The founding members of the Pragati project for sustainable castor beans, BASF, Arkema, Jayant Agro-Organics and implementation partner Solidaridad, have published the final audited and certified results for 2021, the fifth year of their programme.
During that year:
- Over 5,800 farmers have been trained, audited and certified (27% up on 2020) in program year 5 compared to the year before
- 36,000 tonnes of certified castor seed have been cultivated (50% up)
- The yield has improved over 35%
- Over 13,300 hectares are now being farmed in accordance with the SuCCESS sustainable castor code
- About 6,300 safety kits and crop protection product boxes have been distributed free of charge
- Water consumption has been lowered by approx. 35% in the demo plots where accurate measurement and control is in place
The programme now involves farmers from more than 69 villages in North Gujarat, India, where most of the world’s castor beans are grown. The project – Pragati means ‘success’ in Hindi aims to drive sustainable castor crop production by improving agricultural, waste management and safety practices, using water resources efficiently and maintaining soil fertility.
