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Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, India

It will give an impetus to the development of agricultural education and research in Arunachal Pradesh, along with other North-eastern states.

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated Academic-cum-Administrative Building and Transit Hostel of the College of Agriculture under Central Agricultural University, (Imphal) at Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, in the presence of Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Tapir Gao, Member of Parliament, Er Tage Taki, Minister for Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairy & Fisheries, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Anupam Mishra, Vice Chancellor, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur and A K Tripathi, Dean, College of Agriculture, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh.

Speaking on the occasion, Tomar expressed hope that the new facilities would encourage and motivate the students to work harder. “Agriculture is the fastest growing sector in the country, and the Government of India is making continuous efforts to make farming much profitable. There will be no constraint of central funding for development of the agriculture sector,” he said, adding that “the setting up of this institute will give an impetus to the development of agricultural education and research in Arunachal Pradesh, along with other North-eastern states. There is unlimited potential for organic farming in the North-eastern states, for which the central government and the state government are working together. Giving importance to agriculture in bringing about development and security of livelihood in the Northeast, farming activities are being strengthened by agricultural education and research,” he said.

Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Government of Arunachal Pradesh credited the central government “for uplifting the image of farmers from ‘poor’ to ‘proud entrepreneurs’ in a span of eight years with its farmer-centric flagship programmes.”Speaking at the function in College of Agriculture in East Siang district on Thursday, Khandu said that “many young entrepreneurs coming up to avail benefits of both central and state flagship programmes are keen to invest in agriculture and allied sectors.” 

On this occasion, a two-day Kisan Mela was also organised wherein around 850 farmers attended the programme.

In the Mela, 20 stalls of public and private sectors showcased their technologies/products. A farmers-scientist interface was also held to get the feedback of farmers on the adoption of improved agricultural technologies of potato and tuber crop cultivation.

Rajesh Kumar, Director, ATARI, Guwahati, officials from 8 KVKs, ICAR Research Complex, Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Agricultural University, around 65 students, 30 line department officials participated in the Kisan Mela.

It will give an impetus to

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agrotech, Company News, R&D, World

Parties enter into a letter of intent for an exclusive distribution agreement that would enable ISAOSA to bring Indigo 30 to Mexican corn growers from 2024

Indigo Ag, Inc., a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, and ISAOSA, the leading fertiliser distributor in Mexico, announced plans to bring Indigo’s innovative microbial technology to Mexican corn growers for the first time.

Indigo 30, which is part of Indigo’s biotrinsic™ portfolio of microbial products, has been proven to increase crop yields of corn. The novel formulation will – for the first time – enable Indigo 30 to be directly mixed with fertiliser, which significantly expands the window of application of the product for farmers. Commercial launch is planned for the first half of 2024 following completion of the registration process.

With a collection of more than 36,000 microbial strains, Indigo has established itself as a global leader in harnessing the potential of plant microbiome for growers around the world to improve yields whilst reducing the use of other inputs. This contributes to increased grower profitability and a better environment.

Indigo and ISAOSA have entered into a letter of intent to reflect the proposed partnership, with plans to enter into a formal agreement in 2023. Under the proposed agreement, ISAOSA would be the exclusive distributor for Indigo 30 in Mexico and will add the product to its fertiliser portfolio to further enhance performance for growers. The two companies have conducted various trials over the past 2 years which have demonstrated significant yield improvements through the combination of Indigo 30 with existing ISAOSA products.

Commenting on announcement, Georg Goeres, Global Commercial Biologicals Licensing Lead for Indigo Ag said, “We are delighted to have formed this partnership with ISAOSA. The results of multiple trials have demonstrated significant yield improvements for corn growers. This novel formulation, which is incredibly hard to achieve, enables Indigo 30 to be directly mixed with fertiliser for the first time. This significantly broadens the window of application for the farmers as well as creating new market opportunities for Indigo to work with fertiliser producers. We are excited to be working with ISAOSA to launch Indigo 30 in 2024 as well as exploring other opportunities to extend our partnership.”

Stefan Strietzel, ISAOSA’s Managing Director said, “We are very pleased to develop new technologies in partnership with Indigo Ag to enhance our portfolio with innovative products, that help farmers to increase yields and are in line with our drive for sustainability in Mexican agriculture.”

