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Agro chems – Chemicals, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Company News, Interaction, North America

Mark Douglas president and chief executive officer of FMC Corporation emphasised  the need for faster, more efficient registration and regulatory processes to ensure food security.

 Mark Douglas, president and chief executive officer of FMC Corporation, met honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India – U.S. Innovation Handshake, the technology roundtable hosted at the White House in Washington D.C. on Friday as part of the Prime Minister’s four-day state visit to the U.S.

The event was organized to discuss technology areas of mutual interest and collaboration between the two countries, and roundtable guests included CEOs from leading U.S. and India companies. FMC was the only agriculture-focused company to attend the roundtable with Prime Minister Modi and President Biden.

During the event, participants discussed innovation opportunities in a shared technology ecosystem across varied sectors. Douglas shared perspectives from the crop protection industry, commenting how technology is already driving innovations in the sector, from digital and precision agriculture tools to drones and the discovery of new molecules. These have led to more effective, efficient and sustainable methods to protect crops and increase food production. He also emphasized the need for a more efficient regulatory and registration system, to ensure farmers across India, the U.S. and around the world have faster access to the most advanced crop protection technologies.

“Agriculture has been and continues to be a beneficiary of technological advances from other industries. Technology integration is the key towards advancing agriculture with sustainability and safety at the forefront for farmers in India and around the world. This roundtable offered a platform for us to bring together governments and companies through cooperation and exchange of knowledge,” said Douglas. “India is one of the top three markets for FMC globally. With the swift evolution of the agritech industry across the globe, it is pertinent and crucial for the Indian agriculture ecosystem to be more adaptive, and for policymakers to consider how best to enhance the efficiency of agrochemicals’ regulatory and registration systems. This will support agricultural companies like FMC to quickly bring to market the latest, more sustainable technologies such as microbial and sprayable pheromones to Indian farmers, resulting in more resilient food systems and food security for today and tomorrow.”

As the Indian government continues to take strides towards modernization of the agriculture industry, FMC has made clear its continuing commitment to the country and its progress, just as it has done for more than three decades. 

Douglas added, “It was an honour to participate in this historic meeting, and to serve as the voice of the agricultural industry.  We are grateful to President Biden, Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, Secretary Kwatra, National Security Advisor Doval, Secretary Singh, Ambassador Sandhu and the Governments of India and the U.S. for FMC’s invitation.”

Mark Douglas president and chief executive officer

Agro Universities, Foodgrains, R&D, Seeds

The focal point of discussion was how ISARC and BMGF can work towards expanding Seeds Without Borders, a seed-sharing agreement, to more countries to access seeds of new improved varieties.

Officials from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)-South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) to discuss the facilitation of the deployment of new rice varieties and technologies to more farmers across the world.

Coordinated by IRRI Deputy Director General for Research Ajay Kohli, ISARC Director Sudhanshu Singh, and IRRI Asia and Africa Advisor for Research and Partnerships Uma Shankar Singh, BMGF Global Growth & Opportunities Director Purvi Mehta, and Agriculture Development-Asia Senior Program Officer Siddhartha Chaturvedi met with IRRI scientists at ISARC in Varanasi.

The focal point of discussion was how ISARC and BMGF can work towards expanding Seeds Without Borders, a seed-sharing agreement, to more countries to quickly move high-yielding, nutritionally rich, and stress-tolerant rice varieties so that more farmers across the globe, particularly in Africa, could have access to the better quality of seeds of new improved varieties.

Facilitated by IRRI with support from BMGF, Seeds Without Borders is a regional seed policy agreement that speeds up the distribution of modern rice varieties across countries in South and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam have signed this agreement.

ISARC scientists updated the BMGF Team on the status of research and development work on single and multiple stress-tolerant rice varieties, Zn-rich rice varieties, low and ultra-low glycemic index rice varieties suitable for diabetics, climate-resilient management technologies, innovative seed multiplication, and out-scaling strategies to take them quickly to the large.

More farmers could be benefitted through the seed-sharing initiative by expanding the agreement to more countries particularly in Africa, according to Dr. Mehta. She said Seeds Without Borders is one the best initiatives of One CGIAR through which multiple stakeholders can work towards the shared goals of poverty alleviation and hunger-reduction.

