Petrochemical
World's first sustainable castor farming project in India gets commitment for phase 2
After completing a 2016 baseline survey of more than 1,000 castor farmers in Gujarat, India, the Pragati project was launched in May 2016 with the goal of enabling sustainable castor crop production
- By ICN Bureau
| March 13, 2020
The founding members of the Pragati project for sustainable castor crop – Arkema, BASF, Jayant Agro-Organics along with implementation partner Solidaridad have committed to phase 2, which will extend the program until July 31, 2022.
Key highlights and achievements of phase 1 of project Pragati (2016-2019):
- More than 13,000 tons of certified castor beans have been cultivated
- More than 3,000 castor farmers have been audited and certified
- Approximately 5,200 hectares of castor beans have been farmed in accordance with the castor sustainability code - now called SuCCESS (Sustainable Castor Caring Environmental & Social Standards)
- More than 8,000 hours of classroom training have been completed
- More than 3,000 safety kits and crop protection product storage boxes have been distributed
- Water consumption has dropped by approximately 25% in the demo plots
- Crop yield has improved by more than 50% compared to the 2016 baseline study
Key goals for Pragati phase 2:
- Training and certifying an additional 4,000 farmers, thus bringing the total to 7,000
- Increasing involvement of women in the program
- Developing the awareness and involvement among key downstream end-users – specifically by inviting stakeholders to actively participate in the Sustainable Castor Association
- Continuing to improve crop yield, water conservation and basic chemical hygiene
After completing a 2016 baseline survey of more than 1,000 castor farmers in Gujarat, India, the Pragati project was launched in May 2016 with the goal of enabling sustainable castor crop production by:
- Using good agricultural practices to increase yield and farmer income
- Efficiently using water resources and maintaining soil fertility
- Driving adoption of good waste management practices
- Enabling better health and safety practices and respecting human rights
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