Interview of Commissioner Wojciechowski

The European Committee of Wine Companies (Comité Vins – CEEV) presented in the European Parliament, the outcomes of an exclusive study carried out by PwC which has quantified the impressive socio-economic and environmental contribution of the wine sector to the European Union.

“With almost 3 million jobs and a contribution of €130 billion to the EU GDP in 2022, equivalent to 0.8% of the total, the wine sector plays a fundamental role in the socioeconomic sustainability of rural areas of the EU. A blessing against rural depopulation,” said Mauricio González-Gordon, President of CEEV. “Furthermore, its complex supply chain generates almost the same market value at all stages of production – from grape cultivation to winemaking and subsequent commercialization – which represents an example of a balanced value system, which must be preserved politically.” he added.

The objective of the report was to quantify the economic contribution of the wine sector to the EU, considering each stage of its value chain, and recognizing its impact on R&D, society, culture and the environment.

The report shows how the EU wine sector is a leader in different areas:

• Internationally, it leads the world wine market, representing 62% of global wine production and trade. With exports worth €17.9 billion in 2022 and a positive trade balance of €15.9 billion, wine played a crucial role in reducing the EU trade deficit by 3.7%.
• The wine sector is a qualitative socio-economic anchor for rural areas of the EU. On a social level, wine regions tend to experience less demographic decline and on an economic level, vineyards are 37% more profitable than other permanent crops.
• The EU wine sector is a hotbed of jobs, mainly in rural areas, and represents 1.4% of total EU employment. These jobs exhibit exceptional productivity, generating greater value added per employee compared to similar activities at each stage of the value chain (+90% in agriculture, +16% in manufacturing and +5% in commercialization).
• The total fiscal impact generated by the wine sector amounted to almost €52 billion in 2022, equivalent to 0.7% of the EU’s government expenditure.
• Wine has also emerged as a tourist draw and, consequently, a key economic catalyst in many rural regions, generating almost €15 billion in revenue.
• On the environmental side, the report shows how the more than 3.2 million hectares of vineyards in the EU contribute to the sustainability of the EU environment in many ways, such as increasing biodiversity, limiting soil erosion, improving water management and providing fire protection.

“The overall balance of wine for EU society is impressive and clearly positive,” stated Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary General of the CEEV. “But this success story remains delicate and needs to be supported by further adapting the complex legal framework that applies to wine, while preserving wine culture against those attacks that attempt to demonize it. Harming EU wine is damaging EU culture, EU society and the EU economy,” he added.
Full version of the report, here

After reaching its highest level over the last three years in October 2023, the EU agri-food trade surplus continued to further grow in November 2023. It reached €6.9 billion, +3% higher than the previous month and +27% higher compared to November 2022. The cumulative trade balance from January to November 2023 reached €64.8 billion. This is €12 billion higher compared to the same period in 2022. These are the main findings of the latest monthly agri-food trade report published today by the European Commission.

Exports

In November 2023, EU agri-food exports reached €20 billion. Cumulative exports since January reached €210.8 billion, with main increases for processed products, including cereal preparations and preparations of fruit and nuts.

In terms of exported products, cereal preparations and milling product exports increased by +7% compared to 2022 (+€1.4 billion), followed by fruit and vegetable preparations (+14%, +€1.3 billion) and confectionary and chocolate (+12%, +€1.1 billion). However, some sectors experienced decrease. For example, the value of cereal exports decreased by -14%. This is explained by reduced export prices whiles volumes exported actually increased by 7%.

EU exports to the United Kingdom increased by +8% from January to November 2023, primarily due to higher prices for cereal preparations, fruit and nuts, confectionery, chocolate, and pigmeat. The United States saw a decrease of -7% due to reduced spirits and liqueurs exports. China was the third destination, despite a -5% decrease due to lower pigmeat exports. Exports to Türkiye (+21%, +€781 million) and Ukraine (+19%, +€494 million) also saw significant growth.

The top three destinations for EU agri-food exports between January and November 2023 remained the United Kingdom, the United States, and China.

Imports

In November 2023, EU agri-food imports reached €13.1 billion, -16% below November 2022 levels. Cumulative imports from January to November 2023 were €146.1 billion, -7% below 2022 levels.

In term of imported products, the largest increases in cumulative import value were for tobacco products, sugar and isoglucose, vegetables, and olives and olive oil. However, significant reductions were observed for oilseeds, protein crops, vegetable oils, non-edible products, coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, and margarine and other oils and fats due to price and volume reductions.

Between January and November 2023, Brazil accounted for 11% of EU imports, but imports decreased by -13% due to reduced volumes of soya beans, coffee, and maize. The United Kingdom was the second source, with a slight increase of +€290 million. Ukraine was the third, but cumulative imports decreased by -6% compared to the same period in 2022. Imports from Türkiye and Egypt had the largest increases in cereals, fruit, nuts, vegetables, olives, and olive oil.

More insights as well as detailed tables are available below in the latest edition of the monthly EU agri-food trade report.

More information

Monitoring EU agri-food trade: developments in November 2023 - English (1.07 MB - PDF)

The seventh edition of the international exhibition of technology and machinery for agriculture ended yesterday evening in Bari - with a record number of visitors. Business people from 60 countries, more than 50 conferences, 1,200 business meetings reserved to foreign delegations of the ICE Agency. Rendez-vous for the next edition in October 2025.

Agrilevante closes its 2023 edition with a record number of attendees, confirming its position as the reference exhibition for agriculture in the entire Mediterranean area. During the four days of the exhibition - attended by 350 manufacturers of machinery and technologies for arable crops, specialised crops, animal husbandry and bioenergy, including 50 foreigners from 20 countries - there were 94,900 visitors, 18% more than at the last edition, held in October 2019 before the break due to the Covid emergency. The number of foreign visitors from over 60 countries was also up, reaching 4,050, a 14% increase over the previous edition.
"The government is looking with priority interest at the potential of agriculture in the Mediterranean area and the opportunities for cooperation in this sector," said Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani in a message at the conclusion of the event, "in particular with the countries of the Southern Shore, also in the strategic perspective of the fight against human trafficking". "We are working to strengthen the sustainability and solidity of supply chains from a regional perspective," the Minister added, "and to counter the food crisis that has particularly affected the vast Sahel area stretching from the Gulf of Guinea to the Horn of Africa".
"The exhibition fully respected its mission," said FederUnacoma President Mariateresa Maschio, "that of offering farms in southern Italy new-generation technologies to be increasingly competitive and sustainable, and at the same time that of suggesting better production standards and more efficient farming models to countries in the Mediterranean area, primarily in the North African and Middle Eastern belt, but also in larger areas". After all, the market for agricultural machinery is growing throughout the Mediterranean area, as confirmed by the more than 1,200 business meetings held in the ICE Agency pavilion, which were attended by businesspeople from official foreign delegations from 27 countries.
"Agrilevante celebrates the great success in terms of public," says FederUnacoma General Manager Simona Rapastella, "but also the quality of the technologies presented, the richness of the content of the more than 50 conferences and workshops that animated these days, the harmony with the trade fair body and the institutions. 'Agrilevante', Rapastella concludes, "is the place where the agriculture of the future is known and where it is planned".
"Agriculture is the history of our region. It is from here that we must build our future and we must be able to encourage new young entrepreneurs to study and specialise in this sector, which today represents an aggregate of products and production techniques of the highest technological specialisation," said the president of the Nuova Fiera del Levante, Gaetano Frulli, who hosted the international exhibition. "Bringing such an important appointment as Agrilevante back to Nuova Fiera del Levante," Frulli added, "was a strategic choice and will be so for a long time".

"I would like to thank the top management of FederUnacoma, President Mariateresa Maschio and General Manager Simona Rapastella, for believing in us, and I am sure that together our partnership will develop even further. Nuova Fiera del Levante presents itself as the most appropriate tool to help companies develop their business and present their products," concluded President Frulli, "but above all it has a duty to help develop knowledge and expertise, as we have been able to do at this event, participating in and promoting conferences and events, focusing more and more on specialised trade fair activities. Agrilevante will return to Bari in October 2025".

The great exhibition of agricultural machinery for the Mediterranean area, scheduled in Bari from 5 to 8 October, will inaugurate the REAL section, entirely dedicated to robotics and advanced electronics. A trial field will also be set up in the area where visitors will be able to see in action some of the latest generation technologies for typical vineyard operations.

