A group of Dutch agricultural companies are working to bring the Indian fruit cultivation sector up to scratch. Supplying starting materials, a supply chain approach and education are core ideas for this. Jan Neele is the coordinator of the group. He has high expectations of the Dutch effort.
The group consists of eight companies from the Dutch fruit supply chain and the agrarian knowledge institute, Wellant College. These companies entered into a cooperation agreement with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) in late 2016, as part of the programme Partners for International Business (PIB). Quality improvement of the entire fruit supply chain in India is the primary objective of the collaboration. Agricultural advisor Jan Neele is the group’s coordinator.
Moving to the city
Neele sees the development of the fruit cultivation in India as a crucial factor to increase employment in the countryside. “Small cultivators and young people are moving to the cities en masse. This is causing major problems, both in cities and in the country areas,” is his analysis. “Something has to be done to improve the quality of life in the countryside. Modernising the cultivation is much needed. The Netherlands can definitely make an important contribution in that field.”
Outdated fruit orchards
India is the second largest producer of fruit in the world after China, and this mostly concerns apples, pears, cherries and walnuts. The production of more than 70 million tonnes of fruit per year does not say much about the profitability of the sector, according to Neele. “Most fruit trees are very old, and do not have high yields per hectare. Qualitatively, production is also far below par. Losses in the supply chain are also unacceptably large, up to 40 per cent. Much can be improved in the field of harvesting techniques, transport and storage. That knowledge is present in the Netherlands. The PIB group will work together to put our knowledge and experience into action.”
Supplying starting material
One of the objectives of the group of companies is to export good starting material to India. Neele: “The Netherlands is the only country in the world that produces rootstocks and budwood that is free of viruses. The objective is to cultivate the young fruit trees in India in the long term, and the Netherlands would supply genetically superb material to that end.”
Train the trainers
Planting highly productive fruit trees is not enough to bring the Indian fruit sector to a higher level. “Fruit cultivators have little knowledge of caring for plants, fertilisers and crop protection. That is also the case for agricultural spokespeople. They have been theoretically educated and have little to no practical knowledge. Wellant College picks up education. We are starting from the concept ‘train the trainers.’ In that manner, we can reach many cultivators in a short amount of time.”
Supplying machines
Supplying agricultural machines is another part of the PIB group. Neele: “In the field of mechanisation, India is 60 to 80 years behind the Netherlands. Whether it is about crop protection or tillage. The group can bring mechanisation in the fruit sector to a higher level from the Netherlands.”
Demonstration company
Various partners from the group are going to launch a demonstration company in India this year. To that end, there is a cooperation with the agricultural university in Kashmir. The group is not a closed shop, according to Neele. “On the contrary, we are looking for companies which want to join us: for example, companies with the knowledge of drying fruit and of storage and cooling techniques. In the end, the objective is to improve the entire supply chain in India.”
More Dutch groups
Agricultural counsellor Wouter Verhey is closely involved in the activities of the cluster in India. He has high expectations of it. “The Netherlands is strong in thinking of supply chain solutions, from plant material to logistics and processing. There is much need for that in India. Experiences with similar Dutch cooperations in India, for instance in potato cultivation, indicate that the supply chain approach has positive results, both for India and for the Netherlands.”