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Agrotech, Company News, India, IT

Cargill’s ‘Digital Saathi’ – a mobile-first, AI-driven service platform and Bayer’s Better Life Farming Centres aims to improve market access for smallholder farmers.

Bayer CropScience a global major in agriculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cargill, a global food corporation that creates connections across the global food system to help the world thrive.

This strategic partnership aims to revolutionize the agricultural landscape by offering farmers innovative solutions and facilitating optimal price realization for their produce. Drawing upon the capabilities of innovative platforms such as Cargill’s ‘Digital Saathi’ – a mobile-first, AI-driven service platform tailored to hyper-localized needs, and Bayer’s Better Life Farming Centres, that supports over 500,000 smallholder farmers, this strategic partnership is dedicated to improving market access for smallholder farmers.

Accessible in multiple languages, including English, Kannada, and Hindi, Digital Saathi caters to farmers in various districts of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, facilitating improved decision-making processes. This partnership between Bayer and Cargill endeavors to connect with 3 million farmers across India within the next five years. Initially, the partnership will be implemented in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and subsequently expand to other regions.

Together, Bayer and Cargill are committed to equipping farmers with digital solutions, including discussion forums and comprehensive information on market prices, weather forecasts, and pre- to post-harvest insights. Bayer’s eCommerce strategy involves expanding tailored solutions through the Digital Saathi app, starting with corn farming in Karnataka and later expanding to other crops and regions.

By collaborating with Food Value Chain Partners, the aim is to revolutionize and sustainably impact the agricultural sector. This partnership also provides farmers access to Bayer’s leading corn portfolio, DEKALB®, on the Digital Saathi Platform, enhancing their agricultural capabilities.

Additionally, Cargill’s Digital Saathi platform offers convenient Crop Input e-commerce and Crop Sell Offer features, ensuring farmers have improved access to high-quality crop inputs and facilitating market linkages between farmers and aggregators through a digitally enabled marketplace. This integrated approach aims to enhance farmers’ decision-making capabilities, streamline agricultural operations, and foster efficient and seamless connections within the agricultural ecosystem.

Digital Saathi has already successfully engaged with more than 50,000 registered small farmers and is projected to expand its reach to 3 million farmers across eight states, including Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh by 2027. In line with Cargill’s global objective of providing sustainable agricultural practices training and improving market access for 10 million farmers by 2030, the introduction of Digital Saathi represents a significant stride toward achieving this goal.

Speaking on the partnership, Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, Country Divisional Head, Crop Science Division of Bayer for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka said, “Access to advisory, quality inputs, credit, technologies, or markets is one of the biggest enablers to unlocking smallholder value, and it lies at the very core of what this partnership is all about. We also believe that digitization is key to this exercise therefore we are looking at leveraging all relevant digital tools to ensure that we are able to deliver greater value to the smallholder farmers and create for them a level playing field.”

Simon George, president of Cargill in India, said, “As Cargill, we are dedicated to creating innovative digital solutions, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Bayer to foster a productive and profitable ecosystem for farmers across India. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey towards sustainable and prosperous agriculture. By leveraging our combined strengths, expertise, and global networks, we remain steadfast in our commitment to support farmers worldwide and cultivate a resilient and inclusive food system.”

Commenting on the partnership, the founder of Digital Saathi, Raman Saxena said, “We initiated the introduction of farm advisory subscription and farm management services (soil testing) on our platform earlier this year, aiming to provide farmers with a comprehensive solution for their agricultural requirements. Through this partnership, we aim to provide access to wide range of quality inputs and implements to farmers via Agri Input Market place which will improve their yields and simultaneously provide holistic solution for maximizing farmers income.”

Cargill’s ‘Digital Saathi’ – a mobile-first, AI-driven

Agrotech, Company News, India, Start ups

ITC Asia 2023, held in Singapore brought together tech entrepreneurs, investors, and insurance industry incumbents from around the globe.

Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS), an agriculture and dairy risk management company, proudly announces its successful participation in ITC Asia 2023, one of the largest InsurTech events across the globe. Not only did WRMS showcase its revolutionary product, SecuRisk, an AI-enabled parametric insurance platform for emerging economies, catering to both insurers and reinsurers through its Dashboard and brokers and customers through its Mobile app, but it also proudly emerged as the recipient of the esteemed InsurTech Connect Asia Award.

