India: Syngenta supports vegetable growers by introducing new technology

Their use of inputs may be low, but so is their yield: Vegetable growers in emerging markets often produce their crops in an extensive way, in the open field. While production is high in terms of acreage, many smallholders struggle to be profitable. The use of water and agronomic inputs is often not efficient, and the produce lacks the quality required to negotiate a better market price. In addition, the food value chain in these regions is often still in its infancy – India for example has a very limited organized retail structure.

"For the growers, this provides a tremendous opportunity for improvement through intensification that benefits everyone in the value chain – and they can rely on Syngenta’s support to achieve that", said the biotechnology company in a press release. "Leading by example are the pepper growers in India’s Karnataka region, who have been able to significantly increase their yield per hectare and to use their resources more efficiently with Syngenta’s integrated ‘high-pop’ technology.

“High-pop stands for high population,” explains David Ryan, Syngenta’s Head of Vegetable Marketing for Emerging Markets. “When the pepper seedlings are planted, they are spaced much more closely than in traditional practice to optimize the population density. Our technology ensures effective water and fertilizer supply with drip irrigation. And by mulching between the rows and through our targeted crop protection protocol we help the grower to fend off insects and diseases. This is particularly important in the early growing stage, where vegetables are more prone to stresses than other crops.”

For the group of around 100 growers who have been applying high-pop technology to their pepper crop, there are multiple benefits:

Plant population has almost doubled compared to traditional growing practices − yet water usage remains the same

Yield has increased significantly compared to traditional practice (yield has more than doubled for many growers)

Growers have harvested better quality peppers with good uniformity in size, shape, and weight, reaching a higher market price

"With the high-pop technology we have shown growers how they can improve their agronomics in a holistic way to greatly increase their profitability and income,” David says. “We already see great loyalty from our growers, and can now build a much stronger business based on this.”

Source: Syngenta News Release