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Industry Reports / Analysis, Sustainability, World

The benchmark measure of world food commodity prices ends 2023 about 10 per cent below its year-earlier level

The benchmark for world food commodity prices declined in December compared to the previous month, with the sharpest drop in international sugar quotations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5 per cent from November and down 10.1 per cent from December 2022.
For 2023 as a whole, the index was 13.7 per cent lower than the average value over the preceding year, with only the international sugar price index higher over the period.
The FAO Cereal Price Index increased 1.5 per cent from November, as wheat, maize, rice, and barley prices all rose, partly reflecting logistical disruptions that hindered shipments from major exporting countries. For the year as a whole, the index was 15.4 per cent below the 2022 average, reflecting well-supplied global markets, although FAO’s All Rice Price Index (part of the FAO Cereal Price Index) registered a 21 per cent increase, largely owing to concerns about the impact of El Niño on rice production and in the aftermath of export restrictions imposed by India.
The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index by contrast, declined by 1.4 per cent from November, reflecting subdued purchases of palm, soy, rapeseed, and sunflower seed oil, with soy oil in particular impacted by a slowdown in demand from the biodiesel sector as well as improving weather conditions in major growing areas of Brazil. For 2023 as a whole, this index was 32.7 per cent below the previous year’s level.
The FAO Sugar Price Index declined 16.6 per cent from November, hitting a nine-month low although still up 14. 9 per cent from December 2022. The plunge in sugar quotations was mainly driven by the strong pace of production in Brazil, along with the reduced use of sugarcane for ethanol production in India.
The FAO Meat Price Index dipped 1.0 per cent from November, reaching a level 1.8 per cent below that of December 2022, impacted by persistent weak import demand from Asia for pig meat. Regional buying interest also slowed for bovine and poultry meat despite ample exportable supplies in large producing regions. Ovine meat prices by contrast rose ahead of holidays.
Bucking the trend, the FAO Dairy Price Index increased by 1.6 per cent from November, although still standing 16.1 per cent below its December 2022 value. The monthly increase was led by higher price quotations for butter and cheese, underpinned by strong internal sales in Western Europe ahead of the holiday season. At the same time, strong global import demand led international whole milk powders to rise.

The benchmark measure of world food commodity

Animal Health, Live Stock, Poultry

A memorandum to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, pointed out that India’s 34.60 MMT annual maize production is insufficient to meet the requirements of the poultry industry as well as the nation’s food security

The All India Poultry Breeder Association (AIPBA) Delhi has written to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying to allow duty-free maize imports to enable the poultry industry to meet its future requirements.

The current basic import duty on maize stands at 50 per cent.

Citing concerns over the rising maize consumption in ethanol production, the All India Poultry Breeder Association (AIPBA), in a memorandum to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, pointed out that India’s 34.60 MMT annual maize production is insufficient to meet the requirements of the poultry industry as well as nation’s food security.

“As per estimates of the Indian Institute of Millets Research, the Poultry and Livestock industry consumes more than 60 per cent of the country’s maize production. In this context, the government’s ambitious plan to generate half of the ethanol from maize by 2025-26 may have some serious implications for sectors like poultry and livestock. Diverting such a significant chunk of current maize production to ethanol could impact their access to essential feedstock, creating a severe demand-supply gap in the coming years,” said the memorandum submitted to the government by the All India Poultry Breeder Association under the chairmanship of Bahadur Ali who is also the Managing Director of IB Group.

Over the last decade, maize production growth has been at 4.5 per cent, while the poultry industry has experienced a growth of 8-9 per cent. This disparity highlights the anticipated maize shortage for the poultry industry, particularly in the wake of the government’s plan to promote maize for ethanol in a big way.

