Patanjali promises Indian cow manure fertilisers, claims they will help farmers beat financial stress and improve incomes.
New Delhi: Ramdev’s Patanjali, having established itself in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) space, is now set to enter the country’s agriculture sector.
The company, through one of its arms, the Patanjali Bio-Research Institute, has filed for four patents with the Modi government, claiming that its organic fertilisers are innovative and first-of-their-kind products.
The company, according to its patent applications, has manufactured its chemical-free fertilisers by using a mixture of herbs, including turmeric, aloe vera, and natural sweeteners to boost per acre productivity.
In line with its ‘swadeshi’ marketing, which it applies to all its business ventures, the company claims its bio-fertilisers contain manure from Indian cows. Apart from the regular mixture, the company says it has added a list of minerals and nutrients to boost crop production.
“We are ready with the investments in our agriculture business as it is likely to benefit the Indian farmers who are passing through financial distress,” Acharya Bal Krishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurveda told ThePrint. “We have a plan to solve their financial stress and improve their income.”
If granted, Patanjali’s venture would compete with other fertiliser makers such as Tata Chemicals, Hindalco Industries, Sriram Fertilisers & Chemicals among others.
Also read: Baba Ramdev may land up in high office of India one day: Foreign Policy magazine
Firm brings in experts, promises better yield
To help with its efforts, Patanjali has hired four scientists from the country’s top agricultural institutes.
The company has brought in A.K. Mehta, former additional director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research — the autonomous body responsible for coordinating agricultural research in India under the ministry of agriculture — to oversee its entire project.
The other scientists are Ravindra Babu, former director of the Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad; Ravindra Reddy, a one-time senior scientist with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), an international organisation; and Jawahar Lal Dwivedi, former head of department of Plant Breeding and Genetics and officer incharge at the Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology in Faizabad.
Patanjali has also cited internal research to claim that its bio-fertilisers are likely to boost the income of the farmers by reducing production cost.
The company claims that with regard to wheat, for instance, the average production cost with traditional fertiliser (per acre) is Rs 9,369 and the cost increases every year as soil loses fertility and minerals.
With organic fertilisers, the company claims that while production cost starts at Rs 10,900 per acre, after two continuous years of using these fertilisers, it will reduce to Rs 9,580 per acre and then continue to fall.
Moreover, Patanjali says, the market offers a higher selling price for products made from organic fertilisers. According to the company, the average sale price of wheat grown with traditional fertiliser (per acre) is Rs 47,500 against the selling price of Rs 58,200 for organic fertilisers.
“In this case, the benefit to the farmer is more while using organic fertiliser in that a farmer saves around Rs 47,800, on an average, per acre,” Bal Krishna said.
Patanjali’s foray into agriculture comes on the back of Ramdev having announced last year that his company is now focusing on the sector and plans to bring out several products in the coming future.
Also read: Delhi HC greenlights special income tax audit of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda