Coca-Cola, World Bank’s private investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and DCM Shriram have helped raise sugarcane yields in Uttar Pradesh, and corporate executives say the budget’s announcement of a model law on contract farming will help farmers significantly. Coca-Cola, World Bank’s private investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) and DCM Shriram have helped raise sugarcane yields in Uttar Pradesh, and corporate executives say the budget’s announcement of a model law on contract farming will help farmers significantly. “Working with our suppliers and their suppliers, we are ensuring that we get long-term more reliable supplies of sugarcane and in the process, we ensure that prices are affordable, the yields continue to improve,” said Venkatesh Kini, president at Coca-Cola India.
DCM Shriram engages with about 1.5 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh and trains them to help increase their produce, which the company buys from them. The company is Coca-Cola’s supplier and has four sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh and engages with farmers around them. DCM Shriram is already working with the farmers on a contract basis, where it buys all the sugarcane yield from them.