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E-commerce, R&D

It is the first mobile platform to use predictive modeling based on real-time data.

 FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) recently announced the launch of Arc™ farm intelligence, an exclusive precision agriculture platform that enables growers and advisors to more accurately predict pest pressure before it becomes a problem. Arc™ farm intelligence is the first mobile platform to use predictive modeling based on real-time data to help ensure the right crop protection products are applied precisely where and when they are needed to improve sustainability, optimize crop yield and enhance grower return on investment (ROI). 

“Farmers rely on data and information every day to make critical decisions about protecting their crops from destructive insects, disease and weeds,” said Mark Douglas, president and CEO-elect of FMC.  “Arc™ farm intelligence raises the game in predictive modeling and analytics, enabling our team to provide advisors and growers with crop protection advice and insights faster, easier and in a smarter way. Delivering better information to growers increases sustainability, adds value, strengthens relationships and promotes more business opportunities.”

 The innovative platform offers a full suite of features, including customized alerts through a mobile app to indicate when action is needed in a field, two-way communication with FMC agronomists, reliable data and high-quality graphics, including graphs and heat maps. Arc™ farm intelligence has been engineered with open APIs and can easily be plugged into growers’ existing digital ecosystems. 

“Our first offering under the Arc™ farm intelligence platform utilizes aggregated historical data, entomological models, hyper-local weather data, and real-time regional pest mapping to increase a grower’s confidence when making insect management decisions,” said Sara Sterling, director of Precision Agriculture at FMC. “Powered by advanced scouting and machine learning, this tool predicts insect pressure one week in advance with more than 90 percent confidence for key insects in select crops. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in Brazil and Greece, where it has been used on cotton, and we look forward to introducing Arc™ farm intelligence in additional countries and crops.”

 The platform will be launched commercially next week in Greece for cotton, and it is being piloted in other countries, including Brazil, Spain and the United States, on a broad range of crops from brassicas to corn to lettuce. The Arc™ farm intelligence app will be available for growers in Greece for free from the Android and iOS app stores.

 Arc™ farm intelligence is the latest addition to FMC’s Precision Agriculture solutions, which are designed to ensure the right crop protection products are applied exactly where and when they are needed to increase sustainability, as well as optimize yield quality and quantity and improve ROI. Other FMC Precision Agriculture solutions include 3RIVE 3D® application technology, a revolutionary at-plant crop protection delivery system that helps growers efficiently cover more ground in less time with fewer refills – saving water, fuel, labor and time; and PrecisionPac® solutions, an innovative dispensing system that minimizes waste with custom herbicide blends specific to each grower’s field size and weed spectrum.

It is the first mobile platform

China, E-commerce, R&D

Kezzler’s serialization technology is initially being utilized for the production of the renowned Weixian radish. 

Kezzler was selected by RunHui Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co. Ltd (referred to as RunHui) to provide a traceability and authentication solution to The National Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Hanting District, Weifang, Shandong Provence China. Kezzler’s serialization technology is initially being utilized for the production of the renowned Weixian radish, which is specific to the region. With full traceability across the entire supply chain, RunHui is able to ensure food safety and quality for their consumers.

 The project involves the application of unique, secure, and traceable QR codes to every pack of radishes. In addition, there is a four-digit hidden pin code for authentication.

Chen Hailin, Senior Project Manager at RunHui Agriculture commented, “We were impressed with Kezzler’s technology and the speed and ease at which it could be integrated with our existing digital infrastructure. This enabled us to create a connected and visible supply chain to support the objectives of the Industrial Park. The solution helps ensure that our supply chain has the responsiveness to maximize productivity based on data collected and deliver high-quality and safe products.

 He also added that a quick and easy authentication process reassures consumers that they have purchased genuine Weixian radishes, protecting the reputation of the Weixian brand and the economic growth of the region. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Kezzler in the future.” 

