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HomePosts Tagged "sustainability" (Page 2)
Company News, Sustainability

Hormel Foods continues ESG investment in practices to enhance soil health, water and air quality, and sequester greenhouse gases

Hormel Foods Corporation, a Fortune 500 global branded food company, along with its subsidiary Applegate Farms LLC, is leading the way in supporting farmers who employ regenerative agriculture practices, a holistic system of farming that encourages continuous innovation and soil improvement using techniques such as minimal or no soil tillage, regular crop rotation and cover cropping.

Hormel Foods recently became a major sponsor of an up to 50,000-acre regenerative-agriculture pilot project to be located throughout central and southeast Minnesota. Assistance from Hormel Foods and other participants will help provide financial incentives for farmers to participate in the project and adopt regenerative agriculture practices. Furthering regenerative agriculture is part of the Hormel Foods 20 By 30 Challenge, a set of 20 aggressive environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals the company intends to reach by 2030.

“As we face the daunting challenges of feeding a growing global population while protecting the planet, we believe advancing regenerative agriculture practices is a smart and responsible choice,” said Mark Coffey, group vice president of supply chain at Hormel Foods.

Hormel Foods continues ESG investment in practices

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, IT, Start ups, Sustainability

The report shares Khetibuddy’s work for farmers in a few districts of Maharashtra in improving farming practices 

Khetibuddy Agritech an agritech startup, released its first-ever Impact Report highlighting how it has improved farming habits through its agtech platform. The 2021 Report – to be updated annually – shares Khetibuddy’s work for farmers in a few districts of Maharashtra in improving farming practices measured on five different parameters.

“We believe that science and technology have the power to transform the current state of agriculture. Our commitment to the farmers extends beyond just software solutions, the idea is a real impact on the ground which has to be a benefit for the farmer. It is only then any technology is useful,” said Vinay Nair Co-founder and CEO, Khetibuddy.

Highlights of the Impact Report include:

  • Yield Quality Enhancement (YQE) – Represents the metric in which the company’s focussed interventions to improve and enhance specific contents of produce via agricultural practices. Intending to increase the marketability of the produce and farmer’s revenue, KhetiBuddy has helped farmers increase the curcumin content (in percentage) in Turmeric and germination rate in Onion seed by up to 30 per cent.
  • Yield Quantity Increment (YQI) – Metric that shows a direct impact on the livelihood of the farmers belonging to climate-vulnerable regions where the yield is in direct correlation to the vagaries of nature. Several pieces of training, constant guidance and tech for enabling the goal-driven process of more yield per acre have helped Khetibuddy’s farmers achieve more than a 28 per cent increase in yield of sugarcane and 35 per cent in turmeric.
  • Input Cost Reduction (ICR) – Khetibuddy’s weather-based recommendations for preventive approach in pest and disease management and optimization of nutrient usage via remote sensing technology helped farmers save big. By inducing sustainable agricultural practices to preserve soil biology the total input consumption and hence costs severely changed for farmers. They reduced the overuse of fertilisers in potato and reduced pesticide spraying in cabbage.
  • Avoid Crop Loss (ACL) – Thrusting the use of remote sensing technology for monitoring crop health along with preventive measures in farming, Khetibuddy has avoided crop losses in terms of quantity and quality. Intervening with agricultural practices for onion and watermelon farmers among other vegetables helped limit the usage of plant protection which covers a large portion of input costs.
  • Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) – Khetibuddy’s drive for improving soil health is part of its long term vision to make farmers self-sustainable. These small steps towards the larger goal are best summarised in its efforts put in imparting knowledge and training farmers towards the adoption of GAPs.

“With technology adoption on a high as well access to smartphones and Internet in rural parts of India, now more than ever is the time to do meaningful impact which is result-driven for farmers,” Dr Richa Nair Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Khetibuddy. 

The report shares Khetibuddy's work for farmers

Agrotech, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting, Sustainability

The tractor is capable even of a negative footprint when powered with bio-methane generated from liquid manure

New Holland Agriculture, Official Sponsor of the Giro d’Italia 2022, will display a T6 Methane Power tractor along the route of the sporting event, which provides a perfect platform for the brand to spread its message of sustainable agriculture. The tractor is a true game changer, capable even of a negative footprint when powered with bio-methane generated from liquid manure. It has all the features that have made the T6 a favourite among farmers across the world.

