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Volume 3 | Issue 5 March-2017
Postal No. PKL-212/2015-2017
RNI No.: HARENG/2014/61357
EDITORIAL Monthly Magazine for Feed Technology Published by BENISON Media SCO 17, 2nd Floor, Mugal Canal Market Karnal - 132001 (Haryana) Tel: +91 184 4047817 info@benisonmedia.com
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
Inclusion of wheat as an ingredient in cattle feed:
A
fter two years of slowdown in production,
India is heading for a near-record wheat
harvest this summer. The Ministry of
Agriculture's estimate pegged 2017 wheat
Publisher & Editor
production at a record 96.6 million tonnes. Wheat use for feed
Prachi Arora prachi.a@benisonmedia.com
consumption and residual is forecast higher at 4.8 million tonnes on steady demand from the dairy feed sector. Poultry & Aquaculture industry which uses corn, oil meals, and other coarse grains including smaller quantities of inferior quality wheat. There is very limited use of
Managing Editor
wheat by the organised feed sector, as the dairy industry is highly
Dr. T.K. Walli Former Head, Dairy Cattle Nutrition, NDRI
unorganised. With the average dairy herd size estimated around 2 to 3 animals per farm, feed use is typically restricted to lactating animals and includes some oil cakes, household food waste, and other grain mixes. High yielding crossbred cows and “murrah” breed buffaloes in states like
Business Head Vinod Kumar Saini info@benisonmedia.com
Punjab and Haryana need proper nutrition and hence the demand for commercial dairy feed has increased by about 12% - 15% per annum, supporting higher wheat usage in the dairy feed sector. However, the feed manufacturers have to be vigilant to see that the spoiled and inferior quality wheat is not diverted towards the manufacture of cattle
Designing & Marketing
feed, which may be infested with moulds and aflatoxins, and negatively
Ashwani Verma info@thinkgrainthinkfeed.co.in
impact the productivity. Climate Change and Livestock production: Livestock occupies centre stage as far as global warming is
Circulation & Subscription Head
concerned. It is partly its cause and it has also to bear the brunt of its
Rahul Bhardwaj info@benisonmedia.com
ruminal and enteric fermentation from bovines and other ruminants,
effect. The first part is the emission of green house gases (GHG) through which is responsible for global warming. By changing the feeding strategies, we may be able to reduce the emission of methane from
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
ruminants to the tune of 10- 15, mainly by reducing the quantities of
Dr. Dinesh T. Bhosale Former Chairman, CLFMA of India
and making the whole feed a balanced ration. The climate change
Mr. Amit Sachdev Indian Representative, US Grain Council
fibrous feeds and increasing the proportion of concentrate in the diet, affects livestock, both directly as well as indirectly. The direct effect comes straight from heat stress on animals, which causes reduction in milk production, meat production, reduced reproductive efficiency and
Dr. P.E. Vijay Anand US Soybean Export Council Dr. Suhas Amrutkar Subject Matter Specialist, Animal Nutrition, MAFSU, Parbhani
animal health. While the heat stress causes severe damage to physiology and metabolism of the animals, the indirect effect increases the aridity in the tropical regions, which will have repercussions on the availability of water for irrigation and consequently, on the availability of green fodder for animals, which shall lead to reduced performance of the animals.
Dr. SN Mohanty Former Principal Scientist, CIFA
Reforestation of the areas can help to some extent in slowing down the
Dr. Meeta Punjabi Mehta Agricultural Economist
2nd edition of Feed Tech Expo along with one day conference
Dr. Swamy Haladi Feed Additive Expert Dr. R Gnana Sekar Lead Consultant, GS Dairy Farm Consulting Dr. Suraj Amrutkar Assistant Professor, Dept. of ILFC, SKUAST-J, Jammu
aridity.
conducted successfully This is to share with our readers that the 2nd edition of Feed Tech Expo, a three-day event along with the one day conference on “Innovations for sustainable feed Industry” was successfully concluded in the last month. The glimpses of the event along with the recommendations of the conference have been included in this edition of the magazine.
TK Walli www.thinkgrainthinkfeed.co.in www.benisonmedia.com
Monthly Magazine for Feed & Feed Technology
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
Vollume 1 | Issue 10 | August 2015
Contents RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
MARKET PROJECTION
05 MycoKey: to develop solutions for reducing mycotoxins in food and feed chains ARTICLE 06 Future Trend in Feed Raw Material Market
14 Higher US grain exports remains under pressure INDUSTRY THOUGHT
16 Union Budget 2017 Takeaways for Agriculture Industry
10 Key issues in aquatic feed plant design INTERVIEW 12 Present and Future trends for Indian Feed Industry by Dr. Vijay Anand
MARKET SURVEY 20 Survey Report: Benefits & Challenges in Phytogenic Feed Additives EVENT COVERAGE
22 Feed Tech Expo 2017 (FTE17): Business platform for Feed Industry EVENT CALENDAR - 30
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Printed by: Jaiswal Printing Press | Published by: Prachi Arora | On behalf of: BENISON Media | Printed at: Chaura Bazar, Karnal-132001, Haryana | Published at: SCO-17, 2nd Floor, Mugal Canal Market, Karnal-132001, Haryana | Editor: Prachi Arora Think Grain Think Feed is a monthly magazine published by BENISON Media at its office in Karnal. Editorial policy is independent. Views expressed by authors are not necessarily those held by the editors. The data/information provided in the magazine is sourced through various sources and the publisher considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible. However, the publisher accepts no liability for the material herein and consequently readers using this information do so at their own risk. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither BENISON Media, nor any of its employees or contributors accept any responsibility whatsoever for such persons’ and companies’ activities. All legal matters are subjected to Karnal Jurisdiction. Disclaimer : The published material and images are sourced from various websites and newspapers, and used for information purpose only, if you have any issue, please inform us at info@benisonmedia.com. BENISON Media or Think Grain Think Feed is not liable for any claim prior to written information.
