UNDP partners with Indian stakeholders to improve livelihood of agri & allied households: UNDP identified Arya.ag and Friends of Women's World Banking, India (FWWB) under Project Excel to support 10,000 households in Jamnagar and Dwaraka Devbhumi districts of Gujarat across agriculture and allied activities. Arya ag will build farmer collectives & strengthen market and credit linkages. While, FWWB will develop rural entrepreneurship & focus on capacity building initiatives.
Read More

Karnataka to be first Indian state to implement focused branding & marketing for FPOs: The state government of Karnataka aims at developing uniform brand name with tagline and logo for FPO outputs. Collective marketing & special purpose vehicles are other supports that will be further provided to FPOs for boosting their marketing competitiveness & enhance profit margins through economies of scales.
Read More

First low phytate maize hybrid released for commercial farming: Indian Institute of Maize Research (ICAR-IIMR), Ludhiana, has released the first low phytic acid maize hybrid variety, PMH1-LP. The hybrid is suitable for commercial cultivation in the north-western plain zone (NWPZ) comprising Punjab, Haryana, the plains of Uttarakhand, Western UP, and Delhi. PMH1-LP contains 36% less phytic acid than its original version, PMH1, and a yield potential of more than 95 quintals per hectare. The hybrid has moderate resistance to major diseases like maydis leaf blight, Turcicum leaf blight, and Charcoal rot, as well as pests like maize stem borer and fall armyworm.
Read More

Kisan Samriddhi Kendras: One-stop solution for all needs of growers: Fertilizer retail shops in the country will be converted into Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samriddhi Kendra (PMKSK)in a phased manner. PM-KSKs will provide the facilities to farmers under one roof in the form of crop advisories, soil- and seed-testing facilities, retailing seeds and pesticides, and even custom hiring of agricultural equipment and machines. The Kendras are also being designed to create awareness among farmers about the balanced use of fertilizers, including organic fertilizers and micronutrients.
Read More

Indian agrochemical company expanding global markets by acquiring UK’s leading agrochemical company: Safex chemicals has acquired UK-based leading agrochemical company Briar Chemicals for INR 700 crore (73 million pound). Briar leads in CDMO solutions and serves the world’s most innovative agrochemicals companies. The addition of Briar to Safex’s crop protection business will strengthen their position in the global agrochemicals market. ChrysCapital has provided equity for the deal and will also work with management on the transition and integration of the acquisition.
Read More

Corteva heading for strategic acquisition to accelerate the development of a best-in-class biologicals portfolio: Corteva, Inc. and Symborg today signed a definitive agreement for Corteva to acquire Symborg, a Spain-based expert in microbiological technologies. This acquisition relates to Corteva’s progression towards further establishing itself as a technology leader in this rapid growth segment and contributes to building a more differentiated and sustainably advantaged portfolio that provides cost -effective solutions for farmers. Symborg is a well-known player in the biologicals industry with a diversified existing portfolio, emerging biocontrol pipeline, and a skilled employee base with robust technical knowledge and demand generation expertise.
Read More

Field trial approval for GM Cotton and Maize: The confined field trails for GM stacked cotton and maize has been approved by the GEAC and states of Haryana and Karnataka. The crops will be evaluated for resistance against Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura, tolerance to glyphosate in Cotton and resistance against S. frugiperda and tolerance to glyphosate in Maize. After the selection of sites from the proposed one, the trials will be conducted during 2022-23 and 2023-24 at two selected locations.
Read More

Bayer initiated the commercial use of drones, service goes live in Seven states: Bayer has started commercializing drones application in crop protection from Kharif 2022. The service will start across Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka and benefit smallholder farmers. The company will also target FPOs and village entrepreneurs running Better Life Farming centers and other enterprises interested in offering solutions to smallholder farmers.
Read More

MoU between DAFW and NAFED to promote millet-based products: The MoU between DA&FW and NAFED will help the organizations to collaborate on areas like advisory to processors for value addition in millet products, formation for FPOs and marketing of millet products through the network of NAFED. The focus is also on installing vending machines dispensing millet based in Delhi NCR. The organizations collaborated work will boost the vision of promoting millets, keeping in view of International Year of Millets 2023.
Read More