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HomePosts Tagged "agriculture" (Page 7)
Environment

The deadline to apply for this grant cycle is March 30, 2022, at 5 pm EDT

The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger through sustainable agricultural development, has announced the launch of its new grant application cycle on the theme of “Climate Action Within the Context of Agriculture” for non-profit organisations with grant proposals between $20,000 – $300,000 and located anywhere across the globe.

In alignment with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) on “Climate Action” and AGCO’s purpose to deliver “farmer-focused solutions to sustainably feed our world,” the Foundation is accepting grant applications on climate action in agriculture. The AAF grant application platform, through its community investment software partner, Benevity, is running the application cycle from February 21 to March 30. This programme strengthens AAF commitment to its strategic focus areas and AGCO’s Farmer-First strategy while addressing global trends on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The Foundation’s first grant application cycle for 2022 seeks new project proposals from non-profits that combine various sustainable methods to tackle the specific climate change-related challenges of today’s farming communities. 

Grant eligible non-profit organisations must focus on climate action in the agricultural context that also aligns with any of the AAF thematic focus areas such as Nutrition & Sustainable Food Systems, Agricultural Education, Research and Innovation, and Farmer Community Development. The aim is to implement projects that promote sustainable climate solutions for farmers and the agricultural sector to benefit economies while also strengthening community development. 

The deadline to apply for this grant cycle is March 30, 2022, at 5 pm EDT. 

The deadline to apply for this grant

Start ups

Dr Abhilaksh Likhi has invited the start-ups and FPOs to submit their proposals

As part of India’s efforts to showcase the country’s investment-friendly policies and growth opportunities in agriculture and allied sectors at EXPO2020 Dubai, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has invited the start-ups and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) to submit their proposals to the ministry, and assured them that they would be considered for providing equity grants, management costs, and other available support measures. Dr Likhi suggested this at the inauguration of ‘Food, Agriculture and livelihood’ fortnight at the India Pavilion in EXPO2020 Dubai.

Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary (Crops & Oil Seeds), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, T R Kesavan Group President (Corporate Relations & Alliances) Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE), Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Partner, KPMG, among other officials from the ministry also attended the event.

The ‘Food, Agriculture and Livelihood’ fortnight (February 17th – March 2nd) will comprise various sessions which will be presided over by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Cooperation.

On the theme for the first week of the fortnight, that is, millets, Shubha Thakur said, “Millets is an important area for us, and we would like to utilise this global platform to learn about the health and nutritional aspects of millets and bring back the glory of millets.”

India produces all the nine commonly known millets and is the largest producer and second-largest exporter of millets globally.

During the launch of the ‘Millet’ theme as part of the ‘Food, Agriculture and Livelihood’ fortnight at the sector floor at the India Pavilion, the delegation led by Dr Likhi unveiled the Millet Book comprising nutritious and delightful recipes made using millets. The delegation also launched the first ‘Millet food festival’, during which the visitors will get to relish the healthy and nutritious delicacies prepared using the millets.

Dr Abhilaksh Likhi has invited the start-ups

Organic, Schemes - NABARD

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’ has been launched virtually on February 9, 2022

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched an agroecology-based programme JIVA on February 9, 2022, that will promote natural farming under its existing watershed and wadi programmes in 11 states.

In order to stimulate a long-term wider scale transformation of food and agriculture systems in these areas and for ensuring sustainability of interventions made so far, it is proposed to introduce agroecological approaches in Natural Resource Management (NRM) portfolio of NABARD.

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’ (meaning “a living being or entity imbued with a life force”) has been launched virtually between 3 PM to 4 PM on February 9, 2022. The event will be graced by Dr G R Chintala, Chairman, NABARD. P V S Suryakumar, DMD, NABARD, Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, MoA&FW, Dr S K Chaudhari, DDG (NRM), ICAR, Heads/representatives of GiZ and KfW in the country will be sharing their thoughts.

“We will invest Rs 50,000 per hectare under this programme,” NABARD Chairman G R Chintala said in the virtual launching event.

