UPL expects global biz unit NPP to contribute 15% to total business by 2025

UPL, a leading player in sustainable agriculture products and solutions, is expecting its new global business unit 'Natural Plant Protection' to grow its contribution to the company's total business to 15 percent by 2025.

Natural plant protection (NPP) comprises UPL's comprehensive portfolio of natural and biologically derived agricultural inputs and solutions.

''NPP is 7 percent of the total UPL business and our aim is to outperform the market and hopefully grow into double digits, that is 15 percent by 2025,'' UPL Chief Operating Officer (NPP) Fabio Torretta told PTI.

NPP, which has a 100 percent focus on bio solutions, is a completely different business and works in a different way, he said adding that under NPP, there is a need to educate farmers about the products, how they work, what amount to use and the outcome. ''With this in mind, we decided to come up with a new brand NPP, which will focus on bio solutions for a sustainable balance. NPP will be a brand under UPL and we will take advantage of the huge market access of the UPL and the R&D centers across the world. We believe that with NPP, UPL is uniquely positioned to lead the bio solutions technologies to the market,'' he noted.

NPP will operate across the world through UPL's marketing access in 138 countries across the world. ''Innovation is meaningless unless it starts and ends with understanding the pain points of a farmer, or a real customer, in mind. We will focus our research and development (R&D) and our collaborations on building new platforms towards addressing the needs of the farmers," Torretta stated.

He said the company aims to be a leading player in India under NPP offering a range of bio solution products right from soil health to biocontrol to nutrition to biostimulation.

In India, UPL already has a very strong portfolio of bio solutions, which the company has been working on for more than five years now and this will come under the NPP brand, he said. ''We will now accelerate the pipeline to get more solutions, more products in the market. We are amongst the top 3 players today in India for bio solutions and we aim to hold the number one position in the next two years," he added. PTI SM MKJ