A 300 square metre trial field is set up as a vineyard with three 14 metre rows. It is in this environment - set up in an open-air area of the Fiera del Levante, between the New Pavilion and Pavilion 19 - that during the four days of the Agrilevante event practical tests of agricultural robots specialised in vineyard work will be held. From tool-carrying machines to drones for spraying, right up to intelligent sensors that make production and vegetation maps (useful for estimating the harvest and assessing the pesticide state and ripening indexes of the crop), the section on robotics and advanced electronics, called REAL (Robotics and Electronics for Agriculture Live) showcases a wide range of latest-generation technologies, constituting one of the novelties of the 2023 edition of the great Bari exhibition.
The leading manufacturers of automated systems for agriculture are therefore expected in Bari from 5 to 8 October. In addition to Merlo, Vitibot, Pek Automotive and DJI
- announces FederUnacoma, the Italian association of agricultural machinery manufacturers which is also the direct organiser of Agrilevante - the brands Niteko, ReAgri and Xagrifly have also formalised their participation together with the University of Bari, with which they have important research projects underway, and the company Field Robotics in collaboration with the University of Bologna. The organisers of Agrilevante are still collecting subscriptions to the REAL initiative, and it is therefore likely that the number of companies taking part will increase in the coming weeks, in view of the growing interest in this cutting-edge market segment among operators in the sector.

Expected manufacturers: Merlo, Vitibot, Pek Automotive, DJI, Niteko, ReAgri and Xagrifly, Field Robotics

The use of robots and electronic devices in agriculture is destined to grow exponentially, as these make it possible to optimise the use of production factors, significantly reducing costs, the consumption of resources, but also the environmental impact of processing, with particular reference to viticulture. These technologies are of strategic importance for the Mediterranean region - FederUnacoma emphasises - which is exposed more than others to the consequences of climate change, rising prices of raw materials, and the growing shortage of labour. Together with the REAL initiative, the Agrilevante exhibition includes another exhibition area - in the New Pavilion - dedicated to advanced electronic devices for precision agriculture and the digitalisation of farms.

The Greek agricultural sector has trusted WELTEC BIOPOWER‘s biogas technologies since 2007 - and this trend is continuing. Most recently, three biogas plants were built, which the German manufacturer designed together with its Greek cooperation partner Tetoros Machinery. Two of these are located in the Epirus region, in northwestern Greece: a 1-megawatt plant in the town of Arta and a 500-kilowatt plant in Ioannina. The third one, a 250-kilowatt biogas plant project, was realized in Serres, in central Macedonia. Here, an upgrade of the CHP plant to 750 kilowatts is also being implemented. The plant in Ioannina will go into production in the fall of 2023.

The region around Epirus is particularly rural. Poultry and cattle production dominate the area. As in many other intensive farming areas, the biomass supply there is higher than the processing capacity of the existing plants. The construction of new biogas plants and the modernization of existing ones are therefore profitable, especially since such projects are supported by subsidies. Thus, not least, the rich substrate supply at the three plant locations was also an important factor for the investment decisions.

At the 1-megawatt plant in Arta, 150 tons of cattle slurry and 50 tons of dry chicken manure are processed daily. At the biogas plant site in Ioannina, the daily input is made up of 100 tons of cattle slurry and 30 tons of dry chicken manure. And in Serres, a substrate mix of 40 tons of cattle manure and 10 tons of energy plants enters the stainless steel digester daily. Here, in addition to his cattle farming, the operator owns land on which corn is grown.

At all three sites, the materials are first sent to a pre-storage tank. Special agitators and pump technology ensures the pretreatment. In the digesters, the proven agitators then mix the substrates for efficient biogas production. The two digesters in Arta each hold 4436 cbm, in Ioannina there is a 3993-cbm digester, and the tank in Serres measures 4905 cbm. ''All tanks are made of high-grade stainless steel'', specifies the responsible process engineer at WELTEC BIOPOWER, Tobias Peuker. According to him, the fermentation residue from the digester with its high nutrient content can also be used as fertilizer afterwards.

The three biogas projects are an important part of the Greek energy transition. For example, according to a report by DAPEEP S.A., the Greek market operator for renewable energy sources, new biomass, and biogas plants with a total capacity of 7 megawatts came online in the first half of 2022. The Greek Energy and Climate Plan aims to double the share of renewable energy in electricity generation from 30 % in 2021 to 60 % in 2030. WELTEC BIOPOWER has already implemented a total of around 36 biogas plants and projects there since 2007. And the path to decarbonization continues to make progress: In the summer of 2023, Greece‘s entire one-day energy demand could have been supplied from renewable energy sources for the first time. ''This means we are well on our way and will continue to make our contribution to achieving the goal'', predicts WELTEC BIOPOWER‘s Greek sales partner, John Tetoros.

From 5 to 8 October, the great event organised by FederUnacoma and dedicated to the agricultural supply chains of the Mediterranean area will be back on stage in Bari. New features of the 2023 edition include a large space for gardening and landscaping, and an exhibition area dedicated to robotics for agriculture, as well as several initiatives being planned. Simona Rapastella: "the fair talks about the crucial challenges of this important geographical area".
More than 8 thousand models of machines and equipment for agriculture, gardening and related components, dozens of conventions and meetings on technical and economic-political topics, an exhibition area of more than 30 thousand square metres (80% already occupied and the remaining 20% to be sold out in the coming weeks).

These are the figures for the 2023 edition of Agrilevante, the major exhibition of technologies for typical Mediterranean area agriculture, organised by FederUnacoma, held in Bari from 5 to 8 October and presented during the opening day of Agriumbria.
"The exhibition makes its return after the 2021 edition was suspended due to the health emergency," said FederUnacoma General Manager Simona Rapastella at the press conference, "and is confirmed as an event capable of involving all players in the agrifood supply chain, and in the economic, political, educational and training worlds." These sectors are joined by the gardening and landscaping sector, which will be expanded this year and is aimed at the audience of professional maintenance technicians and hobbyists, and advanced electronics and robotics, which will have a dedicated space at Agrilevante for the first time.
The collaboration with AIA (Italian Breeders' Association), Ara Puglia (Regional Breeders' Association) and Umbria Fiere for the organisation of the livestock show is being renewed.

"In order to rationally accommodate all sections of the exhibition," Rapastella explained, "the exhibition spaces will be partly redesigned. The large New Pavilion will remain the pivot of the event, and the Congress Centre will host the scheduled cultural and popular events. Next to the Centre will be the new structure reserved for official foreign delegations, where business-to-business meetings organised by FederUnacoma in cooperation with ICE will be held.
The 2023 edition of Agrilevante will be increasingly social. In addition to the usual promotional initiatives in traditional media, a Google campaign active in Italy and 20 countries in the Mediterranean area has been planned, while a dedicated team is already following the show's social media channels. In the coming months and during the event, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube content will be developed thanks to the collaboration of content creators from the sector and young students from the Faculty of Agriculture in Bari.
"Agrilevante is therefore the exhibition that presents the Mediterranean in its geographical peculiarities, in its agricultural production, in its demand for technologies and in its development models; and at the same time," concluded Rapastella, "it is the exhibition that talks about the crucial challenges of this region, those of the environment, political and social stability, integration, skills and professional training."

The Board of Directions of the association SORGHUM ID elected Pierre Pagès President of the organisation.
Since 2017, SORGHUM ID has been working to develop the European sorghum sector.
Pierre Pagès is a producer of seeds of maize, sunflower and soybean. He also grows sorghum and other grains in the South-West of France. Present on the Board of Directors of the interprofessional association SORGHUM ID since its creation in 2017, he represents and chairs the FNPSMS (the French National Federation of Maize and Sorghum Seed Production). In addition, he is Vice President of Euralis, President of Lidea, and committed as Vice President of SEMAE, the French interprofessional organisation for seeds and plants.
Pierre Pagès now hopes to continue the activities that his predecessor, Daniel Peyraube, carried out; he held this position since the association’s creation and remains an active member of SORGHUM ID’s Board of Directors.

A grain adapted to climate change

The 5th most-consumed grain globally, used for human food, cattle-feed production and energy production, Sorghum’s production is growing in Europe, as evidenced by the European areas observed in recent years, which average around 260,000 ha. This increase in areas is explained by sorghum’s good adaptation to climate change, a major issue for farmers and society now more than ever. Moreover, within the current economic-inflation context, this grain is proving to be relevant due to its input and water efficiency, and its low pest exposure.

An active and committed sector

The European and interprofessional organisation for sorghum SORGHUM ID groups together some thirty organisations and companies who represent various components of the European sector: production, research, food and industrial opportunities. Aiming to unite and mobilise all the actors to create a group dynamic, the association acts to develop European sorghum production and its hybrid gene. SORGHUM ID also represents and defends sorghum’s interests in the European courts and States and, at the same time, carries out promotional activities demonstrating sorghum’s technical and economic benefits at production level, as well as its uses and opportunities.
Sorghum is a real crop of the future, and currently, a global reflection on sorghum research, innovation and industry is taking place. As a major actor in this sector, SORGHUM ID will participate in and speak at the second World Sorghum Conference, taking place from 5 to 8 June 2023 in Montpelier.
For more information, click here.

