Author: Hithaishi CB

By Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore_ Agrospectrum Asia Coverage Climate change poses unprecedented challenges, and its impact is already felt globally. Just look at the number of news articles on a daily basis that you read about climate disasters happening all around the world. Many countries have seen record-high temperatures, intense heat waves and severe flooding. Severe weather events have also affected energy and food production, shipment of essential resources and critical components, and economic activity worldwide. As a response to these challenges, countries around the world are increasingly focusing their…

A nano fertilizer can deliver nutrients more efficiently than traditional fertilizers, reducing waste and improving plant growth. A relatively new development in fertilizers, nano fertilizers deliver nutrients to plants more effectively and efficiently than traditional fertilizers. Nano fertilizers are composed of tiny particles with dimensions of one billionth of a meter or smaller. They are composed of nanonutrients, which are ultra-minute particles of nutrient ions. Plants grow better and produce more when nutrients are delivered specifically to specific tissues. Fertilizers traditionally consist of macro-sized particles that dissolve in soil and release nutrients for plants to absorb. Nanofertilizers typically have particle…

To elevate Southeast Asia’s dignity and glory, and to enhance research output on the Asian continent and globally he National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) have agreed to increase collaboration in the field of research and innovation. This cooperation was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between BRIN Deputy for Research and Innovation Utilisation R. Hendrian and UTM Vice Chancellor Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, at the B. J Habibie Building, Jakarta,  Director-General of Higher Education of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education Azlinda Azman said in her speech that this cooperation will…

In the post-harvest space, Hectre’s early fruit sizing AI solution Spectre, sizes apples, pears, cherries, citrus and onions. New Zealand’s fruit tech startup Hectre has developed transformative technology for the global fruit growing and packing industry. The Hectre platform delivers value across the supply chain by streamlining key processes, and offering early access to valuable data. Most fruit tech companies play in one market space, like labor management or fruit sorting. Each market has complexities and a never-ending collection of unique use cases. Hectre has overcome a major challenge by crossing over into additional areas of the supply chain. Bryan…

Bayer’s Preceon™ Smart Corn System to CRISPR  Pairwise’s Fulcrum™ platform inks five-year collaboration to further advance short-stature corn Pairwise and Bayer have signed a new five-year multi-million Dollar collaboration to further advance short-stature corn. New agreement will focus on CRISPR applications for Bayer’s Preceon™ Smart Corn System. Collaboration builds on successful initial gene-editing partnership between the two companies that resulted in 27 novel traits being transferred into Bayer’s testing programs. Pairwise, a food and agriculture company known for bringing the first gene-edited food to the U.S. market, and Bayer partnership focused on innovations in short-stature corn. This new program leverages Pairwise’s…

Innovative AgTech solutions and services to remove inefficiencies and solve real business challenges A significant surge in AI-driven technologies has been witnessed in the agricultural industry in recent years, particularly in commodity trading. Agribusiness markets are being revolutionized by these advanced systems, which change the way trading operations are carried out. From 2023 to 2032, the AI in agriculture market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 20%. While AI finds numerous applications in agriculture, such as using robots, its impact is greater when viewed from the perspective of analytics-based software. Agricultural commodity traders can benefit greatly from artificial…

At the end of 2022, coconut export turnover was over $700 million According to a recent analysis by Vietnam Investment and Trade promotion center, the country’s coconut export are expected to reach $1 billion in 2025 after the US and China agree to allow Vietnamese coconuts to enter the two markets. President of the Vietnam Coconut Association Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh., explains that as the US is about to open the market for Vietnamese coconuts and China allows official coconut import, local businesses are trying to develop raw material areas, apply for growing areas codes, and register to build organic…

Both countries are now in talks regarding the possible development of the sugar and ethanol industries. On August 29, delegates from Brazil’s Embassy in Manila and Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) met with DA officials to discuss areas of collaboration between the two countries to boost sugarcane and ethanol production in both countries. This visit was prompted by the Philippine Department of Agriculture – Sugar Regulatory Administration (DA-SRA)’s visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil early this year. Both countries are now in talks regarding the possible development of the sugar and ethanol industries. As one of the leading countries in sugarcane and…

The discovery could arm breeders with information on how to develop canola varieties with improved resistance against the disease. Australian researchers have discovered three genes associated with resistance to sclerotinia stem rot, marking a major step towards developing improved disease-resistant canola varieties for growers. The genes have links to sclerotinia stem rot susceptibility and resistance. Sclerotinia stem rot is a fungal disease which can significantly reduce the productivity of a grower’s canola crop. The discovery could arm breeders with information on how to develop canola varieties with improved resistance against the disease. Researchers from the Centre for Crop and Disease…

The programme has granted land titles for 5.6 million hectares of state forest to 1 million households. Indonesia’s social forestry programme, adopted in 2016, has ushered local communities into a new era of forest management. The programme is designed to strengthen land access rights, empower communities and support forest conservation practices. The government is aiming to reallocate a total of 12.7 million hectares of state forest, equivalent to the size of Indonesia’s main island of Java, to local communities, enabling them to manage their forests for decades at a time. As of today, the programme has granted land titles for…