Kezzler’s state of the art traceability platform is integrated with the Industrial Park’s existing big data platform provided by Beijing Aokemei Tech & Service Ltd. Upstream information such as batch, picking dates and inspection can be associated with the unique codes, allowing all data to be stored in one central platform for full traceability. 

Christine C. Akselsen, CEO of Kezzler commented that, “Kezzler is at the forefront of unit-level traceability, with the ability to change the global food industry forever by making every single product digitally unique and interactive. Our extremely agile and scalable suite of cloud-based solutions provides visibility from creation to consumption. Traceability supports food safety and opens up new channels for brands to engage directly with consumers who are demanding more information beyond that displayed on the product label. Food fraud poses a serious risk to public health and threatens the economic development of agricultural regions, therefore the ability for consumers to verify their purchases directly is of increasing importance. Kezzler is proud to support the efforts of RunHui to promote sustainable and efficient farming that benefits all parties.”

 The solution is integrated with China’s popular WeChat platform allowing consumers to scan the product directly from within the app on their phone. By entering the four-digit pin code, consumers can receive instant verification that the product is genuine and experience the farm-to-fork journey of the exact product in hand.

 

Kezzler’s serialization technology is initially being utilized

Inputs

PGPR works against the broad spectrum of root and foliar pathogens benefiting the plant growth

Several bacterial species which are found in the plant rhizosphere, at root surfaces or in association with roots, can improve the quality of plant growth directly or indirectly, are known as ‘Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria’ (PGPR). It effects plant growth by production of phytohormones like Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), solubilization of inorganic phosphates and suppression of disease-causing microbe.

PGPR works against the broad spectrum of root and foliar pathogens benefiting the plant growth. Treatment with PGPR increases the rate of germination, root and shoot growth, total biomass of the plants, early flowering, fodder and fruit yields. Phytochrome production like auxins, cytokinin and gibberellin, enhancing plant nutrition by solubilization of minerals like phosphorus and iron, production of siderophores and enzymes, directly or indirectly contributes in growth promotion of plant.

Many bacteria are used as PGPR, including Azospirillum, Enterobacter, Bacillus and Pseudomonas. Out of them Pseudomonas species have been identified as efficient bacteria which plays a major role in growth promotion and resistance against disease. Due to their characteristics and environmentally friendly traits, they can survive in normal conditions as well stressful conditions.

  • Solubilization of Phosphorus

Phosphorus present in the chemical fertilizers is in the soluble form which can be easily available for plant uptake, but they react with soil and becomes less available due to immobilization into insoluble forms. With the help of acid and alkaline phosphatase enzyme, PGPR can dissolve insoluble phosphorus, making it available for plant uptake. They are called as Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB). These bacteria improve the nutrient availability for the plant, resulting in growth and yield of the crop. Solubilization and mineralization of phosphorus is the main physiological trait in soil biogeochemical cycles as well as in plant growth promotion.

  • IAA production

Production of IAA affects cell division, root initiation, cell enlargement and division, tissue differentiation, increase the rate of xylem and root development, control processes of vegetative growth, affects photosynthesis, pigment formation, biosynthesis of various metabolites and resistance to stressful conditions. The level of IAA synthesized by the plant is important to determine whether bacterial IAA stimulate or supresses the plant growth, additional IAA that is taken up from the bacteria could alter the IAA level, resulting in plant growth promotion or suppression. Increase in auxin level, affects the root nodulation. Microbial biosynthesis of IAA is enhanced by the roots which secretes tryptophan resulting in positive effect on plant growth, increase in accessibility of more nutrients from soil and increasing the number of beneficial microbes controlling disease causing pathogens.

  • Stress study

Studies revealed, Pseudomonas can survive in the adverse conditions like dry and saline environment, as they develop their internal pressure above the surrounding environment by accumulating osmolytes in their body. It can also tolerate temperature up to 40⁰ C, due the formation of biofilm which provides a protective mode of growth and enhance the bacterial survival under adverse conditions.

