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Agritech firm Gram Unnati has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with multinational crop protection and seed firm Bayer to promote cultivation of spring maize in six districts of western Uttar Pradesh, targetting 1 lakh farmers.
Farmers will be able to access timely crop advisory, transfer of good agricultural practices and access to premium products of Bayer along with support needed to set up model farms, Gram Unnati said in a statement on Wednesday. A pilot project was earlier launched in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
While Gram Unnati will facilitate farmer mobilisation and ensure market linkages, technical and product guidance will be shared by Bayer CropScience, it said.
Replicating the success
The MoU aims to replicate the success of spring maize project of Uttarakhand where pilot farmers significantly benefitted after improving their incomes, the company said, adding that thousands of litres of water also got saved.
The six districts to be covered are Amroha, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, Rampur, and Sambhal. “We are excited to work together with Bayer to deliver greater value to small-holder farmers in western UP by offering them a level playing field,” said Aneesh Jain, founder and CEO of Gram Unnati. This partnership will empower small-holder farmers by providing them access to advisory, quality inputs, credit, technologies, and market linkage, he said.
Gram Unnati has deep rooted connections in these six districts and is already working with IFC and UP government to help convert 20,000 acres from summer paddy to spring maize. The partnership with Bayer will help it to further mobilise a larger number of farmers and help them get the right technical & product guidance, Jain said.
“At Bayer, we want to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across India. Enhancement in livelihood entails adopting timely advisory and good agricultural practices so that they get can get the right remunerative prices for their produce. With Gram Unnati, we aim to enhance our reach to smallholder farmers and offer personalised solutions, enabling them to achieve better harvests more sustainably,” said Ajeet Chahal, head of alternate business models, Bayer.
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