Image source: stablemanagement
R&D
MycoKey to develop solutions for reducing mycotoxins in food and feed chains Mycotoxins, produced by fungal mold, Europe even if global temperatures may be limited to an currently contaminates a quarter of the increase of only 2-degrees Celsius, which UNEP deems world's agriculture produce, making it a unlikely. Climate change is increasing the prevalence of potential growing threat to people and aflatoxin, one of the most poisonous mycotoxins. animals, according to the Food and Mycotoxin levels in grain are a frequent reason to reject raw Agriculture Organization of the United material for food and feed processing. Scarcity of raw Nations (FAO). Mycotoxins ranks the third materials, on the other hand, requires the industry to look for most important threat after bacteria and new solutions along the value chain. pesticides, which is why maximum According to Bühler, knowing that just a few highly tolerance levels permitted in food and mycotoxin-contaminated kernels may make an entire grain feedstuff are becoming crucial for food and lot unsafe for further use, it's essential to implement postf e e d p ro d u c e r s . M e e t i n g t h e s e harvest measures that reduce mycotoxin levels to ensure requirements is possible with the right safe products, while ensuring economical yields and processes in place. Academic studies within reducing losses. The experts from the European the European project MycoKey and Horizon2020 project, MycoKey, which was initiated in midpractical experience confirm that an 2016 aims. The 6.4-million-euro project has partners from effective means to significantly reduce 32 organizations from a total of 14 countries in Europe, Asia mycotoxin levels is via cleaning and optical and Africa. MycoKey, has run multiple, large-scale field tests to collect valuable data on the performance of grain
A recent United Nations (UN) report cleaning solutions. confirmed the impact of climate change on The case for reducing levels of mycotoxins of any kind is food safety and security, it is evident that clear considering the implications on consumer and animal extreme environmental conditions such as health as well as to the commercial success of milling drought and rising temperatures have companies. Bühler said it is focused on to achieve t r i g g e r e d a n u p s u r g e i n t o x i c commercially viable yields — regardless of incoming crops.Previously more prevalent in tropical product quality. For example, in a specific case the company and sub-tropical regions, mycotoxin has helped an Italian corn producer to recover 70% to 80% contamination is now on the rise in of contaminated maize and boost it from biomass to feed temperate regions — meaning it will grade quality. increasingly become a food safety issue for Source: Buhler
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sorting processes.
05
Image source: The Economist
ARTICLE
Future Trend in Feed Raw Material Market Syed H. Rizvi & Lalit Fulara, Marketsandmarkets
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It is an accepted belief that human beings began their journey as a huntergatherer, in order to feed and sustain themselves. As observed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, stone tools for butchering meat and animal bones with corresponding cutmarks first appear in the fossil study of records going back to 2.5 million years.
06
With the advent and advancement of river bank civilizations and settled agricultural practices, the significance of animal rearing was further recognized, wherein evidence suggests that animal husbandry as an auxiliary agricultural practice began at least about 10,000 years ago. ANIMAL FEED Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to once famously said, “An army marches on its stomach,� referring to the importance of food provisioning in a war. However, this comment has a broader reference for animal husbandry, as the quality and quantity of animal-based products are directly
correlated with the quality of feed, which in turn, is directly dependent on the quality of feed raw materials so utilized. INDIA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL FEED PRODUCTION As per Alltech's global feed survey 2016, the global commercial feed production reached almost a billion tons, with China (180 million tons), USA the U.S. (174 million tons), Brazil (69 million tons), India (32 million tons), and Mexico (31 million tons) occupying the top 5 spots. The analytical observation made here focuses on two points; the share of India in overall global feed production and its relative performance among the top 5 providers. Regarding the former, India has a mere 3.2% share of global feed production, and incorporating the latter, stands around a sixth of 18.1% share of China and 17.5% share of the USA. Within India, some key trends are driving the consumption of animal sourced products, which has an impact on animal feed market, and in turn, the animal feed raw material market. As reported in the lower house of country's parliament in March 2017, India currently leads the global milk production with 155 million tons of production. Similarly, the production of eggs and meat has also increased by over 6 and 8 percent respectively in the first half of 2016.
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
INDIA: TOWARDS A GLOBAL FEED RAW MATERIALS SUPPLIER Owing to rising disposable income levels in the emerging economies and increase in health and environmental concerns in developed economies, there is a growing demand for organic based animal sourced products. Developed economies, specifically, are facing a supply side shortage, and this is precisely where India has a potential to satisfy the global demand. In the United States, for instance, the demand for organic certified animal sourced products has multiplied manifold in the past few years, with organic certified broiler demand growing about 20 times, layer demand about 9 times and turkey demand about 100 times during the years 2000 and 2014. ORGANIC FEED RAW MATERIAL As per the agricultural experts with MarketsandMarkets, India, as a supplier, has huge opportunities in tapping the organic feed raw material export market. This insight is based on the fact that though India currently ranks 15th in terms of global organic agricultural land, given the state backing through the National Programme for Organic Production which targets bringing half a million acres of land area under organic farming in three years with allocation support of over INR 400 crores, major developments are on the verge of happening. At the same time, looking at the in-house potential, the domestic organic food market itself is forecasted to cross USD one billion. In terms of global trade, the country exported over 165,000 tons of organic products during the year 2012-13, with feed grade soybean accounting for over 40 percent of total volume. NON-GMO FEED RAW MATERIAL As far as food and feed is concerned, India has stayed away from the use of genetically modified crops and
currently, only cotton production is based on GMO seeds to obtain fiber. An interesting observation here is the rising global demand for non-GMO labelled feed, with poultry sector being the major driver. With the potential already in place, the requirement is of a shift in production pattern towards adherence to global sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements. Also required is a mechanism to analyze, grade and label the feed products produced utilizing the non-GMO food crops. PRECISION NUTRITION FEED MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS Precision nutrition is based on the identification and satisfaction of specific requirements of individual livestock, rather than using the same technique and material for the entire batch. This practice is aimed at optimal nutrient composition, improved nutrient efficiency, cost optimization and real time monitoring and analysis on the back of technology. Apart from this, FAO highlights the sustainable aspect of this practice, as strategic supplementation of nutrients enhances rumen fermentation digestibility, which stimulates the feed intake, and ensures sustainable production through the reduction of methane and nitrogen excretion. This technique also incorporates the traceability of feed, in terms of its source and other production dynamics. Specifically given the growing trend for organic and non-GMO, India has a lot to gain in terms of being the required raw materials provider. COMMERCIAL SEAWEEDS Given over 7,500 kilometers of country's coastline and decreasing area under the cultivation of food crops, it is apparent that we need to tap upon and rely on marine options in the near future; backed also on its environment-friendly aspect. Seaweeds are plant-like organisms attached to rocks or other hard substrata in the coastal regions and are used in agriculture for crop quality enhancement, in animal feed to produce feed additives, as well as in human consumption. MarketsandMarkets projects this market to reach around USD 18 billion by the year 2021, growing at a rate of over 9%. Similarly, its usage in animal feed is also expected to reach half a billion dollars by the same year. FUTURE OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE Given the current state of agricultural sector in the country, in terms of land holding dynamics and lack of mechanization and farm level investment, there is some expected internal restructuring in the times to come. Contract farming is already an adopted practice in the country, with global brands venturing to occupy a share in processed and non-processed food market, through a backward supply chain integration towards farms. With state nod to 100% FDI in multi-brand processed
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In terms of feed raw material production, agricultural commodities like maize, soybean, rapeseed, and groundnut are witnessing an upward trend, driven not just by their use in human consumption, but the application in the feed industry.