Parties enter into a letter of intent

Agro Universities, Agrotech, India, Start ups

The programme aims to connect the FPOs/ FPCs and the farmers of Karnataka with the startups supported by a-IDEA.

a-IDEA, Technology Business Incubator of ICAR- National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad organised FPOs/FPCs, Farmers, Startups Immersion Programme at Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA), Bengaluru in collaboration with University of Horticultural Science Campus at Bengaluru with an objective to connect the FPOs/ FPCs and the farmers of Karnataka with the startups supported by a-IDEA.

The startups presented their innovations, products and services and demonstrated its advantages. The event acted as an ultimate platform for networking between them for successful business transactions and for further collaboration with FPOs. About 20 startups and 90 FPOs and farmers from different places across Karnataka attended the programme.

Prof. S. Ayyappan, Chairman, Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA), Bengaluru, Karnataka and Former Secretary, DARE & DG, ICAR given presidential address. He discussed the role of profit in sustaining startups in the long run with the support of scientists for technology refinement, business planning and growth models play an important role in making a startup successful. FPOs can be considered as bulk suppliers to government agencies. 

The Chief Guest Dr M V Venkatesh, IAS, Commissioner, Watershed Development Department, Government of Karnataka emphasised on the importance of understanding the needs of the farmers and catering to their needs as per their requirements by developing customized products.

Dr Ch. Srinivas Rao, Director, ICAR NAARM, Hyderabad said food wastage attributes to losses worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Hence, the startup should focus on reducing food losses, making wealth out of agriculture. Value addition is a necessity to avoid post-harvest losses.

Dr. K S Mahesh, GM, NABARD, Regional Office, Bengaluru stated that FPOs are becoming the backbone of the nation and three M’s such as Monsoon, Market and Money are play major role in creating impact on farmers and FPOs.

The programme aims to connect the FPOs/

Agrotech, Company News, North America

Newest  top-of-the-line model from popular indoor garden maker combines elegant design with state-of-the-art hydroponic technology 

Rise Gardens, maker of award-winning, home hydroponic garden systems, today announced the launch at CES 2023 of a new top-of-the-line, fully modular garden that enables the largest number and widest variety of plants that can be grown in any system – up to 108 different plants at one time.

Recognised as a CES® 2023 Innovation Awards Honouree* in the Food & Ag Tech category, the New Rise Garden offers a host accessories such as trellises and plant stands and allows you to grow everything from rooted veggies (radishes, beets), vining crops (beans, peas), large flowering plants (tomatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers), microgreens, to leafy greens and herbs.

Whereas other indoor garden systems are made of plastic and PVC pipes, the New Rise Garden uses powder-coated metal in a variety of colours, a real wood structure and features an upscale, minimalist aesthetic that fits in any room of any sized home. Wi-Fi-enabled and app-controlled, there’s no guesswork involved. Featuring smart hydroponic technology, the New Rise Garden is self-watering and self-fertilising – and the app will tell you exactly when to add nutrients and water, lets you manage lights and track your growing progress, and even tells you when it’s time to harvest. The system also features an Alexa integration for voice control. And, unlike other indoor smart gardens on the market, Rise Gardens’ IoT connectivity is available to all customers, not just subscribers. The system will be on display and demoed at Amazon’s Experience Area in the Venetian.

Also unique to Rise Gardens is a nursery system and three-part nutrients and pH management products to ensure the best possible growing success. In addition, Rise Gardens offers the largest variety of seed pods of any system on the market.

In this latest release, Rise Gardens has created a system that is even easier to clean, easier and faster to assemble than its predecessor, has more durable electronics, and several features such as a bigger water reservoir that improves how well and how many plants you can grow. In addition, the New Rise Garden now comes in additional colours including a charcoal  hue to better fit into any home decor.

“The New Rise Garden is the only fully modular indoor smart garden on the market.  No other system enables such flexibility and productivity,” said Rise Gardens CEO & Founder Hank Adams. “With this latest release, we have improved on the features that already set our brand apart – productivity, functionality and a sleek, minimalist design aesthetic.”

Newest  top-of-the-line model from popular indoor garden

Agri Genomics, Agro Universities, Agrotech, India, R&D

Technology to contribute significantly towards increasing farmers’ income by reducing the economic/ yield loss caused due to weeds and will also broaden the compatible herbicide spectrum in rice

‘HT trait donor rice genotype technology’, developed by the scientists of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was transferred to Nuziveedu Seed Ltd., facilitated by Agrinnovate India Ltd. (AgIn).

