Cargill today opened its first corn silo in the country in Davangere, Karnataka, making inroads into bulk agricultural storage in India. Built with an investment of US$ 10 million (INR 70 crore) and a storage capacity of 60,000 tons, the silo is situated next to Cargill’s corn milling plant in Davangere. This allows Indian and global food companies access to high-quality, raw material stored at right temperature, translating to superior product quality for their food products. The silo will also provide local farmers increased market access as Cargill expands its procurement of corn locally.

The corn silo was inaugurated by chief guest Sri GM Siddheshwra, Honorable Member of Parliament, Davangere, Karnataka and Sri  S. Ramappa, Honorable Member of Legislative Assembly, Harihara, Karnataka along with Mr. Simon George, President, Cargill India.

Sri GM Siddheshwara said, “Major population of the local Davangere community is engaged in corn farming. With this initiative, I am happy that local farmers will get more opportunities to sell their produce, making them more profitable in the long run.”

The Guest of Honor, Sri Ramappa, MLA, Harihara also inaugurated a local community initiative where Cargill has constructed a washroom in a school in Bhanuvalli village, “Helping local communities is the joint responsibility of the industry as well as government. It is very encouraging to see Cargill coming forward with public utility initiatives for the development of Davangere.”

“As we continue to collaborate with Indian manufacturers to expand our footprint in the Starches and Sweetener business, this silo is an important step towards ensuring supply of top quality corn to the plant,” said Simon George, President Cargill India. “We will continue to innovate for Indian and international customers and help Indian farmers align better with the market. This silo expands Cargill’s supply chain capabilities in India and the stringent food safety standards followed here will prevent contamination of corn during storage. We are grateful to the Karnataka government for their support in setting up this storage solution here.”

Commitment to local communities

Together with TechnoServe, the NGO partner Cargill has been working on a local economic development program in Davangere, that has directly impacted over 25,000 people across 27 villages. Project Saathi is helping 5000 small-holder farming households adopt sustainable agri-practices besides training 2,500+ women on health, nutrition and financial literacy. Youth in the local community participated in Cargill Agri Fellows Program where they were trained on skills and enterprise-based livelihood opportunities. This program also helped local farmers create a farmer producer company called Bhadra, with 1000+ members to connect farmers to customers. Today they are trading in 11 input and output product categories. The project has successfully completed four years and is being continued.