Connect with:
Friday / March 14. 2025

logo
mobile-logo
Home2022 (Page 74)
Agro chems – Chemicals

the new fungicide, OptiCHOS offers farmers a new, low-risk, residue free, and bio-degradable broad spectrum disease control solution, with low environmental and human impacts

UPL Limited has announced that UPL Group has acquired OptiCHOS, a naturally derived fungicide for its Natural Plant Protection (NPP) business unit. The NPP portfolio houses natural and biologically derived agricultural inputs and technologies. OptiCHOS offers farmers a new, low-risk, residue free, and bio-degradable broad spectrum disease control solution, with low environmental and human impacts.

The active ingredients of OptiCHOS were developed from the chitin-rich by-products of the shellfish industry by BioCHOS, a spin-off of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. NPP’s acquisition of OptiCHOS includes the registration data package and patents enabling the product to be used in mixture of a wide range of fungicides, providing the agricultural industry a variety of options. OptiCHOS has already been submitted for approval for use in the European Union and NPP expects to be able to launch OptiCHOS products across the bloc in the next few years.

Mike Frank, President and COO at UPL said: “The addition of OptiCHOS to our comprehensive NPP biocontrol portfolio will enable us to further solve key global farmer pain points in an environmentally sustainable way by matching the efficacy levels of conventional fungicides with naturally-derived biosolutions. This reflects our mission at UPL to Reimagine Sustainability by harnessing the power of agriculture as a climate-positive industry. We look forward to delivering OptiCHOS-based products into the hands of farmers.”

OptiCHOS will be integrated into UPL’s ProNutiva programme which integrates naturally based biosolutions with conventional crop protection products to offer farmers tailored and adaptable packages that directly tackles pain-points. Through this programme, farmers can ensure higher yields with lower environmental impact while also improving their economic resilience and sustainability.

the new fungicide, OptiCHOS offers farmers a

Foodgrains, Pulses, Trade

The meeting was aimed at providing an impetus to ongoing trade, whilst also opening up potential avenues between the two countries.                  

Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the nodal body for India’s pulses trade and industry, on 27th April 2022, held productive talks with Santiago Cafiero, the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Hugo Gobbi, the Argentine Ambassador.

The meeting, which was led by Bimal Kothari, the newly appointed Chairman of IPGA, was attended by other delegatory authorities including Sunil Sawla, the Treasurer of IPGA; Satish Upadhyay, Core Committee Member, IPGA; Sonia Kulkarni, CEO, IPGA and Pranav Marne, Deputy CEO, IPGA. The focus of the meeting was chiefly inclined towards promoting relations between India and Argentina and providing an impetus to ongoing trade, whilst also opening up potential avenues between the two countries. Kothari, Chairman, IPGA put forth the potential, the two countries have to further foster the volume of trade in the Agri-products space and pulses, especially lentils.

 Santiago Cafiero, the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Hugo Gobbi, the Argentine Ambassador were keen to have a delegation from IPGA visit the provinces of Salta and Cordoba in July this year and welcome their insights on the overall agriculture system and explore trade opportunities between the two countries.

 Kothari, Chairman, IPGA extended an invitation to a large number of delegates from Argentina to attend the eagerly awaited sixth edition of ‘The Pulses Conclave 2022’ to be hosted by IPGA in September at Mumbai.

All the ideas and concerns put forward by IPGA, as well as its Argentine counterpart, received unanimous support from members and guests present for the meeting, stressing the importance of improving access to markets, achieving a sustainable food future, fostering new opportunities for value-addition, and creating jobs in particularly semi-urban and rural areas.

The meeting was aimed at providing an

Supply Chain, Trade, World

The whole batch contains super creamy Hass avocados, and the units are bundled in 4 kg tray packaging

Leading fruit importer IG International have received an inaugural batch of first-grade Tanzanian avocados from Avo Africa, Tanzania. This is the first-ever shipment of avocado cultivars from the East African nation. The whole batch contains super creamy Hass avocados, and the units are bundled in 4 kg tray packaging. These first-grade fruits will be keenly priced in comparison to the cultivars from other countries, as there is no levied custom duty on their import.

Avo Africa is a part of the Keitt Group of companies. Keitt Exporters prides itself on being the leading grower & exporter of fruits and vegetables to markets in Europe and the Middle East for over two decades now. They are the biggest growers and exporters of avocados from Tanzania and Kenya.

Speaking about the procurement of avocados from Tanzania, Shubha Rawal, COO, Procurement and Marketing, IG International said, “Avocados have established their reputation as a global fruit and are indeed one of the healthiest in the world. Multifarious cuisines are using these ambrosial fruits for preparing exclusive platters. For a long time, India had been bereft of the goodness of creamy Tanzanian avocados. At IG International, we will offer them the joy of biting into a selectively luscious bunch of hass avocados straight from the lush green lap of Tanzania at very fair prices.”

Dipesh Devraj, Commercial and Operations Director, Keitt Group – Tanzania and Kenya said, “In January, a trade prohibition on avocado shipments from Tanzania to India was removed, allowing us to access the Indian fresh produce market. Over the years, our avocados have been adored across the world, and now we wish to introduce them to India. Anyone apart from IG International would not have sufficed as we were only going to approach the best. Their extensive network and our stringent quality control are a winning combination.”