The T6 Methane Power will be on display in a livery specially designed for the Giro d’Italia that was first unveiled on a T5.120 Dynamic Command at the Fieragricola show in Verona (March 2022). With this customisation inspired by the ‘Leader’s Jersey’ of the Giro d’Italia, the tractor will be the perfect expression of the dedication to performance and sustainability that the brand shares with the Italian Grand Tour.

“The T6 Methane Power tractor is the culmination of New Holland’s pioneering work in the development of methane technology and one of the many tangible outcomes of our Clean Energy Leader strategy,” stated Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President. “At New Holland we are passionate about enabling and promoting sustainable, efficient and profitable farming through advanced technologies, extended connectivity and reliable powertrain technology. The T6 Methane Power tractor, now in production and available to our customers, is a vital link in our Energy Independent Farm’s virtual cycle that delivers carbon neutral production.”

New Holland will further spread its message of sustainability by participating in the Giro-E 2022, the pedal-powered Giro d’Italia built on technology, ecology and sustainable mobility. The brand will compete with a team made up of company employees, dealers and customers. The only stage event in the world dedicated to pedal-assisted bicycles, it takes place at the same time as the Giro d’Italia and on the same route, covering the final sections of its 18 stages a few hours before the professional riders.

The tractor is capable even of a

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Dairy, R&D, Sustainability

Through this, joint research, knowledge sharing and innovation will be promoted between academic institutions of both countries and practitioners including farmers

Initiatives have been taken between India and Germany on agroecology and sustainable management of natural resources. In this regard, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and Germany’s Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze signed the declaration in a virtual meeting.

Through this, joint research, knowledge sharing and innovation will be promoted between academic institutions of both countries and practitioners including farmers. The transfer of technology and scientific knowledge will be promoted by encouraging exchanges, partnerships and research collaboration with the private sector. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development intends to provide up to 300 million euros by the year 2025 for financial and technical cooperation for projects under this initiative.

Germany will provide coordinated support for this lighthouse initiative, supporting the agro-ecological transformation process in India through the Technical Cooperation Project. For the changing agenda of agroecology, the two countries envisage the establishment of a joint research centre supported by financial cooperation to develop and share cutting edge knowledge with practitioners from India, Germany and other countries, while facilitating value-added technology and scientific transfer.

To oversee the implementation, a working group will be set up with the concerned Ministries, namely, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and NITI Aayog.

Through this, joint research, knowledge sharing and

Sustainability, Uncategorized, World

The report reviews the rising demand for environmentally-friendly
biological crop protection products that support sustainable agriculture

Edison Investment Research, the London-based investment research and advisory company, has released Feeding the World: Biological Products for Sustainable Crop Protection, a research report that details the rising demand for alternatives to broad-spectrum conventional pesticides. The paper presents exciting advances in biological pesticide technologies—such as RNA interference-based biopesticides—and discusses the growing investment interest in environmentally friendly crop protection products that support sustainable agriculture.

The report includes the discussion of companies such as Bayer, GreenLight Biosciences, Monsanto (acquired by Bayer in 2018), Renaissance BioScience, Syngenta, and others that are working on environmentally friendly innovations in the rapid-growth area of biological crop protection and biopesticides.

“The United Nations’ second sustainable development goal is to eliminate hunger globally and improving agricultural yields through the continued application of sustainable crop protection products will be key to achieving this goal,” said Anne Margaret Crow, Director TMT/Industrials, Edison.

The report reviews the rising demand for

Nature, Sustainability

The agriculture carbon trading market in India is relatively at a nascent stage. With Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)’s proposed collaborations with GrowIndigo India Ltd, to build a marketplace for trading in carbon credits for farmers, will give fillip to the carbon trading segment. Private players such as Agoro Carbon Alliance and nurture.farm have forayed into the carbon trading segment to enable Indian farmers to generate a sustainable income from carbon cropping and to create direct market linkages in India. Industry is hoping that with the government’s direct intervention in policy making for carbon trading and increasing awareness about the advantages of carbon farming farmers will pave a way for future growth of the carbon trading sector.

After the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about disastrous consequences of environmental factors on Indian agriculture, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) will join hands with GrowIndigo India Ltd for the first time to build a marketplace for trading in carbon credits for farmers in the country. “GrowIndigo India Ltd”, which is a collaborative effort between leading agriculture firm Mahyco and Indigo Ag, is executing a project with the IARI and International Wheat and Maize Improvement Centre (CIMMYT). Both IARI and CIMMYT will provide research and science based support to this initiative.