AK Singh, Director, ICAR-IARI briefed about the development of non-GM herbicide tolerant rice genotype possessing tolerance to Imazethapyr 10 percent SL (100g a.i.), using an Ethyl Methane Sulphonate induced herbicide tolerant ra ice mutant.

The technology will contribute significantly towards increasing farmers’ income by reducing the economic/ yield loss caused due to weeds and will also broaden the compatible herbicide spectrum in rice.

Praveen Malik, CEO, Agrinnovate India Ltd., Viswanathan Chinnusamy, JD(R), ICAR-IARI, and representatives of commercial firms, other officials from ICAR and AgIn were present during the occasion.

Technology to contribute significantly towards increasing farmers’

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Award, E-commerce, India

E-NAM empowers citizens by way of digitalisation through ease of operation, accessibility, transparency and efficiency of operations for better price discovery for farmers

E-NAM, a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, wins the Platinum Award in the Digital Empowerment of Citizens Category in Digital India Awards 2022 held in New Delhi. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, as Chief Guest of the event, has conferred the Digital India Awards, 2022 to N Vijaya Lakshmi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, in the presence of Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Railways & Communications and other dignitaries.

Digital India Awards (DIA) has been instituted by MeitY, under the aegis of National Portal of India to encourage and honour innovative digital solutions/ exemplary initiatives by various government entities in the realm of Digital Governance. Digital India Awards 2022 aims to inspire and motivate not only government entities but also startups in fulfilling the Digital India vision. Digital India Awards 2022 were given under 07 different categories viz. Digital Empowerment of Citizens, Public Digital Platforms, Digital Initiatives in Collaboration with Start-ups, Digital Initiative for ease of doing business, Data sharing and use for socioeconomic development, Digital Initiatives at Grassroots level, Best Web & Mobile initiatives etc. Platinum, Gold & Silver awards have been given to the winning teams under different categories.

E-NAM is a digital platform integrating 1260 APMC mandis across 22 States and 3 UTs to facilitate online trading of 203 agriculture and horticulture commodities to enable farmers to realise better remunerative prices for their produce. E-NAM is catalysing the digital transformation of mandi operations and e- trading of agricultural commodities. As on 31.12.2022, more than 1.74 Crore farmers & 2.39 Lakh traders have been registered on E-NAM portal. A total trade consisting of 69 million metric tonnes of worth Rs 2.42 lakh crore has been recorded on e-NAM platform.

E-NAM is providing various benefits/ facilities to farmers & other stakeholders such as providing access to prevailing commodity price on mobile app, GPS based feature capturing E-NAM mandis and mandi prices within ~100 kms radius along with route map, Advance lot registration, SMS alert on final bid price of the lot & payment receipt, Real time competitive price bidding through E-NAM, weighment integration for accurate weight, bidding progress available on mobile, facilitates direct trade between farmer and trader, direct payment to Farmer’s bank account, reduction in the transaction costs of buyers and sellers, FPO trading module to facilitate FPOs to e-trade through E-NAM  etc.

Further with the launch of “Platform of Platforms (PoPs) under E-NAM, a digital ecosystem has been created that leverages the expertise of individual service platforms across various segments of Agri value chain. 

E-NAM empowers citizens by way of digitalisation

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

Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee grants approval to BAL in the 443 rd meeting.

Best Agrolife Limited, a leading player in the Indian agrochemical industry, has been granted registration for the indigenous manufacturing of Propaquizafop u/s 9(3) by Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee in the 443 rd meeting. With this Best Agrolife Limited (BAL) will become the first Indian agrochemical company to manufacture Propaquizafop Technical in India.

Propaquizafop is a herbicide used for the post-emergence control of a wide range of annual and perennial grasses in various broadleaf crops such as soybean, cotton, pulses, sunflower, other field crops, vegetables, fruit trees, vineyards, sugarbeet, oilseed rape, and forestry. As a selective and systemic herbicide, it controls weeds in all the stages of their development. Environment-friendly and safe to beneficial insects and mammals Propaquizafop is quickly absorbed by the leaves and translocated from the foliage to the growing points of the leaves and roots of the sprayed weeds.

“BAL has kept the ball of innovation and progress rolling this year and it is all because of our unwavering focus on research & development. Other than introducing five new products namely Axeman, Ronfen (patented ternary insecticide), Reveal Tombo and Warden BAL also became the first Indian agrochemical company to manufacture CTPR (market size of more than Rs 2800 crore) technical indigenously by launching Citigen and Vistara. We also received the patent for the first-of-its-kind fungicidal composition of Cyazofamid, Dimethomorph, and Difenoconazole (Market Size Rs 350 crore) and registration for the indigenous manufacturing of Pyroxasulfone technical (Market Size Rs 450 Crore),” said Vimal Alawadhi, MD BAL.