  • Siderophore

Siderophore are small, high-affinity iron chelating compounds, secreted by PGPR to transport iron across cell membranes. Iron is an essential micronutrient for plants as it serves as a cofactor of many enzymes and required in several physiological processes like nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and respiration. Pseudomonas species synthesize siderophore molecules which have high affinity for ferric iron act as chelating agents which binds the molecules and make the insoluble form to soluble form, that facilitates iron uptake by plants.

 

Limitations

Despite a number of characteristics and better performance of Pseudomonas species, there are certain limitations regarding the use of bacteria on commercial basis.

  1. High concentration of IAA production can inhibit the root and shoot growth of plants; therefore, the bacterial strain should be kept in mind for obtaining better results.
  2. Being a well-known strain for degrading hydrocarbon material, it is also a pathogenic bacterium causing infections like asepsis which leads to high mortality rate. Therefore, care must be taken in its use.
  3. It is recommended to be used with other microbial inoculation for enhancing plant growth, as it has been observed that single inoculation is not effective or less effective for the particular purpose.

Conclusion

PGPR are one of the most suitable choices for plant growth promotion and in disease management over the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Physiological characteristics of Pseudomonas species under adverse conditions have worth in sustainable agriculture and effective performance verifies their positive role in environmental protection. Due to their negative impact in one condition could be effective against other aspects of environment. Overall, they are an environmentally friendly microbial population that can be used to tackle many problems if used wisely.

 

Rashmi Chauhan, Quality Control Officer, Indore Biotech Inputs & Research Pvt. Ltd. Indore (M.P.)

PGPR works against the broad spectrum of

E-commerce

Four contracts expiring in June, July, September and December will be available for trading from May 26.  

 

 

The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has launched futures trading on NCDEX Agridex, an agriculture index that seeks to provide a holistic view on various commodities traded on the exchange.

Four contracts expiring in June, July, September and December will be available for trading from May 26.

The return-based index comprises 10 liquid commodities traded on NCDEX. It has commodity-wise and sector-wise floors and caps, with no single commodity or sector dominating the index. Agridex has low correlation with other asset classes and indices. To ensure diversification, no group of related commodities may constitute over 40 per cent of the total weightage in the index.

The rollover in futures contract will be done on the initial three days of the expiry month and the index will be rebalanced annually on the first business day of April. A floor and a cap are enforced upon the weights of each commodity; besides, sector-specific capping is also done based on the aggregated weight of each sector.

NCDEX has partnered with NSE Indices, an index service provider, to maintain and disseminate real-time NCDEX Agridex values.

Vijay Kumar, Managing Director, NCDEX, said the Agridex futures contracts will provide investors with another tool for trading and risk management at a composite level.

Kapil Dev, Head-Business, NCDEX, said Agridex will be the first tradeable commodity index based on domestic prices.

Since Agridex Futures Contracts provide a diversified cash settled instrument, it will help in widening participation on the exchange from both institutional and retail investors, he added.

Four contracts expiring in June, July, September

E-commerce, Supply Chain

Simply Fresh will be able to enhance its reach by entering the Agrify E-marketplace and strengthen its distribution.

 

Simply Fresh– India’s leading Agri tech organization that uses precision farming techniques to grow fresh produce & Agrify Organics a facilitator for green produce distribution has entered into a strategic alliance to enable home delivery of fresh produce in Mumbai. The tie-up will help in the supply of fresh, nutritious, and immunity-boosting produce to people during the lockdown and afterward.

 Simply Fresh will be able to enhance its reach by entering the Agrify E-marketplace and strengthen its distribution. Simply Fresh has specifically curated three baskets for the Agrify customers who can choose from various product options and place an order on the Arifgy organics website and App.

