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Agrotech, Company News, India, R&D, Sustainability

Adoption of IPM & Kisan Drones in the year of Millets were the focal points FPOs targeted for effective knowledge transfer and wider outreach

CropLife India, an association of both Indian and Global R&D-driven crop science organisations, and the leading voice of the plant science industry in India pioneered a workshop on ‘Innovative Technologies in Crop Protection’ in Telangana. The workshop was organised jointly with Foundation for Agriculture Sustainability and Transformation (FAST) and CropLife India. A demonstration of Kisan Drones and its advantages in agriculture along with a discussion on the Importance of Millets for products & Consumers were integral parts of the workshop.

The workshop was held in Warangal Usha Dayal, District Agriculture Officer, Warangal; being the Chief Guest. Dr Damodhar, Principal Scientist, RARS, Warangal; Ramchander Rao Jojula, Asst. Director of Agri (R), FAST Associate; P. Sarangam, Asst. Director of Agriculture (R), Consultant-NFSC and Jaypal Reddy, Farmer Leader, Warangal, addressed the gathering. Apart from them, present on the occasion were national awardee farmers, officials of FAST, Scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Extension Officers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), CropLife India member companies and other officials. 

Usha Dayal, District Agriculture Officer, Warangal said, “With the introduction of Kisan Drones, they are becoming the Indian farmer’s new best friend which would help in saving time and cost and increasing yield and productivity. The Centre and State Governments are taking all the necessary steps to facilitate the usage of drones.”

Dayal added, “The outreach effort being done by CropLife India towards Integrated Pest Management techniques like the role of beneficial insects including pollinators; judicious and responsible use of crop protection products; secure storage of crop protection products; impacts of counterfeit and illegal products; use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment); correct spraying techniques and triple rinsing of used containers; are highly beneficial for farmers.”

 Durgesh Chandra, Secretary General, CropLife India shared, “We believe that with all the favourable policy support coming in from the Government, the conducive ecosystem needs to be nurtured in order to ensure faster adoption of drones in Indian Agriculture. All the ecosystem stakeholders- Government, Agricultural Universities, Research Institutions, Corporates, Industry Associations, Drone Training Institutes, Drones manufacturers, Drone service providers, FPOs, farmers, Agri & Rural Entrepreneurs, etc. will have to work in tandem towards achieving this.”

Adoption of IPM & Kisan Drones in

Company News, Environment, Finance, India, Institutions, World

Investment to help improve access to sustainable, tailor-made agri-solutions benefiting millions of Indian farmers

IFC and IFC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF) have made an investment of Rs 300 Cr (approx.US$37Mn) in Crystal Crop Protection Ltd., a leading agrochemical player in India. This will allow the company to boost farm productivity, reduce supply chain disruptions triggered by COVID-19, and set up a robust infrastructure for sustainable production of crop protection products. The IFC Emerging Asia Fund, launched in 2016, makes equity and equity-like investments across all sectors in emerging markets in Asia alongside IFC.


The new investment promises to benefit millions of Indian farmers by establishing a robust production framework for green crop solutions. The project will increase farmers’ access to customised, affordable, and environment-friendly crop protection products, and in doing so, enhance their productivity. While supporting farmers, the project will increase market competitiveness, playing a catalytic role in strengthening the agriculture sector in India.


While agriculture provides employment for nearly half of India’s labour force, it contributed only about 17 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1Q-FY23. Farmer incomes are low and volatile due to poor access to quality inputs, credit, technical expertise, and markets. Addressing these challenges will help the sector increase profits and raise farmers’ incomes.

The financing package will support Crystal Growth plans, enabling it to focus on innovation and strengthening its research and development (R&D) capacity. Improved R&D ability will support the Indian agrochemical industry to align itself with environmentally friendly global market trends.

Commenting on the transaction, Ankur Aggarwal, Managing Director, of Crystal Crop Protection Limited, said, “This investment will further consolidate the company’s position in the Indian market and strengthen its commitment toward sustainable crop solutions to increase farm profitability of Indian farmers by leveraging R&D and technology. We remain committed to the highest standards of environmental, health and safety guidelines, and governance in all our operations.″

Commenting on IFC’s investment, Wendy Werner, India Country Head at IFC, said: ″IFC’s investment will help improve access to sustainable, tailor-made agri-solutions benefiting millions of farmers.″ ″Strengthening climate-smart agribusiness is at the heart of our development mission in the country. We are confident this investment will bolster supply chains, encourage future investors and promote resilience in the sector,″ she added.