“Propaquizafop herbicide is of utmost importance for the Indian agricultural community as it effectively controls weeds in a number of broad-leaf crops. With Rs 350 Cr. of the market size in India, Propaquizafop Technical is a crucial addition to the above list of registrations with a huge market size that BAL received this year, and we will focus on utilising this opportunity to the maximum. Other than removing our import dependency for Propaquizafop Technical we will also focus on developing new Propaquizafop combination products through research and development and getting them patented. Since Propaquizafop is also popular in the global herbicide market we will surely look forward to its export aspect in the future,” he added further while commenting on this new development.

Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee grants

Agrotech, Company News, North America

Both companies will leverage the synergies of their technologies to deliver next generation solutions for plant health.

Under a new commercial agreement, FBSciences and Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) are collaborating to bring the latest in agricultural technologies and products to market. Through this strategic relationship, the two companies will leverage the synergies of their technologies to deliver next generation solutions for plant health.

Initially, this strategic relationship will focus on seed enhancement opportunities in North America within Koch’s PROTIVATETM nutritional seed enhancer product line, with an eye toward additional product development and collaboration opportunities. An initial launch in seed enhancement delivers meaningful impact to ROI for growers by optimising early season plant health and stress mitigation, while leveraging the expansive broad acre seed enhancement market for maximum impact.

In more than 1,600 trials over 16 years, FBSciences has proven the power of FBS Technologies to deliver significant improvements to nutrient use efficiency, stress mitigation, and overall plant and soil health. Their growing lineup of more than 80 products has demonstrated their role as an industry leader in crop nutrition and crop protection solutions, maximising ROI for growers while improving environmental performance.

With a proven global portfolio, Koch has a tremendous breadth of experience across agricultural products and solutions. Koch is known for building long-lasting relationships with their customers by delivering innovative solutions that create value. Through this collaboration, FBSciences and Koch will draw on their shared commitment to optimising performance and ROI while minimising environmental impact to deliver transformative products.

“We are thrilled to announce this relationship with Koch and look forward to combining our scientific know-how and proven technologies with Koch’s expertise in boosting crop productivity and yield while reducing environmental impact,” said Courtenay Wolfe, chair and CEO of FBSciences. “Through this collaboration, growers will have access to the next generation of agricultural products.”

“We are excited about the opportunities made possible through this collaborative agreement with FBSciences,” said Steve Coulter, senior vice president of Koch. “Their technology portfolio offers numerous product development opportunities that help advance the strategic and commercial goals of Koch. We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with FBSciences.”

Both companies will leverage the synergies of

AgroPolicy, India, Interaction

Dr Das, Director, Central Fisheries Research Institute was speaking in the inaugural function of Farmers Science Congress, organised in Nagpur as a part of 108th Indian Science Congress

“The nation has made tremendous progress in food grain production and our farmers’ meticulous efforts have made the biggest contribution to it; However, it is seen that the economic condition of the farmers has not improved much. Hence effective use of modern science and technology is important for the progress of agriculture,” said, Basant Kumar Das, Director, Central Fisheries Research Institute, Kolkata, Indian Agricultural Research Institute. He asserted that farmers need to be aware of market techniques.

He was speaking in the inaugural function of Farmers Science Congress, organised in Nagpur as a part of 108th Indian Science Congress. Dr Vijayalakshmi Saxena, Chairperson of the Indian Science Congress presided over the function and Padmashree Rahibai Popere, Beej Mata (Mother of seeds), Dr Subhash Chaudhary, Chancellor of Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj University, Dr Ashish Paturkar, Vice Chancellor of Animal and Fisheries Science University were present on this occasion.

Addressing the event, Dr Vijayalakshmi Saxena said that, the condition of farmers is still critical, they are not getting enough income as compared to their hard work. Farm sector is the worst affected due to changing climatic conditions. She informed that, this is for the first time, Farmers’ Science Congress has been organised in ISC to discuss the problems and plights of farmers, and expressed hope that Agri-scientists around the world will thoroughly discuss the issues related to farmers on this platform and it will ultimately be helpful for farmers.

Dr Prakash Kadu gave information regarding the work of Agricultural University (PKV) in Akola. The university has so far developed 176 different crop varieties. Modern agricultural technology has reached up to 11 thousand villages in Vidarbha. Dr Kadu said that the university is continuously working on organic farming.

