Farming

The journey of best quality Stevia extracts starts from growing the best quality Stevia leaf. Nature & Nurture both play an equally important role in production & delivery of great tasting Stevia. We are pioneers of Stevia Farming in India and have taken a science driven long term view of Stevia production in India.

Think of Stevia like other natural products like Tea. From the variety of the plant, to the climate of the region it is being grown, how and when it is being harvested, packaged, transported and processed, every single step has a bearing on the taste, quality and consistency of the end product. Arboreal’s approach to great tasting Stevia is rooted in integrated production with complete traceability. To this goal, Arboreal has adopted an ecosystem approach to building the right tools and models that enable farmers to grow Stevia as a profitable cash crop on a long term basis. Arboreal’s interventions across different dimensions of Stevia agriculture include:

Arboreal’s interventions across different dimensions of Stevia agriculture include:

Cultivation Clusters:

Arboreal’s Stevia comes from the pristine foothills and footplains of Himalayas. Arboreal works directly with smallholder farmers and has sponsored its own farmer collectives (FPOs) that undertake cultivation of its proprietary varieties of Stevia.

Proprietary Plant Variety:

Arboreal is the only company in India that has developed its own non – GMO varieties via natural breeding and conducted multi-locational trials in 6 major agro-climatic zones of India and has a completely traceable, scalable and sustainable supply chain for its Stevia. Unlike other countries where multiple varieties can co-exist in the same region, Arboreal has ensured that it introduces only one variety in one Cultivation Cluster in India avoiding mixup of varieties. This allows us to offer Stevia extracts of highly consistent analytical and taste profile.

Germplasm Bank:

Arboreal’s Stevia plants are not propagated via Seeds but instead via Saplings to ensure true to type cloning and the integrity of its germplasm. Arboreal maintains its own Germplasm bank and all of the saplings are produced in its own integrated propagation facilities (Germplasm Bank + Polyhouse + Shadehouse) across 6 different locations and tissue culture R&D facilities. Creation of saplings requires a careful process of nurture – from setting up the mother bush to taking the right cuttings to rooting to hardening and transportation to the farmer’s field for transplantation. At any point of time, Arboreal employs over 250 contract workers (a majority of them women) engaged in propagation activities.

Investment in Smallholder Farmers:

Arboreal invests in smallholder farmers by giving them high-quality germplasm at highly subsidised rates – significantly below its own cost of production. And enters into long term fixed price offtake contracts on day 1, guaranteeing them a market and insulating them from market price risk. We are firmly committed and proud of making a demonstrable difference to the lives of partner farmers we work within some of the most underserved regions of India. Doing right by the farmers and Doing right for the farmers is at the core of our impact mission.

Extension & Monitoring:

All of our farms are supervised and monitored by a full time team of Agri Experts who provide extension services and end to end support from Cultivation to Harvesting and Post Harvest Management.

Farm Mechanisation:

Arboreal has invested heavily in R&D on Farm Mechanisation Solutions and offers its partner farmers a complete package of tools and practises that reduce their cost of Stevia cultivation by up to 80%. We actively promote Organic cultivation and Climate Smart Agriculture Practises with a strong focus on Sustainability. If you are a farmer collective (FPO) based in India, we welcome you to explore a partnership with us.

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