“Addressing the rising demand for maize in both livestock feed and other industries presents two options: importing maize or increasing domestic production. However, significant short-term increases in domestic output are deemed improbable. Therefore, importing maize from other countries emerges as the most viable solution to meet the immediate demand,” the association stated in its memorandum to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Ethanol’s growing thirst for maize has also pushed prices skyward, posing a major challenge for Indian poultry farmers. With maize prices hovering around Rs 22-23 per kg across India, poultry farmers are grappling with unsustainable costs. The burden is expected to intensify further by February 2024, which may adversely impact the poultry industry.

A memorandum to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal

Foodgrains, Sustainability, World

Higher world maize and sugar prices offset by lower vegetable oil quotations

The overall measure of international food commodity prices was broadly stable in September, with declines in quotations for vegetable oils, dairy and meat offset by a notable increase in those for sugar and maize, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) reported.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 121.5 points in September, compared to 121.4 points in August. At this level, the index is 10.7 per cent below its value a year ago and 24.0 per cent below its all-time high reached in March 2022.

The FAO Cereal Price Index rose 1.0 per cent from the previous month, due to a 7.0 per cent increase in international maize prices, driven by strong demand for Brazil’s supplies, slower farmer selling in Argentina and increased barge freight rates due to low water levels on the Mississippi River in the United States of America. International wheat prices fell by 1.6 per cent, underpinned by ample supplies and good production prospects in the Russian Federation, while the FAO All-Rice Price Index dipped by 0.5 per cent amid generally low import demand.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index declined by 3.9 per cent from August, with international quotations for palm, sunflower, soy and rapeseed oils all down, driven in part by elevated seasonal production and abundant global export supplies.

The FAO Sugar Price Index increased by 9.8 per cent from August, reaching its highest level since November 2010 amid increasing concerns over a tighter global supply outlook in the upcoming season. Early forecasts point to production declines in Thailand and India, both key producers, associated with the prevailing El Niño event. The large crop currently being harvested in Brazil, amidst favourable weather conditions, limited the month-on-month increase in world sugar prices.

The FAO Dairy Price Index declined by 2.3 per cent from August, its ninth drop in a row, impacted by lacklustre global import demand and ample stocks in leading producing regions. The euro’s relative weakness against the United States dollar also weighed on international dairy prices.

The FAO Meat Price Index dipped by 1.0 per cent from the previous month, with a mixture of weak import demand and ample global export availabilities pushing down quotations for pig, poultry, and ovine meats. By contrast, international bovine meat prices rebounded on the back of a strong import demand for lean beef, especially in the United States of America.

Higher world maize and sugar prices offset

India, Sustainability

Representatives of women working under Umed from 34 districts across the state attended the event with samples of their produce or farm produce

A state-level ‘Buyer Seller Meet’ was organised at the CIDCO Exhibition Centre in Navi Mumbai by Umed – Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission. The innovative program ‘Buyer Seller Meet’ implemented by Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission to reach out to big companies and buyers will be a milestone. The meet will provide a sustainable market for women’s agricultural and non-agricultural products of Umed Self Help Group. This innovative initiative has received a great response expressed Eknath Dawle, Principal Secretary of the Rural Development Department.

28 agreements were concluded in the presence of representatives of 41 leading chain business companies across the country and representatives of self-help groups and farmers’ women producers’ companies from across the state.

Dawle said, “The Rural Development Department is helping rural women in many ways to become financially independent to make them self-reliant through Umed Abhiyaan. Our women’s products are classy and the best in quality. Now they need to get a permanent market.”

The Principal Secretary appealed to professionals and big companies to come forward and contribute to empowering these women.

Since agriculture is the main occupation of Umed women in rural areas, the main objective of the program was to purchase the agro-based products produced by them in wholesale quantities by different companies or chain traders to get good returns to the farmers. Representatives of women working under Umed from 34 districts across the state attended the event with samples of their produce or farm produce.

In this meet, quality grains and pulses like soybean, chilli, turmeric, tur, gram, maize, millet, ragi, sorghum, spices, jaggery, honey, fruits, herbs, oilseeds etc. products were made available in sample form. Representatives of more than 30 organisations and companies were present as buyers. Buyers’ organisations and representatives of companies showed enthusiasm to sign contracts because of the availability of organic and pure products by women. The interest shown by the buyers in this program will help the women to have a sustainable market in the future.