The new President Pierre Pagès stated, “We must continue the efforts to promote sorghum and add value to the work of the entire sector that is working to give sorghum its rightful place in Europe. I hope SORGHUM ID continues to develop the European sector by becoming structured through research, production and adding value to its opportunities.”

The 45th edition of the world exhibition of agricultural machinery closes with the extraordinary number of 327,100 visitors, which improves the record of 2018 (317,000) and establishes itself as a top event on the international scene.

Rendez-vous in Bologna, for the next edition, from 6 to 10 November 2024.

The 2022 edition of EIMA international reached its highest ever result, with 327,100 visitors, of whom 57,300 from abroad. During the five days of the exhibition - an event of worldwide importance for the agricultural machinery sector, organised by FederUnacoma - the number of visitors exceeded the record (317,000) set in the 2018 edition, before the crisis caused by the pandemic.

The Bologna exhibition thus overcame the most critical two-year period for trade exhibition events (2020-2022), brought about first by the health emergency and then by the difficult economic situation, and strengthened its leadership in the trade exhibition landscape. Foreign visitors, from every continent, accounted for 18% of the total attendance, and 80 official delegations of economic operators - organised thanks to the ICE Agency - animated business meetings in the Foreign Delegations Pavilion that was specially set up.

"The success of EIMA confirms the growing interest in new-generation agricultural technologies to meet the food needs of a global population that will grow by almost a billion within the next ten years - declared FederUnacoma president Alessandro Malavolti - and confirms how in every region of the world, work is being done to innovate cultivation methods, seeking to make scientific and sustainable use of water resources and soil fertility". "In this perspective - added Malavolti - a trade exhibition like EIMA has an important mission also for the years to come".

"The result of this edition is the result of a very rigorous monitoring that we carry out as a Federation, trying to offer manufacturers and the trade public increasingly efficient trade exhibition services - added FederUnacoma General Manager Simona Rapastella - and it is also the result of the substantial investments we have made to promote the exhibition and to involve all strategic targets". "Additional investments were made by BolognaFiere to improve the structures of the exhibition centre - concluded Rapastella - which will continue in the coming years in step with a show that has a great present and a great future".

The next edition of EIMA International is already set for 6 to 10 November 2024, but a major event for agricultural machienry will also take place next year, with the return of Agrilevante by EIMA, the exhibition dedicated to mechanisation for crops in the Mediterranean area, which will be held at the Bari exhibition centre from 5 to 8 October 2023.

Oerth Bio (pronounced “earth”), an agricultural biotechnology company pioneering targeted protein degraders in plants, and Yara International, a world leading crop nutrition company, today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration applying Oerth’s novel protein degrader technology to crop efficiency applications.

The collaboration will focus on boosting plant resilience to combat escalating climate stress impacting crop production and farm economics. The companies will co-develop novel products to improve nutrient use efficiency and strengthen plant resilience to climate change. By linking Yara’s agronomic expertise in crop physiology and crop nutrition to Oerth’s specialization in rational design of plant protein degraders, the collaboration will develop unique products to activate precision plant stress tolerance.

Lars Roesag, EVP Corporate Development & Deputy CEO, Yara International:

“This collaboration will be a game-changing win for farmers - a completely new product range to safeguard crop quality and yield, even as climate challenges increase and become more unpredictable.”

Yara sees tremendous promise in the new technology, as indicated by Yara Senior Vice President of Agronomy and R&D, Markus Himken, “This collaboration will catapult Yara’s competitive footprint, offering farmers plant nutrition solutions specifically targeting plant resilience and improved crop quality - setting a new sustainable agriculture paradigm.”

The collaboration merges Yara’s ambition for a nature-positive food future, and Oerth’s vision that protein degrader technology will transform agriculture. Oerth’s Attune^™ platform harnesses a naturally occurring protein recycling system that precisely tunes climate-adaptable crops.

The companies are devoted to the idea that human health begins with plant health. They share a foundational commitment to sustainable and nutritious food system solutions, as Apostolos Klontzaris, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at Oerth Bio remarked, “This will be the first in a series of solutions that will enable crops to withstand climate change, enhance input efficiency, and improve food nutrient profiles. We are inspiring and motivating the necessary transition to high-quality food. Such mission-critical collaborations symbolize our longstanding commitment to humanity.

John Dombrosky, CEO, Oerth Bio:

“We believe PROTAC^® degrader technology is the sustainable answer to a safe, productive, resilient, and more nutritious food system. By partnering with agricultural leaders like Yara, we are poised to deliver tangible benefit to farmers, as they face fast emerging operational complexity and climate challenges."

Syngenta Crop Protection was recognized as a winner in 5 award categories at the annual Crop Science Awards, a strong endorsement of its best-in-class scientific, technological and leadership contributions within the global crop protection industry.

“We are very honored to be recognized with such prestigious awards in so many categories,” said Jeff Rowe, President of Syngenta Crop Protection. “We work hard to bring innovation that enables farmers worldwide to grow their crops productively, and to secure a more sustainable future for agriculture. Congratulations to all the teams that worked hard over many years to make these achievements possible, and special thanks to Jon Parr for his outstanding contributions to the agriculture industry.”

Best R&D Pipeline

Syngenta invests significantly in its innovation capabilities and through many collaborations, to bring world-class science and cutting-edge technologies to growers in the years to come. This sustained annual R&D investment has resulted in novel technologies that will enable growers to farm more sustainably and productively, while protecting and enhancing crop and soil health. One such example is TYMIRIUM^® technology which protects the farm’s soil health and biodiversity even as it controls harmful microscopic nematodes that feed on plant roots.

Best New Crop Protection Product or Trait

VIRANTRA^™ is the product containing PLINAZOLIN^® technology active ingredient launched in Argentina in December 2021. PLINAZOLIN^® technology allows farmers to effectively control insect pressure over a wide range of crops and geographies, while addressing the urgent threat of rising resistance to existing insecticides.

Best Stewardship Program

Our Manejo Consciente campaign was introduced to address the first signs of fungicide resistance in soybean rust in Brazil. This ambitious stewardship campaign involved one-to-one meetings with more than 2,400 growers spanning an area of over 850,000 km2, based on a new product positioning and agronomic recommendations. It achieved adoption rates of more than 73%, playing a significant role in delaying the spread of fungicide resistance.

Best Marketing Program

After ALADE^® and MITRION^® were registered for soybean disease control in Brazil in 2021 on an accelerated timeline, despite challenges brought on by pandemic restrictions, Syngenta conducted 1,900 certified trials with farmers and researchers, which provided invaluable data and opportunities to promote the benefits of these two products. This campaign reached soybean growers across the entire country, and it emerged as one of the largest demand generation campaigns in recent times.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Jon Parr recently retired as President of Crop Protection, after a distinguished 35-year career that included many highlights. These ranged from the launch of our blockbuster fungicide AMISTAR^® two decades ago, to more recently setting the strategic direction that strengthened Syngenta’s innovation capabilities and propelled its leadership in biologicals. Key to his success as a leader was his ability to foster a winning culture and continuously challenged the organization to keep focus on the farmer’s needs; he encouraged collaboration, innovation, empowerment and strongly valued diverse teams.

Iodine is present everywhere, but in only small quantities. Most agricultural top soils and irrigation water contain very low concentrations, and it is often not available for plant uptake. A deficiency of iodine in plants is predicted to cause yield losses, similar to deficiency of any other plant nutrient. For optimal crop production iodine should be supplied to crops at the right dosage. Co-application of iodine with potassium nitrate makes it easy for the farmers to ensure the right amount of iodine in the nutrient solution and prevents excess uptake of iodine in leaves or fruits.

SQM, a leading global specialty fertilizer producer, has been quick to follow up on these latest discoveries. In response to new information highlighting the importance of iodine as an essential plant nutrient, the Chilean-based company has developed a specialty fertilizer with iodine for fertigated crops. This allows growers to apply iodine as a plant micronutrient in a form that is guaranteed to be safe and at an effective science-based dose.

The newly-launched product, known as Ultrasol^®ine K Plus, combines two essential plant macronutrients – potassium and nitrate nitrogen – with iodine. The product ensures that they are applied at well-defined application rates. This makes it easy for the grower to maintain an effective and safe concentration of iodine in the root zone. As a result, Ultrasol^®ine K Plus can prevent iodine deficiency in crops without the risk of excessive iodine application.

