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Agrotech, India, Start ups

Kisan drones, manufactured by Garuda, are particularly developed for agricultural purposes such as reducing crop loss, crop health monitoring, yield measurement, and crop loss mitigation.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has approved both Type Certification and RTPO for the indigenously designed Kisan Drones by drone manufacturer, Garuda Aerospace.

The Made in India Kisan drones, manufactured by Garuda, are particularly developed for agricultural purposes such as reducing crop loss, crop health monitoring, yield measurement, and crop loss mitigation with the latest manufacturing capacities, and strong technology backgrounds.

DGCA Type certification is provided on the basis of the quality check of the drones and is issued after a rigorous testing process for the UAVs. The Type certification was introduced by the government of India in August 2021 under Drone Rules and the historic dual DGCA approval validates the Chennai-based startup’s tag of being India’s most valuable Drone startup.

Post the approval of the Type Certificate for the GA-AG model, the startup is now eligible for Rs.10 lakh unsecured loans from Agri Infrastructure Fund at a 5 per cent interest and 50-100 per cent subsidy from the Government of India. Priced at Rs.4.50 lakhs, these Kisan Drones are India’s most affordable advanced automated Agri Drone which has DGCA-approved Type Certification in the under 25kg small category.

With this development, ICAR, KVKs, FMTTI, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer welfare, and several other Government Agriculture bodies will now have an option of procuring high-tech Made in India Drones manufactured by Garuda Aerospace. This will lead to creating job opportunities for the youth in the near future and a vision of training 1 lakh drone pilots in the next 2 years. 

Kisan drones, manufactured by Garuda, are particularly

AgroPolicy, Environment, India, Nature, Sustainability

The portal contains information about the mission, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister, recently chaired the first steering committee meeting of the National Natural Farming Mission at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. In the meeting, Tomar launched the NMNF portal. He said that the mission of natural farming in the country would be taken forward with everyone’s cooperation. In this regard, he asked the officers to coordinate with the State Governments and Central Departments and enable market linkage so that the farmers get more ease in selling their products. Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and senior officers of various ministries attended the meeting.

The newly launched portal (http://naturalfarming.dac.gov.in/) has been developed by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It contains all the information about the mission, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog etc., which will be useful for the farmers. Also, this website will help in promoting natural farming in the country.

In the meeting, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that good initiatives have been taken to promote natural farming. He also gave his suggestions in this regard in the meeting. Jal Shakti Minister Shekhawat said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, work is being done for natural farming on the banks of the Ganga. The Ministry of Jal Shakti has made a roadmap by identifying 75 Sahakar Ganga villages in the first phase by signing an MoU with Sahkar Bharti and training has been given to the farmers.

UP Agriculture Minister Shahi said that under the Namami Gange Project, the promotion of natural farming has been started in the state. A target has been set to work in every block and master training has been done.

It was informed in the meeting that more than 4.78 lakh hectares of the additional area have been brought under natural farming in 17 states from December 2021. 7.33 lakh farmers have taken initiative in natural farming. About 23 thousand programs have been organized for the sanitization and training of farmers. Natural farming is being implemented in 1.48 lakh hectares on the banks of the river Ganga in four states.

The portal contains information about the mission,

Country, India, Trade, Vegetables, World

Fruits and vegetables, cereals, livestock, and processed foods witnessed a spike in exports this fiscal

Exports of agricultural and processed food products have increased by 25 per cent within six months of the current Financial Year 2022-23 (April-September) in comparison to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22. According to the provisional data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the overall export of agricultural and processed food products has witnessed a growth of 25 per cent during April-September 2022.

The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) products increased to $13,771 million in April-September 2022 from $11056 million over the same period of the last fiscal year. The initiatives taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through APEDA have helped the country achieve 58 per cent of its total export target for the year 2022-23 within six months of the current fiscal.

For the year 2022-23, an export target of $23.56 billion has been fixed by APEDA for the agricultural and processed food products basket and export of $13.77 billion have already been achieved in these six months of the current fiscal. As per the DGCI&S provisional data, processed fruits and vegetables recorded a significant growth of 42.42 per cent (April-September 2022), while fresh fruits registered 4 per cent growth as opposed to corresponding months of the previous year.