ITC Asia 2023, held in Singapore brought together tech entrepreneurs, investors, and insurance industry incumbents from around the globe. WRMS seized the opportunity to demonstrate the ground-breaking features and far-reaching impact of SecuRisk, which garnered significant interest from executives, entrepreneurs, and investors in attendance. The SECURISK platform being quite recent with its far-reaching impact opportunities for carriers and customers alike became an engaging focal point in the conversations that resonated throughout the event. Discussions encompassed a diverse spectrum, spanning from exploring the comprehensive suite of programs and platform functionalities across the Asia-Pacific region to forging in-depth collaborations with insurers, insurtechs, and brokers from across the region.

Anuj Kumbhat, CEO and Co-founder of WRMS expressed his excitement about the event, stating, “ITC Asia provided an unparalleled platform for WRMS to showcase our commitment to developing climate, disaster, and agriculture risk transfer solutions. The overwhelming response and recognition we received for SecuRisk reaffirm our belief in the power of innovation and collaboration to transform the insurance industry.”

WRMS’s participation in the ITC Asia Awards proved to be a momentous occasion as the company emerged as the ultimate winner. The selection process comprised three rigorous stages, including nomination and shortlisting, ITC Asia Roadshow pitch sessions, and the grand finale of the ITC Asia Awards. Anuj Kumbhat delivered an impressive pitch about WRMS and the SECURISK parametric insurance platform, which captivated the ITC Expert Board and the audience.

The award not only validates the dedication and vision of the WRMS team but also opens new avenues for collaboration with global insurance partners. WRMS has already initiated follow-on conversations with interested insurance partners met during the event to introduce innovative parametric insurance solutions in their respective markets. This recognition and the relationships built at ITC Asia will accelerate WRMS’s impact across emerging economies.

Looking ahead, WRMS has exciting plans for the future. The company announced the beta launch of SECURISK in Q3 2023, inviting insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and distribution partners to register their interest for participation in the exclusive beta round. With the tremendous interest garnered at ITC Asia, WRMS aims to scale SECURISK to 50 countries by the end of 2024, striving to fulfill a significant global protection need estimated at $160 billion.

ITC Asia 2023, held in Singapore brought

AgroPolicy, Finance, Horticulture, India, Water

The project builds upon a pilot financed by ADB’s project readiness facility which demonstrated the subtropical horticulture production of over 200 hectares

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $130 million loan to increase agricultural productivity, improve access to irrigation and promote horticulture agribusinesses to raise farmers’ income in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

The signatories to the Himachal Pradesh Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation, and Value Addition Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, for ADB.

After signing the loan agreement, Mishra stated that improving subtropical horticulture in the southern areas of Himachal Pradesh, hitherto dependent on temperate horticulture in northern areas, offers opportunities for crop diversification, climate adaptation and more equal economic and social development across the state’s rural areas. Supporting horticulture value chains will also boost the subsector’s contribution to the country’s development and food security.

“The project builds upon a pilot financed by ADB’s project readiness facility which demonstrated the subtropical horticulture production over 200 hectares and prepared the draft water user association (WUA) act and the draft state horticulture development strategy,” said Konishi.

The project interventions will help increase the income and resilience to the effects of climate change of at least 15,000 farm households across 7 districts of the state namely Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Sirmour, Solan, and Una. These households have stopped farming or have reduced their farming areas because of a lack of irrigation facilities and crop damage by wild and stray animals.

The project will improve on-farm irrigation and water management in about 6,000 hectares of farmland by rehabilitating or building new irrigation schemes and strengthening the capacity of WUAs for micro-irrigation management through joint efforts from the state’s Jal Shakti Vibhag (Water Resources Department) and Department of Horticulture (DOH).

The project will also help create an ecosystem to enhance farmers’ access to markets of subtropical horticulture. The farmers will be organised into cluster-wide community horticulture production and marketing associations (CHPMAs) and district-wide CHPMA cooperative societies. CHPMA apex institution, a farmer producer company (FPC), will lead state-wide agribusiness development with the aim of ensuring profitability and access to markets of subtropical horticulture. The FPC will handle business plan development; agribusiness promotion; and designing value-addition facilities such as sorting and packaging facilities, and storage and collection centres. It will also assist CHPMAs in managing these facilities.

The project will also modernise public and private subtropical horticulture nursery facilities for improved plant health, and boost beneficiary farmers’ access to information and communication technologies, and other digital agri-technology systems for real-time farm advisories and better CHPMA management.