The product has already been extensively tested globally and is backed by more than 100 well-documented trials with growers. The experience of these growers has confirmed that iodine can deliver distinct benefits – including improvements to:

• Root growth
• Above ground plant growth
• Photosynthesis
• Nitrogen metabolism
• Tolerance to abiotic stress
• Flowering and fruit quality with less fruit rot and better shelf life.

After this commercial launch, Ultrasol^®ine K Plus will be available for orders since July 18, 2022. For any commercial or technical request,
please contact spn-emea@sqm.com or your local authorized distributor.

Registration figures indicate a drop in the first five months of 2022, but still high sales volumes. Tractors are down 11% compared to the same period in 2021, but remain well above (+13%) the average of the last four years. Manufacturers' President Alessandro Malavolti speaks of a "technical downturn", due not to an actual drop in demand but to problems in the supply chain that have slowed down the pace of delivery of mechanical equipment.

In the first five months of this year, the agricultural machinery market in Italy recorded a downturn compared to the same period in 2021, but sales volumes nevertheless remained high. After last year's record results, when sales of tractors grew by 36% (24,400 units registered) and substantial increases were also recorded for combine harvesters (+30%), tractors with loading platforms (+19.7%), trailers (+20.4%) and telehandlers (+56%), in the period January-May 2022 - according to data provided by the Ministry of Transport and processed by FederUnacoma - declines were recorded for all types. Tractors recorded a decrease of 11% (9,182 vehicles sold in the five months), and tractors with loading platform (-13.9%), trailers (-9%) and telehandlers (-24.3%) were also down, while only combine harvesters recorded a surplus, equal to 2.3 percentage points. Despite the downturns, market levels remain high, and tractors are still 13% above the average of the last four years. Good levels are also being maintained by the market for gardening and landscaping equipment, which in the first three months of the year posted a drop of 7.4%, to be considered natural after the boom in sales in the first quarter of last year (+39.4%), and after a 2021 final result that was nevertheless largely positive (+14%).

Analysing the market trend at the FederUnacoma Annual General Meeting, President Alessandro Malavolti explained that the drop in registrations of agricultural machinery should be interpreted as a "technical downturn", i.e. not caused by a real drop in demand, but rather by delays in the supply chain that have prevented manufacturers, faced with a high number of orders, from respecting the delivery times of mechanical equipment. The general economic situation, which was affected by the conflict in Ukraine, does not seem to have significantly influenced the sector's market, which in each of the five months of the year maintained the same percentage drop (around ten points) without showing any worsening in the months of March, April and May, which were characterised precisely by the military crisis. The resilience of the domestic market - noted the manufacturers' chairman - is also the result of a fairly consistent system of incentives. Several financial support tools are active this year, some of which are also cumulative: the tax credit for 4.0, the Isi (Inail) Decree for machinery with high safety standards, the Sabatini Law for capital goods, as well as the European Union programmes, i.e. the PSR and the PNRR, which have a multi-year duration and aim to support farms in the purchase of new and high-tech equipment.

The Alltech ONE Conference (ONE) wrapped up in Lexington, Kentucky, after a robust agenda of in-person and virtual activities and presentations. ONE welcomed nearly 2,000 international delegates in person, with an additional 5,000 participating virtually. Now in its 38th year, this world-class event brought inspiring keynote speakers and more than 100 industry leaders to the stage, sharing valuable insights in live workshops and focus tracks and uncovering the challenges and opportunities in agriculture, business, health and wellness, and professional development.

“We must unify and take action, today, for the future of agriculture and our planet,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “Together, we have the collective courage and impact to work together for a Planet of Plenty^™.”

Lyons was joined on the ONE Mainstage for the closing session by Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs, and world-class blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer.

Ebeling was recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders. He is a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award and is listed as one of the world’s most influential creative people by The Creativity 50s. Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation, and as a career producer and filmmaker, he harvests the power of technology and storytelling to change the world.

“What we do is, we start by telling the story of one person,” said Ebeling. “And then, telling the story of that one person, that’s what scales us to help many people.”

Despite losing his vision at age 14, Weihenmayer is an accomplished climber, paraglider, skier and kayaker who never allows blindness to interfere with his passion for pursuing an exhilarating and fulfilling life. In 2001, he became the first blind person in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 2008, he completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent. Additionally, he has ascended dozens of major peaks, rock walls and ice climbs around the planet, including the first blind ascent of the 3,000-foot Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and the ascent of a rarely climbed 3,000-foot frozen waterfall in Nepal.

“We could all stand on this stage and talk about our accomplishments, but what doesn’t get talked about enough are our struggles,” said Weihenmayer.

During the closing session, Lyons presented the Alltech Humanitarian Award, an award that is bestowed annually to someone of strong character who uses their platform to positively influence and inspire those around them, to both Ebeling and Weihenmayer.

“We are pleased to present friends and first-time double Alltech Humanitarian Awards to Mick Ebeling and Erik Weihenmayer at the Alltech ONE Conference,” said Lyons.

Previous award winners have included Muhammad Ali, Steve Wozniak, Bear Grylls and late Alltech founder and Mark’s father, Dr. Pearse Lyons.

As Lyons closed, he noted a mantra often repeated by his father.

“‘Don’t get it right. Get it going,’ … And he was right! It’s not about perfectionism, it’s about progress. If we change the lens and the way we look at things, we can change the way we think.”

The Alltech ONE Conference returns May 21–23, 2023. For more information, visit one.alltech.com

About Alltech

Founded in 1980 by Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech delivers smarter, more sustainable solutions for agriculture. Our products improve the health and performance of plants and animals, resulting in better nutrition for consumers and a decreased environmental impact.
We are a global leader in the animal health industry, producing specialty ingredients, premix supplements, feed and complete feed. Strengthened by more than 40 years of scientific research, we carry forward a legacy of innovation and a unique culture that views challenges through an entrepreneurial lens.
Our more than 5,000 talented team members worldwide share our vision for a Planet of Plenty™. We believe agriculture has the greatest potential to shape the future of our planet, but it will take all of us working together, led by science, technology and a shared will to make a difference.
Alltech is a private, family-owned company, which allows us to adapt quickly to our customers’ needs and maintain focus on advanced innovation. Headquartered just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Alltech has a strong presence in all regions of the world. For more information, visit alltech.com

On the occasion of the media event “R&D Pipeline update: Bayer Crop Science” we requested an exclusive interview with Dr. Robert Reiter - Head of Research and Development, Bayer Crop Science.

Could you provide us with more detailed information about the new herbicide molecule, which is the first new mode of action in post-emergence weed control in 30 years? Is it going to be the Glyphosate alternative?

The new herbicide mode of action we announced in 2020 is currently in Phase 3. It is an innovative new herbicide with the potential of recharging farmers’ toolbox to cope with increased resistance spread in major grass weeds. It demonstrates effective broad weed control including key resistant grasses, e.g. Ryegrass, Goosegrass and Sourgrass. Furthermore, it opens new opportunities for Herbicide tolerance trait systems in major crops.

However, it will complement the other modes of actions that are available. So one mode of action does not necessarily replace the other. Glyphosate will remain one of the most important herbicides for farmers going forward, given its effectiveness and its safety profile.

Biotech traits: Could you give us a short and simple explanation of this technology and reveal Bayer’s key products of this technology that will be available for commercial sale? Do the European farmers have access to this technology? Specifically, about corn: Could you describe the advantages and the technology behind the short stature corn hybrids - Will be available to the European farmers? Will Bayer also produce corn biostimulants?

Biotechnology in general and Gene editing is a fast-moving field, with many opportunities for researchers to introduce edits and drive change. With that said, we are continuing to innovate alongside this fast pace of change, and we remain confident that we have built the industry's leading portfolio of gene editing tools through licensing and independent research. As of now, we have over 200 exciting targets across our discovery Pipeline across a range of research areas including disease, crop productivity, and grain quality. We think that plant breeding innovation (including NGTs like genome editing) can positively contribute to improve sustainability, food security, and more productive climate-smart agriculture. And that this can be accomplished without compromising on safety, by ensuring a fit-for-purpose regulatory system is in place that ensures food and environmental safety, as well as public transparency.

We advocate for a regulatory approach regarding gene edited plants, which considers both the technical process of breeding and development, and the end product of that process. Regulators have long understood and trusted the safety of products derived from conventional breeding, which involves lengthy trialing, testing and intense selection process to deliver new crop varieties that are safe to grow and consume. Gene editing is the latest breeding tool in a long line of innovations in plant breeding. We believe any regulatory review of crop products developed using gene editing should be risk-based and grounded in science to assure that products are safe for use by humans and animals, and for the environment.

