OpenAg - Shaping the Future of Sustainable Farming - UPL Limited

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OpenAg - Shaping the Future of Sustainable Farming
Food is vital to our survival and any planning
for the future requires prioritizing it. A
growing world needs a growing food source that
not just meets the needs of people but does so in
a sustainable way. Currently, there are 7
billion people and global food security remains a
challenge. Before the close of the century,
there will be 11 billion people on the planet who
will eat 33 billion meals a day. 500 million
farmers have to meet this need along with
multiple other players in the food system. There
is a need for sustainability at every step of
the food value chain and we wanted to unite all
stakeholders for a single purpose with a
holistic approach that can accelerate
transformation and change agriculture globally.
This is OpenAg. OpenAg is an agriculture network
to make it possible to feed the worlds
population and providing food security and
safety to all. Open initiatives remove borders to
provide greater opportunities and create value
for everyone who needs it. Sustainability has
always been the focus of UPL and now NPP because
the future requires using the resources at our
disposal that doesnt deplete them but rather
leaves room for us to grow. OpenAg is much more
than just providing education and informing
farmers about sustainable farming methods, it
blends together innovation, technology,
environment, and people to change the game.
Heres how OpenIntelligence Technology has
made it possible to capture and analyze data in a
multitude of ways. From tracking the latest
economic indicators to global trends and consumer
insights, we make smart use of technology to
understand what our partners want and what they
need so we can continue to improve our products
and services for them and lead the change in
sustainable farming practices with data. One of
our initiatives that provides farmers with
access to education about new technologies
includes Trust in Latin America, an integrated
platform for banana growers. Read more here
gt OpenMarkets While we seize the opportunities
that come our way, we can also create new
opportunities to fuel sustainable growth across
the global food network. We found that Mexico was
the leading exporter of agricultural products
from Latin American countries. Keeping this in
mind, we created Pasaporta Verde, Green
Passport products in collaboration with Global
Gap which would ensure that global standards were
met and exports could take place. Read more here
gt OpenHearts Socioeconomic realities across the
globe have created inequalities that not just
impact growers but also the society we are a
part of, directly or indirectly. We collaborate
with people, organizations, and governments to
make sustainable growth possible for all, no
matter what lives they might lead. Our
initiatives for this date back to 1972 with the
opening of Sandra Shroff Gnyan Dham School at
Vapi in Gujarat, India, the location of UPLs
first manufacturing unit. The school has a
student population of 1500 and serves as a
benchmark for quality education in the area. UPL
has also worked with Mrs Sandra Shroff for many
other such initiatives in India that include
skill development centres, women self-help
groups, and village transformation programs. Read
more here gt OpenCollaboration When more people
come together, we can achieve more. With an open
agriculture network aimed to promote connections
and working together in new ways, we can overcome
challenges and create opportunities that might
otherwise not have been possible. We designed
BANZAI, the first proven
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chemical biostimulant foliar spray especially for
cocoa, in collaboration with Croda International
Plc that could benefit thousands of small-hold
farmers in West African countries that account
for more than 70 of the worlds cocoa
production. It played a key part in improving the
sustainability of cocoa production as it
improves the yield but is also environmentally
non-toxic and benign. Read more here
gt OpenInnovation Limitless collaboration makes
finding solutions faster and more efficient. A
global food network enables innovation by
providing access to the newest thinking,
technology, and RD in agriculture, biosolutions,
and more to meet the needs of growers, food
producers, and consumers. Our patented
starch-based smart climate technology, Zeba, is
one of the results of this. Zeba was adopted by
PepsiCo as a part of their water conservation
initiatives, which showed 11 - 20 water saving
per ton of potatoes grown, along with many other
benefits. Read more here gt OpenAccess The fixed
linear food chains of the past were limited in
flexibility, providing little opportunity for
growth. With a fluid open access network, both
existing and new connections are made easier and
faster. Our network with partners allows us to
transform farming across wide areas. We provided
a value-addition to growers with drones,
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and other
aerial/vision technologies that could monitor
the crop at different stages and make advanced
recommendations at an earlier stage. This
initiative was launched in South Africa and
rolled out worldwide. Read more here gt UPL has
also opened the OpenAg Center in the United
States to provide a home for agricultural
innovation in all its forms. In the spirit of
removing barriers, UPL also welcomes
collaboration for progressive technologies from
anyone who wants to create a significant positive
impact in food production. We welcome new
projects that align with our goals to bring the
benefits of sustainable agriculture to more
people. The open agriculture initiative can make
the ethos of sustainability an even more
integral part of all steps of the food value
chain in the years to come, which would be a win
for all.