Agrochemicals major Bayer forays into India's home garden segment

The company launches mini packs of hybrids vegetable seeds

German agrochemicals major Bayer on Thursday said it is entering India's home garden segment with mini packs of SeminisVegetable Seeds, to provide rural farmers and semi-urban growers a choice in cultivating their own vegetables.

Bayer aims to leverage its broad portfolio of high-quality hybrid seeds and provide rural farmers and semi-urban growers greater choice in cultivating their own vegetables with mini packs of Bitter Gourd, Bottle Gourd, Okra and Beans, initially, the company said in a statement.

Gradually, Bayer is planning to extend its mini packs across the entire range of its Seminishybrid seeds.

The mini packs will be available in select agri-retail outlets and Bayer's Better Life Farmingcentres across India.

While in commercial farming, farmers buy large packs suitable for on-farm cultivation, the mini packs will come in two sizes - a pack of 25 seeds and a pack of 50 seeds.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown saw many people in India's urban cities take to gardening in their balconies and terraces, to meet these requirements, Bayer will extend its mini packs to urban markets in 2021 to cater to kitchen and hobby gardeners.

For this, Bayer will look at collaborating with e-commerce partners and plant nursery e-tailers to extend the reach of its high-quality hybrid seeds to urban markets, it added.