We recommend developing a new EU legislative framework to specifically address the regulatory oversight of plant varieties developed with genome editing and other plant breeding innovation. Such legislation should ensure a clear differentiation between GMO’s and genome-edited plants that could also be obtained through earlier breeding methods or result from spontaneous processes in nature. A new framework for genome edited plants would enable the marketing of sustainable ag solutions and allow for the continued oversight of GMOs without negatively impacting global commodity trade.

Short stature corn is a reduced height, improved stalk strength variety that delivers improved standability and resilience against a host of natural variables. Short stature corn offers the potential to transform corn production through benefits that include:

• Protection from crop yield loss due to increased lodging and greensnap tolerance in high winds and challenging weather conditions.
• Season-long access to timely, precise applications of crop protection and other inputs with standard ground equipment.
• Improved yield potential through optimized crop inputs, planting densities and field placement.

Since last year's Showcase, our short stature corn hybrids developed through breeding have advanced to Phase 4, moving one step closer to reaching farmers’ fields.

Our initial trials indicate that the root systems of breeding trait short stature corn hybrids demonstrate the potential to explore more soil volume faster than standard height corn hybrids, which could lead to better stress tolerance and nutrient and water absorption.
Short stature corn's improved standability also allows growers to pursue planting densities up to 40 percent greater than that possible through traditional corn, and ultimately produce more on every acre. We currently are pursuing short stature corn through three technological approaches – breeding, biotechnology and gene editing. This variety offers the flexibility to navigate global regulations and reach a wider range of markets faster. The breeding version is also suitable for the European market.

All three approaches deliver similar benefits, and we do not plan to stack different short stature corn technologies.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Reiter
Head of Research and Development, Bayer Crop Science

Dr. Robert (Bob) Reiter serves as Head of Research & Development for the Crop Science division of Bayer. In this role, he is a member of the Crop Science Executive Leadership Team and oversees the research and development pipeline for the division.

Having held various leadership roles across Research and Development as well as in Supply Chain, Reiter has nearly 30 years of experience in discovering, developing and delivering innovative R&D solutions in crop science.

He holds a Master of Science and a Doctorate in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from The Pennsylvania State University.

Russia and Ukraine are world powers in a global and fragile food system. The long-term consequences of the war on global food supply will impact both the rich and the poor parts of the world. It is essential to reduce the dependency on Russia.

We are extremely concerned about the grave situation which is now unfolding in Ukraine and stand fully behind the Norwegian government's condemnation of the Russian military invasion. Yara has been directly hit by the conflict both by having employees in the war zone in Ukraine and by a missile that hit the Yara office building in Kiev. Fortunately, none of our employees were physically harmed. At the same time, we are sourcing a considerable amount of essential raw materials from Russia, used for food production worldwide.

In addition to the immediate threat to life, and the gruesome sufferings that we are witnessing in Ukraine, few things are more important than access to food. While we can choose to delay consumption of most products and services, food is an essential good. In 2015, the international community decided to eradicate hunger by 2030. Over the last two years, several external shocks, including climate change, the pandemic and increased European gas prices have exposed the weaknesses in the food system and the urgency for change. The World Bank highlighted that even though the current food supply is stable, food prices increase in most countries in the world. In 2020, around 800 million people went hungry to bed, representing an increase of 120 million people from 2019. The war threatens to reinforce this development. Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, had the following reaction: “Just when you thought it could not get any worse (….) Now, food, fuel & transport costs will skyrocket. An absolute catastrophe” he said and announced their extraordinary efforts to help the more than three million people fleeing from the war.

Russia and Ukraine are world powers in agriculture and food production:

• Ukraine is one of the world’s leading agricultural nations and the world’s second biggest within grains. The farmers are now entering a crucial stage in the agricultural season in which input factors such as fertilizer, seeds and water will determine the yield of the coming harvest. The most extreme calculations indicate that if fertilizer is not added to the soil, the crops can be reduced by 50% by the next harvest.
• In addition to being one of the largest producers of wheat, Russia has enormous resources in terms of nutrients. Plants need nitrogen, phosphate, and potash to grow. Nitrogen is supplied from ammonia, which is produced from nitrogen from air and natural gas. The importance of gas has been on the agenda in the debate around the high European gas prices in 2021 and beginning of 2022. 40% of the European gas supply is currently coming from Russia. With regards to potash (a salt extracted from clay deposits), the market is highly concentrated and fragile towards change. Today, 70% of extracted potash and 80% of all exported comes from Canada (40%), Belarus (20%) and Russia (19%). In total, 25% of European supply of these three nutrients come from Russia.

Yara is both a provider of solutions to the agricultural sector in Ukraine and a big buyer of raw materials from Russia. We always comply with current regulations, sanctions and our own guidelines. Free float of goods across boarders has been possible in a time with higher geopolitical stability. Now, with the geopolitical conditions out of balance, the biggest sources of raw material to Europe’s food production are being subject to limitations, and there are no short-term alternatives. One potential consequence is that only the most privileged part of the world population gets access to enough food.

Higher food- and fertilizer prices may positively impact Yara’s bottom line in the short-term. However, the societal and economic perspectives are completely in sync in the longer term: Long-term value creation for private companies can only be achieved through a sustainable food system with food being affordable and accessible to the world population. A world with unstable food supply is a world with famine in parts of the world, increased mortality, armed conflict, migration, riots, and destabilized societies which can further accelerate geopolitical tensions.

It is therefore crucial that the international community come together and work to secure world food production and reduce dependency on Russia, even though the number of alternatives today is limited. This constitutes a difficult dilemma between continuing sourcing from Russia on a short-term basis or cut off Russia from the international food chains. The last option may have considerable social consequences. These considerations are not to be taken by individual companies but need to be made by national and international authorities.

The urgency now lies in helping Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. At the same time, we are pleading Norwegian and international governments to get together and protect the global food production and work together to decrease dependency on Russia.

yara.com

The prize rewards land use and soil management practices mitigating soil threats i.e. soil degradation, erosion, reduction of organic matter content, diffuse contamination, and compaction as well as the reduction of soil biodiversity, salinization, sealing, flooding and landslides. In doing so, the award sheds light on outstanding achievements, encouraging new concepts of land and soil protection and their implementation in land management, as well as enhancing awareness about the importance of land and soil functions.

Who can apply?

Farmers, landowners, land managers, groups of farmers, on their own or in collaboration with research institutes, universities and/or private companies. The call is open for applicants from all European countries.

Why apply?

To recognize the great value of the farmer’s work, by promoting the winning project as a good practice at the European level. Also, to enhance the visibility of such ways of farming at the local, national as well as European scale and to encourage the farmers to further develop their work in a sustainable path.
5.000 € is awarded to the winning project every year. The Jury can also award a Diploma of Recognition.

How to apply?

The call for application is open from October 1, 2021 you need to send the filled-out application form latest on January 31, 2022. The award is bestowed to the winner every year during the Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) Gala Dinner.

Apply here

Partners

This award has been launched in 2008 by the European Landowners’ Organization (ELO), under the auspices of the European Commission (DG Environment and the Joint Research Centre) and in association with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) of Vienna, Syngenta International AG, as well as the Centre for Soil and Environmental Sciences of the Ljubljana University. Since then, the award jury has selected outstanding achievements throughout the European Union in the field of sustainable soil and land management.

As a part of its development strategy, VELTIA Labs for Life® Group – member of the Groups Tentamus® and Redestos - has advanced to further expand its current activity in Turkey, where a lab in Antalya region is already operating the last two years. More specifically, the majority stake of STA KALITE Kontrol lab, which is located in Mersin, has just been acquired.

STA, with an annual turnover of over 1m € in the last three years, was established in 2011 and covers a broad spectrum of analyses in the Food and Feed sectors, as well as in the Environmental sector. It is accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 for a broad spectrum of analyses and parameters, while is also approved by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture.
STA Labs boasts high-level services in chemical, microbiological, molecular, GMO, pesticide residues and toxins analyses. They fully meet the needs of the local market, the control of imported products in Turkey, and to a great extent, the audit requirements of Turkish exported agri-food products.
The corporate culture being a perfect fit in terms of the quality of services provided, reliability and continuous growth, constituted the principal reason for choosing this specific strategic partnership.
This is a partnership which will lead directly to further investments in Turkey, in selected commercial and industrial centres of the country, for further expansion of the services provided to its partners. It is based on the high-level know-how of VELTIA Labs for Life® and Tentamus®, on the high reputation of STA, as well as on the expertise of its human capital.
Given Tentamus® Group’s growth policy at global level and in combination with the decision for development in the broader geographical region solely through VELTIA Labs for Life® a new era begins. The dynamic presence of VELTIA in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Turkey is further strengthened through this strategic move, marking the start of an ambitious growth cycle in the region of SE Europe by VELTIA Labs for Life®.