Agri carbon trading market in India

The agriculture carbon trading market in India is relatively at nascent stage but it exhibits a fast pace of growth with forays of private players in the last two years. As per recent reports, India’s carbon trading market ranked as second-highest transacted volumes globally by generating 30 million carbon credits. India is the third-largest carbon emitter accounting for 2.46 billion metric tonnes. The agriculture sector contributes to 25 per cent of carbon emissions due to chemical fertiliser and pesticides, stubble burning, crop nitrogen and methane emission in livestock, etc. According to NITI Aayog India can benefit from carbon trading worth $50-60 billion by adopting sustainable farming and agro-ecological approaches. India has established the first exchange in Asia known as Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) to trade carbon credits. At present, companies that meet the UNFCCC norms will be entitled to sell carbon credits at this exchange platform.

Presently Grow Indigo (a subsidiary of Mahyco, India) and Indigo Ag are working in partnership with farmers of Punjab, Haryana, and Maharashtra to enable farmers earn carbon credits by assisting in sequestering carbon, covering nearly 1,000 acres. The farms are being geo-tagged and monitored using remote sensing throughout the crop cycle, and soil tests are being conducted at regular intervals to measure carbon credits. 

In India, with commercial operations across four continents, Agoro Carbon Alliance aims to decarbonise farming and restore carbon to the world’s soil by implementing technologically advanced carbon cropping practices. Agoro Carbon Alliance will enable Indian farmers to generate an additional, sustainable income from carbon cropping while maintaining or even increasing crop yields. Agoro Carbon puts Indian farmers at the centre of the solution by incentivising and enabling them to change practices and connecting them to the growing number of businesses that are looking to achieve their climate pledges. 

Agoro aims to foray into the next major planetary-scale agricultural revolution with farmers spearheading the approach locally. It will provide state-of-the-art digital connectivity to millions of Indian farmers, enabling hyperlocal and granular decision support mechanisms. The platform will further create direct market linkages and enable the discovery of the local grower globally.

While commenting on inputs required for the growth of the agriculture carbon trading sector in India, Prithviraj Sen Sharma, Managing Director, Agoro Carbon Alliance India, said, “Indian growers have great potential for carbon farming. In the current scenario, demonstration of carbon farming and regenerative farming practices has become a crucial area to work for the companies. To be able to convince and sensitise the small scale farmers about the advantages of carbon farming and its monetary benefits needs to be addressed. Sensitising the market about the importance of agriculture carbon credit trading is one of the steps required for the growth of the carbon trading sector. Industry needs more direct intervention from the Government in mobilising the change in the carbon trading sector.”

nurture.farm, a digital platform for sustainable agriculture, has become the first company to successfully generate and forward sell agricultural-related carbon credits in India. nurture.farm’s Alternate Wetting and Drying & Dry Seeded Rice (AWD-DSR) project covered 22,000 acres of rice paddy fields and involved over 2,500 smallholder farmers. 20,000 carbon credits were derived from this AWD-DSR project. Its benefits included 15 per cent to 30 per cent of water savings.

Another 120,000 credits are under process from the Crop Residue Management (CRM) Programme. The CRM Programme empowered over 25,000 farmers to prevent 420,000 acres of farmland being burnt, thereby preventing the generation of 2,135 tonnes of particulate matter, including PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter.

nurture.farm’s AWD-DSR programme is now being submitted to a global validation agency, and in two quarters’ time to the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra) for final verification and credit generation. The CRM Programme will follow suit, with submission to the validation agency in the next quarter. nurture.farm has set a target to help Indian farmers generate one million carbon credits by 2023, thereby being the leading supplier of nature-based carbon credits in India.

Dhruv Sawhney, Business Head and COO of nurture.farm, said, “India is well-placed to pioneer agriculture-related carbon credit trading. As the first agriculture company to successfully generate and forward-sell carbon credits in India, we are unlocking new opportunities and outcomes for farming communities and setting the bar for our industry as a whole. Demand for credible carbon credits from the voluntary carbon markets can drive massive shifts to sustainable agricultural practices across India and the rest of the world. We look forward to working with more farming communities this year as we scale up our CRM and AWD-DSR programmes – making farmers more resilient by securing better yields, improved soil health, and enhanced livelihoods.”

nurture.farm is currently developing protocols for verifying traceable carbon credits through its online platform and will use block chain technology to trade credits on carbon markets. During the course of 2022, nurture.farm will also establish a common carbon credits registry and trading platform, which utilises a standardised methodology to simplify traceability and make verification easier.