“While the best practices will be implemented on 200 hectares in each project, these 200 hectares will be a learning and proselytising platform to the whole village,” he added.

The new programme christened as ‘JIVA’

Oilseeds

The order aims at regulating storage and distribution of edible oils and oilseeds besides, keeping check over hoarding in the country

Centre has chaired a meeting with States/UTs to implement Stock Limit Order of edible oils and oilseeds. The Government of India has notified an order on February 3, 2022, specifying the stock limit quantities on edible oils and oilseeds upto June 30, 2022 with a view to provide impetus to the various steps taken by the Government to cool the prices of edible oil in the country.

The Stock Limit Order empowers the Union Government and all States/UTs to regulate storage and distribution of edible oils and oilseeds. This would also help the Government in checking hoarding of edible oils and oilseeds in the country. A Meeting was held by the Department of Food & Public Distribution on February 8, 2022, with all States/UTs for discussing the implementation plan of the above order dated 3rd February, 2022.

During the meeting it was emphasised that States/UTs authorities may enforce Stock Limit Quantities Order without causing any disruption in the supply chain and also any undue hardship to bonafide trade.

For edible oils, the stock limit specified is 30 quintals for retailers, 500 quintals for wholesalers, 30 quintals for retail outlets of bulk consumers i.e., big chain retailers and shops and 1000 quintals for its depots. Processors of edible oils would be able to stock 90 days of their storage capacities.

For edible oilseeds, the stock limit is 100 quintals for retailers, 2000 quintals for wholesalers. Processors of edible oilseeds would be able to stock 90 days production of edible oils as per daily input production capacity. Exporters and importers have been kept outside the purview of this Order with some caveats.

The order aims at regulating storage and

Agrotech, Interaction

Bayer will present three new bio technologies, crop protection innovations, digital solutions and new business models during the 34th edition of the Rural Coopavel Show

Bayer, a global company focussed on Life sciences has announced that it will present three new biotechnologies, crop protection innovations, digital solutions and new business models during the 34th edition of the Rural Coopavel Show. The event will be the first opportunity to share in person at a fair – since the beginning of the pandemic – the solutions developed to contribute to a more productive and sustainable agriculture, in addition to showing what will be built collaboratively with farmers in the coming years.

According to Fábio Prata, marketing director for Bayer’s clients in Brazil, “One of our missions as an organisation is to support producers to produce more, in the same area and in a more sustainable way. During the Show Rural Coopavel, we will have the opportunity to show up close, albeit with restrictions due to the moment we are going through.”

Between February 7th and 11th, visitors to the event will be able to check out the new digital model that Bayer has developed for its customers through Espaço Bayer, a virtual platform that offers an immersive and fully customised experience based on the needs and peculiarities of the producer. 

“Our priority is to be closer and closer to our customers, regardless of the channel, so that we can understand the producer’s pain and deliver solutions that generate value”, says Bayer’s marketing director. In addition to exploring the benefits of the program, producers will have the opportunity to learn more about exclusive experiences, as well as access services redeemable through their program points, which can be accumulated by purchasing solutions from any of the brands on display.

During the Rural Coopavel Show, visitors will be able to follow this path of digital transformation of the countryside and experience the features of Climate FieldView, Bayer’s digital agriculture platform that already maps more than 22 million hectares in Brazil. 

Bayer will present three new bio technologies,

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains

The minister stated that the planned inter modal terminal at Kalughat, Bihar with Rs 78 crore will provide boost to region’s socio-economic development

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry has said that the Pilot movement of food grains on vessel from Patna (Bihar) to Pandu (Guwahati) will open a new gate to the ‘Gateway of North East’. Addressing virtually on the occasion of “Flagging off of vessel” MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying food grains from Patna to Pandu and unveiling of foundation stone for terminal at Kalughat (Bihar) on February 5, 2022.

Piyush Goyal said that this 2,350 km voyage will open a new gate to the ‘Gateway of North East’ (Assam) and ensure seamless waterways connectivity to NE Region through Ganga & Brahmaputra rivers. He said that flagging of the vessel named ‘MV Lal Bahadur Shastri’ reminds me of Shastriji’s slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan”.