Representatives of women working under Umed from

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses

The production of wheat and rice is estimated to increase by 5 and 6 metric tonnes respectively

The food grain production of India in 2023 is estimated to reach a record 330.5 million tonnes from 315.6 MT with a record production of wheat, rice, maize, oilseeds and sugarcane, according to the third advance estimate of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

The production of wheat during 2023 is estimated at 112.7 metric tonnes, up by 5 metric tonnes from a year ago. The production of rice is estimated at 135.5 metric tonnes which is increased by 6 metric tonnes as compared to the previous year. 

The production of maize during 2023 is estimated at 35.9 metric tonnes, which is up by 2.1 metric tonnes from the previous year.

The production of nutri and coarse cereals is estimated at 54.7 metric tonnes, 3.6 metric tonnes higher than the previous year’s production. Production of sugarcane is estimated at 494.2 metric tonnes, 54.8 metric tonnes higher than the previous year. Production of pulses is estimated at 27.5 metric tonnes in 2023.  

The production of soybean and mustard is estimated at 14.9 metric tonnes and 12.4 metric tonnes respectively, which is increased by 1.9 metric tonnes and 0.5 metric tonnes respectively than the last year’s production. The oilseeds production of India during 2023 is estimated at 40.9 metric tonnes. Cotton production is estimated at 34.3 million bales (170 kg each).

The production of wheat and rice is

Dairy, Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses, Vegetables, World

FAO Food Price Index increases, amid higher international quotations for sugar, meat and rice, while prices for wheat, maize, dairy products and vegetable oils decline

The benchmark index of international food commodity prices rose in April for the first time in a year, amid increases in world quotations for sugar, meat and rice, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) reported.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 127.2 points in April 2023, up 0.6 per cent from March.

At that level, the Index was 19.7 per cent below its level in April 2022, but still 5.2 per cent higher than in April 2021.

The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 17.6 per cent from March, reaching its highest level since October 2011, due to reduced productions expectations and outcomes in India, China, Thailand and the European Union caused by dry weather conditions as well as to a slow start of the sugarcane crop harvest in Brazil, along with higher international crude oil prices, which can increase demand for sugarcane-based ethanol.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose 1.3 per cent during the month, driven primarily by higher pig meat quotations, followed by poultry prices, which increased amid Asian import demand and production curbs spurred by animal health issues. International bovine meat prices also increased due to a decline in cattle supplies for slaughter, especially in the United States of America.

In the meantime, price indices for other major food commodity categories, with the exception of rice, continued their declining trend.

The FAO Cereal Price Index dipped 1.7 per cent from March and averaged 19.8 per cent below its April 2022 value. International wheat prices declined by 2.3 per cent, due mostly to large exportable availabilities in Australia and the Russian Federation. World maize prices fell 3.2 per cent as supplies in South America seasonally increased with ongoing harvests. On the other hand, against a backdrop of reduced harvests caused by higher input costs and adverse weather, especially outside of Asia, sales to Asian buyers sustained an increase in international rice prices.

“It is important that we continue to track very closely the evolution of prices and the reasons for increases in prices. As economies recover from significant slowdowns, demand will increase, exerting upward pressure on food prices,” said Maximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist. “At the same time, the increase in rice prices is extremely worrisome and it is essential that the Black Sea initiative is renewed to avoid any other spikes in wheat and maize,” he added.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index declined by 1.3 per cent in the month, registering its fifth consecutive monthly decline. World palm oil prices were stable, while quotations for soy, rapeseed and sunflower oils declined in step with seasonal harvest pressure from a potentially record soybean crop in Brazil.

The FAO Dairy Price Index dropped by 1.7 per cent, impacted by the persistent slack global import demand for milk powders and higher cheese export availabilities in Western Europe.