Also, processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported a growth of 29.36 per cent compared to the first six months of the previous year.

In April-September, 2021, fresh fruits were exported to the tune of $ 301 million which increased to $313 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Exports of processed F&V jumped to USD 1024 million in six months of the current fiscal from $719 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.

The export of pulses has witnessed an increase of 144 per cent in Q2 of the current fiscal in comparison to the corresponding months of the last fiscal as the export of lentils increased from $ 135 million (April-September 2021-22) to $ 330 million (April-September 2022-23).

Basmati Rice exports witnessed a growth of 37.36 per cent in six months of FY 2022-23 as its export increased from $ 1660 million (April-September 2021) to $ 2280 million (April-September 2022), while the export of non-Basmati rice registered a growth of 8 per cent in Q2 of current fiscal. Its export increased to USD 3207 million in six months of the current fiscal from $ 2969 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.

The export of meat, dairy and poultry products increased by 10.29 per cent and the export of other cereals recorded a growth of 12.29 per cent in six months of the current fiscal. The poultry products alone registered a growth of 83 per cent as its export rose to $57 million within the half-year bracket of the current fiscal from $31 million recorded for the corresponding months of the previous year.

Similarly, dairy products recorded a growth of 58 per cent as its export rose to $ 342 million in Q2 of the current fiscal from $216 million in Q2 of the previous year.

Wheat export registered an increase of 136 per cent in Q2 of the current fiscal. Wheat export rose to $1487 million in April-September 2022 from $630 million in April-September 2021.

Other cereals’ export increased from $ 467 million in April-September 2021 to $525 million in April-September 2022 and the export of livestock products increased from $ 1903 million in April-September 2021 to $ 2099 million in April-September 2022.

Fruits and vegetables, cereals, livestock, and processed

Agrotech, Company News, Finance, India, Institutions

Farm Pass serves over 600,000 farmers in India and two million globally, providing a standard interface for farmers and buyers

To economically empower smallholder farmers in rural India, Bayer, Rabo Partnerships and MasterCard have entered into a partnership to launch a scalable programme to advance the digitisation of the country’s agricultural finance ecosystem. This collaboration brings together the decades of expertise of the three companies in digital and agri finance and payments technology to bear upon the task of expanding access to agronomic knowledge, products, services, and partnerships. Over five years, the program aims to benefit 10 million smallholder farmers in India by enabling them to gain easier access to formal financial services.

Smallholder farmers account for 86 per cent of India’s agrarian economy but have difficulty sourcing quality farm products and are often at the mercy of middlemen when it comes to pricing. MasterCard’s Farm Pass is a digital ecosystem platform that works offline, even with feature phones, connecting buyers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and other agriculture ecosystem players with farmers digitally, and helping them get the best value for their produce. The solution, which serves over 600,000 farmers in India and two million globally, creates a standard interface for farmers and buyers that facilitates greater efficiency in the agriculture value chain.

The program is part of Bayer’s commitment to reach 100 million smallholder farmers worldwide by 2030 with much-needed inputs, digital tools and financial services. Bayer’s FarmRise provides various digital advisory services to smallholders today and through MasterCard’s Farm Pass digital platform, farmers will gain access to new marketplaces and a much wider pool of potential buyers, enabling them to improve their livelihoods in a commercially sustainable way. Rabo Partnerships will enable access to financial services over the platform by the Indian financial sector, by enabling data-driven credit scoring, credit analytics and product development within the partner financial institutions.

D Narain, President, of Bayer South Asia and Global Head of Smallholder Farming said, “Bayer has been working with farmers to increase their income and productivity by enabling access to best-in-class products, the latest technology, and low-cost finance. Its initiatives like Better Life Farming, food value chain partnerships, etc. are already transforming the lives of millions of farmers in India. We are delighted to now join hands with Rabo Partnerships and MasterCard to build a digital ecosystem, which will further help smallholders in India. Through this partnership, smallholder farmers will not only gain easier access to agricultural advisory services and direct market linkages, but also build their credit profiles and lower their input costs through access to institutional credit, allowing them to increase efficiency, improve crop yields, and grow their profits significantly.”