Dr. Mehta also urged IRRI scientists to work collaboratively to address the issues and challenges related to climate change along with ensuring food and nutritional security. She expressed her appreciation for the research and development work conducted at ISARC in collaboration with IRRI headquarters in the Philippines.

The focal point of discussion was how

Agrotech, Biofuel industry, Company News, Middle East countries, Sustainable Energy

Sulzer will deliver a range of business-critical pumps to the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project’s renewable energy source production plant.

Sulzer pumps have been selected by natural gas process technology supplier Air Products to enable a 100 per cent renewable and carbon free biofuel facility in the smart city of NEOM, Saudi Arabia. The facility’s capacity is projected at some 220’000 tonnes of carbon-free, green hydrogen per year.

Sulzer will deliver a range of business-critical pumps to the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project’s renewable energy source production plant. The green biofuel can be transported to destinations worldwide, where it can be further used as carbon-free hydrogen. As a sustainable fuel, carbon-free hydrogen is used to power local vehicles, minimizing their impact on the environment.

Reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector

Sulzer’s Flow Equipment President Jan Lüder says: “We are pleased to see our technology supporting this progressive and innovative project. It is our long-term and ongoing investment in research and development and our proximity to the customer that positions us to help Air Products drive improvements in sustainable fuel production.”

Wolfgang Brand, Air Products’ Vice President NEOM Green Hydrogen, adds: “We selected Sulzer based on its broad technical capabilities and operational flexibility. With a manufacturing facility and a service center in Saudi Arabia, Sulzer can provide comprehensive and cost-effective in-country support. We look forward to working with them on this project to demonstrate how to reduce carbon emissions from the transport sector and ultimately establish a more sustainable future.”

Sulzer will deliver a range of business-critical

Company News, Horticulture, India, Sustainability

West-In Avo is looking to expand the total nursery capacity to propagate over 100,000 plants a year

Alk Brand, Group CEO of Westfalia Fruit, is on his maiden visit to India after the establishment of West-In Avo, a joint venture of Westfalia Fruit International with Sam Agri – India, Dvori or & Zohara Farms – Israel for an integrated avocado growing and marketing project. The visit included a review of West-In Avo’s long-term strategy for the Indian market, growth plans and commitment of Westfalia Fruit to develop the avocado industry in India.

West-In Avo is looking to expand the total nursery capacity to propagate over 100,000 plants a year and start producing clonal plants, which have better tolerance to phytophthora root rot and are ideally suited for the high rainfall tropical growing conditions in the Western Ghats region. West-In Avo is looking to work with large and small growers in this region to expand avocado growing areas from the current plantation of 120 hectares to over 1000 hectares in the next 3-4 years.

“We have had a strong start to our partnership in India, establishing ourselves as the market leader in avocados – having the largest growing footprint of avocado orchards and marketing avocado fruit in the Indian market. We see a great potential for India developing into a large market for growing Hass avocados for both domestic consumption and exports and Westfalia Fruit will take a leadership role in establishing the avocado industry in India,” mentioned Alk Brand, Group CEO of Westfalia Fruit Group.

GVK Naidu, MD of Sam Agri Group added, “Being the first integrated avocado project in India, we have built a solid relationship with our grower partners by providing the highest quality planting material, continued technical support, developing a package of practices for Indian conditions and also offer buy back of produce for marketing.”

West-In Avo is looking to expand the

Agro chems – Chemicals, AgroPolicy, R&D

Phyto-insecticide from cassava leaves are molecules with pesticidal action against insect pests of various crops.

ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram has licensed machinery and process for the extraction of three bioactive molecules from cassava leaves to a Tiruchirappalli-based company Green Edge Agri Imports Private Limited. Named Nanma, Menma and Shreya, they are molecules with pesticidal action against insect pests of various crops. While Menma is effective against the borer insect pests of banana and coconut, Nanma is effective against sucking insect pests like aphids, thrips, scale insects, mealybugs, and early instars of tobacco caterpillar (Spodoptera litura). The third variant Shreyais effective in dissolving the mealy substance of the mealybug, thereby exposing the insect for control through other means.

