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AgroPolicy, Oilseeds, Trade

Futures trading in mustard oil on NCDEX has been suspended and stock limits on oils and oilseeds have been imposed

In a bid to reign in the continuous rise in the cooking oil prices since the past one year, the basic duty on crude palm oil, crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil has been cut from 2.5 per cent to nil by the Government of India. The agri-cess on these oils has been brought down from 20 per cent to 7.5 per cent for crude palm oil and 5 per cent for crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil.

Consequent to the above reduction, the total duty is now 7.5 per cent for crude palm oil and 5 per cent for crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil. The basic duty on RBD palmolein oil has been slashed to 12.5 per cent from 17.5 per cent recently. The basic duty on refined soyabean and refined sunflower oil has been slashed to 17.5 per cent from the current 32.5 per cent. Before reduction, the agricultural infrastructure cess on all forms of crude edible oils was 20 per cent. Post reduction, the effective duty on crude palm oil will be 8.25 per cent, crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil will be 5.5 per cent each.

Apart from rationalising import duties on palm oil, sunflower oil and soyabean oil, futures trading in mustard oil on NCDEX has been suspended and stock limits on oils and oilseeds have been imposed.

Despite international commodity prices being high, interventions made by Central Government along with State Governments’ pro-active involvement have led to a reduction in prices of edible oils. The department is regularly interacting with the oil industry associations and leading market players and has convinced them to reduce the MRP which will translate to passing on the benefit of duty reduction to end consumers. As per the trend from 167 price collection centres, edible oil prices have declined quite significantly in the range of Rs 5 and 20 per kg in the major retail markets across the country.

Major edible Oil players including Adani Willmar and Ruchi Industries have cut prices by Rs 15 -20 per litre. The other players that have reduced the prices of edible oils are Gemini Edibles & Fats India, Hyderabad, Modi Naturals, Delhi, Gokul Re-foils and Solvent, Vijay Solvex, Gokul Agro Resources and NK. Proteins.

The government has recently started to control the prices of oil concerning soya meal. Stock limit on soya meal which is a major source of protein and constitutes almost 30 per cent of livestock feed has been imposed that will be effective till June 2022 by including it in the Schedule to Essential Commodities Act, 1955. This will cool down the prices and improve supply.

Futures trading in mustard oil on NCDEX

Agro Universities, Agrotech

The prog will help farmers enhance productivity and profitability

The ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in association with the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) is organising an E-training Programme on “Agricultural Engineering Technologies for Enhancing Productivity and Profitability in Agriculture Sector” till January 21, 2022.

Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Kanchan Kumar Singh, ADG (Farm Engineering), ICAR highlighted the importance of mechanisation in the production and post-production agriculture for ensuring timely operation, precise input applications and loss reduction.

His Excellency, Dr Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary-General, AARDO opined that mechanization technologies are highly relevant to develop countries. He also stressed that such technologies developed by the ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal and other organisations must reach AARDO member countries for sustainable and profitable agriculture.

Dr CR Mehta, Director, ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal briefed about the Institute’s activities. He also underlined the main objective of the programme to share the innovative agricultural engineering technologies developed by the institute and other organisations for up-skilling and sensitising the participants in the fields of pre and post-harvest mechanisation.

A total of 74 participants from 19 AARDO Member Countries including India are participating in the programme.

The prog will help farmers enhance productivity

Agrotech, Poultry

Galleon and Birdoo are the latest innovative solutions to help maximise animal health and flock performance

Cargill is assembling a portfolio of AI-driven innovations through proprietary development and strategic partnerships to go beyond nutrition and help customers optimise their operations with actionable insights. Cargill has added two new products to its portfolio of AI-driven innovations- Galleon and Birdoo which offers poultry producers actionable insights.

Cargill’s patent-pending Galleon tool enables broiler producers to decide how changes such as in raw materials, diet, additives, vaccine programs, and farm management practices influence the microbiome of their flock.

Galleon can help producers improve the flock’s performance for economic benefit by means including but not limited to switching feed and additives or improving management practices. It further, pinpoint reasons why different farms with the same inputs, like feed management and antibiotic regimens, have different performance results.

“An animal’s gut microbiome influences its health in so many ways,” said Cargill’s principal microbiome researcher, Dr Briana Kozlowicz. “We’ve accumulated an industry-leading volume of microbiome data that we can now tap into to provide actionable insights to our customers to improve the performance of their flocks.”