Nikhil Sahni, Division President, South Asia, MasterCardsaid, “As part of MasterCard’s pledge to connect one billion people to the digital economy, the company has been actively working with farmers in several countries to bring them onto a digital platform that directly connects them with buyers, empowering them to negotiate the best price for their produce. This is in line with the Indian government’s efforts towards inclusive growth by leveraging technology. The collaboration with Bayer and Rabo Partnerships is helping build a very effective model of agricultural digitisation that can serve as a global example.”

David Gerbrands, Global Head Advisory & Inclusive Ventures, Rabo Partnerships said: “Rabo Partnerships aims to contribute to the improvement of farmer livelihoods worldwide. Achieving this requires sustainable partnerships, which is why Rabo Partnerships is excited to partner with Bayer and Mastercard to establish a scalable digital ecosystem, enabling farmers and as well as other agricultural value chain partners with a wide array of services, including agro advisory, inputs procurement, marketing, and access to formal financial services.”

Farm Pass serves over 600,000 farmers in

Environment, India, Interaction, Sustainability, World

The FAO conference focuses on increasing crop yields with less environmental impact

The need for innovative approaches to agriculture that make crop production efficient and resilient to shocks and disruptions came under the spotlight at the opening of the first Global Conference on Sustainable Plant Production organised by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Under the theme Innovation, Efficiency and Resilience, the hybrid event held at the FAO headquarters will focus on how to sustainably produce more food, with less of an environmental impact and ways to strengthen local and diversified communities’ agrifood systems. 

The conference which runs from November 2-4, comes at a time when global demand for food, feed, fuel and fibre is increasing, with estimates that the world will need 50 per cent of food by 2050 to feed the increasing global population. Currently, some 8.28 million people face hunger and a third of the world’s population – 2.3 billion people – do not have access to adequate food.

In his opening remarks, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu called for the need to speed up action in addressing these issues.

“Current agricultural practices are unsustainable. Investment is urgently needed. They are putting pressure on the environment and on our finite natural resources, including biodiversity, land and water,” he said, noting how to land the conversion from natural ecosystems to agriculture is contributing extensively to deforestation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions, this in a context where the threats from plant pests and diseases are increasing and are compounded by the effects of the climate crisis.

“We cannot continue ‘business as usual need to get on a technology ivenainable track. That’s the only solution. Tomorrow’s agriculture will need to produce more food with a lower environmental footprint – this means producing more with less. And also, we need to produce more diversity and more quantity in situ,” Qu said.

“Science-based sustainable plant production can enable this,” he added. The Conference brings together FAO Members, farmers, scientists, development agencies, policymakers civil society and private sector representatives to discuss farmer-centric agricultural practices that produce more while considering ways to mitigate the impact of climate change and geopolitical disruptions among other issues.

Discussions will focus on ways in which to achieve food security by using the right seeds, diverse and adaptable food cropping systems and efficient management of natural resources. Pest management, ad mechanization and digitalization will also feature in the sessions.

This conference aims to raise awareness about the contribution of sustainable plant production to attain the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals at the regional and national levels and demonstrate ways in which FAO can lead members in this direction.

The FAO conference focuses on increasing crop

Acts & Schemes – Centre, Floriculture, Foodgrains, Horticulture, India, Institutions, People, R&D, Schemes - Govt, Trade, Vegetables

At the recently held national conference ‘Expansion of Horticulture Value Chain in India’ held at Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management in Pune, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said that to promote farming and to raise the standard of living of farmers, schemes like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan), Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore, Digital Agriculture Mission, Drone Technology, e-NAM, PM irrigation schemes are being implemented. The programme was organised by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and attended by people related to the horticulture field including farmers, FPOs, start-ups and bankers were present.

Tomar in his address said that if the villages are prosperous and self-reliant, then the country itself will become prosperous and self-sufficient. Tomar said that agriculture is our priority and the backbone of our economy. He said that there is a need to pioneer the agriculture sector because the traditional economy of agriculture and villages is the biggest strength of the country. No matter how adverse the situation, agriculture always proves helpful for our economy. He said that the merchant-entrepreneur should give the maximum price of agricultural produce to the farmer. This will not only make our farmers prosperous but also inspire the next generation to do farming.  

Tomar said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has promoted indigenous technology in agriculture in the last 8 years. Modi has not only talked about increasing the income of farmers but also taken several measures by associating State governments and by directly involving farmers.

