Bayer organizes a Farmers‘ Tech Meet to tackle farm-level wastage of produce

 

 

Bayer Group India hosted a “Farmers‘ Tech Meet” at the Bayer MaterialScience Greater Noida site on October 9, 2012. Over 100 farmers from Western Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal attended this meeting, where they were provided with an in-depth understanding of the range of products and appropriate technologies available for their specific requirements of storage options.

 

Bayer has had a presence in India for over 100 years, and has periodically strived to introduce the benefits of its global research and development strengths to the entire spectrum of the Indian Consumers. In recent years, both Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer CropScience have played a leadership role in finding new paths within the Indian Cold Chain Industry. The initiatives have been aimed at reducing the high level of food wastage and driving a change at the very foundation of the agro economy. For a country like India, agriculture is of critical importance. “Cold chain” is a logistics system that provides a series of facilities for maintaining storage conditions for perishables from the point of origin to the point of consumption in the food supply chain. The chain needs to start at the farm level (e.g. improved harvest methods, pre-cooling) and follow on to the retail or consumer level. A well-organized cold chain reduces spoilage, retains the quality of the harvested produce and guarantees a cost-efficient delivery to the consumer.

 

At the TechMeet, farmers had the opportunity to see a prototype built by Bayer, and ideally suited for the rural environment. They could actually touch and feel the device which gave them a better perspective on the possibilities of the materials. Some salient features of this are:

 

• Small in size (Area: 25 sq.m. and capacity: 8 MT of potato storage), which can be built at the farm level using readily available materials such as brick, cement, mortar and tin sheets. The size can also be customized as per the requirement of the consumer 
• Insulated via a customized, in-situ pouring process using simple polyurethane foam (PUF) dispensing machinery. The insulation helps in maintaining temperature inside the cold storage even if there is no electricity supply from the grid supply for up to 6 hours (depending on various factors) provided the door of the cold storage unit is not opened, making it well suited for the rural environment
• With the exception of a few products, all materials (brick, mortar, etc.) are obtained locally and almost all the wastage of shipped products (e.g. drums) is used in the production of the cold storage. This is to ensure low carbon footprint, promote healthy and safe practices and create business in and around the local area for local self-sustainability
• The innovative cooling solution works in the range of 4-12 deg C and consumes considerably lesser units than commercially available cooling technology and runs on single phase electricity.
• A typical high humidity (85-90%) is observed which is required for most vegetables
• The technical viability of the solution has been ascertained through on field pilots tested for over a year in 5 locations across India.

 

Other projects that were showcased to the farmers and discussed were “value from waste” and a cost effective solar dryer. The value from waste concept focuses on how locally available agro-waste like rice husk, wheat straw etc. and biomass like water hyacinth and weeds can be used to create high value particle boards at the local level. These are eco-friendly products, which can reduce dependency on wood and expensive imports, while at the same time help in generating employment. With the focus on reduction of food wastage, Bayer is innovating in both cooling and drying technologies. Another line of activity involves the development of a cost effective solar dryer made with Bayer MaterialScience polycarbonate sheets (Makrolon®). Solar dryers increase the shelf life of the material and dried produce typically fetches a 50-100% higher price in the market, thereby enabling farmer groups and cooperatives to augment their income. Makrolon® sheets offer a tenfold increase in the life of the dryer with high performance durability and safety.

 

It is hoped that through government and non-governmental organizations, these ideas can be further developed to serve farmer cooperatives and communities in a transforming manner.

Sustainable and efficient vegetable production has always been the strength of Bayer CropScience. Specifically the company‘s Food Chain Partnership program has systematically grouped farmers and trained them to increase their agricultural productivity.  In these collaborations, Bayer CropScience experts offer high-quality seeds, effective crop protection, and expertise in environmental protection, efficiency and safety, generating value for all partners from farmers to food retailers and to the consumer. Bayer CropScience‘s global Food Chain Partnership program involves 240 projects in 30 countries and includes 40 different fruit and vegetable crops. Now, combined with the solutions that Bayer MaterialScience offers through it‘s Social Business Initiatives‘ in low-energy and cost-efficient cold stores, agro waste conversion to value eco-products and solar processing of food, the post-harvest management is receiving a further impetus. 

 

Speaking at the occasion, Suneet Guleria, Head Central Zone, Bayer CropScience said, “Bayer CropScience is keen to seize every opportunity to provide not only sustainable agriculture but also to collaborate internally and externally to empower the farmer in all ways.”

 

Ajay Durrani, Head Commercial Operations, Polyurethanes, Bayer MaterialScience, who jointly hosted the event further elaborated, “In recent years, Bayer MaterialScience has taken conscious steps to invest in technology development and outreach to the non-traditional markets like the agricultural sector.  This event is a statement to show how serious we are in widening the circle of beneficiaries from such activities which are simple but highly effective.” 

 

Isaac Emmanuel, Head Business Development & Social Business Initiatives, Bayer MaterialScience said in conclusion, “Bayer is not content with only introducing these good ideas.  We are working at every level to ensure that the benefits actually reach the target communities.  We will continuously seek the unmet needs and where Bayer can invest in to develop an appropriate technology package.  Enabling new inroads into the country‘s sustainability activities through simple but powerful science and providing an excellent example of collaboration is our long-term goal.  This is just the start of an initiative which we will roll out across the country in a phased manner.”

 

 

For more detail, please contact:

Atul Malikam

9827092823