Arkema and partners release fourth year results of Pragati, the world's first sustainable castor project

(February 3, 2021, Shanghai, China / Colombe, France) Arkema, BASF, Jayant Agro-Organics, and executive partner Solidaridad, founding members of the sustainable castor crop project Pragati The final audit and certification results for the fourth year of the program were recently completed and published

The Pragati project was launched in May 2016 following a baseline survey of more than 1,000 castor farmers in the Gujarat region of India, where the world's main castor crop is grown

●Increase yields and farmers' income through good agricultural practices

● Effectively utilize water resources and maintain soil fertility

● Promote the adoption of good waste management practices

● Promote better health and safety practices and respect for human rights

Following the successful completion of the initial three-year first phase of the project, the founding members committed to start the second phase of the project from the end of 2019 for a three-year period

In December 2020, the founding members gave an official update on the project's impact so far:

● Over 4,500 castor farmers trained, audited and certified - 45% increase in fourth year

● Over 24,000 tons of certified castor beans planted - 70% increase in fourth year

● Compared with the comparable output in the region in 2019 and 2020 released by the local government, the output has increased by more than 50%

● Over 8,700 hectares of castor planted to the SuCCESS Sustainable Castor Standard (see– a 71% increase in fourth year

● Complete more than 12,000 hours of training courses

● Free distribution of approximately 5,000 sets of personal safety care kits and storage buckets for crop protection products

● Approximately 19% reduction in water consumption on the precisely measured and controlled demonstration plots

● Castor farmers from more than 69 villages north of Gujarat are currently involved in the project

● To foster end-user awareness and engagement, a customer event was held in early 2020, which included guided tours of farms, trading markets and castor processing plants

Arkema is proud to play a role in this great initiative