Chairperson, Dr Vijayalakshmi Saxena on behalf of Indian Science Congress felicitated Padmashri Rahibai Popere, who is known throughout the country as Beej Mata, who was present as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Farmers’ Science Congress.

Dr Das, Director, Central Fisheries Research Institute

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

Company plans to expand the drone spray services across the country soon

 ADAMA India, a leading crop protection solution provider launched their Drone spraying services, “ADAMA Fly High Drones” for farmers at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The drone spray service was inaugurated by Sahin Ozkan, CEO, ADAMA India in the presence of farmers, retailers and ADAMA team.

The ADAMA Fly High Drone services will help farmers gain better and uniform spraying across their crops and address the farm labour shortage. The advanced technology of drone spraying will save farmers’ time and ensure their safety from higher exposure to chemicals.

Speaking at the launch, Sahin Ozkan, CEO, ADAMA India, said, “Drone technology is an important advancement in Indian agriculture, that offers multiple benefits to Indian farmers, from better and uniform spraying, safety, optimum use of chemicals and much more. We are happy to be a part of this revolution at the ground level, by launching ADAMA Fly High, superior spray technology to farmers, along with our broad portfolio of crop protection solutions.”

He further said, “ADAMA India always prioritizes the needs of the farmers, and we work closely with them to understand their challenges and offer simple solutions to address them. With our new drone spraying services, our goal is to ensure that farmers get all the benefits of this advanced technology, easily and effectively.”

Understanding the benefits of agricultural drone spraying, ADAMA launched the Fly High drone spray service in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with plans to expand across the country soon.

Company plans to expand the drone spray

Agri Genomics, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, R&D

NGETC will serve as a national platform to cater to the regional needs to adapt different genome editing methods, including CRISPR-Cas mediated genome modification

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, inaugurated “National Genome Editing & Training Centre” at National Agri-food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) Mohali, Punjab.

National Genome Editing & Training Centre” (NGETC) is a one-roof state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a national platform to cater to the regional needs to adapt different genome editing methods, including CRISPR-Cas mediated genome modification. It will also empower young researchers by providing them with training and guidance about its know-how and application in crops. In the current climatic scenario, improving crops for better nutrition and tolerance to the changing environmental condition is a significant challenge. Genome editing could be a promising technology that Indian research could adapt to offer the desired tailor-made traits in crops. NABI has shown ability and can expand the genome editing tools to vast arrays of crops, including Banana, Rice, Wheat, Tomato, Maize and Millets.

NABI, under the Department of Biotechnology, is a national institute with a mandate focusing on research activities at the interface of Agriculture, Food and nutritional biotechnology. Genome editing is a crucial tool to cause site-specific gene mutations/changes so that important crop traits can be developed. These mutations have the potential to mimic nature-like mutations and could be target specific in the genome. In the current climatic scenario, improving crops for better nutrition and tolerance to the changing environmental condition is a significant challenge. Genome editing could be a promising technology that Indian research could adapt to offer the desired tailor-made traits in crops. NABI has shown the ability to utilise genome editing tools and can expand the genome editing tools to vast arrays of crops, including Banana, rice, wheat, tomato and millet.

NGETC will serve as a national platform

Agrotech, IT, R&D

EOS SAT will provide the agriculture and forestry industry with high-quality data to support efficient and sustainable practices.

EOS SAT-1, the first imaging satellite to be built by Dragonfly Aerospace, is preparing for lift off in the next few days from SpaceX’s launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the Transporter-6 mission. The satellite is the first of a seven-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit for customer EOSDA (EOS Data Analytics). The remaining six satellites of the constellation will be deployed over the next three years. EOS SAT is the world’s first agriculture-focused satellite constellation providing the agriculture and forestry industry with high-quality data to support efficient and sustainable practices.

Images obtained from Dragonfly’s EOS SAT-1 will deliver valuable information for harvest monitoring, application mapping, seasonal planning and assessments that analyse information such as soil moisture, yield prediction and biomass levels. This data will support growers with reducing carbon dioxide emissions and help them to develop sustainable agricultural methods.

Such information will have important environmental benefits for the planet and help prevent natural habitats from being diminished for crop growth and maintain biodiversity. Equipped with two DragonEye electro-optical imagers, EOS SAT-1 will provide 44km swath panchromatic and multispectral imagery across 11 spectral bands at close to 1m resolution – making it one of the most capable imaging satellites in LEO.

