasised on future collaborative research and development initiatives on “Camel Immunology” and “Climate-Resilient Phenomena” with IISc, Bengaluru. He said the MoU will be helpful for improving camel production system through promotion of its utility in biomedical research. 

Captain Sridhar Warrier stressed upon establishing an Educational Link with NRCC for expanding the scope of collaboration. He reiterated that the research on various aspects of camels by NRCC and at the global level shows the uniqueness of this species. 

MoU will be helpful for improving camel

Farmley has built deep back-end linkages with 5000+ farmers & producers and established a streamlined supply chain network

Farmley is a full-stack dry fruits and nut brand that provides high quality, adulteration free products to the end consumers. It drives maximum value to the farmer community by eliminating middlemen. Farmers in Maharashtra and Bihar have seen a 35 per cent rise in incomes as Farmley’s value chain has eliminated middlemen and incentivized farmers to grow better quality produce. Further, close to 60 per cent of the workforce at the processing units are women, and the startup has generated over 2.5 lakhs of annual employment hours for them.

The dry fruits and nuts value chain typically has multiple middlemen involved making quality control a formidable challenge. The unorganized nature of this market also erodes farmer incomes. Farmley’s full-stack business model is disrupting the status quo by sourcing premium produce, creating innovative food items.

Farmley has built deep back-end linkages with 5000+ farmers & producers and established a streamlined supply chain network. After building deep back-end linkages with over 5000 farming communities and producers, Farmley has emerged as a dry fruits & nuts specialist in India. By building direct linkages with the best producers in this category, Farmley is sourcing premium harvests and eliminating multiple points of adulteration.

Abhishek Agarwal, Co-Founder of Farmley, said, “Adulteration in this category is quite common and is a persistent pain point for consumers. For example, these days almonds soaked in water bleed artificial brown colour instead of leaving only a golden tinge. The root of this problem is the unorganized nature of the market. Through our full-stack model, we have successfully streamlined the value chain to provide consumers with high-quality dry fruits and nuts consistently.”

Subhadeep Sanyal, Partner at Omnivore, observed, “Farmley is reimagining the dry-fruit and nut value chain in India. By solving multiple chronic issues in this segment, the startup is delivering an exciting premium experience to consumers and riding the clean snacking wave.”

To date, Farmley has set up five farm gate processing units closer to the source of origin to ensure fair remuneration and strict quality check protocols. In the past 12 months, the startup has produced 4800 tons of dry fruits & nuts, 80% of which was sourced directly from the farmers & producers.

Farmley has built deep back-end linkages with

Himanshu Pathak addresses the workshop and puts emphasis on the need of technology backstopping to attain sustainability in farming

Secretary Himanshu Pathak, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) inaugurated NIRD Cold Room on the occasion of One Day workshop on FPCs/FPOs activities of the district. The workshop was inaugurated by Minister-in-Charge Pradip Mazumdar, Panchayat and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal. Pradip Mazumdar, Minister-in-Charge Panchayat & Rural development of West Bengal appreciated the effort to conduct such workshop for FPCs/FPOs of the district and mentioned that FPCs are the future of farming community. He has also emphasised need of technology backstopping to attain sustainability in farming & schemes like Matir Sristi prokolpo and Krisak Bima Yojana which has played a vital role in development of farming community of the district.

Dr Pathak, while addressing the workshop stated to perceive the fullest potential of the FPCs/FPOs more technical skill-oriented training is needed. He has taken keen interest in convergence of line departments at district and state level and inter-state exposure visit of FPCs to expedite the control over their business. He appreciated the concept of Mrittika’ branding of FPCs/FPOs products by WBCADC-Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bankura.

Radhika Aiyar, District Magistrate Bankura, FH Rahman, Principal Scientist, senior officials of Govt of West Bengal and around 150 FPCs, FPOs, Farmers Group and SHG cluster members were present in the workshop.FH Rahman, Principal Scientist, ICAR-ATARI Kolkata while welcoming the Guests highlighted the need of FPCs/FPOs to attain sustainable livelihood and security at their end. He also explained the need of diversifying product items and creating innovative marketing channel.

Moumita Dey Gupta, Head of CADC-KVK Bankura briefed about the initiatives/activities taken to promote FPCs of the district.