The whole batch contains super creamy Hass

Company News, Inputs

nurture.retail platform to sell 40+ Agfarm products at exceptionally competitive market prices  to over 70,000 agri-inputs retailers and dealers across 13 Indian states.

 nurture.farm, India’s leading AgTech startup for end to end agriculture ecosystem related solutions, announced an exclusive tie-up between its online B2B platform nurture.retail and Dubai based agrochemical company – Agfarm. To begin with, a total of 40+ products from Agfarm will be available for purchase on the nurture.retail platform. These include a range of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, which can be applied to a wide variety of crops. Glyphosate, Emamectin Benzoate, Thiamethoxam, Pretilachlor, Paclobutrazol are a few of the molecules launched, among others. Additionally, the nurture.retail platform will also be launching Agfarm’s patented molecules targeted to different pest segments.

Along with launching innovative and patented products, the tie-up will also bring products at highly competitive rates for the 70,000 retailers using the nurture.retail app. Consequently, the price benefit will get passed on to the farmers, who will witness lower input costs and access to better and advanced biochemistry.

Speaking about the partnership, Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO, nurture.farm, said, “We aim to offer our 70,000 and growing base of Ag-input retailers and dealers using the nurture.retail app the choice of authentic quality products at competitive prices. The product range offered via our exclusive partnership with Agfarm will help address some of the most pressing issues farmers face in protecting their crops from pests and diseases thus building resilience. Additionally, the digital platform brings these products to the retailers and subsequently to the farmers at extremely affordable rates. We are also building strong forecasting and predictive models that will allow us to align timely placement of critical products in areas most prone to pest and disease attacks. “

Commenting on this exclusive partnership, Vaman Alawadhi, Director, AgFarm, said, “AgFarm aims to empower the agricultural community through digitalization. We decided to ditch the traditional way of over-the-counter selling and chose to sell our products online instead because digital buying and selling of agro-inputs is the only way to break the vicious circle of mediators. It gives the dealers and retailers direct access to manufacturers and ultimately enables them to pass on the service benefits to farmers. Availability of authentic and quality products at a fair price leads to better crop quality and higher yields. This association will help us a great deal in achieving our goal as through their platform we will get to serve more than 70,000 retailers and dealers directly.”

nurture.retail platform to sell 40+ Agfarm products

Agrotech

The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components includes an annual sales turnover of Rs 2 crore for drone companies and Rs 50 lacs for drone components manufacturers

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has opened the application window for those manufacturers of drones and drone components, who may have crossed the PLI eligibility threshold for the full financial year.

The final list of PLI beneficiaries is expected to be released by June 30, 2022 after detailed scrutiny of their financial results and other specified documents. 

Earlier on April 20, 2022, MoCA has published a provisional list of 14 PLI beneficiaries based on the financial results submitted by PLI applicants for the ten-month period. These include five drone manufacturers and nine drone component manufacturers. 

The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components includes an annual sales turnover of Rs 2 crore for drone companies and Rs 50 lacs for drone components manufacturers; and value addition of over 40 per cent of sales turnover.

The PLI scheme for drones and drone components was notified on September 30, 2021. Under the scheme, a total incentive of Rs 120 crore is spread over three financial year which is nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21. The PLI rate is 20 per cent of the value addition which is one of the highest among other PLI scheme.

The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme

Finance, Machinery – Post-harvesting, Schemes - Banks

J&K Bank will provide financing to prospective customers who can avail affordable and hassle-free financing facilities on Mahindra branded tractors and farm machinery, via its branches.

Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jammu & Kashmir Bank to finance Mahindra’s range of tractors and farm machinery.

As one of the oldest nationalised banks in India, with its corporate headquarters in Srinagar, J&K Bank will provide financing to prospective customers who can avail affordable and hassle-free financing facilities on Mahindra branded tractors and farm machinery, via its branches in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Leh and Ladakh.

Commenting on the collaboration, Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Access to credit is a major hindrance in allowing farmers to employ mechanisation solutions in their farmlands. With J&K Bank we at Mahindra aim to help farmers purchase the latest Mahindra farm equipment in the region. Through J&K Bank’s wide network, we also aim to offer improved access to affordable credit through innovative and attractive financing solutions that will help farmers acquire the latest farm equipment to boost their yields.”

Speaking on the occasion, President, J&K Bank, Syed Rais Maqbool said, “In line with our customer-centric strategy, we have entered this tie-up with the country’s leading Tractor and Farm Equipment maker to enhance credit to the farm equipment sector, thereby facilitating ease of farming for people belonging to agricultural sector. The agreement shall entitle our customers for appropriate discounts from M&M along with the bank’s competitive rate of interest.” Syed Rais Maqbool further added “I hope the agreement will enable both the J&K Bank and M&M to leverage the inherent strengths of each other’s brand and network of outlets across India with focus on J&K and Ladakh where we have 851 business units.”

J&K Bank will provide financing to prospective

Agrotech, Finance

First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per cent to $1.9 billion

Syngenta Group has announced the results for the first quarter of 2022. First quarter sales increased to $8.9 billion, up 26 per cent. First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per cent to $1.9 billion. Syngenta Group China delivered strong growth with total sales of $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022. MAP revenues more than doubled to $650 million and continued to expand to 514 centres (149 new centers from end of Q1 2021) across China, with average MAP center sales up 57 percent year on year, serving farmers with solutions that increase yields and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Syngenta Group managed its supply chains in the face of procurement and increasing logistics challenges to meet grower needs. Procurement, logistics, energy and other operating cost increases and negative currency effects were offset by productivity improvements and higher selling prices across all businesses.

Synergy-driven sales increased by more than 140 per cent in Q1 year on year to more than $0.3 billion, with a profit contribution that tripled to $0.1 billion in the quarter.

