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Friday / March 29. 2024
HomePosts Tagged "agriculture" (Page 7)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year

Government of India has announced the Padma Awards 2022. The Padma Shree award will be given to Sosamma Iype from Kerala for animal husbandry, Amai Mahalinga Naik from Karnakata and Seth Pal Singh from Uttar Pradesh for agriculture. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

The awards are announced on the occasion

The Company was first recognised for this achievement in 2019.

The International Fertiliser Association (IFA) has confirmed PhosAgro’s status as an Industry Stewardship Champion for its responsible and sustainable approach to production. The Company was first recognised for this achievement in 2019.

The IFA’s Industry Stewardship Champion label is granted to companies that are IFA Protect & Sustain certified and actively participate in all IFA benchmarks on Safety Performance, Environmental Performance, and Energy Efficiency & CO2 Emissions. This Award highlights their commitment to continuous improvement, transparency, and the use of the best available techniques in the areas of energy efficiency and resource conservation, occupational health and safety, and environmental protection, and it attests to the fact that industry champions have best corporate policies in place in these areas.

“Ensuring industrial safety, safeguarding occupational health and creating comfortable working conditions for our employees remain priorities for the Company,” said Andrey Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, commenting on the IFA decision.

The Company was first recognised for this

NBHM has the aim to create a network of honey testing labs covering all parts of the country and for this 100 FPOs of beekeepers will be proved as the centre.

National Bee Board (NBB) has organised a National Conference on Beekeeping Sector in collaboration with National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED), Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) & National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on January 24, 2022. More than 600 participants from Government as well as the private sector, State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs), Beekeepers and other stakeholders involved in beekeeping occupation, etc attended the conference.

During the conference Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India spoke on National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM), a central sector scheme launched by Government of India for overall promotion & development of scientific beekeeping in the country.

Likhi expressed that NBHM will help in filling gaps in infrastructural facilities for honey and linking marginal beekeepers in an organised way for dealing with adulteration in honey. NBHM has the aim to create a network of honey testing labs covering all parts of the country and for this 100 FPOs of beekeepers will be proved as the centre. He suggested including honey FPO beekeeping society/cooperative/firms for better sustainability in the honey sector.

NBHM has the aim to create a

USA Dry Pea Lentil Council hopes for improved talks on India tariffs to continue the pulse trade with India.

USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council (USADPLC), the highest quality producer of lentils, dry peas, and chickpeas for national and international markets, has exuberantly laid out a vision for a healthy and viable 2022. As per the USADPLC, the year 2022 glances over sustainable development goals, including good health and well-being. In addition to the objective of a sustainable year, USA Dry Pea Lentil Council hopes for improved talks on India tariffs to continue the pulse trade with India.

Speaking about the prospects for 2022, Sachin Khurana, India Representative, USADPLC, said, “India is an extremely crucial market for our exporters. We remain hopeful that the trade barriers will be resolved in 2022, and the pulses trade relation between India and the US will return to normalcy. Also, in 2022, we will continue to strengthen our sustainability story and educate Indian importers, traders, and consumers about the benefits of sustainable commodity – Pulses.”

Khurana added, “In 2022, USADPLC is also aiming to focus on ‘Standard for Quality’ – an initiative to highlight the quality and premium standard of US Pulses. Through this campaign, we aim to engage with retailers and spread awareness amongst consumers about the superior quality of US Pulses.” 

USA Dry Pea Lentil Council hopes for

The record-breaking growth was achieved in normal earthen ponds by applying SISTA360 protocols developed by the R&D wing of the Kings Infra

Kings Infra Venture, a technology-driven sustainable aquaculture company, has set a world record in the growth of pond-based aquaculture of L Vannamei shrimps by harvesting shrimps weighing 80 gms (210 mm). L Vannamei commonly known as the white leg shrimp are native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, from the Mexican state of Sonora to as far south as northern Peru. The record-breaking growth was achieved in normal earthen ponds by applying SISTA360 protocols developed by the R&D wing of the Kings Infra.

“The information available with us shows that there is no record of L Vannamei shrimps weighing 80 gm per piece have been grown in an aquafarm anywhere in the world. The SISTA360 protocol farming practice, a proprietary system developed by our R&D team, has enabled us to achieve such a record,” said Shaji Baby John, CCMD, Kings Infra.

