Godrej agri arm to expand

To spread in Punjab, Haryana.

Godrej Agrovet, the agriculture arm of the Rs 6,500-crore Godrej group, has aggressive plans for expansion north of Delhi.

With an investment of about Rs 90 crore, the company will open 23 new Aadhaar stores in Punjab and Haryana in the next year.

Talking to Business Standard, Godrej Agrovet Executive Vice-President RS Vijan said the company was focusing on north and west India and planned to increase the number of outlets in Punjab and Haryana to 1,000 over the next four years.

The company recently opened its largest store at Batala (near Amritsar) on an area of 24,000 sq ft.

According to Vijan, the Batala store will sell products like mobile phones, accessories, computers, furniture, toys, jewellery, fresh fruits and vegetables. It will include a food-court.

The company has a also tied up with HDFC Bank to offer agri-loans to the farmers. Similarly, ICICI Prudential will offer customised life insurance packages for the rural customers of Aadhaar. The company is also planning a twenty-four hour Apollo pharmacy at the outlet.

The outlet would cater to the 60-70 villages in the catchment area. Vijan said the company had hired 8-10 workers at each store for providing the agriculture extension services to the farmers.

He added that the company was planning to replicate its Maharashtra model "" of buying fresh vegetables and fruits from the local farmers "" in Punjab and Haryana.

"Farmers do not diversify from paddy in Punjab for the fear of absence of market for perishables. They need to be educated about this," Vijan added.