In the first quarter of 2022, Syngenta Crop Protection sales grew 25 percent to $4.2 billion. Sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 8 per cent and in Asia Pacific (excluding China) 5 per cent. Driven by exceptional demand, sales in Latin America increased 70 per cent; North America 43 per cent; and China 46 per cent. Higher prices offset higher costs.

Syngenta Crop Protection acquired two next generation bioinsecticides from Bionema, a leading UK-based biocontrol technology developer. NemaTrident® and UniSpore® help combat increasing resistance and protect crops against a wide range of insects and pests.

In Indonesia, Syngenta Crop Protection launched NELVIUM, a pheromone based biological to control pests in rice. In El Salvador, the first regulatory approval was achieved for TYMIRIUM® technology which provides long-lasting protection against a broad spectrum of nematodes and diseases across all major crops.

ADAMA sales grew 28 per cent in the first quarter to $1.8 billion, helped by early demand. Sales in Europe grew 6 percent; North America 47 per cent; Latin America 28 per cent; India, Middle East and Africa remained flat; Asia Pacific (excluding China) grew 25 per cent. In China, sales doubled. Higher selling prices offset raw material, logistics and energy cost increases as well as negative currency effects.

In the first quarter of 2022, Syngenta Seeds sales grew 15 per cent to $1.4 billion. Field crop sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew by 10 percent; North America 5 percent; the Asia Pacific (excluding China) 65 percent; and China 53 percent. Sales in Latin America doubled driven by higher corn sales across the region. Impacted by adverse currency effects, sales of vegetable seeds remained flat, and flowers were 3 per cent lower. Higher prices offset higher costs.

First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per

Agro Universities, Agrotech

ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has developed the unique technology

Agrinnovate India, the commercial wing of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi granted license to the Department of Horticulture & Food Processing, Government of Madhya Pradesh for the ‘Aeroponic Method for Virus-free Potato Seed Production’ in New Delhi. The ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh has developed the unique technology of Aeroponic Potato Seed Production.

The nutrients are sprayed into the roots in the form of misting through the Aeroponic. The Plant’s upper part remains in the open air and light. An average of 35 to 60 Mini Tubers (3 to 10 Grams) are obtained from one plant. Since, soil is not being used, there are no soil diseases and the Aeroponic System saves two years in the development of breeder seed as compared to the conventional system. To ensure the potato seed’s availability, the technology has been commercialised with 20 firms in eight states.

The Chief Guest, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare asserted on the Central Government’s dedication to ensure the timely supply of the quality and certified seeds to the farmers. 

Tomar stated that the ICAR Institutes develop the technologies for their respective areas.

The Guest of Honor, Bharat Singh Kushwaha, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Horticulture & Food Processing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh hoped that the latest and unique technology will help to meet the requirements of Potato Seeds and enhance its production in the state. Mentioning Madhya Pradesh as the 6th Largest Potato Producing State of the country, Kushwaha underlined the significant role played by Malwa in the potato production.

The minister stated that Madhya Pradesh has emerged as an ideal destination state for potato processing in the country. He also underlined that Indore City alone is contributing for around 30 per cent potato production of the state. The minister accentuated that the licensing will play a crucial role in helping the farmers in the potato crops’ production to a large extent.

E Ramesh Kumar, Horticulture Commissioner, Horticulture & Food Processing Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh stated that the technology having the production capacity of one million mini tubers will help to meet the state’s seed requirement of about 4 lakh tonne.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) also spoke on the occasion.

Dr Anand Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticultural Science), ICAR along with Dr NK Pandey, Director, ICAR-CPRI, Shimla and Dr Sudha Mysore, CEO, AgrInnovate India deliberated during the occasion.

ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

AgroPolicy, Supply Chain, Trade

India would have stocks of 80 LMT of wheat, well above the minimum requirement of 75 LMT

India has a comfortable food situation with an overall surplus availability of grains and stocks expected to be higher than the minimum requirement for the next one year, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Sudhanshu Pandey, said.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi Pandey said that after meeting the requirement of welfare schemes in the year ahead, on April 1, 2023, India would have stocks of 80 LMT of wheat, well above the minimum requirement of 75 LMT. India would have surplus wheat even though production was expected to 1050 LMT, slightly lower than the initial estimate of 1110 LMT in FY 23.

Pandey said that due to higher market prices, a large quantity of wheat was being bought by traders at a higher rate than MSP (Minimum Support Price), which was good for the farmers. “This year due to an increase in market prices and higher demand by the private players both for the domestic as well as export purposes, the purchase by the government agency is less. But that goes in favour of the farmers. Farmers are getting a good price for the wheat,” the secretary said.

The Secretary underlined the surplus availability of rice as well. He said, “Our rice procurement last year was about 600 LMT and this year same figure is expected. Our annual requirement for NFSA is roughly about 350 LMT. So, we are in a surplus situation.”

He added that from next year, fortified rice will be distributed to the entire Public Distribution System (PDS) and with surplus rice stocks we are in a comfortable situation.

Pandey also talked about the reallocation order under which 55 LMT additional Rice has been allocated in place of wheat in PMGKY. He said that this was done after extensive consultation will all States/UTs in two steps- firstly, the General Manager of Food Corporation of India (FCI) consulted various State authorities. In the second step, at the Ministry level, the PD (Public Distribution) division responsible for PDS in the country, consulted with States/UTs.