FAO Food Price Index increases, amid higher

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, Oilseeds, Pulses, Sustainability

National targets set for food grains at 3320, pulses at 292.5and oilseeds at 440 lakh tonnes for the year 2023-24

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister, inaugurated National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign 2023-24 in New Delhi. Addressing Conference, he emphasised that agriculture remains the prime pulse of the Indian economy and is at the core of the country’s socio-economic development. It accounts for around 19 per cent of the GDP and about two-thirds of the population is dependent on the sector.

Tomar expressed happiness that India’s agriculture sector has been witnessing robust growth with an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent over the last six years. This has enabled the agriculture and allied activities sector to contribute significantly towards the country’s overall growth, development and food security. As per 2nd Advance Estimates (2022-23), the production of foodgrains in the country is estimated at 3235 lakh tonnes which is higher by 79 lakh tonnes than the production of foodgrains during 2021-22. Record production of rice, maize, gram, pulses, rapeseed and mustard, oilseeds and sugarcane is estimated. The total production of sugarcane in the country during 2022-23 is estimated at record 4688 lakh tonnes which is higher by 1553 lakh tonnes than the average sugarcane production. As per the 3rd Advance Estimates of Horticulture, a record 3423.3 lakh tonnes of horticultural production are estimated in 2021-22 which is 77.30 lakh tonnes higher than production of 2020-21.

The objective of this conference was to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the Kharif season in consultation with State Governments, ensure the supply of critical inputs and facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies with a view to enhancing production and productivity of the crops.  The priority of the government is agro-ecological based crop planning for the diversion of land from excess commodities like rice and wheat to deficit commodities like oilseeds and pulses and high-value export-earning crops. The special Mustard programme was initiated during Rabi 2020-21 which has brought the most spectacular results. Mustard production has jumped by 40 per cent from 91.24 to 128.18 lakh tonnes in the last 3 years.  The productivity saw an 11 per cent increase from 1331 to 1447 kg/ha. The area under rapeseed & mustard enhanced by 29 per cent from 68.56 lakh ha in 2019-20 to 88.58 lakh ha in 2022-23.  Timely action by central and state governments made this remarkable achievement possible.

The Conference set the national targets for the production of foodgrains and other commodities. National targets for total food grain production are set at 3320 lakh tonnes for 2023-24.  The target for production of pulses has been fixed at 292.5 lakh tonnes compared to 278.1 lakh tonnes this year and oilseeds production will be increased from 400 to 440 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.  Total Shree Anna production has to be increased from 159.1 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 to 170.0 lakh tonnes in 2023-24. The strategy would be to increase area through inter-cropping and crop diversification and productivity enhancement through the introduction of HYVs and the adoption of suitable agronomic practices in low-yielding regions.

National targets set for food grains at

AgroPolicy, Foodgrains, India, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Trade

Telangana exported spices, cereal, cotton, meat and other things

Telangana’s agriculture export increased by 40 per cent from 2020 to 2022 reaching Rs 10, 000 crore.

Telangana exported spices, cereal, cotton, meat and other things. Cotton export of the state reached Rs 3055 crore and spice, tea and coffee accounted for Rs 1963 crore. Telangana’s meat export reached Rs 268 crore, cereals export accounted for Rs 1480 crore. The state also exported maize, rice, grapes, lemon, mangoes and soybean.

Telangana’s foreign direct investment has reached Rs. 3000 crores from 2019 to 2021. Telangana has developed better infrastructure which helped to grow the state’s agricultural export.

Telangana exported spices, cereal, cotton, meat and

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

KSDA and Wadhwani AI will explore opportunities for the scaled deployment of the AI-powered early pest warning and advisory solution for cotton and other crops developed by Wadhwani AI. 

