The Hindu Business Line : Pepsico India to start seaweed cultivation in coastal Gujarat

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Pepsico India to start seaweed cultivation in coastal Gujarat

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To set up jelly plant in Gujarat

The company's agriculture-related product exports from India are likely to reach $60 million this year

Ahmedabad , Sept. 27

Pepsico India Holdings Pvt Ltd, makers of the Pepsi-range of soft-drinks and snacks products, would soon start cultivating seaweed along the coastal areas of Gujarat and set up a plant next year to extract its by-products like jelly and some organic growth nutrients to increase the growth of crops in rain-fed farms in India.

This is going to be the second such plant in India, the first one being at Mandapam in Tamil Nadu. The company is setting up the seaweed-based plant with the technological assistance from the Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) — part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Pepsi is going to invest Rs 7 crore in the Tamil Nadu project for the purpose, its Executive Director (Exports and External Affairs), Mr Abhiram Seth, told Business Line here today.

Social Responsibility

The CSMCRI has recently obtained a global patent for the technology, which accelerates metabolic system in plants. In Gujarat, he said, survey of the coastal areas, including Bhavnagar, Okha, Jamnagar and Dwarka, has been completed.

Earlier, describing it as one of the company's step towards "social responsibility" in India, he told a news conference that once the seaweed cultivation begins to yield about 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes of raw material, the plant would be set up, which may take six to eight months from now.

As in Tamil Nadu, the Gujarat project would also be a woman-dominated activity. They would get jobs in their local habitat with flexible working hours and may earn Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 a month.

Horticulture Project

Seaweed cultivation envisages using rafts for cultivation of certain seaweeds near a dependable source of water. The yield is harvested within 45 days. From this weed a sap is extracted which carries Carragenan, good for natural growth due to its hormones and micronutrients. These can be used in making jellies and also as a water-soluble spray on crops to spur additional organic growth by 30 to 40 per cent.

Replying to a question, he said the company's agriculture-related product exports from India are likely to reach $60 million this year. Also, Mr Seth said, the company was in the process of procuring germplasm from Florida , Brazil and other places for its joint venture with the Punjab Government near Jalandhar, where it is set to grow 32 varieties of various citrus fruits. It is going to be the world's largest such horticulture project, wherein four million seedlings would be planted per annum to make large quantities of juices available.

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