With the objective of helping targeted rural communities benefit from more inclusive, sustainable food systems, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has signed a new partnership agreement with Rabobank, a Dutch cooperative bank.

The collaboration also involves joint exploration of using innovative financial instruments in order to bridge financing gaps and the promotion of sustainability in food systems investments.

FAO and Rabobank will work with key food and agriculture sectors on a series of projects designed to empower smallholder farmers, help lower GHG emissions, improve land and water use to address the challenges of climate change and reduction of food wastage.

Special attention will be paid in ensuring the inclusion of poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and youth.

The collaboration will begin with a review of the dairy sector in two pilot countries, India and Kenya, with a view to reducing food losses in the sector and promoting a transition to more sustainable food systems.

The dairy sector has an important role to play in food systems transformation, as it contributes to food security and nutrition and provides livelihoods for a number of actors along the food value chain. Though dairy production also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, it holds huge potential for improvement.

“The new partnership between FAO and Rabobank will serve to support our work to transform food systems so that they can become more inclusive and sustainable, especially within the context of the COVID-19 response and the need to build back, better. In particular, it will focus on improved land and water use, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and food loss while increasing the resilience of farmers and small-scale businesses,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

COVID-19 has shown us that our food systems need a ‘new normal’,” said Berry Martin, Board Member of Rabobank. “We need to identify and analyze finance gaps and debate short and long supply chains. We must focus on innovative ways to reward sustainability investments, such as implementing ‘nature costing’, a pricing structure that reflects food’s environmental impact.”

The partnership will not only explore the possibility of climate finance programming incentives but also map agricultural supply chains to identify opportunities for green finance hotspots.

It may be mentioned here that FAO has also previously collaborated with the Rabobank Foundation, a corporate foundation funded by the bank, on projects to improve the incomes of smallholder farmers in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Kenya through better access to financial tools & investments.

The US Patent Office has recently granted two patents to biopesticides and encapsulation technology company Eden Research for its ‘Sustaine’ encapsulation technology and compositions for insecticide products.

Eden said Sustaine microcapsules are plastic-free, naturally sourced, biodegradable microspheres that are derived from yeast extract.

The initial patent provided broad compositional protection for the encapsulation of terpenes in hollow cell wall particles, according to the company.

While the second patent provided protection for the use of compositions in a method of killing mites, or treating and preventing a mite infestation.

The board said there was a “strong need” for an effective alternative to conventional insecticides in the United States owing to regulatory and consumer pressures.

“Eden’s biopesticide product portfolio is based upon the powerful combination of plant-derived active ingredients and the Sustaine microencapsulation system. Eden’s plant protection products offer ease of use and efficacy on par with conventional pesticides whilst being exempt from maximum residue levels in Europe and having low or no pre-harvest intervals, giving growers maximum control and flexibility,” the board added.

Under the G2G (Government-to-Government) initiative for the locust control programme, Indian Public Sector Undertaking HIL (India) Limited, a leading manufacturer of insecticides in the country, has supplied 25 tonnes of Malathion 95% ULV to Iran.

Iran is currently facing the worst desert locust outbreak, and its South-Eastern provinces are expected to be the worst affected regions.

It is to be noted that India had recently proposed to Pakistan and Iran for a coordinated approach in dealing with desert locust menace in the region.

As a result, Iran has expressed its willingness to the proposal and accordingly the Ministry of External Affairs placed an order with the company to make and supply Malathion to Iran.

To recap, desert locust after severe crop devastation in the African region entered into India in March-April 2020, affecting the crops adversely in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

It is to be mentioned here that HIL (India) Limited is also supplying Malathion 95% ULV to the Indian Ministry of Agriculture for Locust Control Programme.

China-based high-end instant noodles maker Baijia Food has raised CN¥200 million ($28 million) in a Series B funding round in order to focus on product research and development, expand its production capacity, and marketing and brand promotion.

The round was led by GL Ventures, an affiliate of Beijing-based PE (private equity) firm Hillhouse Capital.

The funding round also witnessed participation from MTCCBT, Binfu Fund, Tongchuang Weiye, Yisan Capital, and others, according to AgFunder’s report.

It is to be noted that the company closed its Series A round in February, raising around $16 million.

Brands like Baijia Food see themselves as competing with restaurants on quality, but at a lower price point; while they’re able to command a higher price than traditional instant noodles and soups, according to GL Ventures’ Dai Yuexiang.

Speaking to the National Business Daily, Baijia Food chairman Chen Zhaohui said the company’s revenue has grown by an annual average of 45% over the past 3 years. In 2019 sales reached over $98.7 million.

Since the beginning of 2020, sales have skyrocketed by 120% due to the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown. With millions of consumers nowadays eating at home more often, ‘new convenience foods’ received a boost in interest, he said.

Started out as a maker of dry-frozen instant noodles, Baijia Food has refocused on so-called ‘new convenience foods’ in recent years in order to recreate some of China’s several regional delicacies as microwave-ready meals.

