Mavens Biotech Ltd

CORPORATE/BIOTECH

Mavens Biotech Enters into Hi growth 

Seed Production

Mavens Biotech Ltd, a plant biotechnology company currently operating a tissue culture plant in Karjat and Bio informatics centre in New Delhi, has entered into seed production business.  This is a pilot project in the seeds sector and will enable the company to set up a quality seed production center with best practices and cater to the growing needs of the farmers for quality planting material. Company has initially taken six acresagriculture land on lease in Manchar district, near Pune, Maharashtra for the said purposeand produced 1.5 ton best quality Onion Seeds in the last rabi session. Company has taken advice of scientists from Directorate of Onion and Garlic Research,Rajgurunagar, Pune for best quality production and not used chemical pesticides. Company is in process to take more land on lease to expand its seed production. Company proposes to produce ten tons Maize seeds in this season. Company is selling these seeds directly to the farmers of Maharashtra region.

Indian market for seeds it the sixth largest in the world, estimated at around INR 5000 crore. This market is growing at the rate of 20% p.a.

The Company plans to set up a secondary nutrients fertilizer granulation plant at Manchar, District- Pune, Maharashtra with a capacity of 100 ton per month. The company is targeting Maharashtra state in first phase and thereafter throughout India for sale of secondary nutrients. The company has also decided to setting up a processing unit for Neem Powder/Pellets and its related products for agriculture use at Manchar, Pune, Maharashtra.

The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences has estimated (2009) that for meeting the food needs of the country by 2025, India may have to increase its plant nutrient supply to over 45 million tonnes from a current level of 25 million tonnes in 2008-09 through NPK fertilizers and from 4 to 6 million tonnes through organic manures. Out of this, 35 million tonnes should come from chemical fertilizer sources and the remaining 10 million tonnes from organic sources.

According to ICAR estimates, there is a big gap of 10 million tonnes of nutrients annually added and drained from the soil by crop removal and erosion. However, average consumption of fertilizers in the country is low and, currently at 144 kg per hectare of arable land (2010-11). This is below countries such as Bangladesh (149.8 kg per hectare in 2008), Chile (269 kg per hectare), China (395.1 kg per hectare), and Vietnam (195.5 kg per hectare).