The minister stated that the planned intermodal terminal at Kalughat, Bihar with Rs 78 crore will provide boost to region’s socio-economic development and create multiple job opportunities. This will also help decongest the roads of North Bihar and provide an alternative route for transportation of cargo in this area. He further said that this route from Patna can prove to be a viable alternative to the conventional mode of movement of foodgrains & goods for NE region.

The Minister also mentioned that India-Bangladesh friendship is reaching new heights under Prime Minister Narendra Modi & HE Sheikh Hasina. This event is another milestone and a testament to ever-growing friendship between India and Bangladesh, he said. This first food grain movement will be an integrated IWT movement via National Waterway-1 (river Ganga), NW-97 (Sunderbans), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and NW-2 (river Brahmaputra).

The minister stated that the planned inter

Agro chems – Chemicals

The manufacturing capacity of the facility is 18,000 MTPA

Best Agrolife Limited (BAL), one of the leading agrochemicals in India, announced the commencement of production at its fully automated formulation facility Seedling India Private Limited. After the successful commissioning of the formulation facility, the production of high-end formulations has started well in time there. The manufacturing capacity of the facility is 18,000 MTPA.

Seedling India Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Best Agrolife Limited is a technology-savvy integrated research and development centre located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It will be a one-stop site offering products based on WG, SG, ZC, and EC.

BAL set up this integrated research and development centre to strengthen the farming community. The company will work on in-house developed combinations for effective pest management and crop protection. Equipped with one fully automated WDG plant, one large capacity SC unit, and one modern GR formulation unit, this facility will act as a base for BAL for bringing in more innovative formulations in the form of one-shot solutions for the farming community.  

Set up with an investment of Rs 50 crore, Seedling India is the innovation powerhouse to redefine conventional agriculture models and accelerate the translation of innovative ideas and concepts into sustainable, tangible prototypes and products.

To ensure the security and safety of the products and to accommodate raw materials, packing materials, and finished products separately, this facility also houses 4 fully-equipped warehouses with the best infrastructure.

The manufacturing capacity of the facility is

Finance

UPL has delivered another quarter of strong business performance in a challenging environment

UPL Limited has recently reported financial results for the third quarter of FY22 (Oct-Dec 2021). Q3 FY22 revenue witnessed robust growth of 24 per cent YoY to reach Rs 11,297 crore, led by healthy growth in volumes (+11 per cent) and better product realisations (+13 per cent). Further, Q3 FY22 EBITDA grew by 21 per cent YoY to Rs 2,666 crore as against Rs 2,209 crore in Q3 FY21.

Commenting on the performance, Jai Shroff, CEO – UPL Limited, said “UPL delivered another quarter of strong business performance in a challenging environment with growth across all regions except India. We are confident of continuing this business momentum and ending the fiscal year 2022 on a strong note.” “We also undertook multiple initiatives to re-imagine sustainability and in Q3, we successfully raised a sustainability loan of $700 million.”

He added, “At the same time, furthering our commitment to the Gigaton challenge, our digital platform ‘nurture.farm’ successfully completed its Crop Residue Management Program, thereby preventing release of over 1 million tons of carbon emissions. Taken together, these initiatives underscore UPL’s commitment to sustainability as we continue to raise the bar for the industry as a whole with UPL being ranked once again as the #1 global crop protection company amongst its peers by Sustainalytics in its 2021 ESG rankings.”

UPL has delivered another quarter of strong

AgroPolicy, Finance

A slew of measures is likely to benefit the sector

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while announcing the Budget 2022, gave a special emphasis on the agriculture sector. Sitharaman mentioned the government’s priority for farmers cultivating paddy, kharif and rabi crops under which 1,000 LMT Paddy is expected to be procured benefitting over 1 crore farmers.