Dr G. Byju, Director, ICAR-CTCRI and Elango, Director, M/S Green Edge signed the technology licensing form (TLF) in the presence of Praveen Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Agrinnovate India Ltd. (Agin), a ‘for profit’ company owned by the Department of Agricultural Research & Education (DARE), Government of India tasked with commercialising the technologies developed by ICAR Institutes.

Though these technologies were perfected more than a decade ago and proved very effective for the eco-friendly management of a variety of insect pests, this is the first time that the machinery and process are licensed to a company, said Dr Byju.

Dr Malik called for implementing a sustainable approach to commercialising the technologies through a long-term public-private partnership.

Dr C.A. Jayaprakas, Principal Scientist (Retd.) and principal inventor of the technologies, all scientists and technical staff involved with the project also witnessed the event.

Phyto-insecticide from cassava leaves are molecules with

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, India

The company is also gearing up to launch its ambitious product Tricolor in July

Best Agrolife Ltd. recently received three more major registrations. BAL informed that the Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee (CIBRC) had granted the registrations for Technical Indigenous manufacturing of Diclosulam technical 94 per cent minimum, Boscalid technical 96 per cent minimum and Dimethomorph technical 95.5 per cent minimum to one of its wholly owned subsidiary Best Crop Science Pvt. Ltd.

Diclosulam is a broadleaf herbicide that is used to control weeds in soybean and peanut crops, while Boscalid is a foliar fungicide against a broad range of fungal pathogens in a wide range of crops, including vegetables and other crops. It inhibits spore germination and germ tube elongation and is also effective in all other stages of fungal development. Dimethomorph is a systemic fungicide that protects potato, tomato and grape crops from fungi in the water mould family, such as root rot, crown rot, late blight and downy mildew.

“These registrations are crucial for our company and will enable us to serve the farming community better. Along with producing the technicals, we also have plans to develop their highly sought-after formulation products, which will expand our product line further and help us maintain the goal of 30 per cent growth and 20 per cent EBITDA margin,” said Vimal Kumar, MD of BAL.

“For example, Metiram 44 per cent + Dimethomorph 9 per cent WG and Dimethomorph 12 per cent + Pyraclostrobin 6.7 per cent WG are the major formulations of Dimethomorph whereas Boscalid 25.25 + Pyraclostrobin 12.8 per cent WG is the prime Boscalid formulation. Since approvals for Metiram and Pyraclostrobin technicals are already in place with the company, we can now develop these products in-house in both technical and formulations segments,” Vimal Kumar added.

It is significant to mention that BAL recently became the first Indian agrochemical company to manufacture both AI and formulations of Pyroxasulfone after getting the CIB registration for the domestic manufacturing of Pyroxasulfone 85 per cent WG. The company is also set to launch their much-awaited fungicide Tricolor, a combination product of Trifloxystrobin 10 per cent + Difenoconazole 12.5 per cent + Sulphur 3 per cent Sc. It effectively controls several crop diseases like Sheath blight, Powdery Mildew, Scab, and Alternaria in Rice, Tomato, Grapes, Chilli, Wheat, Mango, and Apple.

The company is also gearing up to

Agri Genomics, Agro Universities, Agrotech, Foodgrains, R&D, Seeds

The renewal of Long-Term Partnership Agreement (LPA) will ensure the continuity of vital support for the Genebank’s operations for the preservation of rice genetic resources.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust) visited the International Rice Genebank, hosted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), to review the Long-Term Partnership Agreement (LPA) as the current 5-year cycle concludes.

The review process, which occurred from 5-9 June 2023, involved a comprehensive review of the International Rice Genebank’s operations, performance targets, and reported data to ensure compliance with the standards set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). During the first day of the review process, the review panel provided an overview of the procedure, while on the final day, they presented their recommendations to the Genebank Manager, Venuprasad Ramaiah, and the Genebank staff, including the Executive Management Team of IRRI. The panel of reviewers consisted of external experts Paula Bramel, an independent consultant, and Sally Norton from the Australian Grains Genebank. Facilitating the review process on behalf of the Crop Trust were Sarada Krishnan and Nelissa Jamora.

The diligent efforts of the Fit-for-Future Genetic Resources (FFGR) staff in preparing for the week-long review process bore fruit, as the reviewers provided positive comments and reassured the genebank that the LPA would continue. This review is one of the crucial steps for the renewal of this partnership agreement, which will ensure the continuity of vital support for the Genebank’s operations for the preservation of rice genetic resources and their continuous use, which are essential for future research and crop improvement initiatives.

