The Hindu Business Line : AQUAS to sign joint venture pact with Icrisat

AVASTHAGEN Quality Agriculture Services Pvt Ltd (AQUAS) and the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) will sign a joint venture agreement this month, according to the AQUAS Chief Executive Officer, Dr Viloo Morawala-Patell.

AQUAS, an integrated food, water and seed quality testing and certification company, has set up office at Icrisat campus here.

Dr Morawala-Patell said that the laboratories, currently being established at the campus would be operational by April. This apart, the company was talking to a couple of German institutes to further strengthen its technology base and expand its service offerings.

She said that the activities of AQUAS included genetically modified organisms (GMO), testing of food and food products, GMO-free certification, complete microbial testing of food products and water, mycotoxin testing of groundnuts and other commodities, organic certification, meat traceability and species testing and certification, seed purity testing, DNA fingerprinting and marker aided selection screening for seed companies.

The AQUAS GMO testing technology, according to Dr Morawala-Patell, has been accredited by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). The company is now seeking accreditation from the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority and the Department of Biotechnology and other institutes in the country.

Stating that the market for GMO testing and certification in India was expected to grow at 40 per cent per annum during the next five years, Dr Morawala-Patell said that the potential market for GMO testing and food testing in the country was estimated at $400 million and $320 billion respectively.