During the last cropping season (Rabi), nurture.farm expanded the AWD-DSR programme across an additional 120,000 acres. The company plans to create more carbon credits by further extending its projects. In 2022, nurture.farm’s CRM Programme will cover at least one million acres, while it will scale up its AWD-DSR project to 180,000 acres.

Bayer has established a pilot project in 2021 across 10 states in India to help rice farmers adopt sustainable practices and get paid for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions they avoided through carbon credits. Importantly, this initiative supports the expansion of regenerative agriculture, improves natural resource management and supports farmer productivity and livelihoods. The pilot has targeted around 3000 hectares across diverse states across the country. 

Bayer has started rewarding farmers in Brazil and the U.S. for generating carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices – such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops – designed to help agriculture reduce its carbon footprint and GHG emissions. Bayer’s industry-leading carbon Initiative is the result of years of work validating a science-based approach and methodology to make this happen. It recognises the pivotal role growers and their land can play in helping to create lasting, positive environmental impacts. The initiative makes Bayer the first company to develop a transparent, science-based and collaborative approach to a carbon market in agriculture.

Long way to go 

The agriculture carbon trading market in India is relatively at a nascent stage. With IARI’s proposed collaborations with GrowIndigo India Ltd, to build a marketplace for trading in carbon credits for farmers will give fillip Carbon trading segment. Private players such as Agoro Carbon Alliance and nurture.farm have forayed into the Carbon trading segment to enable Indian farmers to generate a sustainable income from carbon cropping and to create direct market linkages in India. Industry is hoping that with the government’s direct intervention in policy making for carbon trading and increasing awareness about the advantages of carbon farming farmers will pave a way for future growth of the carbon trading sector.

Dipti Barve

dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

The agriculture carbon trading market in India

Interaction, Sustainability

Smallholder farmers in India can be a significant contributor in our sustainability journey.  Technology and innovation have always been important for sustainable farming,  from the high yielding varieties of green revolution to more recent adoption of Bt cotton.  With these and other technologies like agronomic practices, combined with synthetic inputs, we saw a steady increase in crop productivity over the last decades.  In recent years, this increase in crop productivity has plateaued and some of these practices have also left a large environmental footprint.  Coupled with the water crisis and the climate crisis we find ourselves in, our smallholder farmers will be disproportionately affected by adverse climate events with respect to productivity and their livelihood at large.  By Usha Barwale Zehr, Vikas Chandak and Umang Agrawal, Grow Indigo

Sustainable Agriculture is actually a cost effective and scalable solution to some of these challenges and additionally can offer a new source of income, and more resilience to adverse climate events.  

At Grow Indigo (a partnership between Mahyco and Indigo Ag), we are focused on bringing technologies that are sustainable in these smallholder agri systems.  The policies  of Government of India further supports some of these initiatives like the inclusion of bio-stimulants with synthetic fertilisers or other chemicals to ensure low chemical residue harvest.  Recent advances in the microbial input space are providing a promising alternative to the synthetic solutions which have been historically available.  Some examples include,use of biofertiliser that are specially formulated to provide maximum benefit for a given crop (Prerak soya, cotton, pulses, wheat and other seed treatments), Soil application formulations like Oorjit Granule and Growrrhizae, biopesticides like Colossal and Bhujbal, foliar nitrogen fixers, plant growth promoting microbes and endophytes which provide enhanced Nutrient Use Efficiency, Water Use Efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance to various crops.  Our partner, Indigo Ag has focused on endophytes, with a library of more than 40,000 endophytes and seeds treated with this class of treatments, providing stress tolerance be it drought, water use and other stresses.  The smallholder farmers have become more and more aware about the benefits of the consortia treatments that Grow Indigo offers to address various challenges faced by them.  With increasing use of these innovative inputs, the impact on soils, water quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission will be improved leading to an overall positive impact on agriculture while not impacting the productivity of the crop negatively.

