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R. Balaji

Udumalpet, Sept. 26 Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd plans to set up a manufacturing hub for micro-irrigation systems, PVC pipes and fruit processing in Tamil Nadu to cater to the Southern States and the export market.

During an organised tour of the company’s facilities at Udumalpet, about 70 km from Coimbatore, Mr F. Shantikumar Katariya, Senior Vice-President, Jain Irrigation, told journalists that the company, one of the largest micro-irrigation systems manufacturers in the world, was expanding its capacity for entire range of plastic products and the R&D for farming systems for a range of horticulture crops at the 1,250-acre facility.

The company has invested over Rs 65 crore at the facility and plans to invest over Rs 100 crore. This would include facilities to expand production of drip irrigation equipment and fruit processing facilities, he said.

Jain Irrigation, which acquired the property in mid-2005, has capacity to manufacture over 12 tonnes irrigation pipes daily, 4.5 tonnes of ducts for OFC cables, and about 22 tonnes of PVC pipes for conveying water and has an extensive R&D facility where it has brought about 700 acres under cultivation for testing various cropping systems for a range of horticulture crops and cotton.

Dr S. Narayanan, Vice President – Marketing, Jain Irrigation, said the expansion programme is to make the Udumalpet unit an agro-industrial complex catering to markets in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Drip irrigation equipment such as filters, valves, tanks and equipment for delivering liquid fertilisers would soon be manufactured here. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are major emerging markets for drip irrigation equipment with the State Governments announcing support programmes for micro-irrigation.

Jain Irrigation’s turnover in Tamil Nadu currently exceeds Rs 200 crore, with drip irrigation contributing about Rs 100 crore and PVC pipes another Rs 100 crore. The Andhra Pradesh market is twice as big.

Mr Narayanan said with the Central and State Governments subsidising micro-irrigation equipment, owing to its advantage in water conservation, farmers were taking to drip irrigation systems for fruits and vegetables and sugarcane. The company is also looking at encouraging drip irrigation systems for turmeric and cashew.

Another major area of activity for the company at Udumalpet is the marketing of tissue-cultured banana plants, he said.

Dr V.R. Balasubrahmanyam, Vice President – R&D Farms, Jain Irrigation, said the company markets over 20 lakh banana plantlets annually to farmers in Tamil Nadu.

This would soon be expanded to 35 lakh with additional greenhouse facilities planned at Udumalpet.

The company markets Grande Naine variety of banana plants to farmers in the southern States. The tissue-cultured plants from its main facility in Jalgaon are sent to Udumalpet, where they undergo the transition from lab to field through the greenhouse facilities.

The shoots are then sold to farmers, he said.

The company is looking at setting up post-harvest processing facilities for whole fruits. These would include cold storages, processing sheds and ripening chambers.

It cultivates a range of fruit crops including banana, mango and amla.

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