Hi, NewsWrap for July 03, 2022

03 July 2022: Mahishi Mitra App, Insecticide-Free Wheat Varieties, BiofuelCircle, Rallis India

3 July 2022

Insecticide-Free Wheat Varieties Set to be Available in UK in 2023

Insecticide-free winter wheat varieties are expected to be available for growers in autumn 2023 in UK, after one plant breeder developed the first wheat varieties with resistance to the crop's two main insect problems, which frequently necessitate spray treatment. According to Managing Director Lee Bennett, these two varieties, RW 42046 and RW 42047 are the first wheat to have this double resistance, and any future varieties from the company will have these traits. "This means that there will be no need to spray insecticides for the two main insect problems of wheat, which will have economic and environmental benefits," he said at a recent company briefing.
Narendra Singh Tomar launched “Mahishi Mitra’’ app

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated year-long programmes of the ICAR-NDRI on the completion of 100 years of the premier dairy institute of the country. He dedicated a pillar, depicting the history of the NDRI, and also an “oxygen park” on the occasion. He launched an app “Mahishi Mitra” which will help detect heat among animals with the help of saliva drop. When the drop of saliva of animal will be taken as a photograph, the app will tell whether the animal is in heat or not. The minister also inaugurated another app for climate-related advisory.
SBI and Milma come forward to fund dairy farmers'

State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Milma to fund dairy farmers' working capital needs. The agreement was signed by SBI chief general manager Venkata Ramana Bayireddy and Milma managing director Patil Suyog Subhashrao. The agreement looks into collaboration and partnership opportunities for bank loans for dairy farmers, other dairy-related business activities, enterprises in the state through the Kisan Credit Card programme, other lending schemes of the bank, or governments for the purchase of cattle, animal husbandry, agri infrastructure, and other allied activities.
BiofuelCircle raises $0.75M USD in second round seed funding

Pune-based BiofuelCircle, digital platform for green fuels, creating a farm-to-fuel ecosystem, announced $0.75M in their second round of seed funding. The funding was co-led by Spectrum Impact, Better Capital, Dr Shridhar Shukla and others. Launched in July 2021, BiofuelCircle has raised US$ 1.75 million since inception. BiofuelCircle operates in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The company aims to address the challenges around bioenergy supply chain and make a positive impact on not only the environment by reducing greenhouse emissions but also on the rural community by providing economic value, clean energy and increased job opportunities.
DGFT issues RCs for 1.6 mn tonne wheat export after May 13 ban order

Commerce ministry's arm Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has issued registration certificates for about 1.6 million tonne of wheat to exporters having valid letter of credit, after the ban order of May 13 The government is allowing wheat shipments for which irrevocable letters of credit (L/C) were issued on or before May 13, when the ban on the export of the foodgrain was imposed with an aim to contain rising prices. War between Russia and Ukraine has severely impacted the flow of wheat in the global markets as they are key players in the sector. Russia and Ukraine together account for almost a quarter of the global wheat supply.