Talking about the wheat exports, Pandey said that till now 40 LMT of wheat has been contracted for export and about 11 LMT has been exported in April 2022. He informed that after Egypt, Turkey had also approved the import of Indian wheat. Pandey said that from June, wheat from Argentina and Australia would start arriving in the international markets, so this was the opportune time for exporters to sell wheat in the international markets.

Pandey also clarified that the edible oil stocks were sufficient in the country and after a temporary ban by Indonesia, the palm oil imports were expected to start soon and this would soften the edible oil prices in the country.

India would have stocks of 80 LMT

AgroPolicy, Country, Supply Chain, World

The Russia-Ukraine turmoil has had and in future will have a lot of repercussions on the global food sector. Many developing and developed nations could be impacted by it, including India. However, this unfortunate chaotic situation could turn out to be a silver lining for Indian exporters. Let’s see if that is possible and how.

Be it natural calamities, or war between different nations, the first thing which comes to one’s mind is the disruption of trade which in some ways lead to the food crisis in certain parts of the world. Though the Russia-Ukraine war which is now going on for the second month has not only taken its toll across various sectors around the world, however, the main worry remains on the import of food grains to various countries including India.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), prices of wheat, corn and cooking oils have all increased to record high soaring prices. Food commodities are likely to expose several million people to hunger as the supply of key staple crops such as wheat, corn and sunflower could be affected. FAO states that countries like Australia, Argentina, India and the US could make up for a portion of the grain shortfalls from Ukraine and Russia. However, the FAO’s preliminary assessment is that, due to the war, 20 per cent to 30 per cent of wheat, corn and sunflower seed crops will either not be planted or go unharvested during Ukraine’s 2022-2023 season.

Lingering crisis
According to the United Nations, the war has led to a giant leap in food prices last month to another record high. Ukraine is a major producer of cereals such as maize and wheat which have risen sharply in price too. The UN says that the war in the Black Sea region spread shocks through markets for staple grains and vegetable oils. The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the UN warned last month that food prices could rise by up to 20 per cent as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, raising the risk of increased malnutrition across the world. The world’s wheat projection has been cut for 2022 from 790 million tonnes to 784 million tonnes, because of the possibility that at least 20 per cent of Ukraine’s winter crop will not be harvested because of direct destruction.

The India story
The pandemic followed by the political imbalance between Ukraine and Russia has resulted in the advent of inflation, resulting in rising costs for critical commodities such as cooking oil and largely the food sector. India imports around 90 per cent of sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, hence, the crisis is likely to impact prices and supply in the country. A report from Reuters states that the
Government of India has halted sunflower oil imports from the Black Sea region as about 3,80,000 tonnes of sunflower oil shipments from the region are stuck at ports amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As per the Department of Consumer Affairs website, the prices of six edible oils — groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, soya oil, sunflower oil and palm oil — have risen between 9 per cent and 56 per cent at all-India levels in the last one year and with the war in full swing, the price will head north.

However, according to the All India Edible Oil Merchant Federation, the import price of edible oil has seen around 12 to 15 per cent corrections in the last two to three weeks and will be reflected
in the retail market in the coming month.

Piyush Goyal, Commerce Minister, Government of India said, “Sunflower oil imports have been affected as it largely came from Ukraine, it has a smaller proportion in our edible oils basket. But, whenever there is a situation like this it has an impact all over the world and almost all edible oil prices in the entire world have shot up today because of the Russia-Ukraine war.” Crisil in its report mentions that the supply disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to a supply shortfall of at least 4-6 lakh tonnes of crude sunflower oil for India next fiscal. The report further mentions that Russia’s major banks are severed from the SWIFT system after it invaded Ukraine and the resultant sanctions imposed by the US and European nations. Although trading of food products with Russia has not been prohibited, trade settlement has become difficult, leading to supply disruptions.

An opportunity for Indian exporters
Amidst the crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war created an unlikely opportunity for some of the Indian agri-exporters who trade in wheat, maize, millet and processed foods. Since the war began, Indian wheat has been in huge demand among European countries. It may be noted that Ukraine is the top wheat exporter in the world and Russia and Ukraine together have a 25 per cent share in the global wheat market.

Says Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey, “Wheat exports from India, the world’s secondbiggest producer of the grain, have picked up after global prices surged due to Russia’s war
against Ukraine, and total shipments from the country have already touched a record of 6.6 million tonnes this fiscal so far.”

He added, “It is an “opportunity” for Indian exporters as the new wheat crop will be available early from March 15 onwards when compared to other global wheat producers.” Not only wheat but sugar exports are also expected to touch 7.5 million tonnes in the 2021- 22 marketing year (October-September), much higher than 2 million tonnes in the last year buoyed by strong global prices.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) mentions, a ban on Russian flights to Europe has also resulted in an opportunity for Indian exporters of processed foods like say nuts, fruit juices, confectionery, pulses etc.

Govt’s initiative
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during one of his speeches in Rajya Sabha said “Indian wheat exports are set to cross 70 lakh metric tonnes this year from merely 2 lakh metric tonnes two years ago. Many ships and containers have been blocked in several European countries following the Russia-Ukraine war and the crisis has only deepened, especially after the COVID-19 crisis.”

“The government has maintained dialogue with shipping companies and those who operate containers. The government is keeping a close watch on the situation and whatever steps are required to be taken it will take action,” he said.

The Government of India is waiting for things to stabilise. The Department of Commerce is holding regular consultations with all stakeholders to ensure the availability of essential imports and to find alternate destinations for our exports.

“Our position is quite comfortable,” says Food Secretary Pandey while mentioning the case of edible oils for which India is heavily dependent on imports and for sunflower oil amidst the Ukraine crisis.