To help producers better track broiler performance, Cargill has teamed up with digital technology enablement firm, Knex, to develop ‘Birdoo’, a first-of-its-kind technology that leverages proprietary computer visioning and artificial intelligence that combines hands-free, real-time flock insights with predictive modelling data. This helps producers make informed decisions quicker while supporting their bottom lines through better animal health and well-being, increased uniformity and improved performance of their flocks.

Birdoo will help Cargill producers:

  • Replace manual weighing with precision through 3D imaging
  • Track broiler performance and weight variability in real-time
  • Reduce processing variability and save on costs through better harvest planning

Galleon and Birdoo are the latest innovative

Agro chems – Fertilizers

The project is expected to be completed by August 2024.

Pune-based Smartchem Technologies Limited (STL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL), a trusted chemicals and fertiliser manufacturer in India, has laid a foundation stone of its Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) complex at Gopalpur Industrial Park on December 9, 2021. CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation of the project in presence of Chairman & MD of STL, Sailesh Mehta, and Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister of Energy; Industries; Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

The project is being built with an investment of Rs 2,200 crore and will have a capacity of 377 KTPA. The plant has the best-in-class technology from Casale, that ensures safest plant with lowest possible emission. The project is expected to be completed by August 2024.

On project completion and commencement, Odisha will become a key source of TAN to the entire Eastern Belt where majority of Mining and Infrastructure growth is foreseen in future.  It will generate employment for 1,500 people during the project phase and 325 people during the operation phase.

Sailesh Mehta, said, “STL is partnering with Odisha to support growth in the Mining & Infrastructure Sector and this complex is the first step to accomplish our ten-year-old dream to expand operations in the Eastern Region and come closer to our end users. Technical Ammonium Nitrate is a very important raw material that will fuel the infrastructure, economy, and development of the nation. We are looking forward to reducing our dependence on imports and the Gopalpur Industrial Park’s strategic location may help us do that very quickly in the near future. Tata SEZL can attract ancillary units and become a hub for development.”

The project is expected to be completed

Environment, R&D

Intend to provide home gardeners with effective pheromone solutions to protect plants while respecting biodiversity

SBM Life Science and M2i, the European leader in producing and distributing biocontrol pheromones, are joining forces through an exclusive R&D partnership to develop and distribute pheromone solutions to gardeners.

SBM Life Science’s ambition is to ease the daily life of consumers, experts, and neo-gardeners by offering innovative, effective, and responsible solutions for their plants, gardens and living spaces.

M2i, a French company specialising in the research, production, and distribution of biological protection products for plants and crops, responded to SBM Life Science’s request to work with them to develop
new pheromone solutions specifically for the garden market.

Together, SBM Life Science and M2i intend to provide home gardeners with effective pheromone solutions to protect plants while respecting biodiversity. M2i, which already offers numerous solutions
in Europe for the agricultural, green space and garden markets, will use its R&D know-how and ability to design breakthrough products to offer SBM answers to some of their specific needs in the garden market.

The first fruits of this cooperation, intended for the European and American markets, should be available in 2024 via SBM Life Science’s usual distribution channels such as DIY stores, garden centres and
general stores, and online marketplaces.

Intend to provide home gardeners with effective

Agrotech, R&D

Invites global researchers to submit novel crop protection compounds through the new programme 

Bayer announced the launch of Testing4Ag, a new programme that allows research scientists from around the world to submit novel chemistries to Bayer for testing in hopes of identifying potential new modes of action to control fungal diseases, insect pests, or weeds. Testing4Ag, a part of Bayer’s Open4Ag partnership development and innovation approach, seeks to develop the newest generation of crop protection products that safely and sustainably address the changing needs of producers.

“Bayer is the leader in agricultural R&D and we are committed to driving the future of agriculture by delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems facing farmers both today and tomorrow,” said Bob Reiter, Head of Research and Development at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Testing4Ag will combine the transformative ideas of pioneering researchers with Bayer’s knowledge, experts, and resources without taking ownership of the intellectual property participants contribute.”

Testing4Ag is executed in partnership with Halo and will help scientists learn more about their compounds through testing and transparent results. The submitted compounds will be assessed via state-of-the-art biological testing against a wide variety of plant pathogens, weed species, insect and nematode pests, and/or vectors. Test results will be shared back directly with participants who can freely use them in continued research. In further commitment to open innovation, researchers and their institutions will retain all rights to the potential intellectual property generated through the Testing4Ag programme.