Abstract

Efficiently controlling crop pests and pathogens is essential for securing agricultural production and quality of produce. Current crop protection practices rely heavily on the use of agrochemicals, but their constant use has come with a significant burden to the environment and has given rise to resistant pest and pathogen pollutions, thus limiting our ability to effectively control them. Therefore, new methods are needed to protect crops. RNAi interference (RNAi), or otherwise known as RNA silencing, has emerged during the last two decades as a new and powerful method to disease control. The RNAi technology exploits a natural biological process in eukaryotic cells that tunes down (“silences”) the expression of genes. By directing the molecules that trigger RNAi against essential genes in crop pests and pathogens, we can thus kill these organisms or hinder their ability to infect plants. RNAi is already exploited in therapeutic applications in humans and holds great promise in its use in agriculture as well.

Main body

2020 was declared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as the International Year of Plant Health. This was an educated and timely decision that intended to highlight the importance of crop protection in securing global food production.
Diseases caused by pests and pathogens cause a significant reduction in crop yields and quality of food produce, thus leading to substantial economic losses and further threatening global food security. It is estimated that up to 42% of the global food production can be lost every year to plant pests and diseases. At the individual crop level, losses to pests and pathogens in the world’s top five staple food crops can mound to 28% in wheat, 41% in rice, 41% in maize, 21% for potato, and 32% in soybean. Food spoilage caused by mycotoxins secreted by fungi in contaminated food and feed is another frequently overlooked factor that adds to the economic losses inflicted by fungal pathogens.

The use of agrochemicals has so far been central to crop protection and contributed significantly to the increase in crop yields. Due to their constant use, however, resistance to agrochemicals is nowadays widely spread among pests and pathogens. Most agrochemicals used in crop protection exert their toxic action by binding and inhibiting the function of vital enzymes and proteins in cells, thus killing the target pest. Cells may then acquire resistance to these chemicals by modifying the structure of the targeted enzymes and proteins, thus preventing the binding of the chemicals to them.

RNAi functions by interfering with the mechanism in the cells that produces enzymes and proteins in the first place. It thus has the potential to avoid many problems associated with conventional chemical pesticides, and offers new and complementary opportunities in disease control. The genetic information that make up all living organisms is contained within the DNA sequence of its genes. Genes control through their expression the organism’s function, by regulating what enzymes and proteins are produced at any given moment in a cell. RNAi ‘silences’ gene expression in cells, thus disrupting their ability to produce the enzymes or proteins that they enocode. RNAi can be used to silence the expression of a single or multiple genes at the same time and, depending on the function of these genes, their silencing may have detrimental consequences for the organisms or alter its characteristics.

The elucidation in the mid-1990s of the RNAi mechanism, was a turning-point to the exploitation of the RNAi technology in a wide array of biotechnological applications in agriculture and therapeutic treatments in humans. In crop science, the RNAi technology has been used to alter or improve the agronomic traits of several crops, including for example enhancing the nutrient content of tomatoes, wheat, canola, cotton, peanut, maize and sweet potato, reducing nicotine and caffeine levels in tobacco and coffee respectively, reducing allergenicity in peanuts and ryegrass, and inducing male sterility in crops such as tobacco, thus accelerating the production of hybrid seeds.

RNAi technology in crop protection has followed two main routes

RNAi has also created exciting new opportunities in plant disease control. Its application in crop protection has followed two main routes, depending on whether RNAi was deployed through the generation of transgenic plants that produce the molecules that induce silencing of the target genes in pests and pathogens, an approach generally referred to as Host-Induced Gene Silencing (HIGS), or through the external (i.e. topical) application of these molecules in the form of RNAi-biopesticides.

HIGS is so far the main approach by which the RNAi technology has been commercialized for use in crop protection and to date, it has been successfully used against various pests and pathogens, including aphids, nematodes, viruses, oomycetes and fungi, in crops such as wheat, barley, cotton and others. Several also transgenic plants with increased resistance to viruses or insects have been approved by regulatory organizations for commercial use and deployment in the fields. Some of the most prominent examples include the approval for planting in the US and Canada of transgenic maize with RNAi-based resistance against the western corn rootworm (WCR) Diabrotica virgifera, the commercialization of plums in the US with resistance against the plum pox virus (PPV), of beans in Brazil with resistance against bean golden mosaic virus (BGMV), of papaya in Hawaii against papaya ring spot virus (PRSV), of potatoes with transgenic resistance to potato leafroll virus (PLRV), and several others. However, despite its potential, HIGS is faced with many challenges, including difficulties in transforming many agronomically important plant species and public acceptance of transgenic plants.

The so-called “spray-induced gene silencing” (SIGS) has emerged over the last decade as a novel, non-transgenic disease control method

An alternative to the HIGS approach uses exogenous applications of the molecules that induce silencing of the target genes in pests and pathogens. The so-called “spray-induced gene silencing” (SIGS) has emerged over the last decade as a novel, non-transgenic disease control method, and several efforts are currently underway to produce RNAi-biopesticides that can be used as sprayable products or products for root drenching, seed treatments, trunk injections or baits. Although not commercialized yet, foliar applications of RNAi-inducing molecules have proven very successful in trials against several insect pests, including for example of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri, the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, and of several others. SIGS was also shown to successfully reduce infections by Botrytis cinerea on tomato and Fusarium graminearum on barley, indicating that the method can be used against fungi as well. However, despite its potential, a limitation in the adoption and marketability of SIGS in crop protection is the high cost for the production of the RNAi-inducing molecules and the low stability of these molecules in the environment. To overcome these limitations, a variety of synthetic materials that encapsulate and protect the RNAi-inducing molecules are currently under development. So-called ‘bioclay’ for example that is made of a double-layered hydroxide clay nanosheet, is shown to provide sufficient protection of the RNAi-inducing molecules and further enables their slower release, thus providing longer periods of protection.

Bacteria are thus turned into miniature “RNAi bombs” that can be applied against fungi

In the laboratory of Prof. Ioannis Stergiopoulos at the University of California Davis, researchers have recently experimented with using non-pathogenic bacteria as vectors for producing and delivering RNAi-inducing molecules to fungi. The bacteria were first genetically engineered to produce within their cells the molecules that trigger silencing of the target genes in fungi. To release these molecules from the cells, the bacteria were further genetically engineered to autolyze under conditions defined by the user. Bacteria are thus turned into miniature “RNAi bombs” that can be applied against fungi. The method was successfully used to limit the growth of B. cinerea on plants and the production of the highly carcinogenic mycotoxin aflatoxin by Aspergillus flavus. Variations of this method have also been used successfully in the past by other researchers against insects, nematodes, and mammalian cells, indicating that bacterial-mediated delivery of RNAi can be turned into an effective tool in crop protection.

Conclusions

2018 marked a turning point in the use of RNAi technology, as the first RNAi-based drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial use in medicine. Since then, three more drugs have received approval, thus unlocking the use of the RNAi technology in human therapeutics. RNAi-based technologies hold a great promise for their successful use in agriculture as well. Whether for crop trait improvement or for protecting crops against pests and pathogens, RNAi may prove key to securing global food production. Although all currently marketed RNAi-based products are genetically modified ones, this will likely soon change with the development of RNAi-biospesticides. Several of the leading agricultural companies as well as smaller start-up companies are in the process of developing such RNAi-biopsesticies against plant pests, and the first products could become commercially available in just a few years from now. Such products could be tailored against only a specific pest or pathogen, or against a wider range of harmful to plants organisms. RNAi-biopesticides could also help reduce chemical inputs in agriculture and may prove key to controlling resistant to agrochemicals pests and pathogens. Although still in the early phases of its development, the RNAi technology could provide farmers with the tools needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century agriculture.

The best olive oils of JOOP 2021 chosen among the almost 500 participants from 20 different countries have been revealed.

The Organizing Committee of the Japan Olive Oil Prize has announced the winners of the IX edition of JOOP (Japan Olive Oil Prize), that has grown to become one of the most important competition for EVOO globally, and the JOOP Design Award, at its second edition with the participation of internationally renowned designers.

Japan is Asia’s first consumer and the world’s eighth biggest importer of extra virgin olive oil. Within the last 5 years, Japan’s import has increased by 22%, reaching in 2019 a total of 72.844 tons of imported olive oil for an overall value of 35.331 million of Japanese yen (289,5 million euro). 89% of such import comes from Europe, mainly from Spain (59%) and Italy (37%).

Japanese consumers are more and more knowledgeable about the beneficial effects on health of extra virgin olive oil and "along with the increase of extra virgin olive oil domestic consumption fuelled by the pandemic, the demand for flavored oils has been rising. For Japanese consumers who are not used to buying such products, aromatic oils represent a valid alternative” explained Miciyo Yamada, JOOP Panel Leader.