Himanshu Pathak addresses the workshop and puts

It will enhance productivity in the drought-prone areas of Central Zone consisting of Madhya Pradesh, Bundelkhand Area of UP, Chhattisgarh, Southern Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, where terminal drought is a major problem

ICAR – Indian Agricultural Research Institute,  New Delhi in collaboration with its Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya  Jabalpur, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior and ICRISAT, Patancheru Hyderabad developed drought hardy and higher yielding chickpea variety ‘Pusa JG 16’ which will enhance productivity in the drought-prone areas of Central Zone consisting of Madhya  Pradesh, Bundelkhand Area of UP, Chhattisgarh, Southern Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, where terminal drought is a major problem and sometimes leads to 50-100 percent loss of yield.

Pusa JG 16 variety was developed by using genomic-assisted breeding techniques that allowed the precision transfer of drought-tolerant genes from ICC 4958 in the parental variety JG 16. The drought tolerance of this variety was affirmed through national-level testing by the All India Coordinated Research Programme of Chickpea.

AK Singh, Director, ICAR-IARI emphasised that the ‘Pusa JG 16’ variety will be a boon for the farmers of drought-prone areas of Central Zone of the country. He congratulated the breeders and all the partners on this outstanding achievement.

ICAR-IARI Chickpea team led by C Bharadwaj, Principle Scientist in collaboration with Rajeev Varshney and Manish Roorkiwal from ICRISAT, Anita Babbar from JNKVV and Indu Swarup from RVSKVV developed the variety.

Bhardwaj emphasised that besides being highly drought tolerant, this variety is resistant to fusarium wilt and stunt diseases, having short duration maturity (110 days) and a yield potential of >2ton/ha under drought stress conditions over the recurrent parent JG 16 (1.3 ton/ha).

It will enhance productivity in the drought-prone

Company plans to expand further around the EU, multiplying its impact capacity, from 1 billion protected pollinators in 2022 to 10 billion in 2023.

Italy -based Biodiversity Company 3Bee which operates both in the B2C and B2B protection of ecosystems and pollinators area has raised EU 5 million in a series A funding round. The round was joined by Ag funder Grow impact fund, one of the world’s most active food-tech and ag-tech VCs, Anya Capital, an Italian fund focused on impact venture, and ESA (European Space Agency), who allocated a capital of 700,000 euros for the study of biodiversity through satellites and multispectral imaging.

The company said it plans to use the freshly raised funds to strengthen its biodiversity impact and technology data mapping infrastructure and for recruitment across the international business development, awareness-raising programs, and ESG service development verticals.

The startup, founded in 2017 by Niccolò Calandri and Riccardo Balzaretti, operates as a tech-enabled agent of impact solutions such as regeneration programs for pollinators subsistence and ecosystem rebalancing for biodiversity survival in areas burdened by monocultures, cities, and industrialization.

Just in Europe in the last 20 years, the biodiversity has lost up to 20 per cent of the total species living in France and Germany. France covers the 6th place in the list of countries with the highest number of threatened species. (Source, IUCN red list).

Among the 500 brands, from logistics, real estate, fashion, food, retail, agri, and human care sectors that collaborate with 3Bee in Italy, stands out the partnership with Genagricola, with whom 3Bee is developing regenerative solutions for pollinator-proof agriculture and photovoltaics.

Company plans to expand further around the

As per MoU, WayCool will list and promote Yara’s products amongst Outgrow Network Partners and share Package of Practices for 20 crops.

 India’s leading food & agri-tech platform, WayCool, announced the extension of its Agri-input portfolio by adding the sale of nutrition & nitrogen fertilizers to its AI-driven ‘phygital’ farmer engagement platform, Outgrow. As part of this move, WayCool has entered a strategic partnership with Yara India, the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producer. The partnership aims to offer superior crop nutrition while facilitating chemical and environmental solutions that have minimal impact on soil health and drip irrigation systems, to enhance overall crop productivity. As part of the MoU, WayCool will list and promote Yara’s products amongst Outgrow Network Partners and share Package of Practices for 20 crops.

Commenting on the occasion, Sanjay Dasari, Co-founder, WayCool Foods, said, “Against the backdrop, where food security is a global concern, India and Indian farmers have a pivotal role to play. WayCool is transforming the entire food supply chain to a demand-driven one making it profitable for them. We welcome Yara India to WayCool’s partner family in contributing to this mission. We believe this strategic partnership will be the final piece of WayCool integrating the food value chain puzzle, making us a comprehensive soil-to-sale organization.”

Adding to this, N Sendhil Kumar, Head – Outgrow & Farmer Engagement, WayCool Foods, said, “We welcome Yara India to WayCool’s partner network. This partnership will enable our farmers to access the best global practices and existing Indian practices. As part of the MoU, Yara India products will be available to our wide network of over 200,000 farmers, and over 100 Outgrow Network Partners across various locations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana & Maharashtra. Further, our farmer network will have access to a Package of Practices for 20 crops.”

