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HomePosts Tagged "Asia Pacific"
Climate, Environment, R&D, Soil Health, Sustainability

At the multi stakeholder COP29 panel discussion , ADB’s $14 billion food security commitment and the emerging partnerships reflecting the urgency of fostering sustainable and inclusive agricultural systems were highlighted, paving the way for bold and transformative innovations across sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition-focused interventions, and global resilience in Asia Pacific

During the first week of COP29, the urgency to address agriculture’s role in climate resilience and food security has never been clearer. The Asia-Pacific region, home to some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable populations, is at the forefront of this challenge. Climate change, water scarcity, and political conflicts threaten food security, disrupt livelihoods, and exacerbate nutritional deficiencies across the region.

ADB Senior Director for Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Dr. Qingfeng Zhang pointed to the centrality of International Financial institutions (IFIs) in Asia-Pacific’s food systems and climate goals. “Moving forward, our focus is on three key priorities. First, we will shift from a production-based approach to demand-side interventions, with a strong emphasis on nutrition security. Second, we aim to advance smart agriculture, restore natural capital, and strengthen fisheries and agricultural systems while supporting food productivity, reducing food loss and waste, and promoting open trade. Finally, we will harness digital technology and champion inclusive agricultural policies to drive equitable and sustainable development.”

IFIs play a vital role in shaping global agricultural transformation. Their contributions span multiple areas, including policy dialogue, where they align incentives for farmers and private investors to prioritize climate resilience. In parallel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Director for Agricultural Development Martien van Nieuwkoop highlighted context-specific and innovations-driven initiatives as natural spaces “where science meets finance” and where IFIs can address market failures and build systems that truly benefit farmers.

“When it comes to technological innovation, there is no universal solution or “Tesla car” that works in all conditions. Instead, solutions must be adapted to local contexts, which highlights the importance of bundling technologies into tailored packages. This is where initiatives like the new ADB-CGIAR Clearinghouse play a critical role,” noted van Nieuwkoop, adding that platforms that can integrate these bundled solutions and address multiple constraints simultaneously will be crucial in ensuring that they are practical, scalable, and impactful.

Amidst all these, innovation and technology play a key role in reshaping farming practices. AI-driven weather forecasting is providing real-time, actionable insights for farmers, optimizing planting schedules and resource use. “AI tools are revolutionizing agriculture, enabling small-scale farmers to make data-driven decisions,” noted Michael Kremer, Director, Development Innovation Lab, University of Chicago.

Nutrition programming was also cited as an invaluable element of this transformation, addressing the broader health and resilience challenges linked to food security. Sarah LaHaye, Lead for Climate Action and Nutrition at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) underscored, “Nutrition is often an afterthought in climate and food security programming. It’s vital to intentionally integrate nutrition to ensure that crop diversification and resilience efforts also improve nutritional outcomes.” LaHaye cited GAIN programs in Indonesia, which tackled food loss and waste while addressing emissions and nutritional benefits, as a key example of how climate and nutrition goals can align effectively.

ADB Director General – Chief Compliance Officer for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Bruno Carrasco closed the session with a resounding call to action, “We must invest in science, innovation, and partnerships to address today’s challenges while building a food-secure future.”

At the multi stakeholder COP29 panel discussion

Company News, Foodgrains, Sustainability, World

The Nutrient Gap Initiative aims to improve access to essential nutrients for 50 million people by 2030

Bayer announces the expansion of one of its signature sustainability programs, the Nutrient Gap Initiative, to now improve access to both nutritious food and safety net supplementation.  The program initially aimed to expand access to essential vitamins and minerals to 50 million people in underserved communities by 2030, with a focus on nutritional supplementation, a critical tool to build a safety net for malnutrition in these communities. On the occasion of the initiative’s second anniversary, the company is evolving the program to also help close the nutrient gap through the most fundamental source: food, namely fruits, vegetables and grains. 

“As a global leader in both agriculture and nutritional supplements, Bayer is uniquely positioned to help all people get access to proper nutrition. The roots of malnutrition are complex and far from one-size-fits-all, so we’re drawing on competencies from across our company to fight it. We want to remove the barriers to a healthy diet for those who need it most,” said Heiko Schipper, President of the Consumer Health Division of Bayer AG and Member of the Board of Management.

“For people in underserved communities, access to nutritious food is a challenge due to the cost and local availability of fresh produce and grains. As part of our critical work for food security and smallholder farmers, The Nutrient Gap Initiative will help improve the livelihoods of people who do not have access to vitamins and minerals, leveraging also our Better Life Farming Centres,” said Rodrigo Santos, President of the Crop Science Division of Bayer AG and Member of the Board of Management. 

