Agro-input major UPL will collaborate with the Republic of Guyana to establish a 200-acre millets model farm.
Jai Shroff, Group CEO of UPL Group, and Zulfikar Mustafa, Agriculture Minister of the Republic of Guyana, signed an MoU recently with the aim of assessing the adaptation of various millet varieties for growing and consuming in Guyana.
UPL will supply technical expertise and selected agriculture inputs, while Guyana will provide a suitable land parcel of 200 acres and carry out local farm operations.
Millets, also known as superfoods, are climate-smart, sustainable, and highly nutritious. In comparison with rice, millet production requires half the water per acre as compared with rice, making it a water conservation crop that can also withstand other climatic conditions like droughts, floods, heat stress, erratic rainfalls, etc, than other crops, saving food and enhancing small farmers resilience.
Promoting sustainability
According to the FAO, millets encompass a diverse group of cereals, including pearl, proso, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger, and Guinea millets, as well as fonio, sorghum (or great millet), and teff. They are an important source of nourishment for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Sagar Kaushik, President, Global Corporate & Industry Affairs, UPL, said, “UPL is paving the path for millet cultivation and making important strides toward its vision of a food-secure world through this collaboration. UPL’s expertise and technical know-how will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of this initiative, which can provide a sustainable livelihood to smallholding farmers globally. We are excited about the potential of this collaboration and look forward to working with the Republic of Guyana to achieve our shared goal of promoting sustainable agriculture practices.”
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