The project builds upon a pilot financed

Oilseeds, Seeds, Sustainability, World

Owners of small farms in the regions affected by Russian aggression can count on donations of seed supply

In May 2023, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation launched a program to provide winter oilseed rape to small Ukrainian farms in the regions most affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion. The program’s partner in Ukraine is the international R&D agricultural company Corteva Agriscience, which provides access to advanced genetics of Pioneer seeds.

According to the eleventh annual Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report that assesses the state of the food systems in 113 countries and is developed by Economist Impact and was supported by Corteva Agriscience, the war has significantly affected global food security. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Corteva Agriscience focus their efforts on addressing this global problem, including supporting Ukrainian farmers with seeds in extremely resource-constrained field conditions.

Farmers located in certain regions affected by Russia’s invasion and whose cultivated area is less than 200 hectares under winter oilseeds rape can participate in the program. Farmers who order at least 5 units of Pioneer seed will be eligible to receive an equal number of additional Pioneer seed units for a symbolic price of 1 UAH without VAT. To apply for participation, farmers should contact the Corteva Agriscience sales representative in their region.

Howard G. Buffett, the Foundation’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Ukraine plays a critical role in the world’s food supply, but Russia’s invasion has left many Ukrainian farmers, and particularly those with smaller farms, unable to access the inputs they need to plant their crops. We are pleased to partner with Corteva Agriscience to help farmers access this much-needed seed supply and in return, help mitigate the current global food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s war on Ukraine.”

“Corteva Agriscience has been working side by side with Ukrainian farmers for many years, knows the challenges they face, and works to assist them in overcoming those challenges. The company remains in support of Ukraine and provides comprehensive assistance to communities so they can fully restore their farming operations. That is why we welcome the initiative of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and consider it an honour to participate in this program to provide farmers with our advanced seed of Pioneer brand,” says Sergii Kharin, Business Leader at Corteva Agriscience in Eastern Europe.

Owners of small farms in the regions

Agro Universities, Agrotech, India, R&D

An agreement to collaborate work on a contract research project entitled ‘Development of AI-enabled machine vision based grain analyser’

ICAR – Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana and Osaw Industrial Products Pvt. Ltd. (INDOSAW), Ambala entered into an agreement to collaborate work on a contract research project entitled ‘Development of AI-enabled machine vision based grain analyser’.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dr Nachiket Kotwaliwale, Director, ICAR – CIPHET, Ludhiana and Dr Ajay Sagar, Managing Director, INDOSAW, Ambala in a ceremony held at INDOSAW, Ambala.

The program was facilitated by Manisha Sagar, Dr Vinod Kalbande and Vijay from INDOSAW, Ambala and Dr Ranjeet Singh and Dr Dhritiman Saha from ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana.

An agreement to collaborate work on a

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Live Stock

Sagar Parikrama Yatra Phase VII concluded at Trivandrum by covering entire coastal regions of Kerala

The expansion of inland fish production, primarily driven by aquaculture, has been spectacular. Inland fish production increased 400 per cent from 28.23 lakh tonnes per year in 2000-01 to 121.21 lakh tonnes per year in 2021-22. Sagar Parikrama Yatra Phase VII which started on 8th June 2023 from Madakkara, Kerala, and covered places like Pallikkara, Bekal, Kanhangadu, Kasaragode, touched Mahe (Puducherry), Kozhikode district on 9th June 2023, Thrissur district of Kerala on 10th June 2023, reached Cochin and has concluded at Trivandrum by covering entire coastal regions of Kerala.

Sagar Parikrama Yatra Phase VII was a great success as it continued for five days starting from 8th June to 12th June 202 with an aim to facilitate interaction with fishermen, coastal communities and stakeholders so as to disseminate information on various fisheries-related schemes and programs being implemented by the Government; demonstrating solidarity with all fisher folk, fish farmers and concerned stakeholder as a spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and to promote responsible fisheries with focus on the sustainable balance between the utilisation of marine fisheries resources for food security of nation and livelihoods of coastal fisher communities.

Sagar Parikrama Yatra Phase VII concluded at

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Supply Chain

15 LMT of Wheat to be offloaded in the first phase from central pool stock under Open Market Sale Scheme

In order to manage the overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, the Government of India has decided to impose stock limits on the Wheat applicable to Traders/Wholesaler, Retailers, Big Chain Retailers and Processors for all States and Union Territories. The Removal of Licensing Requirements, Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions on Specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2023 has been issued with immediate effect from 12th June 2023 and will be applicable until 31st March 2024 for all States and Union Territories.