The investment will also help the company improve its IT infrastructure and automation in its plants. Going forward, Crystal aims to grow double digits in crop protection chemicals and seeds by funding working capital requirements. The company recently launched a new business in agrochemical retail, Safire Crop Science, which will leverage technology to promote crop solutions and services, allowing farmers to access them more efficiently.


Investment to help improve access to sustainable,

Agro chems – Chemicals, India

Briar is Safex’s first overseas acquisition as a global expansion strategy

Safex Chemicals India Limited (Safex), a fast-growing Indian agrochemicals company, announces the acquisition of Briar Chemicals (Briar), the UK’s leading agrochemicals Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) provider, from the pan-European alternative investment firm AURELIUS Equity Opportunities. Safex is backed by ChrysCapital, one of India’s largest private equity firms, which owns a significant minority stake in the business.

“We are delighted to enter the UK by acquiring the country’s pre-eminent independent agrochemical CDMO provider,” said Piyush Jindal, Director of Safex. “The addition of Briar to Safex’s crop protection business strengthens our position in the global agrochemicals market.”

Founded in New Delhi in 1991, Safex is a leading Indian manufacturer and supplier of the most advanced crop protection chemicals. Safex is one of the fastest-growing agrochemical companies in India, having achieved a Combined Annual Growth Rate of over 25 percent in revenue over the last five years. Briar is Safex’s first overseas acquisition and forms part of the company’s strategy for global expansion in step with the substantial growth of the worldwide agrochemicals market, which is set to increase in value by over 11 percent from USD 62.3 billion in 2022 to USD 69.4 billion in 2026. 

“Acquiring Briar Chemicals will fast-track Safex into becoming a fully integrated company, present in all industry verticals. Strong operational synergies and strategic vision will help Safex to become an important player in the global agrochemical industry. This is a very exciting time for our business,” said Mr. SK Chaudhary, Founder, and Director of Safex.

Briar is Safex’s first overseas acquisition

Agrotech, India

 

By

Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) Limited

Following the liberalisation of drone restrictions in 2021, the industry received a huge boost with the announcement in this year’s Union Budget of Drone Shakti, a new integrated office in the Ministry of Civil Aviation to allow speedier growth, coordination, and approvals for drones. The government is currently supporting a number of drone entrepreneurs in order to increase their use across industries. Kisan Drones are already being utilised for crop assessments, land records, and insecticide spraying, and are projected to usher in a new era of technology in agriculture and farming. Drones with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and remote sensing capabilities are becoming increasingly popular due to their numerous benefits.  

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Drones in agriculture

Drone technology has received the greatest attention due to its versatility and is seen as the agrarian sector’s future. Drones not only improve overall performance, but they also help farmers to overcome a variety of other obstacles and get several benefits from precision agriculture. They fill the void left by human mistake and inefficiency in traditional farming practices, with the market for agricultural drones expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2025, growing at a 35.9 percent CAGR.  The goal of implementing drone technology is to eliminate any uncertainty or guesswork and instead focus on accurate and dependable data.

 Farming is influenced by external elements such as weather, soil conditions, and temperature. A farmer can use an agriculture drone to adapt to different settings and make informed decisions. Crop health, crop treatment, crop scouting, irrigation, field soil analysis, and crop damage assessments are all aided by the information obtained. Drone surveys help farmers increase agricultural yields while reducing time and costs.

Role of drones in crop protection and productivity enhancement

 Spraying of agrochemicals

Drones are already being tested for use in the cotton-growing region of the country for spraying pesticides to reduce pests that would otherwise be handled by agricultural labourers, which is very time consuming and is also not uniform. Drones not only lessen the risk of unintended fume inhalation, but also expedite pest management by covering more areas in less time. The primary advantage of using a drone is that it will consume less insecticide and provide greater precision throughout the application process.

 Controlling the Locust Swarm

The majority of countries fighting locust swarms rely heavily on organophosphate insecticides. In India, drones have been stationed in Rajasthan to ensure that the spraying is done efficiently. Drones can spray insecticides across a 2.5-acre area in under 15 minutes. The use of drones to battle locust swarms is a quick, safe, and practical solution.