He also said that today youth, retired employees, and people associated with the corporate sector are also coming forward for farming. People’s interest in organic and natural farming is also increasing. There has been a record export of agricultural products worth Rs 4 lakh crore.

Tomar said that today India is self-sufficient in food grains. India ranks first or second in the world in most agricultural products. Along with food crops, horticulture cultivation is also being promoted. For small farmers, the Central Government started the Horticulture Mission and scheme of FPOs. Efforts are being made that small farmers should do farming together so that they get maximum benefits. By uniting in the FPO and cluster system, the farmers will not have to go to the traders, but the traders will be forced to come to them to buy products.

 Tomar said along with the production of food grains, the horticulture sector, especially the cultivation of vegetables and flowers, plays an important role in increasing the income of the farmers. It is necessary to pay attention to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and millet because only food grains will not work for the nutrients.  

At the recently held national conference ‘Expansion

Agrotech, World

Salient Predictions, a Boston-based technology company that creates the world’s most accurate subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) weather forecasts and analytics, has announced the launch of a new suite of weather metrics which will provide agribusiness and food producers with data to make faster, smarter decisions.

The company’s new agriculture metrics incorporate hyper-localised forecast data which is relevant to the agriculture sector. This data is based on Salient’s industry-leading ocean and land-surface forecasting technologies developed from decades of research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and MIT.

“Agriculture businesses are experiencing first-hand effects of our changing climate, having more accurate, long-term weather metrics that go far beyond what’s possible today gives a critical advantage for resource planning and preparedness in the face of increasing climate disruptions.” said Matt Stein, CEO of Salient.

“These new and enhanced metrics enable agribusinesses to better anticipate the impacts of weather on their operations,” said Janet Lee, Chief Product Officer at Salient.

The Metrics helps agribusinesses better anticipate the needs of their customers and proactively place the right products at the right time to maximize the benefits realized.

Salient Predictions, a Boston-based technology company that creates

Company News, Environment

The event united a select group of representatives from academia, policy, finance and the private sector under the theme ‘Food Futures in a Changing Climate: Reimagining the role of agriculture as a pathway to Net Zero’

The second edition of the OpenAg Symposium, hosted by UPL Limited, a global provider of sustainable agricultural solutions, and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), Somerville College, University of Oxford, has outlined a series of policy positions, technological interventions, and financial models to transform food systems as positive contributors to global decarbonisation efforts.

The event united a select group of representatives from academia, policy, finance and the private sector under the theme ‘Food Futures in a Changing Climate: Reimagining the role of agriculture as a pathway to Net Zero’. Following a keynote by Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, panellists from Brazil, India, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, and Kenya, proposed a series of policies and interventions to ensure future food systems are efficient, resilient, inclusive and sustainable.

Jai Shroff, Global CEO of UPL, commented, “At UPL, we believe that agriculture has a decisive role to play on the path to decarbonisation during this crucial window for action in the fight against climate change. The discussions we’ve heard at this year’s OpenAg Symposium demonstrate the growing appetite for the innovation and cross-sector collaboration required to transform the climate-positive contribution of food systems around the world.”

The event united a select group of

Company News

Wide range of world-class, high quality, fruits, vegetables, staples and dairy products will be available under one roof

Bengaluru-based ‘Namdhari’s Group’ have increased its presence in Bengaluru with the Simpli Namdhari’s store in Whitefield. Spread across an area of around 7,000 square feet, a variety of farm-produced residue-free and high-quality fruits, vegetables, staples and dairy products will be available under one roof.

Simpli Namdhari’s is the only 100 per cent vegetarian omnichannel retailer in India with a seed to plate concept. The store also houses a well-equipped kitchen, which churns out a variety of ‘Simpli Good Food’ for customers. 

“We have planned out a strategic growth path, which would include additional production facilities, R&D centres and retail outlets over the next five years. Our ultimate aim is to make ‘premium’ produce accessible and available to the common man,” said Gurmukh Roopra, CEO, Namdhari’s Group.

The company plans to extend beyond the state of Karnataka in the coming few months. 