The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence announces that Wadhwani AI has entered into a formal partnership with the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture (KSDA). This is an important partnership and will go a long way towards realising our common objective of improving the welfare of farmers across the state of Karnataka. Through this partnership, the KSDA and Wadhwani AI will explore opportunities for the scaled deployment of the AI-powered early pest warning and advisory solution for cotton and other crops developed by Wadhwani AI. 
Additionally, Wadhwani AI will work towards ensuring the AI-readiness of the KSDA and conduct capacity-building initiatives for ministry personnel on the responsible use of AI and its application to boost agriculture systems in the state.
“We look forward to collaborating with Wadhwani AI and leveraging their expertise in developing cutting-edge AI-powered solutions to enhance agriculture systems in Karnataka and improve the income of farmers. We intend to unlock the value of the agriculture pest and disease data at our disposal and utilise it to create novel solutions in crops like cotton, maize, chilli, and other crops in Karnataka, with the help of emerging AI-based technologies,” said, B. C. Patil, Minister for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka. 

“Small farmers in India depend on government programs at every step of the crop cycle. Timely, accurate, and hyperlocal AI-based early-pest warning and advisory can augment human capabilities to overcome systemic challenges in these large-scale programs. I would like to extend my thanks to Ravi Trivedi from Nudge’s Indian Administrative Fellowship, who has facilitated the deployment of our solution in the Dharwad district and provided guidance and support towards our partnership with the KSDA and the signing of this MoU,” J. P. Tripathi, Associate Director – Agriculture, Wadhwani AI.
“We are committed to using AI to meaningfully impact the lives of low-income populations, in India and other developing countries. Ensuring that our AI solutions reach the communities most affected by the problems we are trying to address and can create a meaningful impact at scale is only possible by working closely with the government, said Shekar Sivasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer, Wadhwani AI.

KSDA and Wadhwani AI will explore opportunities

Agri Genomics, Agrotech, Company News, India, R&D, Seeds

Both companies are hopeful of obtaining necessary policy support to further advance the technology involved

PlantArcBio Ltd, an ag-biotech company specialising in research and development  in the field of gene discovery and biological components to improve traits in plants and Rallis India Limited, a TATA Enterprise, specialising in Crop Care and Seeds, have announced positive results of on-ground polyhouse trials in corn that were performed as part of their collaboration to develop drought tolerant corn and yield increase.

The main objective of the trials, conducted in India by Rallis, was to validate the drought resistant traits and yield increase of corn containing novel genes discovered by PlantArcBio. The results of the trials, which were performed in soil (in a polyhouse), showed that several genes, each integrated separately in corn plants by Rallis, resulted in a statistically significant increase of between about 60 percent to about 250 percent in the total seed weight of corn plants under drought conditions. This is in comparison to control plants that do not contain PlantArcBio added genes.

Furthermore, under standard (non-dry) conditions, apparent positive visual indications of cob yield were obtained, compared to the control plants in relation to some of the plants in which the company’s genes were integrated.

 “We are excited to report these positive results which are a breakthrough in drought tolerance trait for corn, the world’s largest agricultural crop”, said Dror Shalitin, CEO of PlantArcBio, “The results show extraordinary ability of the genes we discovered to significantly increase the yield of corn under drought conditions. Our findings address global climate change challenges, most importantly drought and desertification, and the growing global need for food security.

Shalitin added: “In addition, the results strongly demonstrate the efficacy of the unique Direct-in-Plants (DIP™) platform developed by the company to discover novel genes, in a fast and significantly lower cost method, compared to computational computerised theoretical discovery platforms. We consider Rallis as a long-term strategic partner and look forward to expanding our collaboration in Asia, and work together to develop and commercialise the genes in additional territories via partnerships.”

“Rallis is committed to provide solutions to farmers through science. We are delighted at the opportunity to develop a solution for drought in one of the key global crops – maize.” Said Vairamani Ramanathan, Chief – Technology & Innovation, Crop Care & Seeds at Rallis “PlantArcBio and Rallis have worked very closely in a seamless manner to sift through the gene options, creating events containing different genes, evaluating them using lab assays and containment facilities. We are committed to evaluating these events thoroughly under field conditions and identifying the best solution for the maize farmers to tackle the drought stress. We are hopeful that climate resilience being a major theme in agriculture, we will be able to obtain the necessary policy support to further advance our technology”.

