UPL's deal with sugar mill to help increase yield and reduce costs for farmers

Listed agro-tech and chemicals firm UPL in a statement said that it has signed an agreement with Maharashtra-based Shreenath Mhaskoba sugar mill. The company will deploy its patented Zeba product which is aimed at increasing sugar cane yield and conserving water while maintaining soil health.

“The biggest challenge in agriculture right now is climate change, and the related issue of water shortage. This project has been in the works for nearly two years with the sugar mill, and now we are ready to deploy it fully on 10,000 acres of land for sustainable sugar production. The deployment will reduce costs for farmers by around Rs 10 crore, as well as increase yield. We are also providing insurance cover for farmers as a part of the agreement,” said UPL CEO Jai Shroff.

The cornstarch-based water conservation product will be deployed on sugar cane fields of around 10,000 acres, which will impact around 4,000 farmers in 70 villages, UPL said in a statement.

He said product deployment would help save around 500 metric tonnes of fertilisers. UPL spends Rs 3,000 crore globally on research/ development initiatives each year.