07
ARTICLE
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
food retailing, this practice is going to be a major trend in medium to long term. However, a challenge that remains is the marginal nature of landholding structure, which prevents the buyers from entering into multiple purchase agreements, owing to its adverse cost aspect. As per MarketsandMarkets agricultural research head, Indian agriculture is on the verge of a phenomenal shift, as the future demand dynamics will promote cooperative model in crop production, like that witnessed in milk production, and will enable the integration of farmers on production level to promote better produce and adherence to the global phyto-sanitary requirements.
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Apart from this, given the liberal nature of policies in the past few years, a consolidation is on the cards within the industry, with major players leaning backwards towards the farm level production. This entails bringing a large number of scattered land pieces into a consolidated one, for the purpose of planning and production, and will enable the increased mechanization
08
and rise in farm level investment. These trends, going hand in hand, will give a customer orientation to the industry, and the focus will be on providing customized solutions, rather than as-is production, which is the trend currently. Apart from this, the already evolving regulatory framework will witness changes towards further liberalization of this sector, to the benefit of both the consumer and producer's surplus. THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, IS TO CREATE IT: ABRAHAM LINCOLN India, today, is a verge on becoming a force to reckon with, in terms of its supply side potential for the animal feed industry. Given the potential in satisfying the demand for organic feed, non-GMO based feed, commercial seaweeds and also precision nutrition feed requirements, the country has a lot to gain out of global demand-supply mismatches. To conclude, this potential in satisfying the global feed raw material demand will require an overhaul of the supply side of feed raw materials in the country. Cooperative models, industry integration, liberalization of investment, and dilution and even removal of archaic colonial era laws to create a countrywide market for agricultural products is not just the need of the hour, but the inherent pattern that will be witnessed in the times to come.
ARTICLE Image source: ottevanger
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
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Key issues in aquatic feed plant design
10
The aquaculture industry continues to wide range of applications based on the formulations grow-and with good reason. This trend (and ingredients) to be extruded pulls with it increased demand for high » The expected nutritional outcome (digestibility, feed quality feed and feed manufacturing conversion ratio, specific growth rates, etc) technology. It also calls for more feed » The expected physical outcome (shape, size, plant design flexibility in terms of raw buoyancy, water stability, structure, texture, etc) material choice. Aquatic feeds in general call for single screw extruders of Understanding customer and market (single screw) medium shear design. In some applications requirements lays the foundation for a (hatchery feeds for example) twin screw extruders might successful plant design. It is therefore be the right choice. vital to define accurately the scope of the project before proceeding to process The extruder choice and its capabilities to a large extend flow design, specification of equipment determines the up-stream and down-stream plant design. All design aspects up-stream and downstream from the and the general layout of a feed plant. extruder or pellet press should enjoy careful Few important key issues to be consideration. Some important issues as follows : considered during the development and design of an aquatic feed plant are as Up-Stream issues follows:
1.
Shaping the feed remains the heartbeat of the process Whether a pellet press or extruder is used, the choice of technology is vital. A general mistake in the case of extrusion is 2. failing to : »
Recognize the difference between various extrusion technologies. Extruders in the case of animal feeds are designed to be used in a very
Raw material storage - developments such as square silos provide flexibility in terms of batching plant and loadout design. Apart from a smaller footprint and better hygiene compared to traditional round silos, it also encourages aesthetics of the superstructure or feed mill building itself (figure 3). Size reduction - In general, specification for aquatic feed ingredient grist size ranges from an average diameter of 250 micron to 400 micron depending on the species. A sieve analysis should confirm that 90% to 95% of the raw ingredients falls within this range. Until recently this was achieved through a coarse
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 |3Issue 5 |5March 2017 Think Grain Think Feed - Volume | Issue | March 2017
Liquid Application - The ability of an aquatic feed pellet to absorb fat or another liquid during coating is mainly a function of the structure of the pellet (the volume of voids inside the pellet) and the surface area of the pellet. Adding enough fat to a sinking or slow sinking pellet for species or culture conditions where high energy levels are required, could be challenging. A vacuum coater overcomes this challenge and helps to “layer” liquids from the core of the pellet outwards as needed. This way, liquid with highest palatability can be positioned towards the outer perimeter and surface of the pellet where it can act as an attractant. Conveying and Transitional Equipment - choice of conveying equipment between down-stream operations should consider physical effect or damage to product and minimise chances of cross-contamination between runs of different formulations and products. General Issues In addition the following are always key to good plant design and how it complies with design codes, environmental and other regulations : grinding and fine grinding hammermill or pulveriser (double grinding). However, the latest developments in hammermill design allows for grinding ingredients to within this specification at grinding temperatures low enough to prevent any ingredient damage.
»
Online control of processing conditions such as moisture and water activity
»
Cross-contamination and its effect on producing safe feed
»
Dust Control
»
Odor Control
» Down-Stream issues Special care is taken » down-stream of the extruder as we now work with final product. Important issues down-stream worth mentioning are: »
Noise Control The social or visual Impact of the feed mill in the zone where it is planned. Figure 3 proves that functional engineering can be artwork as well Control over the effect of output on the environment
Operating Variable
Low Shear
Medium Shear
High Shear
Feed Moisture (%)
25 - 30
20 - 35
12 - 25
Maximum Product Temperature (°C)
50 - 80
125 - 175
150 - 200
L/D
5-8
10 - 20
4 - 12
D/H
3 - 4,5
5 - 10
7 - 12
Compression Ratio
1:1
2-3:1
3-5:1
Screw Speed (rpm)
60 - 200
200 - 450
450 - 650
Mechanical Energy Input (kWh/kg)
0,03 - 0,04
0.02 - 0,04
0,10 - 0,14
Heat Transfer through Barrel Jackets (kWh/kg) -0,01
0,0- 0,03
-0,03 - 0,0
Steam Injection into Barrel (kWh/kg)
0,00
0,0 - 0,04
0,0
Net Energy Input to Product (kWh/kg)
0,02 - 0,03
0,02 - 0,11
0,07 - 0,14
Typical Product Types
Macaroni RTE Breakfast Gelatinized starch Cereal 2nd generation General extruded snacks animal feeds Petfoods Aquatic feeds Soft moist petfoods Soft moist aquafeed RTE breakfast cerea
High oil content seeds Dextrinized starch Wet by-product TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) & TSP (Textured Soy Protein)
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Table 1 illustrates the difference in performance and operating conditions between different extruder types.
