Tata Trusts, Mars join hands for agri development in India

Tata Trusts and global food major Mars, Incorporated, today announced a partnership to work for advanced agriculture development, address malnutrition and improve food safety in India.
The two have signed an MoU to develop methods and tools to increase crop productivity, farm income and sustainability of select agriculture commodities, among others, Tata Trusts and Mars, Incorporated said in a joint statement.
Besides they will also collaborate on the availability of safe, affordable, and sustainable raw materials from India.
"Mars Food, a segment of Mars, Incorporated, also intends to conduct joint research with the Tata Trusts on nutritional guidelines that can help address anemia and other forms of malnutrition," the statement said.

Chairman of the Tata Trusts Ratan Tata said: "Given Mars' global leadership in nutritive foods and sustainable agriculture, the Tata Trusts believes this collaboration will have lasting, meaningful benefits for Indian communities."
He further said: "We are particularly inspired by Mars Food's commitment to addressing malnutrition in India - a challenge of growing concern in this country, particularly among children."

Mars Food President Fiona Dawson said: "Today's MoU with the Tata Trusts is an important step in Mars' journey to improve nutrition, food safety, and sustainability in India."
Tata Trusts and Mars also plan to collaborate on reducing Aflatoxin contamination in India's supply chain. Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring, poisonous chemical produced by certain molds - is a critical food safety issue in India.

Tata Trusts is a coalition of philanthropic trusts headquartered in India, working to improve quality of life of the communities it serves in India. It include the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, and NavajbhaiRatan Tata Trust.
Mars has expertise in addressing Aflatoxin contamination and can draw on its Global Food Safety Center in China to conduct future research in this area, the statement said.
US-based Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned business and has over USD 33 billion in sales from six diverse business segments - petcare, chocolate, wrigley, food, drinks and symbioscience
It owns global brands as M&M'S, Pedigree, Doublemint and Uncle Ben.