 Crop Health Surveillance and Monitoring

Tracking the health of the vegetation and spotting bacterial/fungal diseases early on is critical. Plants that reflect various quantities of green light and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) light can be identified by agriculture drones. This information is used to create multispectral images that can be used to track crop health. Crops can be saved if they are monitored closely and any faults are discovered quickly. In the event of crop failure, the farmer can document the losses in order to file proper insurance claims.

 Agricultural drones equipped with multispectral and RGB sensors can also identify weeds, diseases, and pests in farm regions. The exact amounts of chemicals required to combat these infestations are known as a result of this research, which reduces the farmer’s costs.

 Monitoring of Irrigation

Drones with hyperspectral, thermal, or multispectral sensors detect areas that are too dry or require the farmer’s attention. Irrigation monitoring yields calculations of the vegetation index to help realize the health of crops and emitted heat/energy. Drone surveys aid in bettering water usage and uncovering irrigation problems.

Soil Analysis in the Field

Farmers can use the drone survey to learn more about the soil conditions on their land. Multispectral sensors capture data that can be used for seed planting patterns, field soil analysis, irrigation, and nitrogen management. Farmers can thoroughly examine their soil conditions using precise photogrammetry/ 3D mapping.

 Drone-planting systems have already been developed that allow drones to shoot pods, seeds, and essential nutrients into the soil. Not only does this technique cut expenses by over 85 per cent, but it also improves consistency and efficiency. 

Tracking livestock

Farmers can use the drone survey to keep track of not only their crops but also their cattle’s movements. Thermal sensor technology aids in the recovery of missing animals and the detection of injury or illness. Drones are capable of performing this duty well, and this contributes significantly to the development of vegetation.

 ByRajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides (India) LimitedFollowing

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Company News

Three insecticides, one herbicide and one fungicide were added to the portfolio

Coromandel International has introduced five new products in its crop protection range: three insecticides, one herbicide and one fungicide into their portfolio. The meeting was attended by 200 dealers along with 50 employees. 

OFFICER is a new generation selective herbicide. It is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide that controls almost all categories of weeds in paddy. ORTAIN SUPER is a combination insecticide for paddy, has a dual mode of action for resistance management and provides effective control over both lepidopteran and sucking pests. PHENDAL PLUS insecticide for paddy prevent resistance development with its dual mode of action and has a knockdown effect causing faster kill of target pests. CANISTER is a broad-spectrum insecticide for chilli having effective control on mites, whiteflies and thrips, has control in all stages of mite’s lifecycle and has a long residual action that results in long-duration control. PROP – PLUS is a combination of two highly systemic triazole fungicides resulting in two different modes of action that help in resistance management for paddy, offer effective disease control, has less foam formation and have good rain fastness.

Sameer Goel, MD, Coromandel International said, “Coromandel will continue to develop innovative products in Nutrition and Crop Protection segments to serve the farming community.”

Three insecticides, one herbicide and one fungicide

Agrotech, Sustainability

A one-of-its-kind tool that places farm sustainability insights into the hands of growers

Syngenta, a Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) member, announces the release of the Sustainable Outcomes in Agriculture (SOA) standard enabled through its Cropwise Sustainability app, a one-of-its-kind tool that places farm sustainability insights into the hands of growers. The platform, available for free download for US farmers empowers farmers and the broader agriculture value chain to demonstrate sustainability and identify opportunities for continuous improvement, ensuring alignment with the objectives of the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA).

By incorporating Syngenta’s SOA standard – known as the Standard – the Cropwise Sustainability app provides an actionable approach to measure and deliver continuous improvements for regenerative agriculture at scale. The Standard has achieved Gold-level equivalency against SAI Platform’s FSA 3.0, the highest level of equivalency.

“By accelerating innovation in the digital ag space, Syngenta is the first agriculture input provider to launch a standard and to receive FSA 3.0 gold-equivalency,” said Joe Iveson, FSA Manager at SAI Platform. “Through this benchmark, Cropwise Sustainability helps farmers — and by extension retailers and consumer packaged goods companies — better understand and take incremental steps forward on their sustainability journey.”

The Standard is an easy-to-use and accurate programme that allows growers and value chain stakeholders to measure, track progress and implement initiatives, supported by the Cropwise Sustainability app. Users are prompted to answer questions about their farm production practices and decisions, and receive a leadership score and performance report based on sustainable outcomes. Opportunities for improvement are identified, alongside actionable sustainability insights that can be considered in the planning process and from season to season.