The initial signing of the LPA took place during the International Rice Congress in Singapore in 2018. This fund, provided by the Crop Trust Endowment Fund, supports the vital operations of the Genebank and its staff in the FFGR Unit of the Rice Breeding Innovations Department.

Notably, IRRI is the first CGIAR center to receive the LPA. The International Rice Genebank plays a crucial role in conserving and sharing genetic diversity in rice, a staple food for millions of people worldwide. By renewing the LPA, it will reaffirm IRRI’s commitment to securing the world’s crop diversity and strengthening global food security.

The renewal of Long-Term Partnership Agreement (LPA)

AgroPolicy, E-commerce, Foodgrains, India, Trade, Warehousing

FSSAI License made mandatory for participation to identify genuine processors and traders.

Chairman and Managing Director, Food Corporation of India, Ashok K. K. Meena said that the Government has now directed the FCI to conduct the e-auctions of wheat and rice to check the inflationary trends in prevailing retail prices as a part of market intervention to control the price of wheat and rice. Meena said this while addressing the media in New Delhi.

The base price of wheat has been kept at the same level at Rs 2150/qtl for FAQ and Rs 2125/qtl for URS wheat. In order to control the hoarding of wheat, the Government has decided that the declaration in the Wheat Stock Monitoring System portal is mandatory for participation in the auctions. In addition to this, in order to identify the genuine processors and traders, the valid FSSAI License has also been made mandatory for participation.

The maximum quantity that a buyer can bid for is limited to 100 MTs in this e-auction. To accommodate the small wheat processors and traders, the minimum quantity has been kept to 10 MTs. Further, to accommodate the small and marginal traders and processors of wheat, the EMD for participation in the e-auctions has also been reduced by 50 per cent from the earlier levels.

The bidding is also limited to the local buyers by ensuring that the GST registration of the State is mapped and checked before stocks are released. These measures are taken to ensure a wider local reach for the stocks offered in a particular State.

4 LMT of wheat is being offered in the 1st e-auction from 457 depots across the country. 271 fresh empanelment of buyers were done after 01.04.2023. There are 2093 active empanelled bidders as on date. The e-auction for rice under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) would commence from 5th July 2023. The base price of Rice is Rs 3100/qtl.

6 weekly e-auctions of wheat were conducted by FCI till 15.03.2023. Total quantity of 33.7 LMT wheat was offloaded, and the prices of Wheat came down by 19% due to this massive intervention in a span of 45 days. Due to the Rabi Procurement period of Wheat, the market intervention was suspended. 

FSSAI License made mandatory for participation to

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

Under this partnership Bayer provided Crystal access to newer innovations and Crystal based on their manufacturing and development strength helped bring new solutions to the Indian market.

 Bayer CropScience and Crystal Crop Protection Limited came together in 2018 to embark on a collaborative project to enhance the productivity of Rice and Cotton farmers in India. Under this collaboration, Bayer provided Crystal access to newer innovations and Crystal based on their manufacturing and development strength helped bring new solutions to the Indian market. Today, Bayer CropScience and Crystal Crop Protection Limited have launched the product, Curbix Pro and Kollar respectively, to aid farmers in tackling plant hoppers, ensuring the best crop protection practices are implemented.

Through this partnership, Bayer and Crystal have provided Indian farmers with solutions to build effective crop protection programs and create strong resistance against pests. As India is the world’s second-largest producer, and the largest exporter of rice, farmer needs and crop dynamics in India differs from the large-scale agricultural operations in western countries. One of the main reasons for crop loss in paddy cultivation is pest attacks. Paddy fields essentially are infested by two types of paddy hoppers, Brown Plant Hopper, or White Backed Plant Hopper, which can lead to huge crop loss. To tackle this issue, Bayer and Crystal will provide farmers with an innovative product, having a unique combination of dual active ingredients against plant hoppers. With this dual action, farmers will be able to ensure lesser crop losses, leading to higher yields.

Speaking on the launch, Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head, Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka said, “The importance of rice to India and even the world’s food security needs cannot be overstated. What impacts rice, impacts the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers. Our expertise lies in creating innovative solutions and in building collaborative ecosystems that help deliver the best value to our growers. Curbix Pro will surely be a significant value addition to our vast portfolio targeted at enhancing farmer yields and income. 

