PepsiCo to provide citrus saplings to Punjab farmers

Jallowal, Jalandhar, Apr 25 (UNI) PepsiCo, the leading cold drinks company, to provide citrus saplings to farmers under Public-Private Partnership with Punjab government.

This was stated by PepsiCo India's Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Chadha while talking to media persons here this evening.

He said the cirtus project was part of the company's efforts to create a durable, reliable and localised supply chain of citrus juice for Tropicana, the company's juice brand.

''The farmers can choose from 16 rootstock varieties and 32 citrus scion varities. This is one of the largest collections at a nursery here, creating a world-class source of planting materials for Punjab farmers,'' he said.

''The company is currently in the process of providing saplings and by the end of this year, 10,000 acres of land are expected to be utilised for citrus planting,''he said adding that by next year, the nursery capacity would grow to four million saplings annually, which would enable the laying of 35,000 acres of citrus orchards every year.

He said Punjab has the potential to become global leader in citrus farming as citrus cultivation requires less water and electricity compared to other crops. The usage of fertilizer and other chemical is also lower for citrus.

This unique initiative is a win-win situation for PepsiCo and farmers of Punjab as this would provide them with the opportunity to earn much higher income in a sustainable manner as compared to normal wheat and paddy crops, he said.

In the public-private partnership, the state government had played a significant role in facilitating the creation of the nursery infrastructure, importing of germ-plasm and making land available, whereas PepsiCo contributes towards the operating costs and to provide training to farmers to ensure high citrus yields.

UNI