 Simply Fresh Private Limited was founded in 2013 by two Indian software engineers ,based in Australia, Sachin Darbarwar (CEO) and Shweta Darbarwar (CMO) who studied the modern Agri tech, i.e., plant-profiling, and R&D. Simply Fresh uses global technology in farming based on European standards using precision farming techniques. The farm uses AI technology in farming for growing, nourishing, picking, and processing. Farming uses sustainable practices that do not exhaust natural resources. Simply Fresh Farms produces a full line of Medicinal plants and fresh produce year-round at our greenhouses located in Hyderabad. They are a grower-owned processor adhering to industry-leading food safety and quality standards. 

Agrify Organic Solutions is the platform that has been acting as a bridge between farmers and buyers providing high-quality produce. With Simply Fresh produce on its offering, Agrify Organics will be able to provide high-quality greens to its members. 

 

Speaking on the tie-up, Mr. Sachin Darbarwar, CEO and Founder of Simply Fresh says,” We are happy to tie up with Agrify Organics and appreciate their efforts during these times. We see this as an important extension of our services, and we hope to bring our products to more and more people. This strategic partnership is part of a growing list of initiatives put in place to ensure that Simply Fresh continues to deliver excellence in service, during this pandemic, and thereafter.”

 Urvish Bhaide, Co-Founder, Agrify Organics said “Being an E-commerce marketplace, we are delighted to have a brand like Simply Fresh on board. They have enabled us to serve our customers better by making hydroponically grown produce available online in India. Their quality along with our delivery network has resulted in happy customers even during this period of the lockdown”

 

This initiative of home delivery has been planned to help people during this lockdown and paves a path of convenience, today and for the future.

Simply Fresh will be able to enhance

Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce

The contract is part of the five-year supply agreements signed in 2018 between ICL and IPL.

 

 

ICL Group has signed a contract with Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL), India’s largest importer of potash, to supply an aggregate 410 000 tonnes of potash, with mutual options for an additional 30 000 tonnes to be supplied through December 2020. 

The selling price stipulated in the contract is US$50/t below the previous contract and are in line with the recent contract prices in India. The contract is part of the five-year supply agreements signed in 2018 between ICL and IPL.

 Noam Goldstein, President of the ICL Potash division, commented: “The contract that we have signed in India, one of ICL’s strategic markets, is part of the five-year supply agreement we signed in 2018 with IPL, India’s largest potash importer, and solidifies the leading position ICL has in this market.”

 “Favourable weather conditions and an increase in planted areas in several Ag-intensive regions, are contributing to a solid global demand for potash, as reflected by this supply contract, as well as by the contracts we recently signed in China.”

The contract is part of the five-year

Agrotech, R&D

GPC is a coalition of 30 organisations representing plants, crop, agriculture and environmental scientists and experts from across the globe. 

 Dr K C Bansal, former director at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources has been designated as a member of the Global Plants Council. The Council has 10 members in all and is a coalition of 30 organisations representing plants, crop, agriculture and environmental scientists and experts from across the globe.

Dr Bansal has been a director at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, and has published over 150 research papers. His research findings are used in crop-improvement programmes by several laboratories and institutions within and outside the country. He took an unprecedented initiative to evaluate the entire wheat germplasm (22000 accessions) conserved at the Indian National Genebank, and identified trait-specific reference sets.

Dr Bansal served as Vice-Chair (Asia), Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, FAO, United Nations (2013-15).   He was the first to get selected for the prestigious Norman Borlaug Chair for crop improvement by ICAR. Dr Bansal is recipient of the Indian Science Congress award conferred on him by the Prime Minister of India, and the Haryana Vigyan Ratna (Highest State Science award). 

About The Global Plant Council

The Global Plant Council (GPC) is a coalition of national, regional and international societies representing plant, crop, agricultural, and environmental sciences across the globe, representing thousands of experts.

GPC promotes plant science across borders and disciplines. It aims to support those directly involved in research, but also in education and training, to increase awareness of the key role of plant research in science and society. 

The GPC’s mission includes facilitating the development of plant science for global challenges, fostering international collaborations, and enable the effective use of knowledge and resources. GPC also provide an independent and inclusive forum to bring together all those involved in plant and crop research, training and education.

