UPL Ltd., a global provider of sustainable agricultural solutions, today announced the opening of the Farmer Learning Centre at Raja Talav in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to enable sustainable farming. This initiative will be carried out through the farmer connect channel of Unimart, UPL's chain of agri retail stores for agri solutions, and will be overseen by the NPP Business Unit of UPL.
Promotion of holistic and sustainable farming, with a special emphasis on using bio solutions, will be a key objective, with a special focus on the market linkage, both domestic and export. This initiative will be based on five principal pillars and those are:
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Improvement in soil health-Through innovative techniques, a strategy for enhanced soil health via sustainable solutions will be driven
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Yield Support- Organic farms which will act as farm schools demonstrating advanced agri-tech solutions
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Linkages with food value chain-Explore marketing of produce through various channels of new age food value chain for better price realisation for the farmer, thereby improving farm income
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Comprehensive approach in crop protection and innovative nutrition-End to-end solutions through URLs globally recognized PRONUTIVA crop package right from crop protection to nutrition under one umbrella
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Hand holding of FPO’s / farmers -Working hand in hand with FPOs/farmers and transferring technical know-how of best agricultural practices as well as technology; Supporting FPO to get better connectivity in terms of linkages with UPL global presence, APEDA & FAME.
To realize these principles, UPL has Secured 3.5 acres of land for the state-of-the-art model plots near Raja Talav area in Varanasi, to showcase results and benefits to the farming community and engage FPOs. In addition to this, there will be a UNIMART GREEN, UPL’s agri solutions retail centre, spread over 2000 sq ft in the target area with training and experience centers for an unmatched customer engagement.
Rahul Pandey – Commercial Head, UPL India said - “Sustainability remains a top priority for us and we are committed towards the same. At UPL, we are dedicated to the success and well-being of our primary stakeholders, the farmers. We believe that with his initiative we will be able to provide farmers with the required technical know-how for best agriculture practice and also access to sustainable solutions that incorporate cutting-edge technology, allowing them to increase their productivity and profitability. This initiative demonstrates our dedication to UPL's Open Ag purpose”.