11
Dr. P E Vijay Anand
Present and Future trends for Indian Feed Industry by Dr. P E Vijay Anand, Deputy Regional Lead, USSEC Asia subcontinent an expert who knows tricks of the trade quite well. Below are the excepts from the interview:
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Please give us some idea about the soybean and soy meal consumption in India and also in the Asian Sub-continent over the last decade. What changes do you expect 10 years down the line?
12
Based on USDA's long term (16/17 years) data on Indian soybean, soy meal production and Indian soy meal consumption, the following can be deduced - Average production of soybeans for 16/17 years was 8.17/8.33 MMT; low of 4 MMT and a peak of 12.2 MMT. The peak of 12 MMT which was the highest ever produced was achieved only once. Average production of soy meal for 16 years was 5.52 MMT with a low of 2.69 MMT and a high of 7.72 MMT. Domestic consumption soy meal grew 3.66/4.00 times in this period while soybean and soy meal production grew only 1.65/2.22 and 1.38/2.00 times respectively. If this is the trend line evident to our industry/nation, then an urgent
action is required to address “Raw material” security with reference to soy meal which is a dependable, consistent source of protein for the feed and human food industries. (Note the two figures for example 8.17/8.33 are for 2015-16 and 2016/17 respectively. Because India has a better crop in 2016-17 it is important to have current updated comparisons). Relying on 10-15 years forward data/forecast is not a good business strategy – it's good to keep that data as a guide and a motivator but it's good to use a shorter window to assess opportunities that will allow one to get into action. The Indian market scenario is rapidly changing, no matter what subject one picks on. Opportunities are on the rise and so is demand for efficiencies and the desire for cost savings. Talking on the subject of “Nutritional security” – this is not new to us; a whole arena of problems and opportunities exist. Among the young in India, it's a popular saying that every 3-4 years there is an evident generation gap. This in a way indicates speed at which India is transforming. I think we would run out of stock of soy meal v/s growing demand in 3-4 years or cost effectiveness will trigger users to ask for soy meal that suit their changing business models. Here is an analysis for the past four years (shorter window). Soy meal consumption change for the period 2012-13 to 2015-16 is positive by 1180
TMT; soy meal production change is negative by 4000 TMT i.e. it is positive by 33% and negative by 46% respectively. With the current year's production in a much better state, we would expect the negativity to cut down to some extent. Prices are better at this moment and if this continues till the next crop, soy meal usage in animal feeds will increase further, adding to consumption growth. Times are changing. A few years back India had surplus meal on hand but due to growing demand (as seen from the data), the surplus is gradually dwindling. We have seen that the animal feed industry is consistently using 300,000 – 400,000 MT as incremental soy meal volume each year. The main drivers for this volume comes from usage by commercial broiler, commercial broiler breeder, commercial layer, fish feed and the shrimp feed industries. USDA has estimated Indian soy meal consumption at 4.70 million tons in 2015-16 and forecast that it would be 5.20 million tons in 2016-17. Viewing the region as a whole (2012/13 to 2016-17) - demand is growing very rapidly in the Asian Subcontinent (South Asia) which is forecasted to be 47.3% higher in India, 192.7% higher in Pakistan and 99.4% higher in Bangladesh. Overall demand in the Asian Subcontinent is forecasted to be 72.6% greater in 2016/17 that in 2012/13, the greatest percentage demand of any region compared to other world markets for meal. I think
With better production of soybean, this is something everyone stakeholder India is expected to export 1.8 MT in the feed industry should be aware of. of non-GMO soybean meal to In 2015-16 a total of 7.76 million tons Japan, Western Europe and France. of meal has been consumed in the Asia Your thoughts on India's soybean Subcontinent (Bangladesh 1.169; India export. 4.710; Pakistan 1.486; Sri Lanka 0.215; I agree with Indian exports at the and Nepal 0.180 million tons). To estimated 1.8 million tons this year. produce this volume of soy meal, about Indian soy meal is priced favorably 9.4 million tons of soybeans would have because of a good crop in 2016-17 in . been processed. As per the Solvent Extractors
proportional increases in usage. The key to higher usage will be determined by unchanged and or improved animal performances/ efficiencies and consistent supply and quality of such ingredients to support the growing feed industry. Asia Subcontinent's feed industry has produced 43 million tons of feed in 2016 as per Alletch's 2016 Global Feed Survey and this is bound to grow further, calling for raw material need/security. Consolidation of industry is considered as a huge unknown that can drastically change the scenario of worldwide feed industry; please share your observations for consolidation of Indian industry?
We have spoken about increasing efficiencies and cutting down costs as two major factors that will definitely come into play. These go hand-in-hand when the feed industry makes improvements. Consolidation is for improving efficiencies and profitability at all stages of the value chain. When What scope do you find in Association of India - 7,33,527 MT of we say efficiencies - it pertains to raw Aquaculture market in India and its soy meal has been shipped to offmaterial sourcing, raw material growth in North India? shore destinations. It is estimated that performances, analytical methods, feed about 500,000 MT has been exported mill machinery, processes, animal Consumers for farmed freshwater fish to India's neighbors, mainly to production, marketing, value addition exist in North and East India therefore Bangladesh. Considering these trend and the kind. Any business model this is a potential market for lines the forecasted exports can be thrives on these basics to try and get aquaculture products. Fish is also achieved. the best on their balance sheets. considered as a global “protein food�. Imagine if one could save fines Water is better supplied from the major There has been lot of research going North Indian rivers as an essential input on Alternative feed raw materials like produced in a feed mill and calculate power, labor, feed throughput loss, refor Aquaculture. The sector has not DDGS, Sorghum, canola meal and cycling cost etc on a large mill for a picked up much in North India given many more. What is the predictive period of one year, it could be pretty the potential/factors mentioned above. future of these alternative feed significant. Similarly if one could use Probably there is lack of knowledge on ingredients for usage in poultry and power saving equipment in a feed mill this sector or lack of entrepreneurship. livestock industry? these savings would show up on Putting in efforts to improve this gap I would think Soy meal still rules the profitability or serve as a resource to will improve the industry in North protein meal market. This is quite pay other petty bills. If one were to India. Based on what I discussed evident from USDA's assessment that adopt good logistic mechanisms and about chicken, one of the facts global soy meal consumption in cut down process, this would translate (protein for convenience) is probably 2016/17 (225. 071 million tons) which is to savings. If we are able to produce not being met with fish because of estimated at 47.396 MMT greater than more feed in fewer mills, this will inter-muscular bones in the flesh of in 2012/13 (177.675 million tons). That increase the amount of feed produced fish (particularly carps). This is a would be an increase of 26.7% which is and cut down costs. If more animal deterrent for most of the Indian amazing. This is because soy meal is products could be produced using less consumers. To overcome this time tested and has performed on land or water - the industry stands to constraint - India has to make reforms multiple animal species across the benefit from efficiencies. Based on the to help entrepreneurs produce new globe. Other raw material will no few instances quoted, I would think species, high value fish or fish with no doubt take positions and demonstrate consolidation is the way forward. intramuscular bones. Added to this
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processing and presenting fish protein in a customer friendly manner will knit together all opportunities for North India and India in general. Everyone knows fish protein is healthy and to make this more acceptable – hygienic post harvest handling, product availability and knowledge on fish products are educational opportunities that will help improve this industry. Note that India has a world hallmark of being the second largest country in the world (after China) for farmed fish production as per FAO.