As part of the virtual global business fairs amid Coronavirus-triggered crisis, the Turkish Trade Ministry is going to organize a virtual trade delegation program with India from June 15 to June 19.

This would cover tobacco, olive oil, oilseeds, cereals, pulses, fruits, food and non-food fast consumption products, agricultural machinery, along with nuts and products, dried fruits and products, aquaculture and animal products and ornamental plants and products.

Notably, the first virtual trade delegation was organized with Uzbekistan between May 13-15, while the Virtual Agricultural Machinery Fair “Agrivirtual” will be held on June 22-26.

India, the second-most populous country in the world, has a fast-growing market holds great potential for Turkey’s exports.

Notably, the first virtual trade delegation was organized with Uzbekistan between May 13-15, while the Virtual Agricultural Machinery Fair “Agrivirtual” will be held on June 22-26.

It is worth mentioning that Turkey’s exports to India stood at $1.2 billion, while its imports from the South Asian nation was around $7.5 billion in 2018. The key export commodities to Turkey include rice, yarn, motor vehicles accessories, tractors, cotton, antibiotics, among others from India.

The world’s first fleet of autonomous robots is likely to become commercially available for the farmers of the United Kingdom in just two years. The robots will help in scanning plants, killing weeds and drilling crops.

Salisbury-based Small Robot Company is developing three autonomous farmbots – Tom, Dick and Harry.

Sam Watson Jones, co-founder of the group termed it a remarkable technological milestone for British agriculture.

Robot Tom would provide growers with an individual plant view of fields, capable of detecting broad-leaved weeds in wheat fields and mapping their exact location, according to the company’s claims.

Roughly after a year, this robot will be scaled up in order to ensure greater weed control without any chemicals.

“Take blackgrass control, for instance, control is becoming increasingly problematic with many chemicals now resistant. Farmers are now manually rouging fields, with weeds often missed due to human error which cause problems for the future,” Jones said.

According to the co-founder, the weed-mapping service will help in identifying and removing every single blackgrass plant. The technology also categorizes the weeds on the basis of their environmental benefits.

“With the help of artificial intelligence, we are able to determine risk tolerance versus the environmental benefit of weeds. Some offer food sources for beneficial insects or have positive impacts on soil health, helping to enhance biodiversity,” Jones added.

With the help of mapping data, the second robot – Dick – would kill the weeds using electrically charged pulses.

Sources said the company has partnered with Rootwave, an electronic weed control group in order to develop the weed zapping robot.

The third robot, Harry will plant crops autonomously. The farmbot will also help the farmers in the prevention of soil erosion and runoff thanks to its no-till robotics system.

According to a new report by FAO, food markets will face many more months of uncertainty due to COVID-19. However, the agri-food sector is expected to show more resilience amid this crisis as compared to other sectors.

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt – at varying degrees – across all food sectors assessed by FAO. Whilst COVID-19 has posed a serious threat to food security, overall, our analysis shows that from the global perspective, agricultural commodity markets are proving to be more resilient to the pandemic than many other sectors,” said Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, Director of the FAO Trade and Markets Division.

“That said, owing to the size of the challenge and the enormous uncertainties associated with it, the international community must remain vigilant and ready to react, if and when necessary,” he added.

For some of the most traded food commodities globally, the FAO’s Food Outlook report has also provided the first forecasts for production and market trends in 2020-2021. Take a look:

Key Trends for Major Food Commodities in 2020-21

Cereals

In 2020-21, the world cereal trade is expected to stand at 433 million tonnes. Despite the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the forecasts underline a comfortable cereal supply and demand situation.

Meat

World total meat production is predicted to fall by 1.7% in 2020, owing to animal diseases, Coronavirus-triggered market disruptions, and droughts.

Fish

The COVID-19 outbreak is expected to heavily affect seafood markets this year as fishing fleets are lying idle on the supply side.

The pandemic is set to severely hit, in particular, global shrimp and salmon production. In India, for instance, farmed shrimp production is likely to fall by 30-40 per cent, as per the report.

Sugar

In 2019-20, the world’s sugar production is forecast to drop for the second consecutive year. However, trade in sugar is likely to expand, thanks to stock-rebuilding in some importing countries.

Milk

Despite market disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, world milk production is showing resilience, possibly growing by 0.8 per cent in 2020.

Oil Crops

The latest forecasts for oilseeds point towards a tightening global supply-demand situation.

In order to research the health properties of the key plant-based ingredients, Danone North America has recently partnered with Brightseed, a food-tech startup.

By highlighting the precise health benefits of some of the world’s most popular plants, Brightseed’s insights would enable Danone to improve the nutritional aspects of its products.

Less than 1% of the plant kingdom’s phytonutrients have been studied so far. However, Brightseed wants to change that and help companies to ensure that beneficial phytonutrients are available in their products.

“Danone’s mission for One Planet, One Health is all about how we can change the food system and provide healthier foods to as many as people as possible in more sustainable ways, but we recognize that we need external partnerships to achieve that mission. As individuals we can make a dent but really only via collaborations like this can we make a difference,” Takoua Debeche, SVP Research & Innovation at Danone North America said.

