UPL’s ProNutiva program in Gujarat increased groundnut yield by over 35%
09 March 2022, Gujarat: UPL, a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions has helped farmers in Gujarat increase the yield of their groundnut crops by as much as 35% using its ProNutiva package in a programme that, when replicated on a larger scale, can slash India’s dependence on edible oil imports. In 2021 in Gujarat, the programme was rolled out across over 12,000 acres under groundnut cultivation, with almost 4000 farmers using the customized package. With this, the programme now has benefitted over 75000 farmers over three years and farms of over 2.5 lakh acres were covered.
Under the ambit of the ProNutiva Sada Samrudh project, groundnut farmers were provided with integrated agricultural services like IPM Kits, Soil Testing, Weather Services, Crop Advisory and High-Tech Enabled Farmer Mechanization Services to increase groundnut yield and income. They also used UPL’s groundbreaking product “ZEBA”, which absorbs water and nutrients and releases it to the plant when it’s needed by the plant. The project has not only demonstrated the significance of apt inputs and advisory along with technology services for upliftment of groundnut farmers, but also showcased the potential to stimulate highly remunerative groundnut farming across the nation which in turn can contribute to food as well as nutritional security, and help with the country’s National Edible Oil Mission as well.
Edible oils are an important part of the Indian cooking and yet 60 percent of the country’s edible oil needs are met through imports as per the Economic Survey. Gujarat, being the leading producer of groundnuts, is a very crucial state for the implementation of this program, and it can take care of approximately 10% of India’s total oil import.
Farmers that implemented the ProNutiva programme, saw monumental benefits to their yields and profits. On average, farms that were under the program saw a yield of 1056 kg/acre, as compared to 800 kg/acre, and also saw an increase in dry fodder from 2500 kgs/acre to 3500 kg/acre, leading to an overall increase in income of Rs. 20,136 per acre. The net income of farmers, on average increased by around 36%. The programme also generated employment among the youth of the areas, where they were trained and skilled in sustainable agricultural practices. UPL’s Pronutiva has benefitted over 2.22 lakh farmers nationally and covered 18 lakh acres.
Ashish Dobhal, Director, India Region, UPL said, “Farmers, being our key stakeholders, are the center of our efforts and activities, and we strive to provide them welfare and prosperity. As a part of our efforts to reimagine sustainability using innovation, we hope to enable farmers to adopt sustainable practices, which will not only promote the state of the environment, but also the farmer’s income. This crop package is dedicated towards increasing the yield and oil content of the groundnut crop, in an attempt at making India self-sufficient in the production of edible oils.”
Ankurbai Patel, Farmer from Nava, Talod, Himatnagar, Gujarat, said, “I used the ProNutiva Programme on 10 acres of my farm, and saw a 64% increase in groundnut weight, and 17% increase in fodder weight. ”
RAMJIBHAI NAGAJIBHAI, farmer from Thadas, Talaja, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, said, “I applied UPL’s ProNutiva Package on 15 acres of my plot. The increase in weight of groundnuts per 10 plants went up from 138 to 178kgs, a 29% increase in yield”
