Edilble oil company Ruchi Soya today tied up with Netherlands-based Solidaridad for increasing the palm oil yield in 50,000 acres of land, at an investment of 4.5 million euros (about Rs 32 crore).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rute here.
"The project for increasing the yield will be completed in next 4-5 years and its aim is to by saving at least 1.5 trillion of waters raise India's palm oil production and generate employment in rural areas," Ruchi Soya Managing Director Dinesh Shahra told reporters here.
Shahra added that these 50,000 acres will be on contract farming in five states in the country.
Ruchi Soya will invest 55 per cent of the total investment, the remaining 45 per cent will be invested by its Netherlands partner.
Shahara also said that the project will work on principle of 'Make in India' and 'More Crop per Drop'.
"Our endeavor is to ensure that the Indian farmers get the best quality of inputs and state of the art technology that can help them scale up their production," he said.
Speaking about the agreement, Solidaridad South and South-East Asia Managing Director Shatadru Chattopadhayay said,"They will bring best practices from Netherlands and will hire experts to develop the techniques for increasing the yield of palm oil with less water."
Chattopadhayay added that the project will generate the significant employment for small holder farmers in remote regions with assured monthly returns throughout the year.
The annual demand of edible oil is about 19-20 million tonnes (MT), of which more than 13 MT is imported and Palm constitutes about 9 MT of the total imports.
