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Home2022 (Page 23)
Acts & Schemes – Centre, India

Centre to continue providing all possible assistance to the farmers in coastal states to promote coconut cultivation in the country

While addressing the Coconut Community Farmers’ Conference in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu. Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Centre will continue to provide all possible assistance to the farmers in the coastal states to promote coconut cultivation in the country.

Tomar further said that he is happy to be among the coconut farmers, and congratulated the Coconut Development Board and Sugarcane Breeding Institute for their initiatives towards the prosperity of the coconut growers community. With the increase in the number of coconut based industries in the country, new products and many employment opportunities are also increasing in the market.

Presently there are 697 Coconut Growers Societies, 73 Coconut Growers Federations and 19 Coconut Producing Companies in the State. Support has been given to set up 537 new processing units in India with a processing capacity of 3,638 million coconuts per year. In the end, Tomar said that the schemes of the Central Government are for the prosperity of the farmers and to bring happiness in their lives.

Centre to continue providing all possible assistance

India

To unleash new possibilities in academia-industry research collaboration in future

Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (ICAR-CIAE), Bhopal and CNH Industrial (India) Pvt. Ltd – (NEW HOLLAND TRACTORS) have signed an MoU at ICAR, Krishi Anusandhan Bhawan, New Delhi in the presence Dr S N Jha, DDG (Engg), Dr C R Mehta, Director, ICAR-CIAE and Rajender Chaudhary, Director, CNH (India). The MoU primarily aims at development of public-private partnership and industry-ready human resources in the field of farm mechanisation.

As per the MoU, ICAR-CIAE will offer space and AV facilities for organising the training programmes. CNH (India) will invest in the development of the training centre, facility creation, training equipment, and upkeep the facility to the industry practices. 

This Academy-Industry cooperation will benefit industrial and academic trainees to access new facilities for skill upgradation and to know new development in tractor industries. It will also open a new vista for exploring many possibilities in academia-industry research collaboration in future.

To unleash new possibilities in academia-industry research

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Fertilizers, India, Start ups

The PM also inaugurated the Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates a two-day event titled “PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022” at Mela Ground, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi. On this occasion, Modi released Rs 16,000 crore under the PM-KISAN flagship scheme as 12th instalment through Direct Benefit Transfer. He also inaugurated the Agri Startup Conclave and Exhibition. 

Under the scheme, eligible farmer families are provided a benefit of Rs 6000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2000 each, every four months. The benefit is then transferred directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer mode, using modern digital technology.

Along with that, he also inaugurated 600 PM Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PM-KSK) of Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers and will launch Bharat Urea Bags, India’s biggest move in fertilisers-One Nation One Fertiliser Scheme for Farmers.

On this occasion, Modi addressed crores of farmers, Agri Start-ups, Researchers, Policymakers, Bankers and other stakeholders. The event brought farmers and Agri startups on same platform. Over one crore farmers virtually joined this event.

Since the launch of this path breaking scheme, the scheme has crossed many milestones and has received accolades from several quarters for its scale, transparency and seamless transfer of funds directly to the accounts of eligible farmers.

The PM also inaugurated the Agri Startup

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, India

Part of strategic decision to meet growing agrochemical demand in domestic and global markets

Agrochemical major, Meghmani Organics Limited has begun the commercial production of Cyfluthrin and Spiromesifen, with initial capacity of 500 MT per annum for both the products, at Dahej in Gujarat. The production of Cyfluthrin and Spiromesifen are part of the Meghmani Organics Ltd’s strategic decision to meet the growing agrochemical demand in domestic and global markets. Going forward, company will further announce a series of new chemicals to be manufactured at its plants.

“With our unique product basket and growing global footprint, backed by prudent capital investments, we are thinking about the future to ensure sustainable long-term growth and create value for our farmers, customers, and the environment”, mentioned the company in release.

Meghmani Organics Limited is one of the leading agrochemical manufacturers with a strong presence in Pan India and global markets. Its agrochemical portfolio includes the intermediates, technicals, and formulations of insecticides and herbicides applicable to crop protection, veterinary and public health.