GPC is a coalition of 30 organisations

E-commerce, R&D

It aims to develop new solutions to improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the banana trade. 

 Boragen Inc., a world-leading boron-based discovery platform, announces a collaboration with Dole Fresh Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, Inc. Dole is focused on finding innovative and more sustainable solutions to protect against Black Sigatoka, one of the most prevalent and damaging diseases affecting the banana. 

“As pressure to reduce chemical load increases, and the number available crop protection products reduces, the need for alternatives to control this disease is more important than ever,” said Patricio Gutiérrez, Research and Innovation director for Dole Fresh Fruit. “We look forward to collaborating with Boragen to develop new solutions to protect this nutritious household staple and improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the banana trade.” 

Black Sigatoka, also known as black leaf streak, is caused by the fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella fijiensis. One of the most destructive diseases to commonly grown banana cultivars, it has developed resistance to several current fungicides. If left untreated an entire plantation can be lost in only a few weeks. As an economically important crop and staple food within many countries, the effects of the disease on bananas and plantains represent significant production losses. 

“We need to find new and innovative solutions to manage a fungus that is currently difficult to control,” said Boragen’s Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, Dr Tony Liu. “We are excited to work with the team at Dole to identify boron-based solutions to decrease the impact of this fungal disease in bananas.”

Boron, a naturally occurring element in the environment and essential micronutrient for plants, has only recently received attention in the life sciences, with breakthrough applications discovered in the pharmaceutical industry. These scientific validations demonstrate the vast potential for boron chemistry, including new uses in agriculture. To harness this potential, Boragen is leveraging its team’s expertise and unique boron-based toolbox to develop novel agrochemical compounds with potent broad spectrum fungicidal activity with new modes of action (MOA).

 

Boragen’s crop protection library contains compounds that have multi-site MOAs to combat resistance, and require less active ingredients than current commercial multi-site products which are under regulatory review and scrutiny in a number of regions. Boragen’s goal is to provide new and more sustainable tools for farmers to combat current resistance issues in agriculture, while also lowering the overall pesticide burden on the environment.

 

It aims to develop new solutions to

Agro chems – Pesticides, E-commerce

It aims at develop novel solutions to help farmers control crop pests and extend the life of plant-based insect-control traits. 

Corteva Agriscience and M2i announced multi-year global agreements for the research, development and global commercialization of pheromone-based insect control solutions.

 The two companies will collaborate closely to bring to market M2i’s expansive portfolio of semiochemicals, which include pheromone-based products, for specialty and row crops. Combining technologies from Corteva and M2i, they also will develop novel solutions to help farmers control crop pests and extend the life of plant-based insect-control traits. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. 

“Corteva Agriscience is committed to providing farmers with a range of choices for controlling pests, including products derived from natural origins,” says Susanne Wasson, president, Crop Protection Business Platform, Corteva Agriscience. “We’re excited to be working with M2i and their unique bio-degradable delivery mechanisms and formulations to develop new options for farmers.” 

“Within six short years, M2i has achieved leadership in pheromone insecticide solutions as the cornerstone of the transition to more ecologically friendly, sustainable production agriculture, and has become the world reference in this sector. We are pleased to cooperate with a leader such as Corteva Agriscience, as we contribute to its expansion into biocontrols. We are convinced that the conversion towards a sustainable agriculture will be made in close cooperation with farmers, thanks to the help of expert groups such as Corteva,” says Philippe Guerret, CEO and Chairman of M2i. 

These are the first collaboration agreements for Corteva’s newly created global Biologicals portfolio, which is dedicated to developing resources for farmers using foliar and soil-applied biological controls, nutrition use efficiency and bio-stimulants, soil health and bio-fertilizers. Pheromones provide highly effective insect control by trapping or disrupting mating behaviors of the targeted pest. This target-specific approach provides a viable solution for integrated management against crop pests.