“Testing4Ag is an ambitious programme because developing crop protection products that help farmers feed the world in the face of climate change, while further reducing the environmental impact of agriculture is an ambitious goal,” said Rachel Rama, Head of Small Molecules at Bayer’s Crop Science Division. “Individual researchers, universities, even small startups can help add to our understanding of solutions to the most important problems facing agriculture right now. We welcome them to participate in Testing4Ag.”

Invites global researchers to submit novel crop

Agrotech, E-commerce

StoreHippo’s agritech solutions are powered by MACH architecture which gives the agro-based brands freedom to experiment and implement hybrid business models.

Agritech is a booming sector and India alone is home to 1000+ Agro-based startups. However, the sector has its own challenges. StoreHippo, the next-generation e-commerce platform is offering agritech brands build next-gen solutions for their unique business requirements and move ahead of their competition.

StoreHippo’s agritech solutions are powered by MACH (Micro services, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) architecture which gives the agro-based brands complete freedom to experiment and implement hybrid business models.

Some of StoreHippo’s exclusive offerings that facilitate agritech brands are:

  • Hyperlocal marketplace model to enable businesses to run hyperlocal marketplace powered by dealers who can streamline local deliveries more efficiently.
  • A complete solution to build and manage multiple storefronts from a centralised admin.
  • Multilingual website and admin panel to facilitate farmers and other stakeholders in doing business in their local languages.
  • Mobile apps and mobile-first solutions to reach sellers, dealers and customers on their mobile apps.
  • Complete B2B and D2C e-Commerce solutions to enable wholesale and retail business channels from a single agritech portal.
  • Seamless integrations with chosen payment channels, delivery partners, marketing tools, ERP, CRM, accounting software etc.
  • Inbuilt delivery boy solution so farmers and dealers can manage their own fleet of delivery boys.

According to Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, StoreHippo, “The next agricultural revolution is happening in the digital space. Agriculture which contributes 20 per cent to Indian GDP needs a major facelift to align with the changing market and customer demands. Innovative agritech solutions are bringing data-driven insights to farmers for better yield, crop protection, sustainability and growth. The agriculture sector also needs easy and quick access to the market to help agri-producers and sellers get better ROI for their hard work. To connect the various tools and technologies for better agro-production, distribution and sale the agriculture sector needs uniquely designed cutting edge agritech solutions. StoreHippo offers broad-spectrum agritech solutions that can modernise and streamline agriculture as a profitable business for all stakeholders. The agile and flexible StoreHippo platform can be easily modified at the front-end and the back-end to accommodate the unique requirements of agriculture.”

StoreHippo’s agritech solutions are powered by MACH

AgroPolicy, Logistics, Trade

The USDA approval would pave the way for exports from traditional mango production belts such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

The Central Government has secured the approval of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the export of Indian mangoes to the US in the new season. Consumers in the US will now have access to excellent quality mangoes from India.

The export of Indian mangoes has been restricted by the US since 2020 as USDA inspectors were unable to visit India for inspection of irradiation facility due to restrictions imposed on international travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, according to the 12th India – USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting held on November 23, 2021, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a framework agreement for implementing the 2 Vs 2 Agri market access issues.

Under the agreement, India and the US would follow joint protocol on irradiation for India’s mango exports and pomegranate exports to the US and import of cherries and Alfalfa hay from the US. 

A revised work plan has been worked out, including phase-wise transfer of oversight of preclearance of Irradiation treatment to India as agreed upon between both countries.

As part of the mutual agreement, India will be able to export mangoes to the US in the mango season commencing with the Alphonso variety of mangoes from March onwards. Notably, there is a huge acceptance and consumer preference of Indian mangoes in the US as India had exported 800 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of mangoes to the US in 2017-18 and the export value of the fruit was $ 2.75 million.

Similarly, in 2018-19, 951 MT mangoes of $3.63 million were exported to the US and 1,095 MT of $4.35 million of mangoes were exported to the US in 2019-20. As per estimates received from the exporters, the export of mangoes in 2022, may surpass the figures of 2019-20.

The USDA approval would pave the way for exports from traditional mango production belts such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) said that this would also provide an opportunity for the export of other delicious varieties of mangoes from North and East India such as Langra, Chausa, Dushehri, Fazli, etc from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. 

