• MoU to enable dissemination of digital advisory to MACP farmers through MyAgriGuru
• Project to increase Productivity, Profitability and Market Access for farmers in Maharashtra

Mumbai, February 16, 2018: Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. and Maharashtra Agriculture Competitiveness Project (MACP), Government of Maharashtra, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MACP project which is being conducted under the aegis of the World Bank aims to increase productivity, profitability and market access for the farming community in Maharashtra. The MOU was signed by Mr. Sushil Khodwekar, IAS – Project Director, MACP and Mr. Ashok Sharma, President – Agriculture Sector, MD & CEO – Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd.

The MoU would enable dissemination of real-time agri advisory and market information among the farming community in Maharashtra through Mahindra Agri’s digital medium – MyAgriGuru (MAG) App with the support of MACP. Additionally, this partnership signifies Mahindra Agri’s contribution to the Government’s endeavor to digitize the agricultural sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Sharma, President – Agriculture Sector, MD & CEO – Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. said, “We are delighted to sign this MoU with MACP the primary objective of which would be to educate farmers by delivering information on agri commodities and the agri market. India is undergoing an exciting phase of reinventing itself in the agri space and this partnership is also part of our Farming 3.0 initiative where we are witnessing innovative and digital disruptions in agriculture. We are grateful to the Government of Maharashtra for their support and look forward to successfully implementing this project”.

Sushil Khodwekar - IAS, Project Director, MACP remarked “We are delighted to partner with Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd for their digital platform MyAgriGuru which will help strengthen Farmer Producer Companies. It will assist these Farmer Producer Companies on crop advisory, weather forecasting, market information, price forecasting etc. MACP has also established an in-house Centre for “Indian Agriculture Market Intelligence cell” for price forecasting of select agriculture commodities. This forecast report will be disseminated through the MyAgriGuru App to all the Farmer Producer Companies empowering them to make better decisions.”

Launched in February 2017, during the 7th Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Awards, MyAgriGuru is a unique platform which aims to bring all the farmers and agri-experts across the country on a single platform. This is one of the fastest growing apps in the agriculture space, having connected 3.8 lakh farmers within one year of launch. Over all, over 55,000 interactions have occurred on MyAgriGuru, with over 500 taking place on a daily basis. MyAgriGuru provides comprehensive information to enable decision-making for farmers. This includes crop advisory, weather forecasts and most importantly market prices. The unique differentiation of MyAgriGuru is its open discussion platform – AgriBuzz – which allows farmers to connect with the rest of the farming communities and agri experts.

About Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited

With a vision to Deliver FarmTech Prosperity, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. closely interacts with farmers to improve their produce, quality and productivity by providing latest advances in farm technologies and agricultural know how. It also helps farmers by linking them to the market to provide better returns for their quality produce and thereby improving their lives. With its wide portfolio of inputs viz. Seeds, Crop Care, Micro Irrigation Services backed by high-quality advisory through Samriddhi outlets, Mahindra Agri Business has successfully helped Indian farmers increase their productivity over the years. At the same time, it has a strong outputs business consisting of Fruits and Vegetables, Pulses, Edible Oils and Dairy where again close links with the farmers allow it to provide products that stand for quality and purity.

Having grown 12-fold in the last 6 years, Mahindra Agribusiness has become one of India’s largest grape exporters, launching its premium fresh fruit and dairy brand Saboro, and establishing ‘Farm to Fork’ presence across the Agri value chain. It has also ventured into the branded pulses and oils segment with NuPro with the promise of highest quality backed by Mahindra Quality Standards. It also hosts the pioneering Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Awards, which celebrated its seventh edition and has attracted close to 260000 agricultural innovations and success stories till date.

About Mahindra

The Mahindra Group is a USD 19 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It has a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, aerospace, commercial vehicles, components, defence, logistics, real estate, renewable energy, speedboats and steel, amongst other businesses. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,40,000 people across 100 countries.

Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise