Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd

Background of the Company:

About: Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd was registered at Bangalore on 14th November, 2011 and is owned by first generation techno- commercial entrepreneurs in the leadership of Dr. L. K. Pandey having three decades of experience in seed industry. Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd aims to become a leader in the Indian Seed Industry through research and marketing of scientifically produced high quality seeds. Beside several recognitions and awards, it has been Judged Best Manufacturing Start-up Company in CII Industrial Innovation Award, 2015 and also as Top Ten Promising Start Ups. It has been working in Ghana (West Africa) as Technology Provider and Collaborator of NRDC, New Delhi for a Pilot project on Tomato Production which was sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs in Ghana.

Significance: Apart from providing Ghana with high yielding, pest resistant varieties of Tomato the project would also exhibit the benefits of greenhouse farming to increase productivity of vegetables and fruits that would have long-term benefits to farmers in Ghana. The pilot research project could lead to improved tomato productivity in Ghana thereby cutting costs on imports and also providing downward linkages to the food processing industry.

Title of the study: ‘Pilot Project on Tomato Production in Ghana’ sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India- Promoting Tomato Cultivation as CSR Intervention. Area of focus: Tomato cultivation in Kumasi, Ada and Novrango to demonstrate to Tomato Growers.

Intervention/Approach: A Pilot project on Tomato Production, sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi executed by the National Research Development Corporation, Government of India, New Delhi in collaboration with CSIR-CRI, Government of Ghana. The Technology partner was Ananya Seeds Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi which also provided tomato seeds. The first project was executed at Kumasi location to help Ghanian farmers with high yielding, pest resistant varieties of Tomato. It also exhibited the benefits of greenhouse farming to increase productivity of vegetables and fruits that would have long-term benefits to farmers in Ghana. The pilot research project could lead to improved tomato productivity in Ghana thereby cutting costs on imports and also providing downward linkages to the food processing industry. Through agronomical experiments the best practices could be recommended for local condition.

Outcome: It is recommended to use economical poly-houses to promote tomato cultivation under protected condition.. In case of open field cultivation, we need to escape extreme rainy season as well as very hot season. It is also recommended to distribute subsidized seeds of selected and promising varieties and hybrids. We should also conduct more demos across the Tomato growing season and regions. It will strengthen the confidence level of farmers to go for Tomato cultivation using advanced know-how and skills. The right quality of seeds along with good package of practices have been established its importance through this pilot project.

Type (Beneficiaries/Individual): Ghana has a bright agricultural future which can only be realized through the combination of a comprehensive agricultural strategy and the will to implement the policies to boost year round agriculture. The scientific know how, technology and all the necessary tools to change her agricultural sector into a vibrant one powered by a viable public and private partnership to secure the food security and socio-economic transformation. Our prime objective was to identify and release of improved Tomato hybrids and varieties with features like high yielding, disease and pest resistance, climate resilient and capable of driving the value chain activities. We observed that Out of two experimental conditions, poly house trial performed well in comparison to the unsatisfactory open field trial.

Description We conducted a pilot research project for the Tomato production at 3 locations in Ghana. The objective was to increase the yield through intervention of good cultivation practices and high yielding, insect and pest resistant varieties of seeds from India. The current project was implemented by National Research Development Corporation (Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India) with the financial assistance from Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, along with its Technology Partner Ananya Seeds Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. Apart from providing Ghana with high yielding, pest resistant varieties of Tomato the project also demonstrated the benefits of protected cultivation to increase productivity of vegetables like Tomatoes that would have long-term benefits to farmers in Ghana. The pilot research project finally proved to improve the tomato productivity in Ghana thereby cutting costs on imports and also providing forward linkages to the food processing industry. Ananya Seeds Pvt Ltd has been providing high quality seeds as well as Package

of Practices for best performance of the crop. It developed standard manual as a guideline for progressive farmers using recent advancements in Agriculture. As a pilot project of research and production of Tomato in Ghana we tested our tomato hybrids and varieties at three different locations like Kumasi, Ada and Novrango. All three projects have been completed and handed over to CRI-CSIR, Ghana. We conducted research regarding effect of spacing, irrigation methods and intervals, sowing methods in open field experimental blocks. We also cultivated the crop under protected condition using precision techniques for maximising yields. We also conducted and standardized seed production methods and demonstrated to farmers so that they can adopt the same. We used and tested six hybrids and six open pollinated varieties and observed their performance under varying climatic conditions at three different locations. Our experiment with Hydrogel (water super absorbent) has also shown very positive result on water stress management. We can help Ghanian farmers through different kind of vegetable seeds available with us. We also concluded that using Ghanian local lines and Indian varieties, we can breed new kind of more acceptable tomato hybrids with desired features like taste, shelf life, size, shape, biotic and abiotic stress tolerancesetc.

Pilot Project on Tomato Production in Ghana (West Africa). 2016-17