Global Green to foray into Punjab

The Global Green Company, part of the Avantha Group promoted by the Thapar family, has decided to foray into the agriculture fields in Punjab to source back-end likages for its food processing business.

The company plans to grow high-value vegetables like pickling cucumber, capsicum, chillies and peppers in the fields of Punjab through contract farming.

The company has also expressed interest in setting up a processing facility in the state at an investment of about Rs 75 crore.

According to Chandra Moily, vice-president of the company, the trial cultivation will begin from February 2009. The company is in the process of finalising the locations.

He added that the company will enter into a buy-back agreement with the farmers and provide them all kinds of backend support.

“If we get suitable response from the farmers we will set up a processing facility in the state that would entail an investment of about Rs 75 crore,” he added.

“Uptill now our operations were confined to the southern region. This would be our first endeavour in the north,” he added.

Earlier, unsuccessful attempts were made by other corporate houses like Pepsi and Mahindra under contract farming in Punjab. Moily ruled out any possibility of failure as he told that they were successfully associated with 15,000 farmers in the southern states.

“We produce 70,000 tonnes of vegetables and 150 million jars per annum from our operations in the three states of south and want to replicate the same model in Punjab.”

He added the company also plans to introduce novel methods of agricultural practices to make the profession more remunerative for the farmers of Punjab.

The company would use drip irrigation process to make optimum use of water in the state as dwindling water table was a cause of concern in many districts.

The company would provide complete input financing to the farmers under a buyback arrangement with the farmers, he added.