JOOP relies on a jury of 9 international certified jurors, overseen by 3 panel leaders: Konstantinos Liris (Greece), Miciyo Yamada (Japan), Antonio G. Lauro (Italy).

The rigorous selection resulted in the proclamation of the winners for the P.G.I, P.D.O., Organic, Monovarietal, Blend, Flavored categories. According to the scores obtained, oils have received the Best in Class, Gold, Silver awards.

Following the quality prize, the 3 winners of the JOOP Design Award have been announced, a prize conferred to those producers who stood out thanks to their ability to convey the identity of their product through the bottle logo, label and design.

The jury consisted of international designers of the likes of Fabio Novembre (Italy), Fumie Shibata and Yasuhiko Tsuchida (Japan), Karim Rashid and Marc Atlan (USA), Adrian Geralnik (Spain), Constantinos Hoursoglou (Greece), Loukas & Vasso of StudioLav (Greece).

JOOP 2021 winners

BEST OF ARGENTINA
El Mistol Clasico - Agropecuaria El Mistol S.A.

BEST OF FRANCE
Château d'Estoublon - AOP BIO - Sas Estoublon

BEST OF CROATIA
Olive oil Lucio - Family Farm Lucio,Dafne Ruzic,Island Solta

BEST OF GREECE
Olix Oil Nate Premium (Koroneiki) - Olix Oil Mepe

BEST OF ITALY
Superbo - Americo Quattrociocchi

BEST OF PORTUGAL
Casa de Santo Amaro NATURE Organic Evoo DOP Azeite de Trás-os-Montes - Trás-os-Montes Prime Lda

BEST OF SPAIN
Frantoio - Almazara Deortegas S.L.

BEST OF TUNISIA
Domaine Adonis Blend - Domaine Adonis

BEST OF TURKEY
Genius Olive Oil - Genius LTD ŞTİ

BEST OF USA
Truly Koroneiki - Corto Olive Co

BEST OF FLAVORED (Greece)
Oleoastron Gourmet Evoo – Flavored Evoo with Fennel, Bay Leaves, Rosemary and Oregano - Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms

BEST OF POLYPHENOLS (Greece)
Hypereleon Ultra Gold - D. Mourlas and Co L.P. / G-Team

Joop Design Award winners:
1. Monogram Premium Organic / Monogram Olive Oil
2. Château d'Estoublon - Bouteillan / Sas Estoublon
3. Protoleo / Rafteli Protouli Maria & Co

https://jooprize.com/design-award-2021/

Mr. Siddhartha Durairajan is the CEO of the company Cellestial E-mobility. The startup company working on developing e-Tractors. The company have built the 1st Electric tractor in India and the 2nd in the world. Mr. Siddhartha Durairajan is a seasoned entrepreneur with 25 years of Industry experience. Besides Cellestial E-Mobility, he also co-founded an engineering design company, Invilogic Software; which is a global leader in Knowledge based systems. With more than 20 years of experience in the mechanical design space, he brings the best design practices to Cellestial. Bellow is presented the interview of Mr. Siddhartha Durairajan.

Q: Could you tell me more about the idea of e-Tractor? Which are the special features and the agriculture equipment that can be fit on the vehicle?

Cellestial E-Mobility believes Green is the new Innovation. Growing population, increasing pollution and subsequent global warming all have ensured the need to switch to green solutions and adopt non-fuel drive as a sustainable approach. A changing ecosystem & efficient economic solution thirsty market inspired Cellestial in introducing e-Tractors.
Cellestial has introduced the 1st E-Tractors in the country which offer the following advantages:

• Quiet and pollution free. Hence clean and green!
• 1/10th the cost of running in comparison to a diesel tractor
• Very low maintenance cost
• Compact, Lightweight and easy to use.
• Battery pack is swappable and can be charged with a domestic power connection also
• Instantaneous torque and regenerative braking system to save on battery charge

All generic equipment like rotavators, tillers, cultivator, sprayer and everything that supports hydraulic and PTO can be attached to the Electric tractor!

Cellestial is an R&D company and is continually working on improvements and variations in its products. It is targeting Agriculture, Aviation and Logistics industries for the tractor. We've built the 1st Electric tractor in the country and the 2nd in the world. The Electric tractor is clean and green which no noise and no pollution!! It has a maximum range of 75 kms and the lithium ion battery pack is manufactured in house with more than 18 years of experience. The battery pack is easily swappable and can be charged with any domestic connection also! It is very competitively priced with the diesel 21HP counterpart and is better than the same. It can produce instantaneous torque of huge capacity and has been tested with a 2.25 ton load bearing capacity in comparison to a 1 ton maximum haulage of a 21 HP diesel tractor.
The Electric tractor is cheaper than diesel and ensures 90% savings on the running cost of a tractor. A diesel tractor running cost is between Rs 250- 300 per hour, whereas that of our electric tractor is just Rs 6 per hour. The number of moving parts are reduced drastically to just 20 parts in an electric tractor in comparison to around 200 moving parts in diesel. Hence ensuring very low maintenance cost. The electric motor and assembly ensure very little or no oiling required too. The Electric tractor will ensure that the farmer is able to get maximum earnings by reducing his operating costs!

Q: For what kinds of cultivation is it suitable?

It has been tested on different types of soil conditions and is suitable for all kinds of cultivation from small lands to medium size farms!

Q: How much does it cost (in euros)? Did you ask the farmers how much they are willing to pay for the vehicle and does that determine how much you charge them?

We are yet to derive the pricing for the different international markets. In India the price is around 5500 Euros. This price has been arrived at after detail discussions with farmers, market research and keeping in mind that the market is price sensitive. Hence the pricing of the electric tractor is very competitive to its diesel counter part!

Q: In which countries is the tractor sold? Have you considered promoting it in Europe as well?

We are currently setting up the distributor and dealer network all across India to start with.

• Making the product available on agriculture based online platforms for booking/ buying
• Tie ups with Village cooperative societies and Gram Panchayats to ensure welfare programmes and aid for the farmers in buying the tractors
• Giving proposal to the Central and state Governments to execute policies and give subsidies on the usage of Electric machinery in Agriculture

We are also in the process of signing memorandums of understanding and setting up distributors for USA, Mexico and are pursuing advance stage discussions with a company in Netherlands. We do plan to promote and tie up with channel distributors In Europe!

The Commission presented an Action Plan for the development of organic production. Its overall aim is to boost the production and consumption of organic products, to reach 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, as well as to increase organic aquaculture significantly.

Organic production comes with a number of important benefits: organic fields have around 30% more biodiversity, organically farmed animals enjoy a higher degree of animal welfare and take less antibiotics, organic farmers have higher incomes and are more resilient, and consumers know exactly what they are getting thanks to the EU organic logo. The Action Plan is in line with the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies.

The Action Plan is designed to provide the already fast growing organic sector the right tools to achieve the 25% target. It puts forward 23 actions structured around 3 axes – boosting consumption, increasing production, and further improving the sustainability of the sector – to ensure a balanced growth of the sector.

VIDEO: Press conference by Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski on the Adoption of the Organic Action Plan:

The Commission encourages Member States to develop national organic action plans to increase their national share of organic farming. There are significant differences between Member States regarding the share of agricultural land currently under organic farming, ranging from 0.5% to over 25%. The national organic action plans will complement the national CAP strategic plans, by setting out measures that go beyond agriculture and what is offered under the CAP.

Promote consumption

Growing consumption of organic products will be crucial to encourage farmers to convert to organic farming and thus increase their profitability and resilience. To this end, the Action Plan puts forward several concrete actions aimed at boosting demand, maintaining consumer trust and bringing organic food closer to citizens. This includes: informing and communicating about organic production, promoting the consumption of organic products, stimulating a greater use of organics in public canteens through public procurement and increasing the distribution of organic products under the EU school scheme. Actions also aim, for example, at preventing fraud, increasing consumers' trust and improving traceability of organic products. The private sector can also play a significant role by, for example, rewarding employees with ‘bio-cheques' they can use to purchase organic food.

Increase production

Presently, about 8.5% of EU's agricultural area is farmed organically, and the trends show that with the present growth rate, the EU will reach 15-18% by 2030. This Action Plan provides the toolkit to make an extra push and reach 25%. While the Action Plan largely focuses on the “pull effect” of the demand side, the Common Agricultural Policy will remain a key tool for supporting the conversion. Currently, around 1.8% (€7.5 billion) of CAP is used to support organic farming. The future CAP will include eco-schemes which will be backed by a budget of €38 – 58 billion, for the period 2023 – 2027, depending on the outcome of the CAP negotiations. The eco-schemes can be deployed to boost organic farming.