It should be noted that previous experiments carried out as part of the collaboration at the various stages of development, starting from the germination stage of the seeds, and including drought experiments in pots, also showed positive results.

In light of these results, Rallis intends to continue the development process, including the integration of the best performing genes into its elite corn varieties, and to conduct field trials to test the corn drought tolerance and the potential to increase crop yield.

In addition, based on such positive results, the parties intend to jointly approach leading global seed companies, to collaborate on development, licensing and commercialization of the genes identified as successful.

According to public reports, maize is the leading cereal in terms of production volume and is expected to become the most widely grown crop in the coming decade in the world, with estimated growing area of 196 million hectares, and production estimated at about one billion tons per year. The US, Brazil, and Argentina grow about 45 percent of the crop in their territory, while in these countries about 90 percent of the corn is genetically modified to improve various traits. The global corn seed market was valued at about $25 billion in 2018.

The continued growth in world population is causing an increasing demand for food, alongside a continuous reduction in arable lands for agriculture (which are limited due to urbanisation and desertification trends), and trends of climate change that make it difficult to cope with the demand for agricultural production. The combination of these processes creates a constant need to improve crop yields around the world. The drought resistant corn developed by the companies is clearly addressing this need.

These positive results, as well as former positive results published by PlantArcBio in relation to various genes, further validate its DIP™ unique gene discovery process, directly from any source in nature.

This collaborative project between PlantArcBio and Rallis is supported by the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F), a cooperation platform between the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GITA – Global Innovation & Technology Alliance – the nodal agency in India), and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), Government of Israel, to promote facilitate and support joint Industrial R&D projects between companies from India and Israel, which would lead to successful commercialization and benefit for both countries. Both companies are grateful for this support.

Both companies are hopeful of obtaining necessary

India

ICAR-IIWBR Karnal has initiated a specific research project ‘Breeding high yielding wheat genotypes for stress conditions of warmer regions of India’ on heat-tolerant varieties.

The government aims to promote the use of heat-resistant varieties amongst the farmers through public and private partnership and providing seed directly to the farmers. To promote the use of these varieties, the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barely Research (IIWBR), Karnal under ICAR has signed 250 Memorandum of Agreements (MoAs) for DBW 187 and 191 MoAs for DBW 222 with private companies for seed production. The institute has distributed more than 2500 quintal seeds of DBW 187 and 1,250 quintal seeds of DBW 222 during the crop season, 2021-22.

The ICAR-IIWBR Karnal has initiated a specific research project entitled “Breeding high yielding wheat genotypes for stress conditions of warmer regions of India” on heat tolerant varieties. Besides, ICAR-IIWBR Karnal is also collaborating with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Mexico on development of climate resilient wheat varieties.

The wheat varieties DBW187 and DBW222 have been found superior over HD-3086 as far as heat tolerance is concerned. During the crop season 2021-22, the varieties namely DBW187 and DBW222 have shown heat tolerance with yield gain of 3.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively as compared to HD-3086. The variety PBW 803 developed by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana is suitable for irrigated timely sown condition and resistant to brown rust as well as moderately resistant to stripe rust. This variety is not recommended as heat-tolerant variety.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. 

ICAR-IIWBR Karnal has initiated a specific research

Europe

The Seed Vault currently holds 1,165,041 seed varieties, with capacity for millions more

The Ambassador of Mexico to Norway, Ulises Canchola Gutiérrez, delivers a deposit from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. CIMMYT is the ninth depositor in the Seed Vault in 2022, with a contribution of 263 accessions of maize and 3,548 accession of wheat.