The pomegranate exports from April 2022. Exports of Alfalfa hay and cherries from the US will begin in April 2022.

The USDA approval would pave the way

Agro chems – Chemicals, Environment, Inputs

Enlist herbicides received a seven-year registration through January 11, 2029.

Corteva Agriscience, a global pure-play agriculture company has announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed the registration amendment process for Enlist One and Enlist Duo herbicides, giving farmers certainty in product availability as they complete their 2022 seed planting and crop protection plans. Enlist herbicides received a seven-year registration through January 11, 2029.

The Enlist weed control system includes Enlist herbicides, Enlist Ahead, Enlist E3 soybeans, Enlist cotton and Enlist corn. The comprehensive system offers multiple herbicide modes of action to control tough weeds and is centred around 2,4-D choline with Colex-D technology, which provides key benefits including near-zero volatility, reduced potential for off-target movement and physical drift, and improved handling characteristics. Further, Enlist cotton and Enlist E3 soybean crops are tolerant to three herbicide modes of action, 2,4-D, glufosinate and glyphosate, allowing for a robust integrated weed management program to tackle herbicide resistance and improve the sustainability of farmers’ weed control practices.

“Farmers have been drawn to the technology’s weed control results and flexible timing for use,” said Susanne Wasson, president, Crop Protection Business Platform for Corteva Agriscience.

The Enlist herbicide registration amendment process included EPA conducting updated data analyses and initiating appropriate agency consultations to help confirm Enlist herbicides continue to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As part of that process, EPA updated its ecological and ESA risk assessments, resulting in the addition of targeted risk mitigation measures to the Enlist herbicide labels.

Furthermore, Enlist Ahead was launched with the Enlist system to provide farmers with the confidence they need to trust the system and achieve on-target herbicide applications. The Enlist Ahead program helps customers with on-target applications and sound weed management practices for successful, sustainable use of the Enlist weed control system. 

Enlist herbicides received a seven-year registration through January

Bee keeping, Sustainability

The projects will enable both companies to expand each other’s product offerings, markets and customer base

Bee Vectoring Technologies International and BioSafe Systems have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where the companies have agreed to enter into detailed discussions on multiple business partnership projects that call upon each other’s expertise. BioSafe and BVT are both leaders in the agricultural biologicals industry with a similar customer base and offer services and products that are complementary to one another.

The projects will enable both companies to expand each other’s product offerings, markets and customer base. Opportunities include pairing BioSafe biologicals with BVT’s bee vectoring system and using BVT’s Clonostachys rosea CR-7 (CR-7) strain for non-bee-vectoring applications. Specific agreements in these areas will follow after evaluations and more detailed discussions on business terms.

BioSafe has a 23-year history as an innovator of environmentally sustainable products and has a team of 100 people across the US, Mexico, Canada, and South America. BioSafe serves a broad customer base in the agriculture, horticulture, post-harvest/food safety, aquatics, home and garden, turf, and commercial/industrial sanitation markets.

BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system proven to replace chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially managed bees while increasing crop yields. BVT has also been testing and is seeing positive results for the use of its proprietary CR-7 strain in foliar and soil applications.

The projects will enable both companies to

Agrotech, Finance

At FFA2022, attendees will be taken on a virtual journey to experience the impact of such digital technology and venture capital on farms, finances and family

ID Capital has announced the sixth edition of Future Food Asia – APAC’s premier AgriFoodTech competition, and its anchor partners at the Future Food Asia conference.

Future Food Asia 2022 (FFA2022) returns for its sixth edition to continue advancing these conversations on innovation and entrepreneurship in the AgriFoodTech sector in APAC. With the support of its partners over the past five years, FFA has empowered over 60 early-stage start-ups from APAC by providing them with a unique platform to present their cutting-edge innovations and has distributed over $ 1 million in awards. At FFA, attendees gain strategic insights through fireside chats, debates, keynote speeches and unparalleled networking opportunities to engage with industry experts, thought leaders, academia, investors and entrepreneurs.

At FFA2022, attendees will be taken on a virtual journey to experience the impact of such digital technology and venture capital on farms, finances and family.

ID Capital will also release a white paper on Waste-to-Value in APAC at the conference. This will include perspectives and insights from innovators and corporate leaders who are playing a critical role in accelerating waste-to-value technologies to extract maximum value out of different waste streams while reducing the unusable waste quantity to a bare minimum.