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MARKET PROJECTION
Higher US grain exports remains under pressure Image source: Agro2b
The United States has exported an astonishing amount of grains in recent months - one-third more than a year ago - but the expectations are large so the progress must continue in order to meet the full-year goal. Since the corn and soybean marketing year began on Sept. 1, shipments of the two crops plus wheat total 73.8 million tonnes (2.77 billion bushels) through January. This is by far the largest volume on record for that period. With such heavy domestic supplies coming off last year, some agriculture market participants wondered just how much grain and oilseed products U.S. ports could support all at once, though these large volumes seem to prove the country is equipped to handle more than what may have been assumed. WHEAT US has fulfilled 63 percent of USDA's annual wheat export target through January - slightly below the usual level - so the final four months of the marketing year must be met with strong shipments.
not a solid case for a significant increase to 2016/17 U.S. soybean exports - which has been the tendency in recent years. CORN AND PRODUCTS
In the first five months of the 2016/17 marketing year, the United States has shipped the eighth largest volume of corn on record - some 22.7 million There are just over 10 million tonnes tonnes (894 million bushels). Through (384 million bushels) of wheat left to January, the country has fulfilled 40 ship by May 31 in order to meet USDA's percent of its annual target, which is 2016/17 projection of 1.025 billion ahead of the pace of recent years. bushels. SOYBEANS
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U.S. soybean exporters processed a monthly record 7.4 million tonnes (273 million bushels) of the oilseed in January, totaling 40.7 million tonnes (1.496 billion bushels) since Sept. 1.
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The stage appears to be set for USDA's 2.05 billion-bushel outlook to be reached by Aug. 31, although historically the highest export volumes in the second half of the marketing year - especially at the end - have arisen only when competitor South America struggles with its soybean crop. And things in the Southern Hemisphere are pretty favorable at this point. Still, there is no clear indication thus far that USDA needs to cut back its forecast going forward, but there is also
But similar to wheat, exported volumes of corn over the next six months need to be on the top end of what has been historically observed in order to reach the 2.225 billion-bushel forecast that USDA has on the balance sheet. A lot can happen between now and Aug. 31, particularly in South America, whose corn competes on the world export market toward the end of the United States' marketing year.
feed byproduct of ethanol production distillers' dried grains (DDGs) recorded the largest January export volume on record in 2017 of 937,628 tonnes. This brings the total since September to 4.8 million tonnes, just shy of last year's record 4.9 million. This is significant because China, traditionally one of the top buyers of U.S. DDGS, launched an anti-dumping investigation last year resulting in large tariffs on the product, which has considerably slowed purchases by the East Asian country. But other customers have been making larger-than-normal purchases, which is why 2016/17 DDGs exports are hanging with last year. Turkey proved to be the biggest anomaly in January, with additional support from several Asian buyers, including Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.
Production of ethanol - one of the main uses for corn in the United States - has Brazil and Argentina will be harvesting remained at record levels in recent their corn between now and August, months so there is certainly no and could steal some business from the shortage of DDGs in the country, United States if the relatively benign particularly with the abundance of weather pattern continues. Both other competitor feeds. But amid the countries are currently on track to relatively healthy export efforts, the harvest the largest corn crops in their supply of the feedgrain is perhaps not histories. piling up as much as feared. It is also worth noting that the animal
Source: Times of India
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
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INDUSTRY THOUGHT
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UNION BUDGET 2017
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Expert panel to curb high volatility in As per the budget, Agriculture is expected to grow at the Agri markets 4.1 % this fiscal, even the total area sown under current Rabi season is higher than last year. There has been an The Union Budget was announced on appreciation in Kharif crops like soybean as soy meal February 1 with three major reforms there was an indication for initiation of finds a greater use in poultry feed rations. The rise in production of crops such as Maize and soybean will be fiscal expending, followed by merging helpful in keeping poultry feed cost relatively cheaper of Rail Budget to the main budget in than the previous year. This would, in turn, enable addition to the elimination of plan and domestic consumption to remain better. Also, soy meal non-plan expenditures. The export share can improve significantly compared to last Government is willing to focus on year. Because of higher production of soybean, offers of subjects associated with farmers, rural soy meal have gone down and are currently at par with infra and employment, youth jobs and the global prices. The rise in production will mean skills, poor strengthening security, increment in exportable surplus. It is crucial to note that infrastructure, financial sector, digital economy, public efficiency governance as per recent USDA report, India's soybean meal exports is projected to rise to 1.8 MMT in MY2016/17, taking reforms, fiscal discipline, tax stability. into account a larger harvest and growing crush leading Risks related to crude oil price to greater exportable supplies. fluctuations, fed policy and global announcements were highlighted during the budget session. The Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley said that the agenda for 2017-18 is transformed, energise and clean India, i.e. tech India. The country has moved from a discretionary based administration to a policy and system-based administration.