Rs 2.37 lakh crores will be transferred to 163 lakh farmers as Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the procurement of paddy, wheat, rabi and kharif. Chemical-free, natural farming will be promoted across the country with a focus on farmers’ land in 5 km wide corridors along the river Ganga. She also mentioned branding millet products nationally and internationally.

The budget also mentioned the use of drone technology for farming activities. States will be encouraged to revise syllabi of agricultural universities to meet the need for natural, zero-budget and organic farming, modern-day agriculture.

Sitharaman also mentioned a fund with blended capital raised under co-investment model facilitated through NABARD to finance startups in agriculture & rural enterprises for farm produce value chain. Apart from these, finance startups to receive incentives to aid rural enterprises.

A slew of measures is likely to

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Bee keeping, Dairy, Horticulture, Oilseeds, Organic, Trade

The President was addressing the Joint Sitting of two Houses of Parliament

The government is working continuously to empower the farmers and the rural economy of the country. This was stated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind to the Joint Sitting of two Houses of Parliament. He said, despite the pandemic, Indian farmers produced more than 30 crore tonnes of food grains and 33 crore tonnes of horticulture produce in 2020-21.

The government procured 433 lakh metric tonnes of wheat during the Rabi season benefiting about 50 lakh farmers. A record quantity of about 900 lakh metric tonnes of paddy was procured during the Kharif season, benefiting 1 crore 30 lakh farmers.

He further mentioned, “Agriculture exports have also reached a record level due to the efforts of the government. Agricultural exports registered a growth of more than 25 per cent in the year 2020-21, and have reached nearly Rs 3 lakh crore.”

Because of incentives provided to honey production, domestic production of honey has reached 1,25,000 metric tonnes in 2020-21, an increase of about 55 per cent compared to 2014-15. Export volume of honey has also grown by more than 102 per cent as compared to 2014-15, is what was stated by the president.

Kovid said, “To ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their crops, the products must reach the right market. In this direction, the government has endeavoured to open new avenues of prosperity for the farmers by launching Kisan Rail Seva. During the corona period, Indian Railways operated over 1,900 Kisan Rails on more than 150 routes to transport perishable food items like vegetables, fruits and milk, thereby transporting about 6 lakh metric tonnes of agricultural produce. This is an example of how new avenues can be created from the existing resources if the thinking is innovative.”

He added, “Under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, Rs 1,80,000 crore have been provided to more than 11 crore farmer families. With this investment, the agriculture sector is witnessing major transformations today. Thousands of projects have been approved under the agriculture infrastructure fund having a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore. To ensure self-sufficiency in edible oil, the government has also launched the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm with an outlay of Rs 11,000 crore. The government is also making special efforts like organic farming, natural farming and crop diversification.

The President was addressing the Joint Sitting

Environment, Interaction

Experts from different backgrounds explained the latest advances proving the commitment of producing countries to sustainable palm oil production

The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) has organised a webinar ‘Net-Zero Emissions: Achievements and Way Forward in the Palm Oil’s Production’ on January 26, 2022. The webinar presented facts and figures on palm oil industry is well on its way to achieving carbon neutrality.

During the opening session, MEP Seán Kelly underlined the need for a partnership between the European Union and producing countries, and reaffirmed that palm oil can be produced sustainably. MP Kelly’s statement assuring progress on sustainability was confirmed by CPOPC Executive Director Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, who insisted that the palm oil industry had started working on carbon neutrality well before other sectors and recalled the crucial role of this oil in the development of producing countries.

Experts from different backgrounds explained the latest advances proving the commitment of producing countries to sustainable palm oil production. The scientific data presented during the event, once again demonstrated that the false narratives concerning palm oil, in particular concerning its role in deforestation, must and can be debunked.

Dr Rosediana Suharto, Director of the Indonesian NGO Responsible Palm Oil Initiative, clarified that deforestation in Indonesia is constantly decreasing and that the palm oil industry is constantly evolving to operate in a sustainable way, in accordance with the strict measures of the government. She emphasised the crucial role of smallholders as well as their interests in the global palm oil debate.