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of many food systems, but their communities are often suffering from malnutrition and a lack of health services. Building on the existing strong infrastructure of the Better Life Farming centres, smallholder farmers will become a key audience for The Nutrient Gap Initiative. The Better Life Farming Centres, predominantly in Asia Pacific, provide smallholders in remote rural regions access to essential agricultural products, a key pillar of Bayer’s Smallholder Initiative which aims to impact 100 million smallholders in low-and-middle-income countries by 2030. Bayer will pilot the expansion of services offered with access to nutritional solutions and education given that food security cannot be achieved without health equity.

The Nutrient Gap Initiative aims to improve

Agrotech, Company News, India, IT, SAARC, Thailand

Cropwise Grower app is now available in India in nine languages and slated for rollout in Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh

Syngenta and image recognition specialist, Plantix, have launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital farming tools which is set to provide access to at least half a million smallholder farmers across the Asia Pacific.

The partnership gives Asia’s smallholder farmers access to a global database of over 50 crops and 500 diseases, which will be available through Syngenta’s Cropwise Grower app for farmers. The app uses the power of data to protect crop yields with on-demand advice on agricultural best-practices crop protection solutions.

With a rollout covering five countries and 750,000 hectares of farmland, the farming app will widen access to smart farming features for half a million farmers producing staple cash crops such as cotton, rice, corn, wheat and more.

Using AI, Cropwise Grower will allow farmers to take a photo of their crop problem, and in real-time, diagnose crop pests and diseases with 93 per cent accuracy. The image is analysed by the Plantix algorithms to identify the issue and provide a recommendation.

The uploaded images are also geo-tagged so that the app is able to alert farmers with early warnings when pest and disease pressures are identified in their surrounding area.

Targeting farmers in Asia’s top agriculture economies, the Cropwise Grower app is now available in India in nine languages and will be progressively rolled out in Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

“The emergence of challenges, such as new pests and diseases with climate change, coupled with extreme weather events, have made farming incrementally challenging. By bringing smart solutions closer to farmers, AI and data can help them overcome traditional constraints and information gaps. Our aim is to make digital tools as commonly used by smallholder farmers as the traditional rake here in the Asia Pacific. This partnership taps into our extensive regional networks to make this technology accessible at a large scale,” said Alexander Berkovskiy, APAC Regional Director at Syngenta.

Features of the Cropwise Grower app have been designed and tested with rural farmers in mind and include critical features which are available offline for users in areas with intermittent internet connection. It is tailored to regional crops and diseases and will be available in local languages, including nine local languages across India. Historical diagnoses and recommended solutions can be stored for on-demand offline access by farmers.

“As part of our commitment to the communities in which we operate, we are investing heavily in digital and believe that it has the power to help farmers make better decisions, reduce crop losses and increase yields,” explained Chris Chen, APAC Head of Digital Transformation at Syngenta.

“Cropwise Grower is the vehicle that allows us a direct connection, at scale, with millions of growers across the Asia Pacific. By ensuring the end-to-end user flow is 100 per cent automated, the partnership with Plantix allows an accurate diagnosis and recommendation to be provided in less than five seconds. This real-time feedback will be critical in driving behavioural change for our smallholder farmers across the region,” he adds.

Cropwise Grower app is now available in India

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, Singapore

 The new €40 million site will serve as a hub for the region, and support the needs of over 20 million hectares of farmland in Asia Pacific.

BASF inaugurated a new regional production site for its Agricultural Solutions business. The €40 million multipurpose facility has been designed to initially handle six different formulation technologies and will enable BASF to supply crop protection products to farmers across Asia Pacific from a strategic location in the region. The site has initial production capacity of 7,000 kl per year – enough to supply over 20 million hectares of farmland – and employs a staff of over 30 technicians and professionals. The site represents an important investment by BASF in Singapore, which now has four production facilities in the republic.

BASF has recently launched several new innovations in Asia Pacific targeted at helping farmers of key crops – including rice and fruits & vegetables – combat pests and boost yields in a more sustainable manner. These include crop protection products based on the company’s new active ingredients Inscalis® , and Revysol® – patented innovations which help farmers control insects and diseases in crops. Products featuring these two active ingredients – as well as several soon-to-be launched products from the company’s innovation pipeline – will be produced at the new site.

From BASF, the site was inaugurated by Simone Barg, Senior Vice President Agricultural Solutions Asia Pacific and Dr. Carola Richter, President Asia Pacific (excl. China). They were joined by Ow Kai Onn, Vice President & Head of Chemicals & Materials from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and Loh Yew Pong, Deputy Director Energy & Chemicals Cluster, Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).