Wide range of world-class, high quality, fruits,

Sustainability

The awards programme was jointly organised by the Energy Research Institute, the International Water Association and the United Nations Development Programme

FMC Corporation, a leading agricultural sciences company, has been conferred a Certificate of Recognition for its exemplary contribution towards water stewardship in India at the inaugural TERI-IWA-UNDP Water Sustainability Awards 2021-22 on World Water Day 2022. The awards programme was jointly organised by the Energy Research Institute, the International Water Association and the United Nations Development Programme.

FMC runs an ongoing campaign under its flagship Project Samarth that seeks to provide access to safe and potable drinking water to 200,000 farmer families by 2024 in India. Project Samarth has to date commissioned 57 community water purification plants in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, benefiting nearly 100,000 farming families.

Ravi Annavarapu, President, FMC India said, “Our goal is to empower the farming community and raise living standards through various initiatives and community outreach programmes like Project Samarth. Over 4,000 FMC technical field experts engage with farmers about good agriculture practices and the sustainable use of water to enhance productivity while optimising water use. We endeavour to educate the community at large about best practices in water consumption, and we are grateful for this recognition by TERI-IWA-UNDP. It motivates us to move forward on our mission of water stewardship.”

Apart from commissioning water purification plants, FMC also promotes the sustainable use of water in agriculture through its wide network of technical experts and channel partners.

The award was received by Raju Kapoor, director of Public and Industry Affairs, FMC India, in the presence of The Chief Guest Shri Bharat Lal, Secretary Lokpal of India, Former Additional Secretary Jal Jeevan Mission and Shoko Noda, UNDP Resident Representative in India.

The TERI-IWA-UNDP Water Sustainability Awards aim to encourage the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by way of reducing the water footprint among various stakeholders through the adoption of the ‘water neutrality’ approach.

The awards programme was jointly organised by

Agrotech

The programme defines clear milestones to cover all phases of the rice growing cycle from pre-sowing to harvesting

Corteva Agriscience, the global agriculture company, has recently introduced ‘Udayan – Tarakki ka Naya Savera’- an integrated farmer engagement programme is focused to establish and nurture a relationship with Corteva’s customers and channel partners. Aimed at empowering the farmers and bringing prosperity to them, the programme focuses on 3As – Aware, Alert, Act, as an enabler of change. The programme defines clear milestones to cover all phases of the rice growing cycle from pre-sowing to harvesting. It further aims to create awareness and sensitise rice farmers on brown plant hoppers (BPH) menace, timely and effective usage of Pexalon, a science-based and sustainable solution to manage the BPH menace, thus increasing yield productivity by 10 per cent.

With the help of ‘Farmer Connect App’, farmers can scan unique QR codes printed on Corteva products to distinguish between a ‘genuine Pexalon product’ against counterfeit, engage with fellow rice farmers and encourage others to use Pexalon.

In a span of 4 months since the launch of Udayan programme, Corteva brought more than 10 lakh acre farmland under various crop protection and care. More than 1.13 lakh farmers stayed connected through the app, and thousands of field photos were shared. Lakhs of farmers interacted on social media and learnt to use better crop protection products.

This programme was amplified by building a robust campaign ecosystem connecting all on-ground activities with digital programme via the Farmer Connect app. Commenting on the program, Gurpreet Bhathal, Marketing Director, Corteva Agriscience South Asia said, “Corteva is committed to working towards developing technology-driven solutions to meet farmers’ needs today while anticipating tomorrow’s challenges. We aim to provide products and services to help farmers produce what our food system demands while conserving resources and sustaining the land. In line with this commitment, our ‘Udayan’ programme focuses on educating the farmer community to use sustainable crop protection products that empower growers, protect their crop with precision.”

The programme defines clear milestones to cover

China

The new traits include change of the leaf angle and improvement in drought tolerance of corn

Origin Agritech Limited, an agriculture technology company, announced that the company, together with its partner China Agricultural University, has submitted applications for bio-safety certificates for six newly developed gene edited traits that significantly increase the yield of corn crops.

The new traits include change of the leaf angle and improvement in drought tolerance of corn. Changing the leaf angle and plant types will improve the photosynthesis efficiency and increase the planting population, which in turn increases yields. The new traits will also improve the water use efficiency and drought tolerance for corn plants. Origin is currently integrating these traits into its commercial hybrid corns, including the company’s nutritionally enhanced corn. 