“At Outgrow, we ensure next-gen tech and know-how accessible to farmers, and have successfully demonstrated how natural farming adds to profitability. This partnership with Yara India adds-on to our comprehensive offering by making responsible farm inputs available as well”.

On the partnership, Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director, Yara South Asia said, “We at Yara India aim to achieve climate neutrality and decarbonize agriculture in the coming years, while also favorably impacting farmer diversity. With this shared vision, we are delighted to partner with WayCool, who are working towards transforming India’s food economy besides being meticulous about the footprint they create, and we are certain that this association will make agriculture sustainable and fruitful.”

As per MoU, WayCool will list and

Focal Theme: “Science & Technology: Development with Women Empowerment”

The Indian Science Congress (ISC), being held from 3rd to 7th January 2022 at Nagpur would focus on scientific development in India under a feminine veil keeping in view the women empowerment and socio-political changing scenario.

The Theme of 108th Indian Science Congress therefore has been aptly chosen as “SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT with WOMEN EMPOWERMENT”.

The forthcoming ISC has been designed to celebrate the spirit of womanhood and their remarkable contribution in the field of Science and Technology. In sync with their natural gift to generate, women have stood out as a true harbinger and have led the foundation of a number of innovative and niche developments and discoveries. The Congress aims to address all the key issues that are obstacles to the growth of Women in the fields of Science & Technology.

As per the precedence, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi would inaugurate the 108th Indian Science Congress on 3rd January 2023. Eminent scientists, industry leaders, technocrats, policy makers and academicians would grace the occasion.

Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), one of the premier educational institutions of central India, established in 1923 & hence celebrating centennial year of establishment, will be playing the role of the ‘host university’ for ISC.

A key highlight of the event is the Pride of India (PoI)-Mega Science Exhibition that has emerged as a unique platform for organisations from both public and prvicate sectors to showcase their achievements in science and technology.

Vigyan Jyot (Flame of Knowledge) remains lit at the venue of the Indian Science Congress PoI Expo for the duration of the Congress. Lakhs of students, dignitaries and general public visit Vigyan Jyot every year and take an oath to spread the awareness of science.

A dedicated pavilion called the Hall of Pride will portray the life journey of unique personalities who have created indelible mark not just in India but globally in the field of science and technology.

Established in 1914, Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is the premier Indian Science Community organisation. For the last 107 years, ISCA has been bringing together has been bringing together the entire scientific fraternity to discuss the key issues related to various streams of science.

Thrust Areas:

Defence  Nanotechnology  Agriculture  Biodiversity  Biotechnology  Environmental Science  Bio energy  Renewable Energy  Medical Sciences  Climate change  Electronic Sector  Space Science & Technology  ICT  Transportation  Child health care  Water Management  Technologies for physically challenged  Science education for women  Skill development  Startup  Innovation

Focal Theme: “Science & Technology: Development with

NHB to promote convergence of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme with its credit linked subsidy schemes

The 32nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Horticulture Board (NHB) was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Chairman of the Board, Narendra Singh Tomar. It was decided that the process of approval of horticulture projects will be simplified for the farmers. Instead of two stages, the process of approval will now be completed in one go and it will be completely digital, along with minimum documents will be required, as a result of which the farmers will not face any problem. Significantly, many projects which used to be approved in a time period of about 6 to 8 months, will now be approved in just 45 days.

As a follow up on this process, the scheme design, application filing system, documentation and approval process have been further simplified. The new simple design will come into effect from January 1, 2023. Union Minister Shri Tomar expressed the hope that this process will make the system more transparent and efficient, promote Ease of Doing Business for the benefit of the farming community and generate more hi-tech commercial projects for NHB funding. In the new design, NHB has also taken initiative to promote convergence of Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) scheme with its credit linked subsidy schemes.

The meeting also discussed in detail the new initiative of NHB- Swachh Plant Programme, under which the problem of availability of planting material to the farmers will be solved by spending Rs 2100 crore with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB). This will largely solve the problem of planting material, especially for many commercially important fruits. This programme will go a long way in providing a major contribution to the much-needed quality planting material for horticulture crops in the country.