Part of strategic decision to meet growing

Agrotech, Company News, North America

The company is working with 16 agribusinesses to help farmers navigate a complex soil carbon market in the United States

As the voluntary agricultural carbon credit market continues to grow in value, Indigo Agriculture announced an additional seven carbon farming collaborators have joined the effort to help farmers access this new sustainability-focused revenue stream. Working with Indigo to reach 30 states representing nearly 80 per cent of U.S. cropland, the companies offer wide-ranging expertise, with capabilities across finance, inputs, data management, and more. Indigo’s collaborative approach equips farmers with the flexibility to enter the carbon market supported by advisers in their communities that they already know and trust, a key consideration for those looking to get started.

To date, companies including AcreValue, Compeer, Corteva Agriscience, FarmTogether, GROWMARK, Landus, Midwestern BioAg, National Indian Carbon Coalition, and Verdova have collaborated with Indigo to help farmers begin their carbon farming journeys alongside their trusted advisors on over 1.8 million acres. These enablement efforts have helped bring the total number of acres working to generate the industry’s highest-quality credits with Indigo to over 5.5 million.

Indigo’s carbon program is supported by a network of premium credit buyers (including global brands like JPMorgan Chase, Ralph Lauren Corporation, The North Face, and Barclays). As the market for agricultural carbon continues to grow, credits have already been pre-ordered for as high as $40/credit (a 100 per cent increase since the program’s launch). Farmers take home at least 75 per cent of the credit sale price with Indigo’s market-based pricing approach. A second round of payments to participating farmers is anticipated later this year, with farmers earning $30 per verified credit produced and sold in the 2020 and 2021 crop years.

“Whether driving quality in the market today or designing resources and learning tools to demystify carbon farming, we’re working hard to make sure the carbon market works for farmers. That’s why these ag industry collaborations are so important. We want farmers to work with people they know and trust to learn about and participate in Indigo’s carbon program,” Heather Gieseke, VP Commercial, Carbon at Indigo Ag said.

Since launching the first collaboration approximately a year ago, the network has grown substantially. Seven new organisations have recently joined the effort to support scaling ag sustainability solutions by helping their customers enter the carbon market with Indigo. Today, the company, which was recently issued the world’s first crop of verified ag carbon credits produced at scale, is working with a total of 16 agribusinesses to help farmers navigate a complex soil carbon market and confidently get started on their carbon farming journeys.

The company is working with 16 agribusinesses

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, Company News, India

The broad-spectrum fungicide can help fight the current mortality of the plant ranging which is 20 to 80 per cent

Insecticides (India) Limited (IIL), one of the nation’s leading crop protection and nutrition companies, has unveiled a fungicide that is made in India called Stunner to combat mainly Downy Mildew disease in grapes. This broad-spectrum fungicide comes as a respite particularly for the production of grapes as huge losses, in the form of mortality of the plant ranging from 20 per cent to 80 per cent, are incurred by farmers due to this fungal disease. Downy Mildew disease plays havoc by significantly affecting the quality of grapes.

″This is the first time that this technical and formulation is being manufactured in India. Owing to the requirement of a fungicide for successful grape cultivation, our farmers were mainly dependent on the imported fungicide formulations till date. However, being a firm believer of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, we took this step, and here we are with Stunner in hand for the first time in India. Stunner is an effective fungicide for Downy mildew disease in grapes, ″ said Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) Ltd.

″The lion’s share of the potential market will be from Western Maharashtra, mainly the areas of Nashik, Baramati, Sangli, Narayangaon, Solapur  and Satara. We are elated that this unique formulation would be a big relief to the farmers who were struggling with the disease of Downy Mildew. Stunner works by activating the defense mechanism of the plant against the fungus. ″, added Sanjay Vats, Vice President, Insecticides (India) Limited.

