Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), world’s largest processed fertilizer cooperative signed MoU with Government of Sikkim. On the Basis of the MoU, a joint venture - “Sikkim IFFCO Organics Limited” (Sikkim-IFFCO) will be established to explore business opportunities in organic value chain. IFFCO will hold majority stake of 51% equity and the Govt. of Sikkim will hold 49% equity in SIKKIM-IFFCO. The initial investment for the project will be around INR 200 Crore, which will be increased to INR 500 Crore in phases.
IFFCO also announced acquisition of 50% shareholding in Aquagri Processing Private Ltd., who are the pioneers in seaweed cultivation and processing in India. Aquagri has the potential of creating employment opportunities in agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing.
IFFCO would soon be introducing a range of organic and non-chemical based products for crop nutrition as well as protection while targeting both the farmers as well as the enthusiastic home garden segment. These products will leverage seaweeds, fresh waterweeds, bio actives using bio-refinery approach to create multiple products by use of the same biomass.
On the developments, Dr. U.S. Awasthi, Managing Director, IFFCO said “We always focus on better quality products & value addition for the farmers produce and off course better competitive prices for the consumers. We want to focus on Bio-Fertilizers & Bio-Pesticides along with organic product range.” Dr. Awasthi further added “Noble ventures and good ideas, which don’t result in profitable enterprises, are quickly forgotten, as they are not sustainable. We are looking forward to exploring the organic opportunities across the country.”