It aims at develop novel solutions to

Finance, Schemes - NABARD

The funds will be provided  to farmers through cooperative banks and regional rural banks 

 

 

 

NABARD has decided to provide financial assistance to Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in order to increase the efficacy of their pre-monsoon Kharif operations. The financial aid is worth Rs 20,500 crores. While Rs 15,200 crores out of the total amount will be provided to the farmers through cooperative banks, the remaining amount of Rs 5,300 crore will be allocated through RRBs as a special liquidity facility across various states. 

This fund is against the ₹5,000 crores lent during the first quarter of the last year, as per the statement released by NABARD. The fund will be given as a means of front-loading the resources of these banks in order to maintain adequate liquidity with the banks for financing the farmers in the future. Along with this, banks have already initiated a programme of saturation of Kisan credit cards (KCC). About 12 lakh new KCC cards have been issued by Cooperative banks and RRBs during the last two months while 4.2 crore KCCs have been issued by Cooperative banks & RRBs as of 31 March 2020. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also announced during one of her address to the nation about the ₹20-lakh-crore special economic package that NABARD would be extending additional refinance support of ₹30,000 crores for crop loan requirement of Rural Co-operative Banks and RRBs. 

NABARD is the apex development financial institution that aims at promoting sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development across the nation.

 

The funds will be provided  to farmers

E-commerce, Goat farming, Live Stock

 It provides commercial beef producers with accurate and powerful results by which to measure their herd and empower mating decisions.  

 

 

 Neogen Corporation recently announced that is has launched an enhanced version of its Igenity® Beef profile, a genomic test for commercial cattle. 

Last fall, Neogen announced a partnership with International Genetic Solutions (IGS) to put even more power behind Igenity Beef by leveraging IGS’s platform that ranks as the largest multi-breed beef genetic evaluation in the world. Those updates are now live and available to cattle producers.

 “Together, IGS and Neogen are dedicated to ensuring commercial beef producers are armed with the best technology and information possible,” said Dr. Jamie Courter, Neogen’s genomics beef product manager. “Continuing to make updates to this solution with more and more data helps producers manage risk through confident selection.” 

Since 2003, Igenity has been leading the advancements in commercial genomic testing for beef. With a single DNA sample, Igenity delivers an estimate of genetic merit for 16 economically relevant traits, summarized into three indexes. Now powered by genomic knowledge from the same genetic evaluation that represents the genomic-enhanced expected progeny differences (GE-EPDs) from many of Neogen’s partner breed associations, Igenity Beef is stronger and better than ever. Combined with Envigor and the Igenity Dashboard, commercial cattle producers have a complete package for heifer selection. 

“This announcement is just the very latest in a process of constant improvement that delivers enhanced value and accuracy of prediction for commercial producers,” said Dr. Stewart Bauck, Neogen’s vice president of agrigenomics. “That means more confidence in the decision, and greater economic benefit.” 

This latest advancement is possible through Neogen’s strategic alignment with the many beef breed associations that form the IGS collaboration. With over 250,000 genotypes and more than 18 million phenotypes across a subset of popular cattle breeds, the Igenity Beef profile provides commercial beef producers with accurate and powerful results by which to measure their herd and empower mating decisions. 

“Neogen is grateful to have seedstock partners whose members are dedicated to complete and accurate phenotype collection and genotyping,” said Courter. “Without that information, tools like Igenity Beef would not be possible.”

 “IGS and Neogen is a natural partnership where each partner wants to provide science-backed tools for beef producers to make the best selection decisions they can,” said Dr. Jackie Atkins, IGS’s director of science and education. “Both are in the business of helping producers use technology to improve their genetics and profitability.” 

Neogen Corporation develops and markets products dedicated to food and animal safety. The company’s Food Safety Division markets culture media and diagnostic test kits to detect foodborne bacteria, natural toxins, food allergens, drug residues, plant diseases and sanitation concerns. Neogen’s Animal Safety Division is a leader in worldwide biosecurity products, animal genomics testing, and the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of animal healthcare products, including diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and veterinary instruments.