NHB to promote convergence of Agriculture Infrastructure

Funding round to enable Eion continue building out distribution partnerships and expand availability of its patented CarbonLock™

Eion, a permanent carbon removal technology company, today announced the close of a Series A funding round exceeding $12 million. The round was co-led by AgFunder and Ridgeline, along with participation from a broad coalition of strategic climate, ag tech, financial and impact investors, as well as upstream mineral supplier Sibelco. New and returning investors also include Carbon Removal Partners, Mercator Partners, Orion, Overture, SLVC and Trailhead Capital.

This funding round will enable Eion to continue to build out its distribution partnerships and expand availability of its patented CarbonLock™, a nature-based soil amendment that removes atmospheric carbon dioxide, permanently and verifiably, through enhanced rock weathering on agricultural soils. The company will also use the funds to attract high-impact talent to build out its financial, commercial and science teams.

“Eion’s technology enables permanent carbon removal on agricultural soils, but our vision is so much broader. Eion seeks to leverage carbon removal as a tool to diversify agriculture and sustain land productivity, improve margins for farmers, support the bedrock American businesses in our supply chain, and boost rural vitality,” said Adam Wolf, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eion. “It takes a broad tent to face challenges of this magnitude. We’re grateful to be engaged with a coalition of investors and partners who recognise the potential and opportunity for our carbon removal technology to leverage American capabilities to decarbonise our economy while bringing new opportunities to rural areas.”

In addition to offering a permanent carbon removal solution, CarbonLock™ fits seamlessly into current farming practices. CarbonLock™ is processed to achieve a fast carbon absorption rate, allowing it to efficiently sequester carbon. CarbonLock™ can be applied using existing aglime spreading equipment at a prescribed agronomic rate to maximise carbon capture. The product removes about one ton of CO2 per ton of rock applied. Eion measures the carbon captured through its patented mineral fingerprinting approach, verifying and monitoring the application of rock, as well as the weathering rate, to determine the final amount of carbon removed. For farmers, this process simply entails collecting and sharing soil samples, a familiar part of almost any agronomic approach.

Since its founding in 2020, Eion has achieved several key milestones including:

– Creating an upstream supply chain that provides immediate access to mineral resources representing millions of tons of annual CO2 removal.

– Establishing commercial relationships with distribution partners across the South, Mid-South and Midwest that provide access to millions of U.S. acres under management.

– CarbonLock™ is comparable to the cost of aglime. In addition to the carbon removal benefits, current data suggest that Eion’s technology may increase yield as well as nitrogen utilisation and efficiency. Once applied and weathered, farms using CarbonLock™ will receive audited proof of permanent carbon removal, which can be used to generate high-quality, verifiable carbon credits that add value to the acre and revenue for the farmer.

– In 2021, Stripe Climate entered into a Carbon Removal Purchase Agreement with Eion, noting CarbonLock™ as a new technology with “high potential to scale.”

– Alongside the company’s aglime substitute development, Eion has conducted extensive field trials to validate its approach for verification of mineral weathering rates and carbon removal, complemented by mechanistic lab and greenhouse studies with partner universities and governmental agencies.

– Eion continues to build a team of professionals from a wide range of backgrounds including agronomy, soil geochemistry, plant science, carbon capture and removal, mineral processing, and operations, finance and policy. Eion Founder and CEO Adam Wolf is a serial entrepreneur, having previously founded leading field intelligence company Arable Labs, and holds a PhD in Biology from Stanford University.

“Eion’s CarbonLock™ solution offers farmers a low-disruption way to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere,” said Tom Shields, Partner at AgFunder. “We are excited to work with Eion to accelerate the use of carbon removal as a crucial part of addressing climate change.”

“Public corporations and governments will increasingly seek permanent, scalable carbon removal to meet their ESG goals and mandates,” said Brandon Harris, Principal at Ridgeline. “Eion’s rare combination of strong agricultural co-benefits for farmers and high capacity for verifiable carbon removal positions the company to be a leader in carbon markets going forward.”

“As a material solutions company, environmental responsibility and long-term resource management are central to Sibelco’s day-to-day business. Our investment in Eion aligns well with our ambitious global sustainability and biodiversity targets,” said Ian Sedgman, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer at Sibelco, an upstream partner to Eion. “We are excited to support Eion and its talented team as they continue to expand low-cost enhanced rock weathering to more farmers across the U.S. and enable additional permanent carbon removal at scale.”

“Reaching the scale of carbon removal necessary to hit our climate targets requires new, innovative technologies like Eion’s,” said Joanna Klitzke, Procurement and Ecosystem Strategy lead at Frontier Climate, the carbon removal consortium funded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, McKinsey and tens of thousands of businesses using Stripe Climate, which purchased carbon removals from Eion in 2021. “We’re excited about the potential of Eion’s solution to be deployed quickly, at low cost and high volumes.” 