Climate change has posed a significant threat to agri-food systems, especially in highly vulnerable smallholder farming regions like India. While agriculture contributes about 16 per cent of gross GHG emissions in India, it is also a substantial sink for mitigating climate change through regenerative farming practices. Practices like direct dry seeding of rice, reduced tillage, nutrient management and more have the potential to reduce the GHG emissions in addition to improving soil organic carbon, thus making agriculture the most efficient and scalable solution in addressing climate change. In smallholder farming systems, the beneficial effects of coupling these practices with voluntary carbon markets also provides an opportunity for farmer income enhancement.

Much work has been done on conservation agricultural practices in different agro ecosystems.  However, the regenerative agricultural practices today are implemented only by a small percentage of farmers.  These practices include, minimal tillage, cover cropping, crop diversification, use of biofertilisers, and perennial cropping, among others, which increase soil’s carbon content, water permeability, and water retention, which also increase a crop’s ability to withstand drought, flooding and temperature stresses.  As per expert estimates, regenerative farming practices, combined with increased penetration of new technologies, have the potential to return the carbon levels in agricultural soils from an average of ~0.5 per cent back to ~1.5 per cent.

To catalyse the adoption of regenerative agriculture, Grow Indigo has launched a project in Punjab and Haryana which enrolls farmers in a carbon farming programme, ultimately allowing them to participate in a voluntary carbon marketplace. The monetary incentive from this programme will motivate the farmers to implement regenerative farming practices. Use of digital agronomy tools and satellite imagery analysis to measure and verify soil carbon sequestration and on-farm GHG emission levels will be essential for scaling such projects.

The objective is to pay farmers for increasing the carbon content of their soil and reducing overall GHG emissions. We are working with our partners to identify and implement regenerative practice changes, and measure the impact of those practices in terms of tonnes of carbon sequestered or GHG emission reductions. Once the impact has been verified, farmers are paid based on the amount of Carbon sequestration/GHG reduction after the carbon credits are issued and traded. Carbon credit, which is one tonne CO2 equivalent of GHG emission reduced or carbon stored in the soil, can be thought of as a data product, where the veracity, transparency, and traceability of the data has a direct implication on the quality of the carbon credit. Quality of the carbon credit is critical to get the right price for the carbon credit generated, and monitoring and verification at scale is important to make the system work in smallholder systems. Once the farmers register in the programme and continue to implement the regenerative agri practices, they will be eligible to receive payment for carbon credits generated for 20 years, conditional upon following these climate-smart practices in future.

Grow Indigo has already registered with Verra (a global leader in Carbon credit verification) and has initiated a project to start the carbon credit generation activities.  With the project, Grow Indigo is enrolling farmers in the programme in partnership with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to promote practices which enhance sustainability and regenerative agriculture.  

This programme creates an additional income avenue for the farmers, and contributes positively in our efforts for sustainability in the long run.  

Agriculture digitisation is also paving the way for knowledge dissemination and sharing.  Farmer advisories which are on mobile platforms are changing how farmers access information and such information is becoming available almost in real time.  These digital technologies are also strengthening data which is being deployed to better design and implement timely and actionable advisories related to agronomy and agriculture marketing.  

These are just a handful of examples of how technologies will shape the future of agriculture in the near term and get us closer to our sustainability goals.  What we do today determines what the future will look like, and agriculture will be a positive contributor if we strengthen the above sustainability practices.

Smallholder farmers in India can be a

Interaction, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Bayer has started rewarding farmers in Brazil and the United States for generating carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices – such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops – designed to help reduce agricultural  carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Bayer’s industry-leading Carbon Initiative is the result of years of work validating a science-based approach and methodology to make this happen. It recognises the pivotal role growers and their land can play in helping to create lasting, positive environmental impacts. Bayer rewards growers to generate carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices and creating a new revenue stream on-farm. The initiative makes Bayer the first company to develop a transparent, science-based and collaborative approach to a carbon market in agriculture. Suhas Joshi, Head, Sustainability & Business Stewardship, South Asia, Bayer Group interacts with AgroSpectrum about the status of the carbon farming trading sector in India. Edited experts; 

How do farmers benefit from their carbon credits? What systems currently exist and what robust certification processes will be needed for farmers to play in carbon trading platforms in India?