The government has raised the target for agri credit at INR 10 lakh crore in 2017-18. Allocation for the rural sector for FY18 is INR 1,87,223 Cr, which represents an increase of 24%. Fasal Bima Yojana coverage to be increased from 30 to 40 percent in 2017-18 and 50% in 2018-19, and present allocation is raised to INR 13,240 crore next fiscal, from INR 5,500 crore now. The government has shown interest to support computerization and integration of Primary Agriculture
INDUSTRY THOUGHT
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Credit Societies (PACS), which act as the front end for loan disbursements. Higher credit target for agriculture and computerization and integration of Primary Agriculture Credit Societies will be important in improving the fund flow in rural areas. The focus will be on irrigation and crop insurance to help mitigate climate vagaries. It is also conveyed that demonetization will help in a cleaner, healthier GDP. Digital economy will be beneficial in removing corruption and fiscal discipline. The budget proposes National Agri markets to be expanded 585 markets from current 250 markets, which will help farmers in selling their produce to any mandi across India and get a reasonable price for their products. This move shall also enable transporting goods from excess to regions deficient in the relevant produce, eventually leading to price control and benefit the consumers. The government soon will be launching two new schemes that will provide information on crops, government schemes, weather and other information directly to the farmers. Transportation railways is also proposed to implement end-to-end connectivity for some commodities with the help of logistics firms.
The government had also proposed an expert panel, which is to be constituted to study and prepare a framework to integrate spot and derivatives markets for commodities. The introduction of a draft bill for integration of Spot and Derivatives markets for commodities trading is likely to curbing high volatility in the Agri markets. This will be beneficial for farmers and traders for hedging purpose. Therefore a stronger market framework for commodities can provide better price signals and benefit farmers. The feed industry is the biggest demand driver for soybean meal and since soy meal is also traded in future, it will help the feed industry with lower price volatility risk in near future. Besides, irrigation corpus increased from INR 20,000 crore to INR 40,000 crore. Focus on irrigation and crop insurance will contribute in managing the risks associated with the climate. The Agricultural credit target for 2017-18 is fixed at INR 10 trillion, an 11% increase from the 2016-17 target of INR 9 trillion. Budgetary provision for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is at INR 48,000 crore, up from the INR 47,499 crore revised estimate for FY17. The fertiliser subsidy for 2017-18 is at INR 70,000 crore, similar to 2016-17. According to ICAR, subsidy for P&K (phosphorous and potash) fertilisers in the nutrientbased subsidy scheme has been hiked marginally. All in all, the government has retained subsidy at the currentyear level, despite a reduction in costs necessitating a lower subsidy requirement for 2017-18. Where previous years' subsidy dues stand around INR 32,000 crore, this move shall bring a significant reduction at least, if not wiped out completely.
Major highlights of the budget and its subsequent benefits are summarised in table 1: KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS/HIGHLIGHTS Various measures to increase production/productivity
EXPECTED BENEFIT/BENEFITS 1)
Cheaper prices of agricultural crops
2)
Cheaper inputs for feed rations hence lower cost for the feed ration processing
3)
Rise in Kharif oilseed production like soybean to boost exports of feed inputs like soy meal
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4)
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Introduction of draft bill for integration of Spot and Derivatives markets for commodities trading Target for agri credit raised Fasal Bima Yojna allocation raised to Rs 13,240 crore next fiscal, from Rs 5,500 crore now National agri markets to be expanded from the current 250 to 585 Hike in budgetary provision for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Fertiliser subsidy retained at current-year level
Rise in soy meal exports beneficial for enhancing dollar reserves for India Help the entire soy value chain including the feed industry to experience lower price volatility risk (for hedging purpose), in future Important in improving the fund flow in rural areas Fasal Bima Yojna should be securing farmers against crop damage in long run Farmers may sell their produce to any mandi across India and get a reasonable price for their products Create employment opportunities and productive assets for rural area Result in significant cost reduction
INDUSTRY NEWS
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
Maize output forecasts to triple in Zimbabwe
This is assuming there is an improvement in yields from the previous year's 0.8 tonnes per hectare to 1.8 tonnes per hectare. Zimbabwe requires 2.2 million tonnes of maize annually for both human and livestock consumption. Persistent, and at times, heavy rains have been received across the country since the start of the second half of the
Although other factors such as the fall armyworm; the shortage of fertiliser; water logging and leaching have militated against the 2016/17 crop in some parts of the country, agricultural experts still expect a bumper harvest across all food crops. Zimbabwe expects to produce up to 1.8 million tonnes of the staple maize in 2017 from 512,000 tonnes last year due to good rains received this season, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said recently. RBZ governor John Mangudya said the favorable rains would boost agricultural productivity and help stimulate economic growth given that the country's economy was agriculture based. "The good agricultural season that is anticipated to produce around
1,500,000 - 1,800,000 tonnes of maize and other cereals from 1,595,000 hectares requires government to mobilize funding for the Grain Marketing Board to purchase grain from farmers," the governor said in the 2017 first-half monetary policy statement. He said cotton seed output was also forecast to rise to 100,000 tonnes from 32,000 tonnes last year. But Zimbabwe Farmers Union president, Abdul Nyathi, was more conservative saying they were estimating 1.750 million tonnes of maize to be produced because a quarter of the maize crop was destroyed by too much water and was also affected by the fall armyworm.
The 1.750 million tonnes of maize translates to 75 percent of the country's annual requirements. Historically, there is a correlation between good rains and good harvests and Zimbabwe will once again bask in the glory of a bumper harvest. Source: Financial Gazette (Harare)
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Recent statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that at least 2.2 million tonnes of maize would be produced at the end of the summer cropping season from the 1.2 million hectares of maize planted.
2016/17 rainfall season in January. This has resulted in normal to above normal rainfall for the entire country, a striking contrast to the drought conditions experienced during the same period over the past two seasons.
Image source: Creative Thinking Ventures
For the first time in years, Zimbabwe is expected to produce enough grain to feed itself where harvest time is in April. This follows good rains in nearly all parts of the country. After experiencing consecutive droughts over the years which was not helped by poor planning, the country has been surviving on food imports and handouts from donors.
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MARKET SURVEY Image source: Seed Management Services
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
Survey Report: Benefits & Challenges in Phytogenic Feed Additives applied to modern animal production. These include anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and Digestibility enhancement is ranked as digestion enhancing effects. the number one reason that the livestock industry uses phytogenic feed Feed conversion key additives as per recently concluded When asked about the relative importance of the benefits survey of more than one thousand of phytogenic feed additives to their business, agribusiness professionals. respondents overwhelmingly chose enhanced feed
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Perceived benefits
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The antimicrobial effects of phytogenics ranked second overall—while they constituted the top motivation for respondents in the Western hemisphere. The use of PFAs within an antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) replacement strategy and growth promotion ranked third and fourth place, respectively. “Research supports the perceived benefits that professionals report in the field,” stated Michael Noonan, Global Product Manager Phytogenics at BIOMIN. Plant-based compounds –specifically essential oils, herbs and extracts– are known to have a range of biologically active properties that can be
efficiency, or an improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) as the most important benefit of PFA application. “Feed efficiency speaks to the core concern of every livestock and feed producer in a globally competitive market,” observed Mr Noonan. “At BIOMIN, improving feed efficiency has been the main thrust of our research and product development around phytogenics in recent years.” Challenges The survey also explored reasons why respondents do not use PFAs. They cited a lack of scientific and commercial trial results along with uncertainty regarding which product to choose as the top 3 reasons not to use phytogenics. “To deliver innovative science-based solutions, we co-
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The importance of PFA benefits: feed and other respondents.
authored 20 scientific papers on phytogenics in 2016 and conducted over 300 commercial trials on PFAs in recent years,” explained Mr Noonan.