Beyond the CAP, key tools include organisation of information events and networking for sharing best practices, certification for groups of farmers rather than for individuals, research and innovation, use of blockchain and other technologies to improve traceability increasing market transparency, reinforcing local and small-scale processing, supporting the organisation of the food chain and improving animal nutrition.

To raise awareness on organic production, the Commission will organise an annual EU ‘Organic day' as well as awards in the organic food chain, to recognise excellence at all steps of the organic food chain. The Commission will also encourage the development of organic tourism networks through ‘biodistricts'. 'Biodistricts' are areas where farmers, citizens, tourist operators, associations and public authorities work together towards the sustainable management of local resources, based on organic principles and practices.

The Action Plan also notes that organic aquaculture production remains a relatively new sector but has a significant potential for growth. The upcoming new EU guidelines on the sustainable development of EU aquaculture, will encourage Member States and stakeholders to support the increase in organic production in this sector.

Improve sustainability

Finally, it also aims to further improve organic farming's performance in terms of sustainability. To achieve this, actions will focus on improving animal welfare, ensuring the availability of organic seeds, reducing the sector's carbon footprint, and minimising the use of plastics, water and energy.

The Commission also intends to increase the share of research and innovation (R&I) and dedicate at least 30% of the budget for research and innovation actions in the field of agriculture, forestry and rural areas to topics specific to or relevant for the organic sector.

The Commission will closely monitor progress through a yearly follow-up with representatives of the European Parliament, Member States and stakeholders, through bi-annual progress reports and a mid-term review.

Harvesting started timidly in Etoloakarnania (Western Greece) and Laconia (Peloponnese), but in Argolida (Peloponnese) people are not in a hurry.

Mr. Petros Bletas from “Sparta Orange” Citrus Agricultural Cooperative of the city of Skala in the district of Laconia stressed out to AgroTypos that first harvesting of Valencia oranges in Laconia has started a few days ago. The quality is very good this year as well, there are no problems from diseases or the weather and output is also good. According to Mr. Bletas, demand is satisfactory, and grower’s prices are currently around 20 cents net income to grower.

Mr. Dimitris Balabanis, a citrus grower from Evinochori village, near Missolonghi (Western Greece), where he cultivates a total of 60 stremma, told to AgroTypos that the harvesting of Valencia in the wider area has started a few days ago, there is demand, and prices offered to growers are around 20 cents per kilo, for the very good qualities. The output in the area is satisfactory and quality is at very high levels, but most farmers are not in a hurry to sell, expecting higher prices. According to him, starting prices are higher this year, than in previous years.

According to Mr. Andreas Kotsalos, a grower of citrus fruits from Missolonghi, acts of sale that are now being done for Valencia oranges in this area, are carried out for prices from 18 to 21 cents per kilo, and qualities are excellent.

Mr. Apostolos Hionas, a citrus grower from Gastouni, in the district of Ilia (Western Greece), told to AgroTypos that Valencia harvesting has not started in the area, as people are now mainly harvesting Lane Late. More estates with Valencia in the district of Ilia are found in the villages towards Pyrgos, the district’s capital.

Lastly, Mr. Vassilis Dokos, a citrus grower from the village of Koutsopodi in the district of Argolida, told to AgroTypos that Valencia harvesting is delayed in the area and that the first growers will harvest in the estates in a month from now.

Trout is a fish that belongs to the solomonids family. In fish breeding, rainbow trout is preferred.

The appropriate water temperature for breeding is considered from 12-17 Celsius degrees. A necessary condition for its breeding is the conservation of the necessary quantity and quality of water, since trout is a fish that does not live in dirty waters, as well as the proportion of temperature and oxygen.

When it comes to inland fish breeding in Greece, we are talking mainly about trout farming in the Region of Epirus (northwestern Greece) and specifically in the areas of Louros, where there are about 20 fish farms and Louros Fish Breeding Station. Trout breeding in Epirus is around 3,000 tons per year (65-70% of country’s total output).

Mr. Vangelis Tsialios, owner of “Smoked Fish” from Vouliasta in the city of Ioannina, together with his brother are engaged in processing and standardization of trout since 1976. As he emphasizes in AgroTypos “our company buys fresh trout from the area’s fish farms, processes them into smoked trout and standardizes them. The smoking process removes about 65% of fish meat, so it is sold at a higher price compared to fresh fish. This year we had a shortage of water and there was reduced trout breeding. The trout farming sector presents in recent decades stagnation in new investments, as almost all of the units that operate today in Ioannina have their starting point in early 80’s.

Internal consume has decreased, due to the pandemic, exports have not yet reached a satisfactory level, while breeding cost is increased. Region’s fish breeding stations are selling at fish markets (about 70% of the output) fresh trout from 2.90 to 3.00 euros per kilo. Exports of fresh trout are also carried out mainly to the Balkans. More specifically, in Romania they found out about Greek trout and they have a great notion of it, so they import great amounts every year. Smoked trout is exported mainly in the EU at almost double price. In the past when we had drachma currency in Greece, we used to export to the USA as well, because we were more competitive”.

Mr. Xenophon Kolios, owner of a fish farm in Ano Mousiotitsa in the city of Ioannina, states in AgroTypos that “the state has abandoned us. Louros Fish Station, created to supply the units with rainbow trout spawn, practically does not work. During the pandemic, apart from 800 euros that the state gave us last year, we did not get any further aid despite the reduction in consumption due to the lockdown in catering. This year we had reduced fish breeding due water issues, but no one is compensating us.

Since the economic crisis, the consumption of fish has decreased. It is considered an expensive fish but middlemen are to blame. We sell to fish market at 3 euros per kilo, with a profit of 50 cents per kilo. Merchants sell in retail stores at twice the price and 100% profit. Consumers will hardly find trout under 6 euros per kilo.
The cost of fish food is increasing every year. For a ton of fish, I need 1,500 euros of fish food. But trout spawn is also expensive. Three hundred thousand fish (spawn) cost 4 cents each. In other words, I need 12,000 euros a year for a spawn

I export 90% of my output to the Romanian market. Although Romanians could buy trout from Turkey at lower prices, they prefer Greek trout because of its nice taste. I export fresh trout at a price of 2.70 euros per kilo, lower than the price of the Greek market, because in Romania they buy larger quantities.

In Greece we have good quality water in the rivers, something that gives fish good quality and taste. But the state does not help by doing investments to increase production. There is a lot of bureaucracy in investment programs, so breeding units cannot be modernized in order to reduce costs. There is also demand from Germany for Greek trout but the market there needs approximately 30,000 tons per year. We cannot cover the needs of these markets with today's data and compete with other countries”.

Mr. George Kallos, owner of the Athamania fish breeding farm, at the top of mount Tzoumerka in Trikala (Central Greece), says to AgroTypo that “I started to breed sea bream, but then I started to breed trout. Favorable conditions for breeding this fish are high altitude, low temperature and clear waters. Trout is traded in the Greek market, although in recent years there is interest in exports. There is also demand for smoked trout.

There is also difference in fish’s life circle. In cold waters it is ready to be sold to marker when it is 1.5 years old, whereas in hot waters it is sold when it is 1 year old.

Before the pandemic, large units with an annual output of over 50 tons sold the fish in fish markets at prices of 2.70 - 3 euros per kilo. Small units, like mine, with an average annual output of about 10 tons, sell in restaurants and gourmet shops around 4 euros per kilo. Of course, small units have higher breeding costs. Also, trout is a fish that has expensive fish food, which range from 1 to 4 euros per kilo. There is a big issue with the pandemic, because restaurants and tourism are closed down.

Financial aid was given, but it is not enough to cover the damage done to businesses.

In the past I was certified for organic trout breeding but the price - as well as the cost - was double compared to conventional breeding and it was not easy to be sold to the market.

The problem is that even though trout is a fish with good quality Omega- 3 oils (always fed with clean food), our county’s consumers are not aware of that. An organized advertising campaign should be done in order to increase its consumption".

Mr. Giannis Gerontidis, owner of the G-fish company from Laconia (Peloponnese), one of the first fish farms in the country (since 1969), points out to AgroTypos that “everything depends on the quality we want the breeding trout to have. We want to have a quality breed; thus, we have to feed the fish with expensive food, the average price of which is around 2 euros per kilo. The location also helps us, since our unit uses water from mount Taygetos springs. Clear water gives beautiful taste to the fish.

This specific fish has great nutritional value. We breed about 10 - 12 tons of trout on an annual basis. In fresh form it is consumed in the local market. Smoked fillet is sold for around 18 euros per kilo in specialty food stores and restaurants. We also export smoked trout to Cyprus, Romania and Austria".