″IIL has a strong footprint in the Maharashtra Market and our products like Sofia, Monocil, Hercules, Lethal Gold are popular among the farming community. With the launch of new products like Stunner, Shinwa and Izuki, we will be able to provide the complete solution to the farmers within their reach″, mentioned N. B. Deshmukh, DGM – Marketing, Insecticides (India) Limited.

The broad-spectrum fungicide can help fight the

Agrotech, Company News, India

Smallholder farmers growing paddy, soyabean, corn and cotton, FPOs and Agripreneurs to benefit

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of healthcare and agriculture, has initiated the commercial application of drones in agriculture from Kharif 2022. Drone services will be made available for crop protection purposes across paddy, cotton, soyabean, corn and horticulture crops in a phased manner. Bayer became the first company to initiate internal trials and association with universities and research stations for technology development and regulatory data generation.

The services will benefit smallholder farmers across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and many other states in field crops and other horticultural crops where farmers are facing challenges. Additionally, the move will also benefit Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Progressive farmers by providing opportunities to village entrepreneurs who are running Better Life Farming centres and others interested in leveraging drone services for their enterprises to offer solutions to smallholder farmers. Bayer will support such entrepreneurs by facilitating machinery, Crop and product know-how, business support and training.

Speaking on the development, Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head – Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, said, “We welcome the Government’s encouraging efforts to develop drone technology ecosystem for Indian farmers and allow commercial usage of drones for Crop protection purposes. This is a positive step toward sustainable agriculture and for enhancing smallholder farmers’ prosperity. We are committed to bringing about a positive change by advancing digitisation and mechanisation in agriculture to spur food security in the region.

Bayer supports the vision of Make in India and has partnered with innovative Indian drone startups, to make drone-based services available to farmers and create livelihood opportunities for upcoming rural entrepreneurs.

Smallholder farmers growing paddy, soyabean, corn and

Agrotech, Company News, IT, Textile industry

The platform enables tracing of sustainably produced FiberMax® cotton from seed to sew

BASF Agricultural Solutions has initiated a ‘Seed 2 Sew’ pilot project to establish a blockchain platform as a response to one of the most complex supply chains – cotton production. Fashion brands can now be guaranteed greater transparency and traceability when sourcing sustainable cotton.

Classically, the traceability within the cotton value chain has been limited from ginning to end fabric. Farmers have often been left behind due to a mere lack of applications, infrastructure, and technology to record and certify their inputs. This leads to an information and trust gap in the textile industry.

To close this gap, BASF Agricultural Solutions has partnered with five farms in their existing Certified Sustainability FiberMax® cotton program and other local players along the cotton value chain in Greece – the largest cotton producing country in Europe – to guarantee a professional and transparent system of supplying sustainable cotton to the fashion industry. It follows the journey of a cotton garment starting from BASF seed all the way to retail. All the partners are within 250 km radius from Komotini to Thessaloniki, Greece, which additionally allows to reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing cotton garments.

Bext360, a supply chain sustainability software service company, has partnered with BASF to digitalize the cotton supply chain onto a blockchain platform which uses Hyperledger to bring greater IT flexibility and lower energy use: 99.95 per cent compared to earlier blockchain networks. Traceability and transparency are now in the hands of the end customer by using fully digitized and secure crypto blockchain technology, where every step along the value chain must be approved on a digital record by everyone on the network. “We are proud to advance our longstanding commitment to sustainability and digital advancement, leveraging the power of blockchain technology,” said Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro, Senior Vice President Agricultural Solutions EMEA & CIS at BASF Agricultural Solutions. “Offering such digital tools to farmers and consumers is another important step towards reaching our sustainability commitments”.

After this first concept milestone, BASF will continue to work on the blockchain ensuring data points are covered during the current harvest and will explore the tokenization aspects available in every blockchain platform. These are a reward system for sustainable practices which could be used for offsetting and/or in setting carbon emissions in the value chain.  

The platform enables tracing of sustainably produced

AgroPolicy, India

PM Modi works on an action plan to end inequality in the country 

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar during the 8th General Meeting in Pune said that the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is working towards the development of villages-the poor and farmers, making their lives better.