“It is another momentous occasion for us to successfully launch Kollar co-developed with Bayer Crop Science. This new offering is a milestone for Crystal’s enhancing R&D capabilities, which will support paddy farmers to enhance their profitability. With this, Crystal now has a very strong and value-driven portfolio for the full crop cycle of paddy crop.” said Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director, Crystal Crop Protection Limited.

Under this partnership Bayer provided Crystal access

Company News, India, Sustainability

The stewardship campaign reached 6,000 farmers and industry stakeholders across 14 states in the country through a large number of on-the-ground meetings

FMC India, a leading agricultural sciences company, marked the recent World Environment Day with a product stewardship campaign to promote safe and judicious consumption of crop protection products, amongst stakeholders.

The stewardship campaign reached 6,000 farmers and industry stakeholders across 14 states in the country through a large number of on-the-ground meetings. In addition, the company also adopted virtual reality and augmented reality to enhance knowledge retention through immersive learning for agricultural scientists and students at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, according to the company statement.

Elaborating on the stewardship initiative, Ravi Annavarapu, President, of FMC India said, “FMC is fully committed towards safety and welfare of the Indian farming community. The adoption of technology-driven solutions in agriculture has become critical for ensuring crop protection and food security. India’s G20 Presidency theme ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ signifies collective efforts for achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We concur with the idea of collaborative growth for responsible and responsive development in agriculture. Having successfully facilitated this training with PAU, we look to continue fostering the next generation of agriculture leaders who embrace and harness the potential of emerging technologies.”

Esley Ng, APAC Stewardship Lead, FMC Corporation said, “This innovative approach revolutionises learning. As we aspire to achieve maximum impact in enhancing stewardship initiatives, starting with the current generation of agricultural talents like those from PAU and building on the fundamentals of safe and judicious consumption of crop protection products will go a long way.”

The stewardship campaign reached 6,000 farmers and

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, India, Sustainability

Standard promotes environmental conservation, circular economy and consumer well-being 

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published IS 18267: 2023 ‘Food Serving Utensils Made from Agri By-Products – Specification,’ aimed at reducing plastic pollution and promoting sustainability. The standard provides comprehensive guidelines to manufacturers and consumers, ensuring uniformity in quality requirements across the country.

The implementation of this standard has extensive advantages as using biodegradable agri by-product utensils can contribute towards environmental safety, conserve natural resources, and promote a circular economy. These utensils are free from harmful additives and ensure consumer well-being. The standard also creates economic opportunities for farmers and supports sustainable agricultural practices, contributing to rural development.

The rising use of disposable tableware worldwide is driving the global market for disposable tableware. Disposable plate’s market size was valued at $4.26 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $6.73 billion by 2028, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.94 per cent from 2021 to 2028. 

In India, numerous large-scale and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) level manufacturers are actively contributing to the production of biodegradable cutlery, and they stand to benefit immensely from this Standard. The demand for these products is consistently rising, leading to a steady growth in the number of manufacturers involved in their production.

The standard covers various aspects, including raw materials, manufacturing techniques, performance, and hygiene requirements for the production of biodegradable utensils. It specifies the use of agricultural by-products, such as leaves and sheaths, as preferred materials for making plates, cups, bowls, and more. The standard recommends appropriate parts for plants and trees and provides manufacturing techniques like hot pressing, cold pressing, moulding, and stitching. It also emphasises smooth surfaces, and non-sharp edges, and prohibits the use of chemicals, resins and adhesives.

Standard promotes environmental conservation, circular economy and

Climate, Dairy, Environment, Live Stock

Collaboration Demonstrates that Dairy Can Be a Sustainable Source of Nutrition

Nestlé Health Science, a leader in the science of nutrition, is collaborating with Royal Dairy Farm in Washington state to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through climate-smart farming practices. Together, Royal Dairy and Nestlé Health Science are aligned on four key areas of environmentally-focused innovation—cow feed, manure management, renewable energy, and regenerative agriculture – to show how dairy milk can be a sustainable source of nutrition.

To help bring this sustainable source of nutrition to families, Royal Dairy joins Nestlé Health Science’s family of dairy suppliers for Carnation Breakfast Essentials nutritional powder drink mix, which is available at national retailers.