What does the future behold?
No one knows till when will this war go on. The likely disruptions in agricultural activities in both countries will lead to an escalation of food insecurity globally when international food and input prices are already high and volatile. Many countries are likely to be affected by this war. India seems to be well prepared to mitigate the crisis. Though there has been a lot of hue and cry on how India overcomes challenges when certain situations arise, be it sanctions from the US and other developed countries, the country can handle the crisis in a better way when it comes to strategies like food protectionism.

Sanjiv Das
sanjiv.das@mmactiv.com


The Russia-Ukraine turmoil has had and in

Agrotech

Drone technology is all the rage right now because of its numerous applications, and future possibilities in farming. Initially, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used by the military, but other industries quickly leveraged the wide range of applications for UAVs. Drones encourage farmers to overcome a wide range of obstacles and reap numerous benefits from precision farming in addition to enhancing overall performance. Human error and inefficiency in traditional farming methods leave a $1.3 billion market void that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) can fill. Let’s explore further

Drone technology is being used to eliminate any ambiguity or guesswork and instead focus on accurate and reliable information. Young budding entrepreneurs in India’s agro sector have been enticed by the recent trends of using drones to improve overall farming operations. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sectors Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) is a groundbreaking initiative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) to further support these startups. It aims to improve agricultural and allied sector infrastructure to encourage agribusiness and agripreneurship by facilitating financial aid and cultivating a business incubator system.

Elaborating further on the benefits of these flying machines, Devan Chandrasekharan, Founder and Managing Director, Fuselage Innovations said, “We at Fuselage Innovations address the need to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the farming business by deploying the most advanced solution for mapping and diagnostics of farmland through dedicated Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/drones.
Our vision is sustainable agriculture and food security through universal digital access to agronomy knowledge and best farming practices.”

“Doing current projects, we realised that the idea we have put forward has a huge impact on the agricultural sector. By adopting our drone farming method, we have been able to increase
the crop yield of the farmers by 35 per cent and reduce the utilisation of agricultural resources by up to 70 per cent. Yield loss could be minimised by being able to detect the disease earlier and
for that, our FIA spectra UAV is best suited for this job,” he added. Currently, the company is working with 220 farmers in Kerala on a consolidated area of about 10000 acres. The firm is providing its services to these farmers on a regular basis and in future, it is planning to expand its services to pan India level.

Hurdles blocking the growth

As operating drones requires a specialised set of skills, there’s a lot of potential for creating jobs in rural areas by offering training in this area. A total of around 2.1 million new rural jobs are expected to be created as a result of these cuttingedge technologies. But still there are a number of issues that need to be addressed in order for adoption to be successful. Highlighting one major issue, Mrinal Pai, CoFounder, Skylark Drones said “In addition to the advantages, the use of drones in agriculture has some limitations. Due to their larger payloads, drones can fly for 20-60 minutes on a single charge. This results in a smaller area covered per charge and a higher operating cost for the drone. Research into developing lighter, longerlasting batteries for agricultural drones needs to be accelerated by the government in order to increase their operational flexibility.”

He further said, “At the very first time, the farmers give us a very confused look when we brief them about our innovative solutions. But as they get used to our products and services then it is a smooth ride for them. This is a very important aspect of our business to make farmers aware of the benefits that this technology brings to them and for that, we provide free services to them on an initial stage.”

Enhancing the skill set of the farmers

As mentioned earlier, operating drones require a different set of skills and to attain these, proper training is required so that these flying machines can be operated at an ease. But unlike in the past, now most of the farmers are technically sound therefore; these farmers can be trained easily. Concurrently, it will create enormous job opportunities as more of the youth will join the agro sector and with their knowledge and skills, this technology can revolutionise this entire domain. To meet the growing demand for drones in agriculture, the newly established Kaushalya – The Skill University (KSU) in Ahmedabad has established its School of Drones, which will enrol and train 20,000 children from rural backgrounds and farming families. The university has come up with the idea of “trainer entrepreneurs” as a solution to the lack of available drone technology trainers. It has taken the university five years to put together a road map that includes input from civil aviation, flying schools, drone federations, drone startups, and industry leaders. Drone flying skills, drone assembly and maintenance, value-added services such as data analysis and artificial intelligence application, among other things, are all part of the curriculum at KSU’s ‘School of Drones,’ which will be established in the near future.Using the infrastructure of the university, these trainers whose remuneration will be linked
to their performance, will be paid by the state government through university in case of free or subsidised training. More the trainees, the more, the trainers earn with the university fixing the rates.

Nitin Konde

Drone technology is all the rage right

Agrotech, R&D

After receiving a nod from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, many agri companies are raring to go and make Drones a mainstay for farmers, with big and small land holdings, alike. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International have already begun drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot peppers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Realtime agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability are but a few promising deliverables of the versatile drones.

In August 2021, the MoCA and regulator DGCA allowed 10 organisations, including state governments and private companies, to use drones for a year. Those given permission include – Karnataka, National Health Mission (Mumbai), Gangtok Smart City Development project, Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) plant at West Bengal’s Burnpur, Hyderabad’s Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy, Gujarat’s Blue Ray Aviation, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bayer Crop Science, and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. In December 2021, the Government had
released SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for drone regulation for pesticide application. It covered important aspects like statutory provisions, flying permissions, area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones and weather conditions. Traditionally it has been the farmer who
sprays his crops physically. Even with hired manual labour, this is a costly and timeconsuming affair. In the manual spraying method, a farmer generally spends a considerable amount on labour charges, more water and a higher quantity of chemicals. With drones, it takes only a few minutes to spray fertilisers and permitted pesticides on one acre as opposed to 5- 6 hours earlier. Also crops at any height can be effectively reached, as drones ensure comprehensive and equal distribution of fertilisers and pesticides. Drones can support more targeted applications of insect, weed and disease-control products. This ensures correct dosage and also limits the risk of accidental exposure to chemicals. Besides,drones also offer real-time agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability.