At its 2022 edition, FFA welcomes back Cargill as its Title Partner and also to join the Jury.

At FFA2022, attendees will be taken on

Agrotech, Environment

The service is offered at no extra charge with every roll of Rivulis drip line and tape

Rivulis, a global leader in developing, manufacturing, and deploying micro-irrigation products and solutions, has launched ReelView, giving growers using Rivulis products access to an advanced set of crop monitoring tools from their mobile phone.

The service is offered at no extra charge with every roll of Rivulis drip line and tape. ReelView uses satellite imagery and advanced algorithms to enable growers to detect irrigation, fertiliser, disease, and other issues, even before they can be seen with the naked eye by looking out for changes in vegetation and plant wetness. These are represented by easy-to-use colour-coded fields maps. ReelView is powered by Manna, Rivulis’ Irrigation Intelligence service.

By monitoring vegetation variations and abnormalities, growers can identify under irrigated areas in the field that warrant further investigation. By contrast, plant wetness variability shows different moisture levels in the plants themselves, not the soil. Irrigation problems often show up first by a lack of moisture in plants so that issues can be identified early. Plant wetness variability might also indicate the over-irrigation of crops.

ReelView lets growers analyse the development of their crops throughout the season and up to three years of historic field data. It also provides hyper-local weather data specific to their fields.

ReelView is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Romanian, and Russian, with more languages available soon.
By helping growers using our products better spot possible issues regarding irrigation and plant health, the free ReelView app is their crop’s eye in the sky.

The service is offered at no extra

AgroPolicy, Interaction

Discussions were held on training of fish farmers on sustainable practices in Andhra Pradesh

Dr Poonam Malakondaiah, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperation, AHDD & Fisheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh recently visited the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata for an interface meeting on “Encouraging Fish Culture Technologies in Large Water Bodies with Special Emphasis on Enclosure Culture in Andhra Pradesh”. Dr Malakondaiah was accompanied by K Kanna Babu, Commissioner of Fisheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

In her address, Dr Malakondaiah underlined the state activities and Ventures of the Fisheries Sector like Farmer Field Schools in collaboration with state universities and the establishment of a Fisheries University at West Godavari District. She also highlighted the two major areas of concern for the fisheries in Andhra Pradesh, viz., training of farmers on sustainable practices and focusing on the quality of produce rather than quantity. Dr Malakondaiah stressed on the long and sustainable partnership with the ICAR-CIFRI for the development of Inland Fisheries Sector in Andhra Pradesh.

Babu underlined the possibility of partnership with the ICAR-CIFRI in future for promoting the cage culture in the Reservoirs of Andhra Pradesh. He also expressed his concern regarding the low domestic consumption of fishes in Andhra Pradesh even though the State leads in aquaculture production.

Earlier, delivering the welcome address, Dr BK Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore, Kolkata briefed the dignitaries about the Institute’s activities and achievements. 

Discussions were held on training of fish

Biofuel industry, Environment, Supply Chain

Summit Carbon Solutions is developing the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world

Summit Carbon Solutions has announced a new partnership with Northern Plains Nitrogen (NPN) in its carbon capture and storage project, which is focused on decarbonising the agriculture and biofuels industries.

NPN is developing a world-scale blue ammonia plant near Grand Forks, North Dakota, which will supply a range of low carbon nitrogen-based fertilizer products to farmers in under-served markets in the northern United States and Canada.  The project site has been acquired and necessary permits have been received to begin site work.

Summit Carbon Solutions is developing the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world, which will have the capacity to capture and permanently store 12 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.

“NPN and Summit Carbon Solutions share the same goal of lowering the carbon footprint of agriculture while supporting farmers,” said Jim Pirolli, Chief Commercial Officer of Summit Carbon Solutions. 

NPN will capture 500,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide emissions, which Summit Carbon Solutions will transport and store permanently in central North Dakota. 

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said, “As the first state in the nation to achieve primacy over carbon capture permitting, North Dakota is well-positioned to lead the nation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage. We’re grateful for this investment by Northern Plains Nitrogen and Summit Carbon Solutions as we seek to grow our agriculture, energy and bio-fuels industries with environmental stewardship and positive economic impact for generations to come.”

Summit Carbon Solutions is developing the largest