“Dairy farmers are experts who know their land and what will work on their farms best, but high costs and technological barriers mean many farmers need support transitioning to practices that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Christiane Baker, Director of Sustainability U.S., Nestlé Health Science. “Royal Dairy is pioneering a comprehensive regenerative approach to dairy that helps reduce our carbon footprint while also supporting a more sustainable food system for all. We’re proud to help Royal Dairy implement additional sustainable solutions that can better their business and the planet, and we look forward to exploring ways to expand this initiative in the future.”

Collaboration Demonstrates that Dairy Can Be a

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, IT, Sustainability

Through an app, remote farmers can do e-KYC by scanning their faces without OTP or fingerprint

The PM-Kisan Mobile App with Face Authentication Feature was launched by Narendra Singh Tomar Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister under the central government’s ambitious and popular scheme for income support to farmers ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’. The best example of modern technology using the Face Authentication Feature from this app farmers can complete e-KYC remotely, sitting at home easily by scanning faces without OTP or fingerprint and helping 100 other farmers to do e-KYC at their homes. Recognising the need to make e-KYC mandatory, the Government of India has extended the ability of farmers to perform e-KYC to officers of state governments, so that each officer can complete the e-KYC process for 500 farmers.

Thousands of farmers present in Krishi Vigyan Kendras across the country, as well as officers of the Central and State Governments and representatives of various government agencies and agricultural organisations were virtually connected to the event held at Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi. On this occasion, Tomar said that Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi is a very comprehensive and ambitious scheme of the Government of India, in the implementation of which the state governments have performed their role very diligently, as a result of which we are in a position to pay the instalment of the scheme about 8.5 crore farmers after KYC. The more refined this platform the more it will be useful for PM-Kisan and whenever any benefit has to be given to the farmers, complete data will be available with the Central and State Governments, so that no problem can arise in data verification.

Tomar stated that PM-Kisan is an innovative scheme whose benefits are being given by the central government to the farmers without any middlemen. It has become possible to give benefits to such a large number of farmers only with the help of technology. No one can question the implementation of this entire scheme which is a very important achievement. The work has become much easier by using technology the GoI developed this App. The Government of India has made all the necessary facilities available to the states, now if the states work more quickly, then we will reach all the beneficiaries and achieve the set target.

Through an app, remote farmers can do

Horticulture, Supply Chain, Trade, World

Last week, Dutch Greenhouse Delta, together with partners from the government and business community, hosted four incoming trade missions

The official delegations came from India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kazakhstan, and various Stan countries. They were immersed in the knowledge and expertise of the Dutch greenhouse horticulture sector through a tailor-made program. During these missions, the focus was on exploring collaboration opportunities and strengthening trade relations to facilitate the transformation towards sustainable and affordable fresh food production in the respective countries.

The delegation programs featured company visits across the entire ecosystem of the Dutch horticulture cluster. Logistics, the port, biology, breeding, and innovative horticultural technology were presented to international decision-makers. The delegation members included policymakers, investors, growers, and companies involved in the import and export of fresh produce. A comprehensive visit to the GreenTech exhibition, where innovations were showcased, left a significant impression on the delegations. Additionally, knowledge sessions and matchmaking with various Dutch companies were part of the programs.

Sanket Mehta is the co-founder & director of Nutrifresh Farm Tech India and one of the delegates. He reflects on India’s trade mission to the Netherlands, “The whole experience of the trade mission has been fascinating. Programs like these are important in future collaborations, and to take a leap in the transformation towards growing fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables locally. Knowledge exchange will take both countries forward. I am really happy that I am an associate of PIB HortiRoad2India, which promotes such collaborations between The Netherlands and India”.

Several organisations have expressed their intention to further collaborate, including Dr Abdelaziz Almalek, the Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Water, Environment, and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia. He will advocate for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on agriculture between our countries from Saudi Arabia. The trade mission from Kazakhstan can expect a concrete follow-up during AgroWorld, an exhibition taking place from November 1st to 3rd in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Additionally, by the end of this year, an outgoing trade mission to India, led by Mark Rutte, will take place to further strengthen collaborations between the countries.

Last week, Dutch Greenhouse Delta, together with