While carbon credits generated from agriculture and subsequently sold can add to farmers’ income, the significant benefit to the farmer can accrue from the adoption of the more climate friendly cultivation practices as a part of the carbon programme. Under Bayer India’s Sustainable Rice Programme, farmers are encouraged to switch from the ‘transplanted’ rice cultivation to either ‘Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) or Alternate Wetting & Drying (AWD). In case of DSR, the farmer substantially reduces the cost of cultivation as the transplanting operation gets eliminated. Water saving is considerable in both DSR and AWD practices, also positively impacting the consumption of fuel and electricity as less water is pumped. The change in practice also improves soil health as the puddling operation responsible for the soil damage in rice farms gets abolished.

Bayer’s Sustainable Rice Programme prepares farmers for climate adaptation in addition to generating the carbon offsets.

Currently the carbon programmes have the possibility of registering with the International standards like the Gold Standard or Verra VCS. A strong process of verification and validation exists under these standards. As a strong proponent of sustainable agriculture practices, Bayer is committed to playing a key role in raising awareness and providing training to farmers and handholding them through the entire process and ultimately creating a unified framework of getting them registered with carbon standards to receive credits in due course. 

How do you foresee the future of the carbon farming trading sector in India?

As a result of the Paris Agreement, companies are increasingly pledging to help stop climate change by reducing their own greenhouse-gas emissions with a clear roadmap of targeted reductions year-on-year. Yet, many businesses find that they cannot fully eliminate their emissions, or even lessen them as quickly as they might like, from their operations. For the companies committing to achieve carbon neutrality, use of carbon credits will be very important to offset emissions they can’t get rid of by other means. A recent report published by The McKinsey & Company, estimates that demand for carbon credits could increase by a factor of 15 or more by 2030 and by a factor of up to 100 by 2050. Overall, the market for carbon credits could be worth upward of $50 billion in 2030.

Carbon farming in Indian agriculture is still in its nascent stage but has the potential to generate a large number of carbon credits and supply to the global markets; however, this would require significant upfront investments and focused efforts on the ground.

What are the plans of Bayer for launching the Carbon farming programme for the farmers in India? 

India grows paddy rice on around 44 million hectares with transplanting being the predominant cultivation practice. Methane emissions from rice paddies, where the land remains in a foot-high standing water throughout the season, are the highest from cropland and the second highest source in agriculture, surpassed only by emissions from enteric fermentation in livestock. The amount of methane emitted from the rice paddies are strongly linked to the practices (flooding and fertilising) applied by the rice farmers.

To this end, we established a pilot project in 2021 across 10 states in India to help rice farmers adopt sustainable practices and get paid for the greenhouse gas emissions they avoided through carbon credits. Importantly, this initiative supports the expansion of regenerative agriculture, improves natural resource management and supports farmer productivity and livelihoods. 

The pilot has targeted around 3000 hectares across diverse states across the country. It is early days, but we are seeing encouraging signs that farmers in our pilot project were able to reduce water usage, lower methane emissions, protect their yields and soils, and improve their margins.

What are the challenges in the carbon farming trading sector in India?

Promoting climate mitigation activities in Indian agriculture is a very tedious effort that involves identifying and enrolling smallholder farmers in large numbers, training them, handholding them on climate-smart agricultural practices, managing the MRV (Monitoring, Review & Verification mechanism) on each small farm, generate carbon credits and timely incentivise each participating farmer. A strong public-private partnership model is the need of the hour to ensure a strong outreach and focus on such resource-intensive micro level-farming units and meticulously follow all necessary processes needed for earning carbon credits.

A conducive policy environment and enabling mechanism from the government’s side will go a long way in helping the Indian smallholder farmers by leveraging the opportunity in the global voluntary carbon markets.

What inputs are required for the growth of the carbon credit trade sector in India?

A conducive policy environment is a must for the growth of carbon farming in India that could enhance farming incomes and also make Indian agriculture more climate resilient. The policy framework should encourage private sector investments for making carbon farming economically viable and globally competitive for smallholder agriculture projects. The policy should assure the investors that the carbon credits generated from smallholder agriculture will not be nationalised or included in the NDC. 

It is also important to remove policy impediments, if any, from international transactions of the voluntary carbon credits generated from Indian smallholder agriculture.

                                                                                                               

Dipti Barve

dipti.barve@mmactiv.com   

Bayer has started rewarding farmers in Brazil

Agro Universities, Start ups, Sustainability

Discussions were held on the promotion of sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development through participative financial and non-financial interventions

The ICAR-National Institute of Natural Fibre Engineering and Technology, Kolkata recently organised the ‘Interface Meeting with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development’ in Kolkata.

