The Indian unit of French global agricultural trading firm Louis Dreyfus Company is launching a project to improve the productivity of wheat and maize in several countries. According to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) India Managing Director Sumeet Mittal, the project was targeted at Banswara in Rajasthan. “The idea is to replace traditional seed varieties with those promoted by the local agricultural university. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is establishing quality plots to improve cultivation,” he told Businessline in an online interaction.
LDC India conducts extensive training with farmers on various aspects and ensures the timely availability of fertilizers and other plant protection measures. The Indian unit of the French company, a leading trader and processor of agricultural and consumer goods, is implementing a regenerative cotton farming project in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district. “We work with more than 4,000 farmers or households with a total area of around 7,000+ hectares,” said the LDC India CEO.
Sustainable coffee project
Founded about 170 years ago, the company, which operates in more than 100 countries, helps farmers adopt drip irrigation in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. In addition, demonstrations will be held at the square and it will provide critical inputs such as vermicomposting equipment, LDC India, which has been operating since the 1950s, has launched a sustainable program in the coffee sector. He started a responsible sourcing program to certify and authenticate more than 300 farmers who produce 4,000 tons of coffee. Mittal said the program is based on ethical and sustainable development standards that the company applies to coffee supplies worldwide. “We support more than 1,500 coffee farmers to improve soil fertility. In the coffee industry, we cooperate with the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade at the group level. By 2027, we will buy 32,000 tons of responsibly produced coffee. Most of our projects are implemented in corporate social responsibility programs”, adding that the company plans to expand operations with farmers next year.