 It provides commercial beef producers with accurate

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Agro chems – Pesticides

 Banning of Insecticides Order 2020 includes prohibits import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of such insecticides. 

After announcing the agri-marketing reforms through the Atmanirbhar stimulus package, the government, in a surprise move, has proposed to ban 27 pesticides such as Carbendazim and Monocrotophos, which are widely used by the farmers across the country. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a draft order on Monday banning these 27 pesticides and has given 45 days for the industry and companies manufacturing such chemicals to file their objections, if any. 

The draft order – called Banning of Insecticides Order 2020 – prohibits import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of such insecticides.

The pesticides in the proposed list are: Acephate, Atrazine, Benfuracarb, Butachlor, Captan, Carbofuran, Chlorpyriphos, 2,4-D, Deltamethrin, Dicofol, Dimethoate, Dinocap, Diuron, Malathion, Mancozeb, Methomyl, Oxyfluorfen, Pendimethalin, Quinalphos and Sulfosulfuron. 

What does the draft order say?

The government has issued a draft order, proposing a ban on import, manufacturing, sale, transport and distribution of 27 insecticides. These insecticides have a material impact on the revenues of agrochemical companies under our coverage (CRIN, DAGRI, PI, RALI, UPLL) . The government has given 45 days to raise objections on the said draft. After 45 days and notification in the official gazette, state government will have to enforce the same. 

Industry likely to appeal for a review

According to research report by Emkay Global Financial Services, industry participants and experts suggests that the industry will appeal for a review for most insecticides barring three, which fall under the red triangle category. The industry will not be able to make a case for red-triangle insecticides as they are hazardous. (Carbofuran, Methomyl and Monocrotophos) 

Molecules banned for lack of data submission can be made good

Some molecules, which are banned for a lack of relevant data submissions and not banned by many countries, can be made good by following up with submissions. Eg. Mancozeb (incomplete data on thyroid profile on industrial workers, no bio-efficacy data submitted, etc.) and Pendimethalin (incomplete toxicity data submitted, no clarification on studies with respect to aquatic organisms, rice crop residue data not submitted, etc.). Hence, we believe that the industry would either submit the missing data or request for more time to submit the same.

 Farm lobby may object as alternatives are expensive

As per Emkay Global Financial Services research report, alternative products for some of the molecules are expensive. In select cases, it is as high as 2x-3x of the outgoing molecule. Hence, farmers may object unless substitute products are available at affordable prices as improving realization to compensate for the increased cost is unlikely. 

Final ban will be in phases spanning beyond 4 years

The report also mentioned that any ban on major molecules would be spread over a few years and will give the industry time to adjust. Also, the industry could appeal in courts against any proposed ban and go down the litigation route. For e.g. in 2011, India agreed to ban endosulfan at a Stockholm Convention meeting in Geneva and phase-out the chemical in 11 years. Eventually, it was phased out in 2017 after intervention from the Supreme Court. 

Clarity on manufacturing for exports awaited

 According to the report,the draft order proposes a ban on the manufacturing of these insecticides. Hence a plain reading suggests that companies would not be able to manufacture for exports as well. We believe that some of these molecules (Mancozeb, Pendimathalin, Acephate) are high in demand in export markets and hence, an exemption may be carved out for exports if banned for use in India. 

Ban or no-ban, no immediate impact

As per the report by Emkay Global Financial Services, any ban would be phased out over a few years. Also, companies would be able to scale up alternatives to these molecules and one needs to wait for the strategy of each company to access the impact on revenue.

 

 Banning of Insecticides Order 2020 includes prohibits

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Fertilizers, E-commerce

The plant is expected to produce 3,850 metric tonnes of urea and 2,200 metric tonnes of ammonia per day 

 

 

 The Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL)  is  all set for commercial production of fertilizers at from June 15, tentatively, following the completion of pre-commissioning works and trial run of the newly installed plant with technologies from Denmark and Italy for the production of Ammonia and Urea. 

