Maharashtra to sign MoU with Rallis, Tata Chemicals and Jain Irrigation

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Government is going to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Rallis India, Tata Chemicals and Jain Irrigation to launch public-private-partnership (PPP) initiative for increasing pulses and cotton production.

"Maharashtra government will sign an MOU with Rallis India and Tata Chemicals for pulses, and with Jain Irrigation Systems for cotton development for small dry-land farmers, on Thursday," Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy Director, Girish Gupta, told PTI.

The Chamber had organised two-day Agricorp 2011 conference on 'Maharashtra 2015 - Game changers for agricultural growth and farm prosperity'.

The Chamber had series of discussions with the state government and suggested that the way ahead is to develop initiatives in which corporates can partner with the state and farmers under a PPP model, he said.

Maharashtra's agriculture sector plays a significant role in the state's economy. Compared to the 2 per cent national average agricultural growth, Maharashtra has seen over 6 per cent growth in the last 5 years, said Avalon Consulting Executive Director, Naimish Dave.

Output of state's agriculture sector touched Rs 46,433 crore in FY 10, which is about 8.4 per cent of the all India agricultural output.