The importance of smallholders was also highlighted by Dr Ruslan Abdullah, Malaysian Palm Oil Council, who gave a comprehensive overview of Malaysia’s performance in reducing CO2 emissions compared to other countries. other countries, outlining national measures to improve palm oil production and reduce GHG emissions.

Experts from different backgrounds explained the latest

Company News, Inputs

The products add to an already robust rice herbicide portfolio for ADAMA.

ADAMA has announced that it has received registration by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for two rice herbicides: Diverge Silk and Diverge EC.

Diverge Silk and Diverge EC are propanil herbicides that provide effective control of grasses and broadleaf weeds in rice. Diverge Silk is a novel suspension concentrate formulation that offers rice growers improved quality and handling for reliable weed control without the hassle of clogged up spray tanks or nozzles. Diverge Silk is registered in AR, CA, FL, LA, MO, MS and SC. Diverge EC is a cost-effective, high-quality propanil formulated right here in the US and is only registered for use in AR.

These products add to an already robust rice herbicide portfolio for ADAMA. Over the last several years, we have launched two rice systems in collaboration with RiceTec: Preface and Postscript herbicides as part of the FullPage Rice Cropping Solution and Highcard herbicide as part of the Max-Ace Rice Cropping Solution, as well as two other foundational rice herbicides, Vopak 3ME and Zurax L.

The National Conservation Systems Cotton & Rice Conference will be held in Jonesboro, AR the last week in January. This event pulls in a great audience consisting of consultants & growers from across the Delta.

The products add to an already robust

Agro Universities, Live Stock

Discussions were held on to enhance the reach of the knowledge products developed under the project

The ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad recently organised a virtual launch workshop for the multi-institutional, trans-disciplinary Project on “Developing and Pilot Testing Specialized Knowledge Products on Human Wildlife Conflict Mitigation for Agriculture and Veterinary Sector in India” implemented in technical collaboration with GIZ, German Agency for International Cooperation.

Dr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad underlined the functional networks of the academy with diverse stakeholders that enhance the reach of the knowledge products developed under the project.

Dr Neeraj Khera,‎ Team Leader, Human Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Project, GIZ-India outlined the progress made under the National Project and the specific outcomes expected from the ICAR-NAARM-GIZ Study Component.

Dr G Venkateshwarlu, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad stated that the Project will serve as a platform for demonstrating the spirit of collaboration among the diverse stakeholders.

Dr SB Barbuddhe, Director, ICAR-National Research Centre on Meat, Hyderabad highlighted the importance of One Health being undertaken under the project.

Discussions were held on to enhance the

Inputs

AgBiome’s research is focused on developing biological pest control solutions for the following crops: maize, sorghum, banana and yam.

AgBiome, the leader in developing innovative products from the Earth’s microbial communities, announced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has continued their granted support, funding phase 2 research aimed to develop novel, efficacious, safe and low cost of production microbial pesticides (fungal control and nematicide) for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan African countries. AgBiome’s research is focused on developing biological pest control solutions for the following crops: maize, sorghum, banana and yam.

The overarching goal of this project is to leverage AgBiome’s scientific expertise, infrastructure, and previous success developing biological fungicides to develop microbial solutions that will benefit small-holder farmers in African countries.

AgBiome has successfully achieved milestones in phase 1 of this project, including:

  • Successfully developing microbial screening assays against the target diseases
  • Identification of 100 microbial strains with confirmed activity against one or more of the target fungal diseases and 25 strains prioritised for further evaluation.
  • Identification of 20 nematicidal bacterial strains able to control the root knot nematodes (RKN) on-plant and three lead strains prioritized for further evaluation.

In phase 2 of this research, AgBiome will focus on the evaluation of the strains prioritised in the phase 1 of the project under appropriate field conditions and select microbes with the best efficacy.

“Upon completion of phase 2, AgBiome will provide production-ready lead and backup strains with proven efficacy to control a spectrum of fungal diseases and nematodes in the key sub-Saharan African crops,” said Dave Ingham, Pre-product Manager at AgBiome.

AgBiome's research is focused on developing biological