Dr AR Khan, CGM, NABARD, West Bengal Regional Office underlined the initiatives taken by the NABARD for the promotion of sustainable and equitable agriculture and rural development through participative financial and non-financial interventions, innovations, and technology and institutional development for securing prosperity.

Dr DB Shakyawar, Director, ICAR-NINFET, Kolkata outlined a few areas of collaboration, viz., the entrepreneurship development programme, product diversification, establishment of jute fibre quality testing and agric-clinics and agri-business centres, skill-building programmes, start-up funding and awareness and FLD Programmes with the institute which may open a new vista for uplifting the rural people.

Earlier, delivering the welcome address, Kamalesh Kumar, GM, NABARD, West Bengal Regional Office highlighted the collaborative approach with the ICAR-NINFET for disseminating the technologies to the farmers’ fronts.

The senior officials of both the organisations were present during the occasion.

Discussions were held on the promotion of

Sustainability, World

Bruno Ferreira from Bolivia, Chidinma Ezeh from Nigeria and Emiliano Barbero from Argentina will each receive a €5,000 bursary award

Three young leaders, each with a passion for sustainable global agriculture, have been named winners of Bayer’s Youth Summit Thrive for Change Awards. Bruno Ferreira from Bolivia, Chidinma Ezeh from Nigeria and Emiliano Barbero from Argentina will each receive a €5,000 bursary award to help put their winning Thrive for Change project ideas into action. From September 2021 to March 2022, the awardees developed their project plans to make a difference in the fight against food insecurity and climate change.

The delegates were selected from more than 2,000 applicants. The university program then provided each of these young leaders with further training and mentoring on how to prepare their Thrive for Change project ideas for real-world implementation.

This year’s awards programme featured speakers who share the delegates’ passion to make a difference toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Julie Borlaug, President, Borlaug Foundation and Mina Guli, CEO, Thirst Foundation shared their insights into what actions will help this new generation of change makers continue to create a more sustainable world.

All twelve finalists will receive a laptop or tablet to further boost their ability to create impact projects that help build a world with health for all and hunger for none.

Bruno Ferreira from Bolivia, Chidinma Ezeh from

Agrotech, Finance

The new fund will continue to invest in early-stage start-ups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy

Omnivore, India’s leading agritech venture capital firm, announced that the launch of its third fund, with a target corpus of $130 million (Rs 1000 crore). The new fund will continue to invest in early-stage start-ups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy. Omnivore generally invests in Seed, Pre-Series A, and Series A rounds, with follow-on capital for future growth. 

Originally founded by Jinesh Shah and Mark Kahn in 2010, Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in India, and over the past decade has backed over 35 start-ups which are making farming more profitable, resilient, sustainable, and climate-proof.  Omnivore is targeting a first close of the new fund by September 2022 and a final close by June 2023.  With this new fund, Omnivore expects to make 25 to 30 new investments over the next four years, continuing to fund entrepreneurs building the future of Indian agriculture and food systems. 

Omnivore Fund 3 will have a sharper focus on catalysing climate action in agriculture, backing start-ups addressing both climate mitigation (reducing India’s GHG emissions) and climate adaptation/resilience (securing a future for India’s farmers).  Along these lines, earlier this year, Omnivore launched the OmniX Bio initiative to provide additional support to agrifood life science startups, initially targeting the fields of agricultural biotechnology, novel farming systems, bioenergy and biomaterials, as well as innovative foods, including alternative protein.  With the new fund, Omnivore aims to deepen the reach and impact of OmniX Bio, and help reboot the agrifood life sciences ecosystem in India.

Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Omnivore, stated, “For over a decade now, we have been a part of the evolution of the agritech ecosystem in India. Through Omnivore’s investments, we have touched the lives of almost 7 million smallholder farmers, improving their profitability and resilience, while creating value for our investors.  We believe agritech is just getting started, and we look forward to supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs building a future for rural India.”

The new fund will continue to invest

Company News, Sustainability

The company is working directly with farmers around the world on initiatives that protect, regenerate, and restore the land

Cargill is working directly with farmers around the globe to focus on advancing nature-positive agriculture production and farmer-centric approaches to sustainably.