This collaboration’s first stage is to map the nutrients, while the next phase would be to validate those findings with clinical trials. After that, it will focus on the mechanism of applying those phytonutrients to existing products, added Debeche.

“In the short term, Brightseed will be able to guide us on identifying the most nutrient-dense varieties of soy enabling us to quickly switch our sourcing and supply chain to those varieties. Over the long term, if we unlock new health benefits, we can unlock new innovations in new categories or drive further innovation in existing categories,” Debeche added.

Besides focusing on soy varieties, Brightseed would also take into consideration how farming conditions affect the availability of phytonutrients in crops.

“We can work directly with farmers to grow more a nutrient-dense variety of soy as well as on adapting growing or harvesting conditions – based on knowledge from Brightseed; this adaptability is a unique competitive advantage we have,” she added.

“At Brightseed we believe that we’re at the tipping point of significantly activating food for health and wellness. We analyze plants at the molecular level in order to understand the specific roles that nutrients play in the proper functioning of our bodies,” said Sofia Elizondo, Cofounder and COO of Brightseed.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Danone North America as they are equally committed to bringing health through food. Danone North America also believes in the important role that high quality, nutrient-rich diets play in supporting human health, while delivering across brands and products that consumers trust and love,” Elizondo added.

Massachusetts-based Clean Crop Technologies has recently closed a $2.75 million seed round. The funding round was led by Prime Impact Fund, a climate tech impact investing fund.

Factor[e] Ventures, Innova Memphis, Syndicate Fund and Alchemy Fund also participated in the seed round.

The Massachusetts-based firm attracted several impact investors to its funding round, thanks to its cutting-edge technology.

The company is also developing an eco-friendly treatment for post-harvest crops in order to kill toxins, ensuring that foods last longer and are safer for consumption, as per the report.

Toxins and pathogens spoil nearly 500 million tons of food, which causes around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the news report.

Clean Crop’s “high-voltage atmospheric cold plasma” technology combines air and electricity to create ionized gases that can kill off mold and toxins post-harvest.

Clean Crop’s approach is safer than chemical treatments, and also more effective than on-farm solutions, according to Dan White, Clean Crop’s co-founder.

“There are solutions trying to breed [mold resistance] into the seeds,” says White. The problem with those is that even if one farmer has controlled his crop, when it gets consolidated with other farmers’ harvests, it can become contaminated. “You will have as much contamination as the most poorly-managed crop.”

“We have conviction that Clean Crop can drastically reduce emissions in one of the largest greenhouse gas wedges, and build a large, self-sustaining business,” said Amy Duffuor, principal at Prime Impact Fund, which is a first-in investor on climate-focused technologies.

“In Clean Crop, we’ve found technology and a team with the potential to remove food safety-related trade barriers that prevent smallholder farmers from accessing high-value global markets,” Seth Silverman, principal at Factor[e] Ventures, said.

It is worth noting that funding from its seed round will enable the agtech firm to build a proprietary “ionized air generator” or High Voltage Atmospheric Cold Plasma (HVACP) technology and start field tests later this year.

Amid the rising COVID-19 cases worldwide, the Jamaican government has launched several initiatives to assist local farmers to weather the COVID-19 crisis.

Let’s take a look at how the island country is dealing with the problems of COVID-hit agriculture sector:

Over USD $6.8 million allocated

To date, more than USD 6.8 million dollars have been allocated to the agriculture
industry to stem the tide of losses that the sector is currently experiencing.

Buy-Back Program

The funds allocated are intended to be used to establish a “Buy-Back Program”, under which the Ministry of
Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries purchases the output from the
farmers at the market price and sells them to the consumers at a marginally lower price.

The goal of this program is to procure produce from growers who no longer have access to markets. Aimed at both farmers and fisheries, a part of the financial assistance is also geared towards identifying buyers or distributors who operate cold storage facilities.

Boosting Local Agri Output

Also, the country’s government aims to enhance its ability to boost local agricultural output in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and onwards.

‘Say Yes to Fresh’ Campaign

Moreover, the country’s Commerce Ministry has also introduced a new campaign called “Say Yes to Fresh” in order to encourage citizens to buy locally produced foods. So far, over 350 metric tons of produce have been sold through this initiative.

Emphasis on Value-Added Products

In addition, the Jamaican government is also encouraging consumers to increase their intake of produce like peppers and scallions, so that they could incorporate them into more value-added products.

Productive Input Relief Program

In April 2020, the Jamaica Customs Agency announced to extend the Productive Input Relief (PIR) program by 6 months to allow manufacturers to import raw materials without being subject to certain duties and taxes.

Reduction in Export Fees

To stimulate and promote growth and investment, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority announced to reduce export fees
by 50% for several commodities, including coffee, cocoa and spices.

Resolution to prevent Price Gouging

In a bid to discourage price gouging i.e. charging too much in times of crisis, the country’s government passed a resolution to prosecute the offenders.