Tomar said that in 2015 the Prime Minister had said that farmers’ income should be doubled. Towards this goal, the Central and State governments, along with FPOs and all other organisations related to Agriculture, worked together, which is benefiting the farmers of the country today. The income of lakhs of farmers has increased from more than double to five to ten times, and for the first time in the country a scheme has been launched which accords dignity to the farmers. 

He said that the government has set up the Agri Infra Fund worth IRs one lakh crore to boost agricultural infrastructure. Besides, packages worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been rolled out for Agriculture and allied works in the villages. Projects worth INR 14,000 crores has already been approved from under the Agri Infra Fund. 

The benefits will start percolating to the farmers in the coming days.  Tomar said that there are 86 percent small farmers in the country; in order to empower them 10,000 new FPOs are being constituted. The government is trying to provide all the necessary facilities to the farmers.

PM Modi works on an action plan

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, India

Benefit and usage of drone technology explained and showcased to the farmers 

To promote drone technology and popularise it for spraying purposes and precision agriculture, a demonstration was organised at ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices, Ajmer. 

Dr S N Saxena, Director, ICAR-NRCSS briefed the benefits of emerging drone technology for spraying pesticides, insecticides, and liquid fertilisers. He emphasised that the technology could also be extended for crop monitoring and assessing soil health.

He also said that this could be a boon for seed spice and seed spices-based fruits and vegetable growers.

The event was attended by around 100 farmers, college students and the entire ICAR-NRCSS staff. 

Dr D S Bhati, Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Ajmer stated that the technology is excellent for young farmers and agriculture graduates and their employability. Additionally, because it uses contactless spraying technology, which will assist in eliminating the adverse effects of spraying pesticides and insecticides to farmers during spraying. 

Benefit and usage of drone technology explained

Company News, India, Organic

Curated ‘Farm experiences’ create widespread appeal for growing and harvesting produce 

MharoKhet an experiential farm, has collaborated with RV On, India’s leading caravan company, all set to take visitors to its fields in a luxury ride for a tranquil caravan camping experience.

A forty-acre experiential farm in Jodhpur, MharoKhet is home to more than 100 varieties of natural and organic crops and provides soothing experiences in the lap of nature. The Farm Tour and The Culinary Trail, its curated experiences, are an exciting way to explore all that the farm has to offer: from growing and harvesting produce, to cooking and dining. 

“We wanted to make a guest’s journey to our fields as experiential as the fields themselves, and what better way, than to do a luxurious road trip with the option of stopping anywhere one may fancy – could be for a herd of camels or a lush yellow field of mustard plants.” Said Rajnush Agarwal, MharoKhet.

Curated 'Farm experiences' create widespread appeal for

Agrotech, Company News, India, Seeds

Agri experts and scientists educate 600+ farmers about advantages of AcreNext next generation rice farming

Corteva Agriscience, a global pure-play agriculture company, organised a field event, ‘Dhan Mahotsav’ in Mansa, Punjab. In the day-long event, agriculture experts and scientists aimed to teach, train, and educate 600+ farmers about the advantages of AcreNext next generation rice farming. The program aims at enhancing the understanding and knowledge of the benefits of adopting direct seeded rice – a resource-efficient technology that overcomes limitations of traditional cultivation techniques and improves the sustainability and profitability of rice farming.

AcreNext is an integrated direct seeded rice program meaning hybrid rice seed is planted directly into the rice main field.  The hybrid seed has a better yield, can be planted using mechanised sowing services, and is compatible with highly efficient crop protection solutions that do not require fields to be flooded. This comprehensive offering helps rice farmers produce healthier rice crops that mature faster with increased yields while being less water and labor intensive. Through the AcreNext program, the company provides farmers with training in better farming practices and access to an integrated solution that delivers the right product for the right acreage that maximizes productivity and profitability.

To extend their support towards more holistic agronomic practices, the event was attended by chief dignitaries including Gurpreet Singh MLA & Chairman Farmer committee, Punjab & Dr G. S. Buttar, Director Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University.