“SISTA360 is an integrated system based on symbiotic technology using principles adopted from BIOFLOC, Aquamimicry, and IMTA methods of aquaculture and adapted to Indian conditions. The achievement gains further significance as the farm used only antibiotic-free feed, probiotics, and natural supplements, Ingredients such as curd, jaggery, turmeric, moringa leaves, garlic, tamarind, and other ingredients were used regularly under this protocol to improve immunity and disease resistance as well as improve growth rates,” he added.

The successful harvesting of jumbo-sized shrimp is expected to bring a major positive impact on the top-line and bottom-line growth of Kings Infra in the next year. As against the average farm gate price of $5 per kg for farmed shrimp the present initiative would help in realising $15 per kg from the same pond.

The record-breaking growth was achieved in normal

The second edition of the awards invited applications across 15 sectors and 49 sub-sectors

The National Startup Awards 2021 was recently held where 46 startups were felicitated. During the ceremony, the results of the National Startup Awards (NSA) 2021 were declared. The award was presented by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles.

The second edition of the awards invited applications across 15 sectors and 49 sub-sectors. The sectors included agriculture, animal husbandry, drinking water, education and skill development, energy, enterprise technology, environment, fintech, food processing, health and wellness, industry 4.0, security, space and transport and travel.

Six special categories were also introduced to recognise exceptional startups contributing to the good of society. The 2021 edition of the awards also recognised exceptional startups innovating solutions to promote Indic languages and to complement national efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 2177 applications were received from startups across the 49 sub-sectors along with applications from 53 incubators and six accelerators for the ecosystem enablers categories. These applicants included 863 women-led, 414 innovations for combatting COVID-19 and 253 startups working in rural areas.

All applicants were evaluated against six broad parameters namely innovation, scalability, economic impact, social impact, environmental impact, and inclusiveness and diversity.

The felicitation ceremony was accompanied by the release of an e-Report on National Startup Awards 2021 highlighting the year-round handholding support provided to the finalists of the first edition of the National Startup Awards and the journey of NSA 2021.

The ‘Blockchain-enabled verification for DPIIT tax incentive certificates’, ‘Digilocker enabled DPIIT Startup recognition certificate’ and the second edition of the ‘Startup Champions’ programme on Doordarshan was also launched during the event.

The following startups bagged recognition in agri sector:

Shapos Services for Farmer Engagement & Education
Agrirain Agro Industries India for irrigation
Zentron Labs for post harvest
Athreya Global Solutions for productivity

Vesatogo Innovations for post harvest

In animal husbandry, Stellapps Technologies received an award for productivity, in the environment category and Revy Environmental Solutions bagged the award under industrial biotechnology.

The second edition of the awards invited

Sonalika has sold 1,05,250 tractors in April-December 2021.

Carrying forward the strong momentum built throughout FY’21, Sonalika Tractors has breached past 1 lakh tractor sales mark in just 9 months (April-Dec’21) of FY’22, thereby charting the path to a new paradigm in 2022. Meanwhile, Sonalika has also entered the coveted club of 25,000+ export tractor sales in 9 months, a unique feat which remains a distant dream for many companies globally. Sonalika has further extended its lead in exports with 3,432 tractor sales and 31.2 per cent market share in December 2021.

Cumulatively, Sonalika has sold 1,05,250 tractors in Apr-Dec 2021. Year after year, Sonalika Tractors has been fast forwarding its sales performance of crossing 1 lakh tractors mark. The company has been manoeuvring through toughest of COVID-19 waves while addressing farmer’s critical requirements with superior technology powered tractors and implements. This also includes the recently launched Sonalika Tiger DI 75 4W CRDs tractor that delivers twin benefits in one tractor – the power of 75 HP tractor and fuel economy of 65 HP tractor. 

Sharing his viewpoint on the remarkable achievement, Raman Mittal, Executive Director, Sonalika Tractors, said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have created a new record sales performance to breach the 1 lakh tractor sales mark in just 9 months of FY’22. Month after month, our strong focus on our mission and persistent approach of closely working with farmers while addressing their diverse needs, has enabled us to clock the extraordinary record 1,05,250 overall tractor sales within 9 months of FY’22 (April-Dec’21).

Sonalika has sold 1,05,250 tractors in April-December