Source: 2017 BIOMIN Phytogenic Feed Additives Survey
On-farm improvements Research and education are key to how BIOMIN engages with the industry on phytogenics, as part of its ambition to become market leader in phytogenics by 2020.
“These results afford us the opportunity to enter into genuine dialogue about the current state of the art in phytogenic feed additives, and how they can apply to specific on-farm scenarios,” he added. BIOMIN deploys a global team of expert technical sales managers who support clients through on-site visits, education and advice. According to BIOMIN projections, the PFA market could surpass US$1 billion by 2023.
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“By collecting customers' views, we gain a greater understanding of where agribusiness professionals see value in the use of PFAs and what challenges they encounter in real life. It's a way for us to connect science with better outcomes for clients,” said Mr Noonan.
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EVENT COVERAGE
Feed Tech Expo 2017 (FTE17): Business platform for Feed Industry
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Feed professionals from all across the country participated in 2nd edition of Feed Tech Expo-only feed event of the India organized by BENISON Media. The 3-day event was inaugurated by Dr. B.S. Prakash, ADG (AN & P), ICAR, New Delhi. The exposition started with one day conference on the theme, “Innovations for Sustainable Feed Industry�, at New Grain Market, Karnal.
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"Malnutrition along with nutritional security and food safety are of prime concern in India. Over the years, we have laid greater emphasis on crop based agricultural production. No doubt, we have achieved remarkable increase in food grains production, but the animal sub sector unfortunately has not been given proper attention to grow up to its full potential," said Dr. Prakash said in his inaugural address. "It is rather high time that the focus should now shift to animal agriculture, and increase its financial outlay as per its potential," he added.
production to the next level and remain competitive in producing nutritive food for feeding our huge population. FTE 17 was organized to bring the latest feed technology on single platform and share the knowledge about producing more efficient and complete feed for poultry and livestock industry. FTE 17 therefore focused on solutions for the feed industry that are important and relevant to the development of overall industry. Dr. T.K. Walli, Chairman of the conference and former President, Animal Nutrition Society of India, pointed out that apart from increasing the tonnage of compound feed manufacture, in order to feed huge population of livestock, poultry and fish stock in our country, it is time that feed manufacturers also produce quality and safe feed. The feed quality standards laid out by BIS, must be truly adhered to, and agencies involved in quality checks need to become more pro active to assure that only good quality feed is marketed in the country. Feed safety will lead us to food safety. Focus on Safe feed production in the country: The first day conference was attended by 127 delegates consisted of feed millers, integrators, dairy cooperatives, progressive farmers and other feed professionals. The presentations by eminent speakers from animal nutrition research and feed industry during the day- long conference spread over three technical sessions. Below are the sessionwise recommendations from the conference
The theme address of the conference was presented by Dr. Anup Kalra, CEO, Ayurvet, who talked about the importance Access to raw feed material of innovations for taking animal feed
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
protein, minerals, fibre, Ca :P ratio should be taken care of in the compound feed.
India suffers from feed shortage, however, the country exports huge quantities of feed raw material, especially soybean, while the maize is imported. The country also imports certain feed additives, amino acids and other essentials, it is time we rely less on imports of these items and start making in India.
2.
Certification of raw materials/finished products for quality assurance and regulatory framework is essential.
3.
Favourable policies should be framed to produce newer feed raw material and also improve the production of animal feed ingredients.
4.
Potentiality of sea weeds/extracts etc. as animal feed/additives should be given priority.
5.
Since India is number two in fruit and vegetable production, the use of fruit and vegetable wastes as animal feed ingredients accompanied with simple technology of drying and silage making, could bridge the gap between demand and supply of nutrients for different species of animals.
Feed Production Technology 1.
Standard operating procedures (SOP) must be followed in feed milling.
2.
Balancing of nutrients like energy,
The feed millers have to innovate, adopt new practices and offer flexibility to meet the demand of mid–sized farms. Custom mixing, ration balancing, working more closely with the individual farm will become necessary for survival.
4.
Advancements in newer raw materials may result in newer feed stock that may require newer feed formulations.
5.
Newer developments in processing technology should be adopted to increase production efficiency and environmental sustainability.
6.
Equipment advancement and digital age becomes even further intertwined with information technology, eventually allowing for a flow of detail throughout the steps in the food chain where farm, feed mill, processing plant and consumers are concerned.
7.
Ingredients, which are low in carbon footprint should be given preference for making compound feed.
Feed efficiency and feed safety 1.
Antinutritional factors like tannis, phytates, saponons, protease inhibitors, NSPs etc are intrinsic factors that have toxic effects on nutrient utilization and feed efficiency. While mycotixins, pesticide residues, heavy
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1.
3.
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EVENT COVERAGE
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
metals, bacterial toxins extrinsic factors, reduce feed availability and nutrient concentration and cause toxicity in poultry from liberated toxins. 2.
3.
The importance of safety regulations to produce safe feed, should be strictly adhered to, by the feed millers for sustaining feed efficiency. Although pathogenic bacteria, molds and yeasts can affect nutritional quality of feed raw
material (FRM), all these can be safely reduced by increasing pelleting temperatures combined with heat resistant organic acids bound to their salts. 4.
Pelleting often results in reducing the moisture content of the feed, which can be compensated by moisture optimizing management approaches, such as Moisture Management System (MMS).
5.
Feed raw materials need to be properly screened for aflotoxins, fungus, fungicides/ pesticides, before buying in bulk.
6.
In view of the consumer resistance to the use of antibiotics as growth enhancers, industry has to explore newer approaches towards gut modulation, including the use of prebiotics, probiotics, short chain fatty acids, enzymes, aromatic plant extracts and essential oils (Eos).