“CarbonLock™’s unique market fit as an aglime replacement means participation isn’t disruptive to current fertility practices. The product allows many farmers who are already being good environmental stewards to capitalise on the opportunity to permanently remove carbon in a sustainable way with rock solid assurance,” said Cam Smith, CEO at AGRIgate, an agricultural channel partner to Eion. “Eion’s simple apply, remove and calculate approach is one of a kind. AGRIgate is excited to partner and scale this amazing technology with Eion.”  

Funding round to enable Eion continue building

Data products and services of RISAT-1A satellite now available for the user community

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) Science & Technology; Minister of State (I/C) Earth Sciences; Minister of State PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, today formally released the data products and services of RISAT-1A satellite for the user community.

On the occasion, an MoU was signed between the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Department of Space to develop the Krishi-Decision Support System (Krishi-DSS) using geospatial technologies and related databases for enhancing evidence based decision making capability of all the stakeholders in the agriculture sector.

Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Manoj Ahuja and Secretary, Department of Space, ISRO Chairman and Chairman, Space Commission,S Somnath, Himanshu Pathak,Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) and other senior officials were present on this occasion. The event was attended by representatives of various user Ministries/ Departments on online mode.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is developing Krishi-DSS, a decision support system, on the lines of Gati Shakti, using RISAT-1A and VEDAS of Department of Space. This will enhance the evidence-based decision-making capability of all the stakeholders in the agriculture sector by way of integration with MOSDAC and BHUVAN (Geo-platform) of ISRO and systems of ICAR.

Addressing on the occasion, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that a new dimension is being added in the field of agriculture. Revolution is being initiated in the agriculture sector through space science. He said that the agreement between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Space will further enhance the strength of the agriculture sector. If this knowledge reaches the farmers, their production and productivity will increase. The quality of production will increase and export opportunities will also increase.

Tomar said that the agriculture sector is very important in our country and in the whole world. Along with livelihood, this sector is working to speed up the country’s economy and provide employment to a large population. Earlier the sector suffered due to lack of knowledge and private investment. The amount of change, knowledge and investment needed in this area has not happened. This is the reason why the agriculture sector has not progressed as much as it should. In the year 2014, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the work, he had a desire to take the country forward and work was done to connect it with new dimensions. Because of this, all the departments including the Department of Space changed their working methods, fixed targets and planned effective targets. Its effect is visible in the country today. Agriculture Department is also working on AgriStack. Work is being done to increase the income of the farmer and to save him from losses by forecasting.

Tomar said that crop estimation, allotment to states, survey to declare an area dry, disaster assessment, – all these tasks will become easy after adopting technology. This technology is very beneficial for the agriculture sector as well as the country. After the completion of AgriStack, there will be a revolutionary change in the field of agriculture.

Addressing the gathering, Minister of State, Jitendra Singh said that RISAT-1A data would be extremely useful in developing decision support systems for Agriculture, Bioresources, Environment, Water Resources and Disaster Management. He said efforts were made to make this coordination and cooperation possible.

Jitendra Singh said that the main achievement in the last eight years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi was to use science for Ease of Living and it should be taken out from the laboratory. He further informed that in the year 2020, the rules of the Department of Space were amended. 

He said that the Prime Minister talks about the “whole of Government” approach, today is a good example of this being achieved. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Home Affairs have been connected through this technique and now Ministry of Agriculture is also getting onboard. When the next generation of RISAT satellites will come, it will have more frequency as well as accuracy. This cooperation should increase further, he added.

Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Manoj Ahuja said that this initiative would help to increase the interventions in Agriculture through the use of emerging technologies and open up the power of data and digital opportunities in the Agriculture sector by fostering an innovation ecosystem. He said, with the help of RISAT-1A data, production and productivity and the quality of produce will also increase.

Secretary, Department of Space, S Somnath said that RISAT-1A is India’s first Radar Imaging Satellite, which was launched on February 14, 2022. RISAT-1A is an all-weather satellite and can penetrate deep into vegetation. It can take high resolution geospatial images regardless of lighting conditions.   He said this MoU will provide the digital foundation for inclusive, self-sustained and sustainable growth of Indian Agriculture.

A technical workshop was also organised by ISRO as part of the event, wherein case studies and potential applications were demonstrated using RISAT-1A data for the benefit of the user community. RISAT-1A data is received, processed and disseminated by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad, through its Bhoonidhi Geoportal.

Data products and services of RISAT-1A satellite