Speaking at the inauguration, Kai Onn shared how EDB and other Singapore government agencies are working together with companies like BASF to foster the growth of the agricultural sector for the benefit of both Singapore and the entire region. “EDB is delighted to be at the inauguration of BASF’s new Agricultural Solutions regional production site. Through job roles such as process technicians, engineers, production planners and quality assurance chemists, this facility gives Singaporeans and residents opportunities to participate in the global agri-food value chain and contribute to safe, nutritious and affordable crops in our region.

This facility was constructed under a challenging environment in the midst of a global pandemic. Its successful unveiling today reflects Singapore’s commitment to being a stable investment destination, a reliable manufacturing hub for specialty chemicals and a strategic location for companies to build a more responsive and resilient supply chain for their customers in Asia.”

 The new €40 million site will serve

Agrotech, Finance

First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per cent to $1.9 billion

Syngenta Group has announced the results for the first quarter of 2022. First quarter sales increased to $8.9 billion, up 26 per cent. First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per cent to $1.9 billion. Syngenta Group China delivered strong growth with total sales of $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022. MAP revenues more than doubled to $650 million and continued to expand to 514 centres (149 new centers from end of Q1 2021) across China, with average MAP center sales up 57 percent year on year, serving farmers with solutions that increase yields and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Syngenta Group managed its supply chains in the face of procurement and increasing logistics challenges to meet grower needs. Procurement, logistics, energy and other operating cost increases and negative currency effects were offset by productivity improvements and higher selling prices across all businesses.

Synergy-driven sales increased by more than 140 per cent in Q1 year on year to more than $0.3 billion, with a profit contribution that tripled to $0.1 billion in the quarter.

In the first quarter of 2022, Syngenta Crop Protection sales grew 25 percent to $4.2 billion. Sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 8 per cent and in Asia Pacific (excluding China) 5 per cent. Driven by exceptional demand, sales in Latin America increased 70 per cent; North America 43 per cent; and China 46 per cent. Higher prices offset higher costs.

Syngenta Crop Protection acquired two next generation bioinsecticides from Bionema, a leading UK-based biocontrol technology developer. NemaTrident® and UniSpore® help combat increasing resistance and protect crops against a wide range of insects and pests.

In Indonesia, Syngenta Crop Protection launched NELVIUM, a pheromone based biological to control pests in rice. In El Salvador, the first regulatory approval was achieved for TYMIRIUM® technology which provides long-lasting protection against a broad spectrum of nematodes and diseases across all major crops.

ADAMA sales grew 28 per cent in the first quarter to $1.8 billion, helped by early demand. Sales in Europe grew 6 percent; North America 47 per cent; Latin America 28 per cent; India, Middle East and Africa remained flat; Asia Pacific (excluding China) grew 25 per cent. In China, sales doubled. Higher selling prices offset raw material, logistics and energy cost increases as well as negative currency effects.

In the first quarter of 2022, Syngenta Seeds sales grew 15 per cent to $1.4 billion. Field crop sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew by 10 percent; North America 5 percent; the Asia Pacific (excluding China) 65 percent; and China 53 percent. Sales in Latin America doubled driven by higher corn sales across the region. Impacted by adverse currency effects, sales of vegetable seeds remained flat, and flowers were 3 per cent lower. Higher prices offset higher costs.

First-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 25 per

China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Seeds, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest region, during the forecast period, in terms of volume and value

According to the report titled ‘Seed Treatment Market by Type, Application Technique (Coating, Dressing, Pelleting), Function (Seed Protection and Seed Enhancement), Formulation, Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds, Fruits & Vegetables), and Region – Global Forecast to 2027’, published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated at $6.1 billion in 2022; it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.3 per cent to reach $9.2 billion by 2027.

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest region, during the forecast period, in terms of volume and value, respectively. The Asia Pacific consists of the largest developing countries with vast agricultural lands as compared to other regions. The per capita income of the region depends on the agricultural activities conducted in the countries. The key countries that play an important role in the agriculture sector in this region are India, China, Japan, and Thailand.

Cereals and grains, fruits and vegetables, are the leading agricultural commodities grown in these countries. Rice cultivation and the predominance of small-scale manufacturers are widely seen across all the countries of Asia Pacific.

Asia Pacific seed treatment market is projected to grow with the highest CAGR due to the growing agriculture industry in China and Japan. Demand for seed treatment has been growing in this region, due to global players increasing their investments of business lines in agricultural inputs to exclusively meet the demand of crop growers to attain export quality. Additionally, the regulations for seed treatment are favourable in this region. China is estimated to account for the largest share in the Asia Pacific seed treatment market.

The Asia Pacific accounted for the fastest