“Professionally, I am pleased to carry out this activity that contributes to the conservation of genetic resources and guarantees food security of two of the major crops that feed the world,” said Rocio Quiroz, assistant research associate at CIMMYT. “When we prepare a shipment as a team, it is extraordinary because we contribute to the perpetuity of each accession deposited in the vault. Very few people have the privilege of doing so.” In 2020, CIMMYT was the largest contributor, providing 173,779 maize and wheat accessions from 131 countries.

Owned by Norway and managed in partnership between the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen and the Crop Trust, the Seed Vault currently holds 1,165,041 seed varieties, with capacity for millions more.

The Seed Vault currently holds 1,165,041 seed

Agrotech, Company News

Due to strong farmer interest, AOS expanded the opportunity to participate in phase two of the program to 100 percent of its Brazilian grower base.

Alliance One International, LLC has announced the phase two results of the partnership of its Brazilian subsidiary (“Alliance Once Brazil”) with Bayer Crop Science, which was formed with the goal of providing quality maize seeds and agronomic support to smallholder tobacco farmers in Brazil. Following the completion of the 2021 growing season, participating farmers reported a 15 per cent average increase in maize yield compared to the 2020 growing season.

“Due to strong farmer interest, we expanded the opportunity to participate in phase two of the program to 100 percent of our Brazilian grower base,” said Helio Moura global agronomy director for AOI. “We distributed 5,700 bags of Bayer maize seed to our contracted farmers as well as provided fertilizer and additional agronomic guidance related to maize production. As a result, farmers reported that they experienced improved crop quality and yield, in turn, increasing the farmers’ bottom lines.”

Through the partnership, Alliance One Brazil’s goal is to help its contracted farmers diversify their income by strengthening the quality and yield of a crop that is complementary to tobacco. Farmers that participated in phase two of the program earned an average of $270 more per hectare of maize when compared to the prior crop.

“Alliance One Brazil’s contracted farmers produced an additional 5.150 metric tons of maize this past crop year, which is primarily sold for use in animal feed,” said Moura. “Given the threat of a global food crisis, it is increasingly important to help our farmers scale production in order to help offset shortages and high costs.”

In response to the positive results of the program’s second phase, Alliance One Brazil is evaluating the inclusion of additional crops as part of the program and AOI is assessing the potential to expand the program to other countries within its footprint. 

“We are very excited about the future of this program and its potential to improve farmer livelihoods not only in Brazil but around the globe,” said Alex Strohschoen, president of AOI. “As we enter the 2022 growing season, we plan to introduce the program to our contracted farmers in Argentina, where a significant portion of our grower base could benefit from improving the quality and yield of their maize crops.”

Due to strong farmer interest, AOS expanded

Environment

The company plans increase the initiative to 100,000 acres of spring Maize

Gram Unnati, India’s first integrated agri-tech solutions company, worked closely with multiple stakeholders to help farmers in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand save 4,000 liters per acre by bringing climate-compatible agriculture to over 5,000 acres of farmland.

In what may become a lesson in climate compatible agriculture to millions of Indian farmers, Gram Unnati worked closely with the local district administration, local maize processors, input companies, and lead farmers in a short span of 18 months prompting 2,000 farmers to switch to climate-compatible crops that are commercially viable as well. 

Commenting on the success of the project, Aneesh Jain, CEO and Founder, Gram Unnati, said, “The success of the project comes at a time when we are dealing with acute water shortage across the world. According to the United Nations, by 2050 more than five billion people could be affected by water scarcity. India, which constitutes 16 per cent of the total world population, has access to a meagre 4 per cent of the world’s water resources. The success of our pilot project in Uttarakhand will impact other farmers to shift towards climate compatible crops without having an impact on yield and returns.” 

“Gram Unnati intends to scale up this intervention to 100,000 acres of Spring Maize in the next five years. Not only would this reduce dependency on groundwater resources, but it will also help in making agriculture more remunerative for the farmers and more sustainable for the environment,” Jain added. 

The company plans increase the initiative to