Bayer conducted its first drone trial at its multi-crop breeding centre in Chandipa, near Hyderabad. The on-ground event, showcasing a field demonstration on the use of drones in agricultural operations. Bayer has partnered with innovative drone startup, General Aeronautics Pvt Ltd and conducted several in-house and external R&D trials with universities and central research institutions to generate data to make drone-based services available to farmers. Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Bayer has been working closely with the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Civil Aviation,
industry bodies, regulators, policymakers and drone manufacturers over the last few years to introduce a conducive policy framework for the implementation of drone technology in Indian agriculture.

Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Suchinnovations can shape the roadmap of sustainable farming in India, while spurring smallholder support and food security.D Narain, CEO and Managing Director, Bayer CropScience Ltd said, “Drone applications are operating in other small farmer countries in Asia and have the potential to deliver significant value to smallholders in India, as well as for the
economy and the planet.”

Aligning itself with the Government of India’s intent to promote drone use in agriculture, Coromandel International Limited, the country’s second largest phosphatic fertiliser player and part of Murugappa Group, conducted its first drone trials in Hyderabad. Commenting on the trials, Sameer Goel, Managing Director, Coromandel International Limited said, “The guidelines issued by the UnionMinistry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to make drone technology affordable to the stakeholders in the agricultural sector is indeed a major boost towards promoting precision farming in the country. Drones are especially suited for a country like India with small landholding farmers, since other modes of aerial application aren’t viable here. While bringing in an element of precision, drone spraying will also help farmers mitigate the issue of labour unavailability during peak season and decrease the time to spray. These trials are our first steps towards embracing this next-gen technology.”

The drone industry has gone through a paradigm shift in the last few months and the agri industry is one of the few industries to have received approvals to operate drones for farming operations, with new government regulations making deployment, design, development and manufacturing of drone technology easier. For drone technology to flourish, the government’s emphasis on drones for farming
operations can greatly benefit farmers, with promotion of drone usage from crop assessment to agrochemical/fertiliser spraying. Drones can be flown easily in green zones with almost all agricultural areas falling in the green zone.

New business opportunity
Also the AgTech sector is abuzz with increasing flow of growth capital into startups that play across the value chain from market linkage to financing to precision farming to mechanisation services. A fast-growing startup ecosystem is bringing new business models that seek to address several legacy challenges in the industry. Mahindra & Mahindra has started conducting drone-based agricultural trials, precision spraying on paddy, hot pepper crop in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While informing about drone trials Hemant Sikka, President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “Mahindra & Mahindra is already making drone services accessible and affordable through Krish-e, our Farming-as-a-Service business. New business models like drone rentals are providing drone services in India, opening many possibilities for the future.”

Sikka also added that a new business vertical, Krish-e provides digitally enabled services, across the complete crop cycle affordably and accessibly to farmers and includes advisory, access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions. These are all focused on bringing down the overall cost of farming, improving crop output and consequently the farmer’s income.Drone tech adoption
Promotion of drone design, development, and manufacturing in India, specifically for Indian farming conditions will further help develop andboost adoption of the technology in the rural and agri sector. Apart from releasing new regulations, the Government has also announced the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for drone manufacturers to promote India as a drone hub. The government has also allocated Rs 120 croreover next three financial years under PLI scheme, banning import of drones (component import is allowed) to promote the domestic production of drones, also making licences to operate drones easily available across the country.

To promote drone applications in agriculture, the Government has included drones under the SMAM (Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanisation) scheme. Under the scheme, CHCs, village level entrepreneurs, FPOs will get the subsidy of 40 per cent up to Rs 4 lakh. Also CIB&RC (Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee) has rolled out guidelines for registration of agrochemicals for drone spraying. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has also released the SOPs for spraying of agrochemicals and fertilisers.

After receiving approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, agriculture companies
are hoping for an increase in penetration of drone technology in the agriculture sector. Companies are trying to promote drone technology by making drone services accessible and affordable
through providing access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions to small-scale farmers. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International
Limited have started drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot pepper in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Since drones offer real-time agronomic
advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability, it has paved a way to new business opportunities in the agri industry in India.

Dipti Barve
dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

After receiving a nod from the Ministry

Agrotech, Start ups

CropTrails will help SatSure expand and strengthen its international market reach into its target geographies in Africa, LATAM and SEA

Bangalore based SatSure, a deep tech startup working at the intersection of spacetech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Software as a Service (SaaS) to drive decision intelligence, is pleased to announce the acquisition of SaaS application CropTrails, which was conceptualised and incorporated in the year 2018 by Indore-based startup OEPP Innovations Private Limited.

CropTrails is a web and android application designed to bridge gaps in the processes of farm management. The mobile application is used as an information collecting tool by the field officers or supervisors to record and digitise information about farmers, farms and crops. The application allows the users to monitor and control the crop cycle, track input usage like fertilisers, access weather forecasts, and track farm visits by the supervisors, among others. CropTrails also doubles as a field force productivity monitoring tool with in-built role-based user management.