Through Syngenta’s data privacy pledge, growers maintain ownership of their data. Growers can choose to share their assessment results with value chain partners. Partners are then able to anonymize aggregated data based off of assessments, providing a view of their sourcing area and where opportunities for sustainability improvements exist.

“Sustainability assessments do not have to be a time-intensive process – users who leverage Cropwise Sustainability typically complete a 20-30-minute farm assessment and receive immediate results,” said Liz Hunt, sustainable and responsible business head at Syngenta.

A one-of-its-kind tool that places farm sustainability

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, Start ups, Sustainability

The award will recognise outstanding achievements in the field of biopesticides and their impact on crop protection

The Annual World BioProtection Summit & Awards will be held at the NEC in Birmingham, UK in May 2022. A key part of the three-day event is the World Bioprotection Awards and Gala dinner, on May 23, 2022, which will gather collaborators from across the world to recognise outstanding achievements in the field of biopesticides and their impact on crop protection.

This year, ten awards are open for nomination:

  1. New Bioinsecticide Product
  2. New Biofungicide Product
  3. New Bionematicide Product
  4. New Biochemical Product
  5. New Biostimulants Product
  6. New Biofertilizer Product
  7. Innovative Research Project of The Year
  8. Industry Collaboration
  9. BioTech Start-up Business of The Year
  10. Outstanding Achievement

Attracting delegates from Europe, Asia and the Americas, the World BioProtection Awards is the perfect platform for any biocontrol business to highlight their achievements and gain the recognition they deserve.

The award will recognise outstanding achievements in

Agrotech, R&D

The grant was given for Technical Indigenous Manufacture of Paclobutrazol technical 95 per cent w/w min. u/s 9(4)

Peptech Biosciences has received the approval for the grant of registration for Technical Indigenous Manufacture of Paclobutrazol technical 95 per cent w/w min. u/s 9(4). from the Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC). The company has received the final approval from the registration committee in 434th RC meeting held recently.

A triazolic plant growth regulator, the main role of Paclobutrazol is to maintain health and vitality of plants and promote compactness. The mode of action is defined by blocking gibberellin biosynthesis and reducing abscisic acid, ethylene, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels along with increasing cytokinin levels. It has been predicted that at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2 per cent, the Global Market for Paclobutrazol is growing. The growth will get a boost when there is a notable increase in awareness towards food security and a decline in the utilisation of arable land. It is believed that the demand for this effective plant growth regulator would increase by 2025.

Peptech Biosciences has a bigger portfolio ranging from crop protection to crop and soil nutrition and crop enhancers. The company adds that its strong R&D team is working dedicatedly to deliver state-of-the-art product solutions. Peptech already holds licenses for more than 150 molecules under the CIBRC and assures that there are more under the registration process. Even the company holds a registration under FCO for various fertilizers and biostimulants.

The grant was given for Technical Indigenous

Agrotech

This programme represents a comprehensive solution designed specifically to combat nematodes

Netafim USA, a subsidiary of Netafim Limited has announced its partnership with Bayer to create the Precise Defense programme. This programme represents a comprehensive solution designed specifically to combat nematodes, an invisible but devastating threat to the health and productivity of almond trees. Precise Defense delivers a powerful one-two punch by utilising Netafim’s precision drip irrigation technology to deliver VelumÒ One Nematicide and other crop protection products directly to the root zone. This delivery method maximises residual efficacy through uniform application rates and significantly reduces the amount of water used to irrigate almond trees.

Growers who purchase a complete Netafim Dual Line Drip Irrigation System from an authorised dealer and purchase two annual applications of Velum One from an authorised dealer are qualified to earn a $40 per acre rebate. Over a three-year trial, Velum One treated trees returned an average yield increase of 18.1 per cent, or 292 pounds per acre.

“Netafim’s cutting edge drip irrigation systems improve irrigation uniformity and have the ability to reduce the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 20 per cent. In addition, our systems provide an efficient and effective delivery solution for Velum One and other crop protection chemicals,” said Mike Hemman, President and CEO, Netafim USA.

“The Precise Defense programme is a best-of-both-worlds partnership that addresses today’s almond growers’ most pressing concerns and now incentivises them to voluntarily adopt better solutions to combat climate change. By participating in the Precise Defense rebate program and investing in a drip irrigation system, growers can feel confident they have the tools to mitigate nematode damage, maintain, and use water more efficiently.” said Chuck Bates, Vice President of Products and Agronomy, Netafim USA.

This programme represents a comprehensive solution designed