Vadodara based ACIL Cotton Industries,formerly known as Adeshwar Cotton Industries, has started organic contract farming over 505 acres of land across various districts of the state and is also developing seven retail stores.
The company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) that it has started farming in various districts since the last six months, and as a pilot it harvested BT cotton, Tuver, Jira and some herbs. ACIL added in the release that it is in advanced stages of finalisation for another 450 acres of land in Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. It is also looking at sourcing technology from Israel and plans to set up a research and development center near Anand.
According to ACIL's business model, the company will buy all the crop harvested on the 505 acres and sell through its planned retail chain. ACIL's retail chain has presence across all agro-commodities in all the sectors of trading, export and import.
Earlier this month, ACIL had informed BSE that the company got 107 acres of land for organic contract farming in Surendranagar district. At that time it was already farming in 398 acres of land. The release said, "as per agreement, company will provide all facilities like irrigation system, technical assistance, quality seeds, organic fertilizer and Labors (if required) to farmers for better yields."