Commenting on its allegiance to bringing sustainable agriculture practices in India, Gurpreet Bhathal, Marketing Director, Corteva Agriscience, said ‘Corteva Agriscience is committed to helping farmers adopt sustainable and holistic agronomic practices. Direct seeded rice (DSR) consumes less water, produces better yield, and enables rice farming in control of the grower thus increasing productivity and profitability.”

Dr G S Buttar highlighted the role of PAU in making farmers aware about DSR technique & also highlighted the steps the farmer should take to make DSR a lively practice. He emphasised the role of field preparation, Weed management & water usage in the DSR way of Farming.

Agri experts and scientists educate 600+ farmers

Agrotech, Company News, India

The project will help develop the potential of the rural and semi-urban communities

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has selected Arya.ag and Friends of Women’s World Banking, India (FWWB India) as partners for implementing enterprise promotion and value chain interventions in agriculture and allied activities. The partnership aims to create a cadre of community resource persons for mentoring and supporting entrepreneurs and promoting individual and group enterprises by December 2023. The blueprint of Project Excel includes building a team of sourcing managers to implement value chain interventions and establish market and credit linkages through collectivization. As part of this partnership, Arya.ag will build on farmers’ collectives to effectively manage the post-harvest process and develop the agriculture value chain of the producer group.

UNDP is implementing Project Excel in Jamnagar and Dwaraka Devbhumi districts of Gujarat to improve the incomes of 10,000 households through enterprise promotion, agri-value chain interventions, skilling, employment and social protection. Arya.ag and FWWB India will work extensively to strengthen agri value chain and build an entrepreneurship ecosystem. They will enable deeper engagements with knowledge partners that positively impact the livelihoods of millions of small farmers and women from the under-served communities of Dwarka Devbhumi and increase their income.

Arya.ag will provide its platform for the farmer collectives and FPOs to showcase their produce on its marketplace. Farmers will benefit from the economies of scale and synergies provided by the company’s vast, integrated ecosystem of services, including quality inputs, commercial support, farm advisory and management tools, affordable credit, and capacity building. Through collectivisation, they will help farmers in the villages establish market and credit linkages. FPOs, who have farmers as the shareholders, would leverage economies of scale, reducing production costs and enhancing farmers’ incomes. Arya.ag’s dedicated agritech initiatives solve traceability and transparency issues and give quality assurance for seamless commodity commerce.

FWWB India will focus on the development of entrepreneurship among villagers. It will support youth and women’s economic empowerment through setting up demand-driven micro and nano enterprises. This partnership is to create a conducive business environment with end-to-end solutions consisting of training and technical support, capital and market linkages, and skill enhancement support, empowering women and ensuring a sustainable income at the individual and collective level.

The overall aim of this project is to develop the potential of the rural and semi-urban communities and provide them with the opportunities to enhance their livelihoods in sectors like agriculture, dairy, poultry, handloom, goat rearing and handicraft, etc. The project will also help build their managerial capabilities and provide stronger market linkages.

The project will help develop the potential

India

78 tribal farmers including 57 ladies from different parts of Leh participated

To overcome the problems of the onion growers regarding improved onion varieties as well as production and protection technologies, ICAR-Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar, Pune had initiated a programme to conduct field demonstrations on improved onion varieties during 2022-23 in collaboration with High Mountain Arid Agriculture Research Institute (HMAARI), SKUAST-K Leh and KVK, SKUAST-K Kargil-1.

A total of 78 tribal farmers including 57 ladies from different parts of Leh participated in the this training programme. Dr V Mahajan, Director, ICAR-DOGR appreciated the farmers of Leh for their interest and hard work for conducting field demos on improved onion varieties. He also briefed about the scientific cultivation of onion which will enhance productivity and income of farmers.

Demonstrations conducted at the fields of various farmers were monitored and performance of all the demos on improved variety of onion were found to be in good conditions. However, onion maggots are the major problem in Leh and organically protection measures are the need of hour.

78 tribal farmers including 57 ladies from