Mahindra Agri forms JV with Sumitomo Corp

Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd (MASL), a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), has announced getting into a joint venture with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation for its crop protection business.

MASL, which is eyeing a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore by 2020, has 60% equity in the new company named Mahindra Summit Agriscience Ltd and the rest is held by Sumitomo. 

The company executives said the partnership will offer a pipeline of specialty, new-generation products with unique and latest molecules to effectively manage pest and insect-related challenges faced by farmers.

According to an industry estimate made in 2016, India’s crop care consumption at less than 0.6 kilogram per hectare is one of the lowest among the major countries, even below that of neighbour Pakistan. In comparison, Taiwan has 17 kg, while China (13), Japan (12), US (7), Korea (7), France (5), UK (5) and Pakistan (1). The experts are of the view that India loses nearly 40% of its total production in terms of value to pest attacks and diseases. 

Since per capita land availability in India will only go down, farmers will have to raise their agriculture production by improving productivity, analysts say. The current estimated consumption of crop protection products in terms of value is around $2.5 billion in India. It is expected to grow at 7% annually for the next few years.