In late January, China announced that the country would allow gene edited crops and that the approval process would be very streamlined as compared to the process for getting a new GMO trait approved.

Origin began creating gene edited corn traits in 2017 and already has developed many other desirable traits. Additionally, Origin’s insect resistant and herbicide tolerant GMO corn is also in the approval process. All of these traits could be integrated into these corn crops as well, further increasing yields.

“Given the current challenges facing the world of food inflation, environmental change and uncertainty of food exports from certain countries due to geopolitical events, we are thrilled to be playing a major role in improving food security,” said Dr Gengchen Han, Origin Agritech’s Chairman.

The new traits include change of the

Agrotech, Finance

Insta-Release aims to empower farmers with quick access to their farm produce for value optimisation upon repayment of loans

Arya.ag, India’s largest and fastest-growing integrated grain commerce platform, has recently announced another industry-first, Arya’s Insta-Release – One Click Loan Repayment and Commodity Discharge. Leveraging its technology stack, Arya.ag has been able to optimise its release process to happen within seconds – which otherwise by current industry standards takes over 24 hours to a week.

Agricultural market prices are quite dynamic. The platform’s Price Intelligence mechanism combined with immediate access to the farmers’ stocks – loaned and otherwise, enables them to make prompt & informed decisions on commodity sales. With Arya’s marketplace search engine that connects sellers to buyers across the country and its embedded logistics service, users can now seamlessly reach buyers in no time.

The launch of innovative Insta-Release services aims to empower farmers to immediately optimise their farm produce upon repayment of loans. Insta Release leverages Arya.ag’s pioneering integrated digital platform and allows the farmer to gain complete control of her farm produce immediately upon repayment of loans – all this at just click of a button. Apart from convenience, the Insta-Release offering drives home transparency, efficiency and ease of Arya.ag’s integrated service offerings to farmers.

To release stocks, registered customers can log on to their dashboard, choose how many bags of funded or non-funded bags they wish to release. Once they select the quantity, the platform instantly generates details of the rent and loan outstanding accrued against those bags. A user can pay instantly on the platform to receive the Release Order in a matter of seconds.

Anand Chandra, Arya.ag’s co-founder, said, “Our endeavour at Arya.ag is to align the supply and demand in a secure yet mutually beneficial proposition. We recognise that reduced turn-around-time and lower transaction costs benefits all stakeholders; however immediate payments benefit small-hold farmers, and immediate delivery of stocks is critical for buyers”.

 Arya.ag’s Insta-Release leverages AI, ML, IoT to deliver an enriching experience to end-users. Instant loans, online payments and instant release of commodities ensures that agri-commodity becomes a powerful tool in the hands of the producer.

Insta-Release aims to empower farmers with quick

Agro chems – Fertilizers, North America

USDA will make available $250 million through a new grant programme this summer to support independent, innovative and sustainable American fertiliser production to supply American farmers

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing it will support additional fertiliser production for American farmers to address rising costs, including the impact of Putin’s price hike on farmers, and spur competition.

USDA will make available $250 million through a new grant programme this summer to support independent, innovative and sustainable American fertiliser production to supply American farmers. Additionally, to address growing competition concerns in the agricultural supply chain, USDA will launch a public inquiry seeking information regarding seeds and agricultural inputs, fertiliser, and retail markets.

“Recent supply chain disruptions from the global pandemic to Putin’s unprovoked war against Ukraine have shown just how important it is to invest in this crucial link in the agricultural supply chain here at home,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Fertiliser prices have more than doubled since last year due to many factors including Putin’s price hike, a limited supply of the relevant minerals and high energy costs, high global demand and agricultural commodity prices, reliance on fertiliser imports, and lack of competition in the fertiliser industry.

The new programme will support fertiliser production that is:

  • Independent;
  • Made in America;
  • Innovative;
  • Sustainable;
  • Farmer-focused

Secretary Vilsack said, “As I talk to farmers, ranchers and agriculture and food companies about the recent market challenges, I hear significant concerns about whether large companies along the supply chain are taking advantage of the situation by increasing profits—not just responding to supply and demand or passing along the costs.”

USDA will make available $250 million through