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During 2nd day of the event, an awareness program was organized by US Soybean Export Council in association with Poultry Federation of India. The half day event was well attended by farmers and industry representatives.
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Prachi Arora, BENISON Media said that, "the idea to organize this event was to build a single point business platform dedicated to the feed industry, and I feel honored to announce that 90% of exhibitors were satisfied with their participation and showed their interest to join us again in the next edition". The participation area was increased by almost 80% which proves the well acceptance of the event by the industry. The 3-day event was attended by 2734 visitors who participated from various parts of the India and also from Nepal, Bangladesh and Africa. We hope to bring another edition of well planned event to you soon.
INDUSTRY NEWS Image source: ICT Update
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
Estimating crop yields from space By using high-res photos snapped by a new wave of compact satellites, crop yield can be estimated from space. Stanford researchers have developed a new way to estimate crop yields from space, using high-resolution photos snapped by a new wave of compact satellites. The approach could be used to estimate agricultural productivity and test intervention strategies in poor regions of the world where data are currently extremely scarce.
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Image source: Stanford Earth Sciences
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“Improving agricultural productivity is going to be one of the main ways to reduce hunger and improve livelihoods in poor parts of the world,” said studycoauthor Marshall Burke, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. “But to improve agricultural productivity, we first have to measure it, and unfortunately this isn't done on most
farms around the world.” Earth-observing satellites have been around for over 3 decades, but most of the imagery they capture has not been high-enough resolution to visualise the very small agricultural fields typical in developing countries. Recently, however, satellites have shrunk in both size and cost while simultaneously improving in resolution, and today there are several companies competing to launch refrigerator- and shoebox-sized satellites into space that take high resolution images of Earth. Accurate predictions In the new study, researchers set out to test whether the images from this new wave of satellites are good enough reliably estimate crop yields. The researchers focused on an area in Western Kenya where there are a lot of smallholder farmers that grow maize. The scientists compared two different methods for estimating agricultural productivity yields using satellite imagery. The first approach involved “ground truthing,” or conducting ground surveys to check the accuracy of yield estimates calculated using the satellite data. "We get a lot of great data, but it's incredibly time consuming and fairly expensive, meaning we can only survey at most a thousand or so farmers during one campaign," said Marshall Burke."If you want to scale up our operation, you don't want to have to recollect ground survey data everywhere in the world." For this reason, the team also tested an alternative "uncalibrated" approach that did not depend on ground survey data to make predictions. Instead, it uses a computer model of how crops grow, along with information on local weather conditions, to help interpret the satellite imagery and predict yields. The researchers have plans to scale up their project and test their approach across more of Africa. Source: Stanford
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Image source: CountryDetail
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
New research claims to raise wheat yields by 50% A non-toxic chemical intervention induces wheat plants to produce more starch, shows findings published in Nature
molecule which leads wheat plants to produce more starch, thereby leading to a 50% rise in yields (in lab and field trials),” Misra said during an interview.
In a year when India was forced to import over five million tonnes of wheat due to a production shortfall at home, new research by an Indian scientist offers hope that wheat yields could be raised significantly by a chemical intervention in existing varieties.
The water-soluble power can either be used as a nutrient solution to the root zone of plants or even sprayed, he said, adding, “The same technology has potential applications in other starchbased crops like maize, rice and potatoes.”
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A water-soluble white powder—similar to Trehalose-6-Phosphate (T6P), a central sugar signal in wheat plants—can enhance levels of starch and biomass produced by the plants, the research shows.
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The findings of the collaborative research project of Oxford University with Ram Sagar Misra, a chemistry professor at Shiv Nadar University (SNU), India, was published in Nature journal in December 2016. Apart from Misra, the research team includes Benjamin Davis, a professor at the University of Oxford, and Matthew Paul, a scientist from Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK. “The technology is completely new where we use a sugar-based signalling
Not just raising yields, the technology can also offer solutions to counter effects of moisture stress and drought. According to the paper published in Nature, the research shows “that chemical intervention in a potent sugar signal increases grain yield, whereas application to vegetative tissue improves recovery and resurrection from drought”. The technology can be a respite for India where wheat production took a hit in 2015 and 2016 due to widespread drought and imports surged to the highest seen in a decade. India is likely to harvest a record 96.6 million tonnes beginning April this year, but a warmer winter may shave off some of the gains of a normal monsoon last year. The discovery is significant too as
average wheat yield in India is below that of average yields seen in countries like China, leaving significant room for improvement. “In a country like India with significant resistance to genetically modified crops, the technology will be more acceptable, and also because it is nontoxic and environment friendly,” Misra added. The collaborative research which took close to a decade to develop could take some more time before it reaches farmers. “We are now looking to collaborate with agriculture companies to conduct extensive field trails and a handful of Indian and Israeli companies have expressed interest,” Misra said. “This technology can be easily and widely replicated across other crops as well—so potential benefits are enormous,” said A.D.N. Bajpai, ViceChancellor, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. “It can co-exist and be integrated with existing crop technologies, without any ethical or safety issues. The only question now is how soon can this be brought to the market,” Bajpai added. Source: livemint
2017
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Think Grain Think Feed - Volume 3 | Issue 5 | March 2017
APRIL AgraME Date: 10-12 April 2017 Venue: Dubai International Exhibition Centre, Dubai Email: ciaran.noonan@informa.com Web: www.agramiddleeast.com
Poultry & Livestock Bangladesh Expo Date: 26-29 April 2017 Venue: Dhaka, Bangladesh Email: contact@cems-foodagro.com Web: www.cems-foodagro.com
MAY IDMA Date: 4-7 May 2017 Venue: Istanbul Expo Centre, Turkey Email: info@idma.com.tr Web: www.idma.com.tr
Feed Expo Philippines Date: 24-26 May 2017 Venue: SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, Philippines Email: michael.blancas@ubm.com Web: www.livestockphilippines.com
JULY AGRENA Middle East Date: 13-15 July 2017 Venue: Cairo International Exhibition Centre Email: maarcservices@gmail.com Web: www.agrena.net
FIAAP Animal Nutrition Conference Date: 14 July 2017 Venue: Cologne, Germany Email: maarcservices@gmail.com Web: www.victam.com
First Annual Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada Date: 10-11 May 2017 Venue: Quebec City, Canada Email: info@anacan.org Web: www.anacan.org
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Aqua Aquaria India Date: 21-23 April 2017 Venue: Andhra Loyola College Campus, Vijayawada, India Email: traduciruso@gmail.com Web: www.aquaaquaria.com
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To list any industry event related to Grain & Feed industry please write us at editor@benisonmedia.com