The world’s largest fertiliser co-op, IFFCO, has reached an 11-year take-or-pay supply agreement with Yorkshire mining firm Sirius Minerals.
The deal will see Sirius supply IFFCO – which has access to 55 million farmers in India across its 36,000 member co-ops – with its flagship fertiliser, POLY4, a polyhalite product, from its potash mine near Whitby.
Scarborough-based Sirius says POLY4 can improve yields and quality in a large range of crops. The firm has also signed supply agreements with commercial organisations in Europe, Africa, South East Asia, North America, Central America, South America and China.
Chris Fraser, managing director and CEO of Sirius, said: “We are delighted to be embarking on a long-term partnership with IFFCO, an organisation with a wide reach and a proud history in India and a substantial profile in the global fertiliser market.
“POLY4 can undoubtedly have a hugely positive impact on Indian agriculture, both in terms of yields and sustainability, and we look forward to working with IFFCO to deliver these benefits for Indian farmers for many years to come.”
Dr Udai Shanker Awasthi, managing director and chief executive of IFFCO, said POLY4 will help IFFCO to deliver its vision of increasing farmer’s incomes by improving crop productivity and the balanced use of energy-efficient fertilisers.
He said: “The multi-nutrient characteristics of POLY4 are well suited to Indian soils and crops. Having seen the on-going crop science work and results, I know that this partnership between Sirius and IFFCO will have an important role to play for farmers in improving yield, quality and profitability of crops.
“This agreement is very much in line with IFFCO’s ongoing initiative of achieving balanced nutritional management for soil, because good quality soil will help our farmers to increase their yields. In turn, this can help in our prime minister’s initiative of seeking to double farmer income by 2022 as well as helping to address the most challenging issues of agricultural sustainability and food security.”
He added: “POLY4’s combination of potassium, sulphur, magnesium and calcium, together with trace micronutrients, low chloride content and suitability for organic use, means that it can help to offer better balanced crop nutrition and sustained soil health to Indian agriculture and farmers.”