Stock limits will be applied to each entity individually such as Traders/Wholesaler- 3000 MT; Retailer-  10 MT for each of the Retail outlets; Big Chain Retailer- 10 MT for each outlet and 3000 MT at all their depots and Processors- 75 per cent of annual installed capacity. Respective legal entities, as above, have to declare the stocks position and update them regularly on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/wsp/login) of the Department of Food and Public Distribution and in case the stocks held by them are higher than the prescribed limit then they have to bring the same to the prescribed stock limits within 30 days of issue of this notification. 

Further, Central Government has also decided to offload the Wheat wherein 15 LMT of Wheat will be offloaded in the first phase from central pool stock under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) (OMSS (D)) 2023 to flour mills/private traders/bulk buyers/manufacturers of wheat products through e-auction to control retail prices of wheat. Wheat will be sold in lot sizes of 10-100 MT. Registration for this auction is open on the FCI’s e-auction platform.

It has also been decided to offload rice under OMSS in order to moderate the prices. The quantity for the first phase of the e-auction for rice will be decided shortly.

The imposition of stock limits on Wheat along with offloading of Wheat and Rice under OMSS is part of the consistent efforts made by the Government to stabilise the prices of essential commodities. The Department of Food and Public Distribution is closely monitoring the stock position of Wheat and rice to control the prices and ensure easy availability in the country.

15 LMT of Wheat to be offloaded

Company News, Organic, Supply Chain, Transportation, World

This agreement with MGX is evidence of ONIT’s commitment to providing natural, organic agriculture inputs that perform as well or better than traditional chemical products to farmers around the world

ONIT Sciences announced that MGX will serve as the exclusive authorised distributor for ONIT’s innovative organic products across three major agricultural regions.

“This agreement with MGX is evidence of ONIT’s commitment to providing natural, organic agriculture inputs that perform as well or better than traditional chemical products to farmers around the world,” stated Jeff Moses, president of ONIT Sciences. “MGX is a proven performer, with a world-class team and deep connections to major crop producers in each region they serve. We are extremely excited to open these new markets and help support organic initiatives in countries that have been harmed by chemical farming protocols.”

MGX will carry all ONIT Science products, including its flagship ONIT Grow, a powerful bio-stimulant, surfactant and soil amendment that uses all-natural, organic ingredients to penetrate even the toughest plant surface to stimulate plant vigour and yield. Increases in yield have been documented as high as 40 per cent in some crops. Also available through MGX are the company’s ONIT Input Plus and ONIT Input products, which help farmers significantly reduce costs by enhancing the uptake and absorption of any nutrient, fertiliser or other input that it is mixed with.

“At MGX, we are excited about this new opportunity that will be a great extension to our existing lineup of quality products.  From our initial research, we can see that ONIT’s organic products will be well received within the agricultural communities and within the governments,” stated Moe Negin, Founder of MGX Global Trade Canada Corp. “Our mission is to give back to local communities in rural areas by supplying environmentally sustainable products to help our planet and for healthier future generations.”

Territories covered by this exclusive Authorized Distributor agreement include:

South America

Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Chile

Middle East/North Africa
Algeria, Turkey, Dubai, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Libya, Saudia Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen

Philippines

This agreement with MGX is evidence of

Company News, India, Oilseeds, Sustainability

The initiative aims to uplift farming communities and contribute to India’s self-reliance on edible oils

3F Oil Palm in association with the Assam government, recently organised a ceremonial plantation of Oil Palm under the National Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) at Bokanala in Assam’s Lakhimpur district. State Agriculture Department and 3F Oil Palm mark the first Oil Palm Plantation under the NMEO-OP in Assam. 

“The initiative aims to uplift farming communities and contribute to India’s self-reliance on edible oils. It emphasises the government’s commitment to the development and progress of the Oil Palm Plantation sector,” according to the official statement. 

The ceremony is being hosted by 3F Oil Palm, a leading player in the Oil Palm industry that has already established a state-of-the-art oil palm nursery at Bokulbari village in Lakhimpur district and another nursery in the pipeline at Chirang. 

In recognition of their commitment towards the Oil Palm development and processing industry, 3F Oil Palm has already signed an MOU with the Assam government in December 2022 and aims to develop Oil Palm plantations and processing facilities in sub-zone 1-b and V-a, encompassing Lakhimpur and Chirang districts, as part of the NMEO-OP, the statement added.

