More than 6,200 farmers are now certified by the implementation program, and individual farmer yield has increased substantially. Over 6,000 hectares of generally semi-arid land are now repeatedly farmed according to the SuCCESS® sustainability code. After the successful implementation in the previous years, the Pragati members are further committed to the world’s first sustainable castor program.
The founding members of the Pragati project for sustainable castor crop – Arkema, BASF, Jayant Agro-Organics along with implementation partner Solidaridad launched the project in May 2016.
In September of this year, the members officially updated the impacts of the program so far:
In September of this year, the members officially updated the impacts of the program so far:
- Over 6,200 farmers have been trained, audited, and certified
- Over 50,000 tons of certified castor seed have been cultivated
- Year 6 yield is 22% higher than the yield published by the local government for this region
- Over 6,000 hectares are now being regularly farmed in accordance with the SuCCESS® sustainable castor code (see www.castorsuccess.org) – more than 19,000 hectares cumulatively; Pragati farmers are increasing their land dedicated to castor farming as it is seen as a profitable crop
- Approx. 6,300 safety kits and crop protection product boxes have been distributed free of charge
- Water consumption has been lowered by approx. 30% in the demo plots where accurate measurement and control is in place
- Farmers from more than 80 villages in North Gujarat now participate in the program
- This year, more than 260 individual training sessions were held with farmers
- Additionally, the code encourages all certified farmers to ensure that their school-age children are actively enrolled in school.
- Further, the code mandates regular medical monitoring for all workers while also encouraging the use, where possible of renewable energy. Heavy emphasis is also put on improved personal safety and chemical hygiene.
The project starting-point
The project was driven by a baseline survey of more than 1,000 castor farmers in Gujarat, India, where the majority of the world’s castor supply originates. The original baseline study highlighted the fact that farmers see castor as a highly remunerative and profitable crop – easy to grow, and easy to sell.The goal of the project has been to enable sustainable castor crop production by:
- Using good agricultural practices to increase yield and farmer income
- Efficiently using water resources and maintaining soil fertility
- Driving adoption of good waste management practices
- Enabling better health and safety practices and respecting human rights
Arkema is pleased to share these encouraging results and actively invites customers and downstream stakeholders to join the sustainable castor association and to continue supporting the journey toward sustainability - www.castorsuccess.org.