Karnataka Agro plans JV with Dubai govt

Karnataka Agro Chemicals, part of the Bangalore-based Rs 75 crore Multiplex Group and a leading organic fertiliser manufacturer, is looking at the overseas market as part of its expansion.

The company, which has been manufacturing biofertiliser for the last three decades, is setting up a manufacturing plant in Dubai through a joint venture with the Dubai government to make organic manure.

"We were invited by Dubai to give a presentation on using biofertiliser. Following a demonstration, they asked us to set up a plant there to manufacture organic manure based on coir pith," said KAC managing partner G P Shetty. The company is presently finalising the joint venture agreement and hopes to set up the plant next year.

While, the Dubai government will fund the project, Karnataka Agro Chemicals will transfer the knowhow.

The company has developed an organic manure with decomposed coir pith, neem cake and pongamia cake which is treated with fungus. This fertiliser has undergone field trials and is now used across the country. Farmers in Uttar Pradesh have doubled their potato yield using the fertiliser, said Shetty.

The company is manufacturing the coir pith-based manure at Nelamangala near Bangalore and Bhubaneshwar, where the raw material is available in abundance.

The manure is sold under the brand name 'Annapurna'. Coir pith in a brick form will be exported to Dubai where it will be decomposed and used as raw material. Shetty said that the Dubai government was impressed with the performance of the fertiliser in India and wants to use it to control insect attacks on their date gardens.

"The Dubai government is concerned about the ill-effects of chemical fertiliser and is giving a greater thrust to making their country greener. So, our biofertiliser will meet their requirements," Shetty said.

The company has also received another export order from the government of Muscat for the supply of two species of fungus "" entomopathogenic fungus (Verticillium lecanii) and Entomopathenic fungus (Hirsutella thompsonii) "" for producing organic manure there, Shetty added.