Sanjay Goenka, Managing Director and CEO of 3F Oil Palm said, “The ceremonial plantation of Oil Palm under the NMEO-OP is a significant step towards the development of the Oil Palm industry in the state of Assam. It gives me immense pride to note that upon signing the MoU with the government in December 2022, we are the first company to have commenced our investment and set up a state-of-the-art nursery and commence plantation activities through this ceremonial plantation. 

“We are committed to contributing to the progress of this sector in Assam and we aim to cover over 20,000 Ha of the area under Oil Palm over the next 5 years”

3F Oil Palm has ambitious plans to develop 23,500 hectares of Oil Palm plantations over the next five years, the statement added. The company already has an upcoming greenfield integrated Oil Palm processing unit in Arunachal Pradesh. 

The initiative aims to uplift farming communities

AgroPolicy, Horticulture, India, R&D, Sustainability

Dr Jitendra Singh chairs the review meeting of the Cannabis Research Project of CSIR-IIIM at Jammu

‘Cannabis Research Project’ of CSIR-IIIM Jammu is a first of its kind in India which has great potential to produce and export quality medicine for neuropathies, cancer & epilepsy, Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology;  said this while chairing a review meeting with the top officials of CSIR-IIIM and J&K UT Science and Technology Department.

During the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the signing of a scientific agreement between CSIR-IIIM and IndusScan was historic not only for J&K but for the whole of India as it has the potential to produce those kinds of medicines which have to be exported from foreign countries. This kind of project will give an impetus for huge investment in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Singh added.

While appreciating CSIR-IIIM for this project, Dr Jitendra Singh said, CSIR-IIIM is the oldest scientific research institute in India with a history of discovering the mint way back in the 1960s, the centre of purple revolution and now the Cannabis Research Project of CSIR-IIIM is going to make it more prestigious in terms of scientific research in India.

Dr. Jitendra Singh further said, for such a kind of important project, synergy between institutions like CSIR-IIIM, IIM, IIT, AIIMS etc. is imperative to look for various technicalities involved in it like the marketing strategies that can be done through IIM, clinical trials through AIIMS, technical support through IIT etc. as all these institutions are only situated in a radius of few kilometres in Jammu which is now the hub of education in India.

Dr Jitendra Singh chairs the review meeting

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Company News, India, R&D

 HarvestPlus and OUAT develop food processing technologies and utilise FPOs and KVK knowledge network to raise awareness about the benefits of biofortified crops.

A landmark collaboration between HarvestPlus and Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established to strengthen biofortification research in Odisha state. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the organizations reinforces the significance of biofortification as a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural approach to combat micronutrient malnutrition.

The partnership between HarvestPlus and OUAT will enhance the Indian crop improvement program for biofortification, develop food processing technologies, and utilize Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) knowledge network—of the National Agricultural Research System—to raise awareness about nutrition and the benefits of biofortified crops.

The HarvestPlus-OUAT partnership signifies a significant step forward in the fight against hidden hunger in one of India’s most vulnerable states and reinforces both organization’s commitment to improving public health and nutrition outcomes. By combining HarvestPlus’ decades of expertise developing and scaling up biofortification with OUAT’s academic rigor and skill generating new technologies and transferring them to farmers and stakeholders, the organizations will accelerate the adoption of biofortification and improve the population’s resilience.

During the signing ceremony, Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, the Honourable Vice Chancellor of OUAT, emphasized the critical role that biofortification can play as an agricultural-nutrition solution to add more essential nutrients into the diets of families in the state of Odisha.

The MOU was signed by Dr Dayanidhi Mishra, OUAT Director, Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, and Binu Cherian, Country Manager of HarvetPlus India. Cherian expressed his confidence in the collaborative partnership’s ability to strengthen and expand the reach of biofortification in Odisha to more of its most vulnerable community members and ensure greater access to healthy diets that make a meaningful impact.

Biofortification is a process that increases the nutritional value of staple food crops, and offers a sustainable solution that can help transform food systems, particularly in resource-constrained geographies. By enhancing the levels of essential vitamins and minerals in crops, biofortification improves the nutrient intake of vulnerable populations and helps alleviate widespread micronutrient deficiencies that contributes to a loss of human potential.

 HarvestPlus and OUAT develop food processing technologies

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

With these new introductions, Dhanuka Agritech strengthen its position in the crop care product segment.

Agrochemical major Dhanuka Agritech Ltd. has announced the launch of its two new selective herbicides Implode and Mesotrax. The products will strengthen Dhanuka’s Herbicide portfolio.