Bryan Dean, CEO and Co-founder of Dragonfly Aerospace, said, “This is a key moment for Dragonfly Aerospace, and we are thrilled to be delivering EOS SAT-1 with a number of firsts – the first imaging satellite designed and built by Dragonfly, the first microsatellite to be manufactured in South Africa since 2009, the first satellite of the EOS SAT constellation and the first agri-focused constellation in space.”

 Dean also added that this has been an important project for our whole team and has allowed us to demonstrate our capabilities, not just in producing high-performance electro-optical imagers, but in designing and manufacturing a full imaging satellite system. We are extremely excited and waiting in anticipation for the SpaceX Transporter-6 launch. We look forward to supporting EOSDA with its mission to launch the next six satellites by 2025.

EOS SAT will provide the agriculture and

Agrotech, Company News, Packaging & Labelling, Supply Chain

Circular packaging featuring overall environmental benefits with StePac’s Xtend® and Xgo™

Germany based BASF SE and StePac Ltd. Based in Israel have joined forces to create the next generation of sustainable packaging specifically for the fresh produce sector. Supplying StePac with its Ultramid® CcycledTM, a chemically recycled polyamide 6, BASF will provide its partner greater flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainable standard within the circular economy.

StePac, specialized in developing advanced functional packaging solutions, is pioneering the use of chemically recycled plastics for the packaging of fresh perishables. The company was recently REDcert2 certified to incorporate chemically recycled polyamide 6 into its flexible, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) products. Their two brands XgoTM and Xtend® are based on MAP technology with built-in humidity control which effectively slows respiration inside the packaging, delays the ageing processes, inhibits microbial decay, and preserves the quality and nutritional value of the produce during prolonged storage and long-haul shipments. Ultramid Ccycled will make up 30% of the packaging material, with options for integration at a higher percentage.

“This alliance will help strike a balance between creating plastic packaging that is as eco-friendly as possible to keep fresh produce longer through more prudent use of lean plastic films,” said Gary Ward, Business Development Manager of StePac.

With ChemCyclingTM, BASF has been breaking new ground in the recycling of plastic waste. Chemical recycling primarily involves plastic waste that would have been used for energy recovery or landfilled. It complements mechanical recycling, accelerating a circular economy by yielding food-grade recycled plastic. Dr Dominik Winter, Vice President of BASF’s European polyamides business said, “This helps to replace fossil raw materials and is an important step towards circularity. As chemically recycled plastics have the same quality and safety as virgin material, the scope of plastics that can be recycled for fresh produce packaging is widened.”

Circular packaging featuring overall environmental benefits with

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Animal Health, Dairy, Live Stock

The well-equipped veterinary facilities will be just a call away by dialing 1962

Parshottam Rupala , Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying inaugurated 29 Mobile Veterinary Units and centralised call centre in Thiruvananthpuram  in a significant step for the benefit of the livestock farmers in Kerala.

These MVUs will be operated through a centralised call centre with a uniform Helpline No. 1962. It will receive calls from livestock rearers / animal owners and Veterinarian will prioritize all cases on the basis of emergency nature and will transmit them to the nearest MVU for attending at farmer’s doorstep.

MVUs will provide diagnosis treatment, vaccination, artificial insemination, minor surgical interventions, audio-visual aids and extension services to farmers / animal owners at their doorstep in far flung area. MVUs will act as one-stop Centre for solutions to veterinary issues and dissemination of information to the remotest areas of the country.

Kerala is deploying 50 MVUs in different districts. Now, the veterinary hospital will be just a call away by dialling 1962. These vehicles are equipped with state of art diagnostic tools, animal treatment and breeding accessories, audio visual aids and necessary medications.

The Minister highlighted that this intervention will boost the confidence of dairy breeders to rear high productive dairy animals as most of the breeders are reluctant to take their livestock to Veterinary Hospital for treatment and usually end calling quacks for doorstep delivery of services. Each MVU shall be manned by a qualified Veterinarian and a Paravet for providing specialized services to livestock farmers, he added.

Elaborating on the scheme the Minister underlined that the scheme is promising and will transform the dairy sector from a subsistence-based farm livelihood to a commercially viable enterprise by giving gainful employment to the youth of the Kerala.

In the current financial year, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), MoFAHD, Govt of India has sanctioned 4332 MVUs across the country.

The well-equipped veterinary facilities will be just