Though the RFCL had planned to start production from March 31, it was delayed due to the lockdown from March 22. Sensing the importance of fertilizers for the farming community, the Union Home Ministry had exempted the RFCL from the lockdown in the month of April and directed the authorities to resume the pending works and commissioning of the project by strictly adhering to the social distancing norms, wearing of masks and use of sanitisers etc.

 Similarly, the State government had also accorded permission to the RFCL for the execution of the pending works to start the commercial production of fertilizers to meet the demand of the farmers during the ensuing kharif season under the brand name of ‘Kisan’ fertilizers. The RFCL is expected to produce 12.7 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizers annually out of which 6 lakhs metric tonnes is allocated to Telangana State. 

Joint venture

The RFCL was taken up as a joint venture by the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) and Engineers India Limited (EIL), both holding 26 % equity each, the Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) and the Telangana government have 11 % shares each, Gas Authority of India limited (GAIL) owns 14.3 % and the HTAS consortium owns 11.7 % share.

 The Union government had taken up the revival of the closed FCI unit at Ramagundam as the RFCL and incorporated it on February 17, 2015, as a gas-based urea manufacturing plant. The foundation stone for the revival of the plant, at an estimated cost of ₹ 6,120 crore, was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 7, 2016. 

The plant is expected to produce 3,850 metric tonnes of urea and 2,200 metric tonnes of ammonia per day. The godowns to store 20,000 MT of ammonia and 40,000 MT of urea are under construction. The State government is supplying 40 MWs of power, 0.5 tmc ft of water from Sripada Yellampalli project and two million standard cubic meters per day gas from KG Basin. 

Safety protocol 

Following the government orders, RFCL Executive Director Rajan Thappar and General Manager Vijay Kumar Bangar and other officials had ensured the safety of the labour force and the employees while discharging their duties by maintaining physical distance and wearing of masks and also while commissioning of the plant. The RFCL has around 750 regular staff and another 2,000 outsourced employees.

The plant is expected to produce 3,850

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro Universities, R&D

The MoU aims to develop concentrated sources of plant nutrients having higher-absorption rate, utilization efficacy, and minimum losses.   

 

 

IFFCO – Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian ICAR (Council of Agricultural Research). This MoU has been signed between two organizations for joint research in Nano Fertilizers. The MoU has been signed by ICAR’s Director Dr Ashok Kumar Singh and IFFCO’s Director (Marketing) Yogendra Kumar in presence of Dr BS Dwivedi (HoD – Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry) ICAR, Dr Vinod Kumar Singh (Head & Principal Scientist – Agronomy) from IARI-Pusa and New Delhi were also present. 

 Nano fertilizers are different from traditional chemical fertilizers in nutrition value and in terms of environmental and ecological consequences. This MoU is supposed to offer an unprecedented opportunity of research in nano fertilizers to develop concentrated sources of plant nutrients having higher-absorption rate, utilization efficacy, and minimum losses.  

Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) – Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is a multi-state cooperative society engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing of fertilizers. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The company was started in 1967 with 57 member cooperatives it is today the biggest co-op in the world by turnover on GDP per capita with around 35,000 member cooperatives reaching over 50 million Indian farmers. With around 19 percent market share in urea and around 29 percent market share in complex fertilisers (P2O5 terms), IFFCO is India’s largest fertiliser manufacturer.

 

Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) – The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), commonly known as the Pusa Institute,[3] is India’s National Institute for agricultural research, education and extension. The name Pusa Institute is derived from the fact that the institute was originally located in Pusa Bihar as the Imperial Institute of Agricultural Research in 1911. It was then renamed as the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute in 1919 and following a major earthquake in Pusa, it was relocated to Delhi in 1936. The current institute in Delhi is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The IARI was responsible for the research leading to the “Green Revolution in India” of the 1970s.

 

 

The MoU aims to develop concentrated sources