Implode is a selective herbicide for maize crop. Implode contains Topramezone 33.6 per cent SC and is effective on narrow-leaf and broad-leaf weeds. It inhibits the weed from drawing nutrients from the soil and eliminates the weed from the root. Implode leaves the crop healthy and green and thus results in better yield.

Mesotrax is a selective herbicide for sugarcane and maize crops. Mesotrax contains Mesotrione 2.27 per cent and Atrazine 22.7 per cent and is effective on narrow-leaf and broad-leaf weeds. Mesotrax leaves the crop safe and healthy and results in better yields.

With these new introductions, Dhanuka Agritech is optimistic to strengthen its position in the crop care product segment. Dhanuka Agritech has a positive outlook for the agricultural sector in India for FY 2023-24 with new growth plans and a robust product pipeline. Dhanuka will be launching 2 to 3 new 9 (3) molecules for the first time in India. Apart from these, the company will also introduce 3 to 4 molecules under section 9 (4) or co-market them.

With these new introductions, Dhanuka Agritech strengthen

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, India, Live Stock, Supply Chain, Transportation

The project will benefit 700 fishing boats operating at Cochin fishing harbour, which will support the direct livelihoods of about 10000 fishers

Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Sarbananda Sonowal, Dairying and Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways has laid the foundation stone for the project on Modernisation and Up-gradation of Cochin Fishing Harbour at Thoppumpady, Samudrika Hall, Willingdon Island, Cochin Port Authority, Cochin.

The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India in March 2022 sanctioned the proposal of Cochin Port Trust for Modernisation and upgradation of Cochin Fishing Harbour at Thoppumpady at a total cost of Rs.169.17 crore with central financial assistance of Rs.100 crore under PMMSY in a convergence with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways under Sagarmala.

The project will benefit 700 fishing boats operating at Cochin fishing harbour, which will support the direct livelihoods of about 10000 fishers and the indirect livelihoods of about 30000 fishers across the value chain. It is envisaged that the modernization project will support substantial improvement in hygienic conditions and an increase in earnings from the export of fish and fish products.

The main activities taken up under modernisation include the establishment of air-conditioned Auction halls, a Fish dressing unit, a Packaging unit, internal roads, loading & unloading platforms, an Office, a Dormitory and a Food court. The project has a PPP component of Rs.55.85 crore which include components such as the establishment of cold storage, slurry & tube ice plants, multi-level car parking facility, reverse osmosis plant, food court, retail market etc. The Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying stated that the Government has approved projects to the tune of more than Rs 7,500 Cr. for the development of modern fishing harbours and fish landing centres under Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), Sagarmala scheme and Pradhan Mantri Matsya Yojana (PMMSY) Scheme.

The project will benefit 700 fishing boats

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

Sikosa was tested in various State Agri Universities with more than 1,000 demonstrations in the last 5 years with paddy farmers.

Crystal Crop Protection Limited, in collaboration with the global leaders Batelle and MASI, developed Sikosa, a next-generation herbicide on the back of cutting-edge R&D powered by Banyan Technology. Sikosa is a revolutionary product designed to protect paddy crops from weeds. It marks a significant milestone in global collaboration and research and development efforts for Indian farmers.

Darren Grafham from Battelle Crop Protection Solutions UK expressed his excitement about the deployment of Banyan technology in India, stating, “We are excited to see the deployment of the Banyan technology co-developed with MASI and taken to market through our partner Crystal Crop Protection in India. This first product is expected to enhance the yields of paddy crops in India for the benefit of farmers across the continent. We look forward to furthering our partnership with Crystal to bring innovations to India.”

Hidetoshi Nakamura of Mitsui Agriscience International – AgriGuard subsidiary (MASI) expressed his pride in the breakthrough formulation technology, saying, “We are proud to have discovered and developed, with Battelle, a breakthrough formulation technology. Our best-in-class formulation technology, combined with Crystal’s expertise and extensive presence across India, will allow Sikosa to become a leading paddy herbicide rapidly.”

Driven by its robust in-house R&D capabilities, strategic acquisitions, and collaborations with international players, Crystal has launched 14 products over the past two years.

Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director of Crystal Crop Protection Limited said, “In this era of collaboration, Sikosa will be a great example of global collaboration in R&D-based product introduction for Indian farmers. With this introduction, Crystal now has the widest range of products for the complete crop cycle of Paddy”.

Sikosa was tested in various State Agri Universities with more than 1,000 demonstrations in the last 5 years with paddy farmers. The product has been found effective in the control of narrow-leaf weeds, broad-leaf weeds, and sedges.

Sikosa was tested in various State Agri