- Erstwhile Mahindra Shubhlabh Solutions Limited (MSSL) renamed as Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited (MASL)
- Pawan Goenka, appointed as the Chairman of MASL, Ashok Sharma to be the MD and CEO
- The board reconstituted
Mumbai March 29, 2016: Mahindra Agri Solutions Limited (erstwhile MSSL), formed in February 2016 to drive synergies by transferring all of Mahindra’s Agri businesses (except EPC Industrie Limited) under one roof, announced the reconstitution of its board and appointment of new members.
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Executive Director, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, will be the Chairman of the reconstituted board. Mr. Ashok Sharma, President, Agri and Africa & South Asia Operations, M&M Ltd., will be the MD and CEO of the company. Mr. Sharma also holds the position of MD, EPC Industrie Limited.
The new board will comprise of the following members:
M&M Representatives
- Pawan Goenka, Chairman
- Ashok Sharma, MD and CEO
- K. Chandrasekar
Independent Directors
- M. G. Bhide
- Hardeep Singh
- Aruna Bhinge
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, MASL mentioned, “I am honoured and excited to be nominated to the board of MASL which has a vision of Delivering Farm Tech Prosperity, We aim to be a player across the agri value chain so as to increase farm productivity and thereby increase farmer prosperity. I am sure that the company under the guidance of the new board and leadership of Ashok Sharma will work towards delivering superior performance.”
Ashok Sharma, MD and CEO of MASL said, “Our end-to-end presence across the agri value chain provides us an opportunity for immense value creation for all stakeholders and thus, have a significant impact on Indian agriculture. I am sure that we will take this vision forward under the guidance of the newly constituted board”.
Mahindra’s Agri Businesses
Currently, M&M’s Agri Businesses include the following: Crop Care, Seeds, Seed Potato, Pulses, Edible Oils, Fruits, Dairy and Micro Irrigation. All agri businesses with the exception of Micro Irrigation have now come under MASL (Erstwhile MSSL). The micro irrigation business, EPC Industrie Limited will continue as a direct subsidiary of M&M Ltd. The businesses also have the following brands: Samriddhi for selling of agri inputs, Saboro for high quality fruits and dairy, and NuPro for Pulses & Edible Oils.
M&M’s agri business has achieved around 8X growth in turnover in the last 4 years. In this endeavour it touches the lives of nearly 1 lakh farmer every year. Its flagship programme, ‘Farmer Under Productivity Improvement (FUPI)’ is certified by global agencies for its ability to increase farm productivity. In the last 2 years recognizing the need of farmers to earn the right amount for their produce, M&M’s Agri Business has also rapidly expanded its output portfolio in fruits, pulses and edible oils. This also allows it to meet the huge demand for quality produce in India. M&M also has a JV with HZPC Holland BV for seed potatoes. HZPC is amongst the world leaders in seed potato technology and the JV is developing world class R&D capability and products. This JV is a subsidiary of MASL (Erstwhile MSSL)
With this consolidation, as mentioned above, all M&M Ltd. Agri Businesses (except Micro Irrigation) would now come under Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. (erstwhile MSSL). The erstwhile MSSL was set up in 2003 for the export of grapes and is one of the largest exporter of grapes from India. Its high quality products are sold in markets in Europe, Middle East, Russia and South East Asia. MASL sources its grapes from Western India and Egypt, and has recently commenced operations in Chile and Peru. In all these places, MASL works closely with the farmers to increase their productivity and ensure the right quality of produce. MASL also has a JV, Mahindra Univeg Pvt Ltd with Greenyard Fruits for fresh produce. With a turnover of around Euro 4 Bn, Greenyard Foods is one of the largest F&V players in the world. The JV is expected to provide access to world class supply chains for fruits.