This development comes in after SatSure raised $5 million in Pre-Series A funding in a round earlier this year. SatSure shall be transforming CropTrails into a no-code platform for IT teams of agribusinesses to rapidly prototype and build their in-house tool that can be easily integrated with SatSure Sparta’s datasets.

“Farm digitisation tools like CropTrails are necessary for countries such as Nigeria and the Philippines. It forms the first digital layers on top of which other services can be rendered. Thus, this acquisition will help SatSure expand further and strengthen its international market reach into its target geographies in Africa, LATAM and SEA. SatSure will also use the collected data and feed it into its proprietary algorithms to increase its learning rate as part of this deal,” said Prateep Basu, founder and CEO of SatSure.

CropTrails will help SatSure expand and strengthen

Agrotech, R&D

Today, satellite-driven technology, big data analytics and digital solutions are helping farmers in many countries including India to make better and more informed cropping decisions. Drones have become one among the most promising emerging technologies. However, the benefit quotient of these airborne unmanned tech can be expedited by some swift and pragmatic governmental interventions. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global agriculture drones market size was valued at $0.88 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $5.89 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 22.4 per cent from 2021 to 2030. Keeping these stats in mind, let’s delve deeper.

Even though the Agri-drone sector in India is at a very nascent stage, the future looks promising as there are many key players like Bayer, CropLife India, BharatRohan, Dhanuka, among other players, entering the Indian market to expand the use of drone technology. Recently, the Government of India has introduced new rules and regulations pertaining to drones which has made operations easier for the drone companies.

The policy on Kisan Drones will significantly boost the Agri Drone Industry in India with grants, subsidies, and research opportunities. Apart from its advantages and benefits, the drone industry faces bigger concerns like labour shortage, proper training of operators, use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and cost aspect which restricts the industry from adopting this technology. All these concerns call for looking at this technology in a more comprehensive way.

Can drone industry flourish in India?
According to a report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and global consultancy firm, EY, Indian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to touch $885.7 million by 2021, while the global market size of drone is pegged at $21.47 billion. Currently India is the 5th largest importer of drones. In the past few years, use of drones in agriculture has gained a lot of attention in digital space and precision agriculture is the need of the hour. There is an immediate need for the agricultural sector to adopt leading-edge digital and precision agriculture technologies to improve farm productivity and democratise access to market information for all farmers in India. Drone technology can potentially revolutionise the farming industry through need-based precise and focused application of crop inputs.

As pointed out by Rishabh Choudhary, Co-Founder & CTO, BharatRohan, “We have a population of 1.3 billion people which is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050 and we must find ways to meet the increased food demand without modifying natural resources. Still, an average Indian farmer loses 20-25 per cent of his crop due to pests, diseases, and various other ecological factors. Precision agriculture can help farmers make better informed decisions while helping them with sustainable farming practices and increase their profit per acre. Drones are very versatile and can help us understand the state of crops at centimetre level precision with high efficiency and low cost and can also help farmers spray chemicals at a much faster pace.”

He further said, “Rise in venture capital funding for the deployment of drones in the agriculture industry and surge in adoption of precision farming solutions by the farmers drives the growth of the agri drone industry. The increase in the automation industry in farming and agriculture provides abundant growth opportunities for drone’s application in the agriculture sector.”

Adopting drone technology
With the market for agricultural drones reaching a whopping $1.3 billion globally, the purpose of adopting drone technology is to focus n accurate and reliable information. For which, industry players and the government of India are working keenly towards drone adoption technology in the country. As mentioned by Choudhary, “Recently the Government of India came up with new Drone rules and regulations which has made operations easier for the Drone companies and Policy on Kisan Drones will significantly boost the Agri Drone Industry in India with grants, subsidy and research opportunities provided by the government. Agri drones will be the future of India. Drone startups can use this opportunity to accomplish better technological capacities. It is also a pushing for public-private partnerships for high-tech farm services in which drone technology will be a major player. All these efforts would not just encourage farmers to switch to digital and mechanised farming but also boost growth in the agribusiness sector and create more employment opportunities for youth.”

In another initiative, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed extensive use of drones in agriculture, including spraying insecticides and nutrients. The proposed drones-as-a-service (DRaaS) model has capabilities to revamp and boost India’s fragmented drone industry for new business and employment avenues. In her budget speech, the minister spoke about the Drone Shakti scheme, encouraging drones as a service in our country. Undoubtedly, drones have evolved from defence only equipment to multi-purpose equipment, which can be used for several sectors like governance, farming, logistics, to name a few.

Furthermore, Ministry of Agriculture has recently granted interim approval to 477 pesticides for drone usage, to fast track agridrone adoption in India. For this, each pesticide needs to be approved by the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee which would take 18-24 months. The registered pesticides will include insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators (PGRs), for commercial use throughdrones for two years.

How cost effective is it?

The first and foremost issue that is faced by this industry is the cost aspect of drones. As highlighted by Navneet Ravikar, Chairman &Managing Director, Leads Connect Services, “Possibilities of a phenomenal thrive in the Agri Drone industry is imminent regardless of the challenges it may face due to the requirement of change in the mindset of the stakeholders. First and foremost, the issue is regarding the cost aspect of drones. There is apprehension that this may either discourage or create doubts in the minds of the farmers.”


