Even during the pandemic, the agricultural sector has stayed relatively unharmed, according to Arun Alagappan, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Murugappa Group.
He was speaking at the launch of a new brand, ‘Groshakti’, by the group’s Coromandel International Limited here on Friday.
Mr. Alagappan said unemployment soared and the GDP projections plummeted through the lockdown, but the agriculture sector apparently emerged relatively unscathed.
“The idea is to enhance the productivity of the crops and help farmers get quality yield,” he said.
Earlier called Coromandel Fertilisers, the company is in the business of fertilisers, pesticides and speciality nutrients.
Policy impetus
Mr. Alagappan said both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments were focussed on welfare of the farmers. He said the Centre too was keen on ushering in reforms in the agriculture sector through new laws that could provide impetus to the agriculture economy.
Company Managing Director Sameer Goel explained that ‘Groshakti’ was a well balanced grade having NPK in 14-35-14 ratio, considered as the best for any fertiliser for any crop.
“This grade has high nutrient percentage and has less filler material, because of which it does not hurt the soil mechanism,” he said, and added that the company had come out stronger even during the difficult phase of the lockdown, thanks to the concerted efforts of its staff and members of the Research and Development wing.
He said farmers should immediately adopt the new product to improve their crop yield.
CSR initiatives
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Coromandel encourages rural girls with scholarship and also provides RO plants in the rural areas with fluoride problem. The firm has also set up 18 Gromor Nutri clinics across Andhra Pradesh to help the farmers.
President of the company Shankar Subramanyam, Executive Vice-President Kalidas Pramanik and Vice-President G.V. Subba Reddy were among others present.