Nature-positive production focuses on limiting the destruction and depletion of land by evolving the techniques proven to increase volume and efficiency, while adopting regenerative agriculture practices that prioritise land sustainability. By doing so, farmers can feed more people and address climate change.

These practices include planting cover crops and implementing reduced- or no-till farming to help sequester carbon in the ground, build soil resilience and improve water quality. One way Cargill is helping make these practices more tenable for farmers is through RegenConnect, a voluntary market-based programme that pays farmers per ton of carbon captured in their soil.

“If we’re going to succeed in sustainably transforming our food and agriculture system, we have to help farmers take a nature-positive approach,” says Pilar Cruz, Cargill’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “That’s why we’re working directly with farmers around the world on initiatives that protect, regenerate, and restore the land. This is how we will make a meaningful difference, one field and one farm at a time.”

Another way Cargill is helping farmers make sustainable agriculture economically feasible is by ensuring they receive a premium for sustainably sourced crops. Through the Triple S (sustainability sourced and supplied) soy program in South America, Cargill provides customers in Asia, Europe and North America certified deforestation-free soy from farmers in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

These programmes demonstrate how scaling sustainable agriculture requires removal of the financial and market access barriers that still exist in farming.

The company is working directly with farmers

Agrotech, Sustainability

The report shares insights into sustainability transformation as the company drives action across its four strategic priorities of advancing soil health and soil carbon sequestration through smart solutions

AGCO, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology, has recently released its 2021 Sustainability Report.

“In 2020, we established AGCO’s sustainability strategy and have made meaningful progress in 2021 against our goals,” said Eric Hansotia, AGCO’s Chairman, President and CEO. “These early results have confirmed that our commitment to precision agriculture innovation places us on the right path to addressing sustainability.”

The report shares insights into sustainability transformation as the company drives action across its four strategic priorities of advancing soil health and soil carbon sequestration through smart solutions; decarbonising our operations and products; elevating employee health and safety; and prioritising animal welfare in food production. It represents a significant step forward in measuring and demonstrating our progress against our goals and commitments set in 2020, including:

  • Completing a global climate risk assessment and disclosing against the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in inaugural TCFD report.
  • 13 per cent reduction in GHG emission intensity (scope 1 and 2)
  • 52 per cent renewable electricity use, up from 40 per cent and 32 per cent renewable energy use, up from 27 per cent.

“Our 2021 Sustainability Report shows AGCO is committed to accelerating progress in sustainability into our design, manufacturing, and distribution of smart agricultural solutions across the entire value chain,” said Roger Batkin, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Chief ESG Officer, and Corporate Secretary.

The report shares insights into sustainability transformation

Sustainability

The awards programme was jointly organised by the Energy Research Institute, the International Water Association and the United Nations Development Programme

FMC Corporation, a leading agricultural sciences company, has been conferred a Certificate of Recognition for its exemplary contribution towards water stewardship in India at the inaugural TERI-IWA-UNDP Water Sustainability Awards 2021-22 on World Water Day 2022. The awards programme was jointly organised by the Energy Research Institute, the International Water Association and the United Nations Development Programme.

FMC runs an ongoing campaign under its flagship Project Samarth that seeks to provide access to safe and potable drinking water to 200,000 farmer families by 2024 in India. Project Samarth has to date commissioned 57 community water purification plants in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, benefiting nearly 100,000 farming families.

Ravi Annavarapu, President, FMC India said, “Our goal is to empower the farming community and raise living standards through various initiatives and community outreach programmes like Project Samarth. Over 4,000 FMC technical field experts engage with farmers about good agriculture practices and the sustainable use of water to enhance productivity while optimising water use. We endeavour to educate the community at large about best practices in water consumption, and we are grateful for this recognition by TERI-IWA-UNDP. It motivates us to move forward on our mission of water stewardship.”

Apart from commissioning water purification plants, FMC also promotes the sustainable use of water in agriculture through its wide network of technical experts and channel partners.

The award was received by Raju Kapoor, director of Public and Industry Affairs, FMC India, in the presence of The Chief Guest Shri Bharat Lal, Secretary Lokpal of India, Former Additional Secretary Jal Jeevan Mission and Shoko Noda, UNDP Resident Representative in India.

The TERI-IWA-UNDP Water Sustainability Awards aim to encourage the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by way of reducing the water footprint among various stakeholders through the adoption of the ‘water neutrality’ approach.

The awards programme was jointly organised by