Managing cost-aspect of drones
Consideration of cost aspects should now be in the context of long-term returns. Especially when there is a looming threat of climate change and shrinking arable land on agricultural productivity.
Intervention of technology is now indispensable to increase agricultural productivity, which will certainly help in recovering the cost of implemented technologies. There is a need to work on possibilities where financial assistance can be given to farmers or Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for adopting advanced technologies. The government has already announced a huge subsidy on drones
being purchased by FPOs.

Boosting agri-drone industry
To boost the agri-drone industry in India, many key players have stepped up with initiatives that have helped farmers exponentially. Delhibased agritech startup BharatRohan Airborne Innovations has helped 3600 mint farmers in Uttar Pradesh to save around Rs 3620 per acre. Choudhary said, “BharatRohan is currently serving 20,000 acres of the land owned by farmers spread across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. We incentivise farmers who implement our sustainable crop advisories to farmers associated with industrial buyers who are looking for traceable farm produce and
ingredients. We have thorough experience in working with crops like Sugarcane, Japanese Mint, Paddy, Potato, and some seed spices and pulses.”

He further pointed out, “By using drone technology, we can optimise wastes as Agri drones enable optimum usage of all the resources in the field. We use UAV/Drone based hyperspectral imagery for agri-advisory and drone based digital soil testing. We deploy advanced remote sensing tools like drones equipped with Hyperspectral Cameras to monitor the agriculture crops of the subscriber farmers on a 7 to 15-day interval. Thereby replacing the guesswork of traditional practices with scientific advisory. Hyperspectral imaging is a tool that helps them detect minuscule colour changes occurring in a plant when it is infested by a pest or a disease.” The startup has recently raised seed fundinginvestments in a round led by Upaya Social Ventures and Acumen Fund, to expand its dronebased crop monitoring in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Furthermore, with the central government giving impetus to ‘Kisan Drones’, drone startups as well as large industry players like Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector and CropLife are putting together their agri drone strategy.

There has been an exceptional collaborative and consultative fast paced policy making process led by the Government with stakeholders’ involvement, preceding the Budget announcements for Krishi Drones. CropLife India was closely involved in development of the drone application Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Guidelines for use of Drone application for crop protection, as part of the expert committee set up, and shared best practices across Asian countries.

Sharing his insights on this, Asitava Sen, Chief Executive Officer, CropLife India said, “The government is already playing a facilitator’s role with progressive policies, subsidy schemes and production-linked incentives to make India a major hub for drones.” He further said, “We should now look into how all stakeholders can work together to help develop a Conducive Ecosystem for Drone Applications in Agriculture. The objective forevery stakeholder should be market development through farmer awareness, successful demonstrations and evolving innovative business models. There will be plenty of scope for improving market share later.”

Not only this, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently launched Kisan Drones at 100 places across the country from Manesar. “I am sure this launch will not only prove to be a milestone in the development of the drone sector but will also open endless doors of possibilities. I am also told that Garuda Aerospace has set a target of making one lakh ‘Made in India’ drones in the next two years. This will generate new jobs and new opportunities for several youngsters. I congratulate the team of Garuda Aerospace,” said PM Modi.

According to the PM, the Kisan Drone is now the beginning of a new age revolution in this direction. In another step towards realising a collective vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Central Government has also approved the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components.

In another step towards realising a collective vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Central Government has also approved the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components.

Global scenario

According to the report published by Allied Market Research (AMR), the global agriculture drones’ market was estimated at $0.88 billion how all stakeholders can work together to help develop a Conducive Ecosystem for Drone Applications in Agriculture. The objective for every stakeholder should be market development through farmer awareness, successful demonstrations and evolving innovative business models. There will be plenty of scope for improving market share later.”

One of the leading global suppliers of specialty chemicals for agriculture, Clariant has recently launched DropForward: a focused approach to providing precision application with adjuvants and co- formulants. The company is offering its customers Synergen DRT: the first solution to come out of its DropForward concept. “Synergen DRT helps to control drift and volatility of fine droplets during application and helps improving the coverage and penetration of the actives in the leaves, boosting biological performance as well as making drone spraying more sustainable and environmentally friendly,” said Fabio Caravieri, Clariant’s Head of Marketing, Industrial & Consumer Specialties.

Further, Bayer has partnered with innovative drone startup, General Aeronautics and conducted several in-house and external R&D trials with universities and central research institutions to generate data to make drone-based services available to farmers. Another leading firm ADAMA and Agremo, a leading aerial analytics provider, have announced an expansion programme of the ADAMA EagleEye, a drone analytics farming platform powered by Agremo and operated by ADAMA.

Dispelling doubts, instilling confidence
The most relevant measure that is required from the industry is to make use of drones cost effective for farmers.

Ravikar said, “It is important to understand that the success of the drone industry is also dependent on the conviction of farmers that using drones will not create a huge financial burden for them. So, in the truest essence, drone manufacturers must start putting farmers on priority when they discuss their business models on the table. However, we are yet to be fully selfsufficient in drone manufacturing. Sum it up, we have a long way to cover to provide cost effective methods using drones.”

He added, “Also, the growth of the agri drone industry is dependent on encouraging frameworks where multi and inter disciplinary technologies can be incorporated seamlessly. In addition, this is also very important to understand that flying drones across regions can be cumbersome and time consuming. Therefore, robust smart drone survey frameworks need to be developed. Besides making the process of data collection easy and seamless, smart drone surveys can be instrumental in threshold analysis, and such analysis is necessary for upscaling things.”

Besides this, the government needs to create a positive outlook for imports and provide policy support for ‘Make in India’ drones.

Pooja Yadav
pooja.yadav@mmactiv.com


Today, satellite-driven technology, big data analytics and