The gap the solution was targeted to fill In connection with the challenge(s) associated with Agriculture in India

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1 Company - UPL Limited Business Sector: Agriculture - Water & Soil Technologies Brief on the company operations UPL is a global plant health and seed company headquartered in India. It recognizes the need to bring high quality, modern and ecologically compatible solutions to farmers. UPL s vision is to ensure sustainable, conscientious agricultural growth and rural prosperity while meeting our increasing population s demands. UPL is amongst the world s five largest post patent agrochemical companies. The Business Case for the Solution India has 10% of the world s freshwater but must use this to meet the growing needs of 30% of world population that live here. Like elsewhere, but perhaps even more so, agriculture is the dominant user of water estimated to account for over 85% of use. In this backdrop of tight availability and large agriculture usage, it is critical to focus on the productivity of water use in Indian Agriculture. The situation is grave enough to consider switching metric of agriculture productivity India from the current tons per acre to tons per kilo liter of water used for it is increasingly clear that water, not land, is the limiting factor. This is underscored in Prime Minister Modi s call for more crop per drop. Living this slogan can enable Government realize their objective of doubling farm income by The business case for increased water-use productivity in agriculture becomes even more compelling when collateral damage of agriculture is factored in. Fertilizer run off and leaching losses arising from irrigation are not merely about poor nutrient use efficiency (only about 35-40% of applied nitrogen is actually taken up by crops) but are taking a huge toll on surface and underground water quality. Eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems and increasing nitrate concentration in drinking water are adversely impacting life on land and in water. The gap the solution was targeted to fill In connection with the challenge(s) associated with Agriculture in India Plants take up their nutrition from soil. They, however, can do so only in solution form. In dry soils the supply chain breaks down and plants become stressed and ultimately perish. Farmers, especially those that experience drought, are all too familiar with this. Effectively, presence of moisture is an essential for plant growth. Moist soils make for optimal plant nutrition and growth reflected in better yields and quality of produce. Whether irrigated or rain-fed, soils undergo cycles of plenty and poor moisture availability. Even in irrigated lands it is impracticable to ensure soils get optimal supply of water. The trend of lengthening gaps between successive rain events exacerbates plant stress. Farmers end up watering their crops when they can or as nature allows this in turn doesn t make for efficiency in water use.

2 A major hurdle in increasing productivity of water use in agriculture is the water holding capacity of soils some soils do better than others, but ultimately, all soil types are constrained by their field capacity. Whether by rain or irrigation, water supplied beyond the soil s field capacity flows away, or, leaches to below where crop roots can reach it. Improved water holding capacity of soil in the root zone will translate to better plant nutrition, reduced run-off and lesser leaching all making for better productivity of wateruse. Bringing about better water holding capacity in a sustainable way is the opportunity that UPL s Soil & Water Technology Business addresses. The intervention / The response to the issue Use of super-absorbents to augment soil field capacity is a straight forward enough idea. Use however did not take off since synthetic super absorbents, made from petroleum derivatives, carry a high environmental risk and price. These materials supply requirements of the hygiene market, including diapers. The US Department of Agriculture s research for an environmentally friendly superabsorbent led to the development of a starch based super absorbent. Global IP for this innovation is held by UPL and is now being brought to several markets around the world. This starch-based super-absorbent absorbs more than 400 times its weight in water. Applied at planting, the super-absorbent absorbs, holds and then releases water and nutrients to the plant when needed. It does so over and over throughout the growing season. Because it is made from starch, the super-absorbent biodegrades in soil just like other plant residues. UPL has launched its starch-based super absorbent Zeba in 4 priority markets including India this year. By holding back applied water and nutrients in the root zone Zeba will enable 3 major benefit areas for user farmers:

3 1. Income increase better moisture and nutrient in the root zone enables plants to uptake these on demand resulting in higher yield and better quality of produce. 2. Cost saving farmers using Zeba can reduce application of scarce and expensive inputs like water & fertilizer without compromising on yield and quality. 3. Environment bonus checking run-off and leaching of water and nutrients improves water use efficiency and eliminates a major source of pollution. Moreover, Zeba originates from starch it degrades in soil improving its make up and organic content a healthier place for living things. In each of our launch markets, commercial sales are being preceded by an awareness program. In India, the awareness program is centered around farmer field demonstrations in select crop-market segments potatoes, onions, pomegranate, mustard, groundnut and cotton. Additionally, work has been undertaken at premier research organizations including those of ICAR and leading Research Organizations to showcase the new technology to scientists and researchers. The following cases illustrate the work undertaken and showcases results. 1. Directorate of Onion & Garlic Research, Rajgurunagar, MH. Crop Onion. Season - Rabi 2016/17. There were 2 objectives for trials at the DOGR firstly to establish yield improvement in Onion fields using Zeba, and secondly, to stress test Zeba applied fields to reduced fertilizer and irrigation. a. Results provided by DOGR showed a 10.5% yield improvement versus control. This translates to a benefit to cost ratio (BCR) of 1.9 for the farmer. Yield improvement was accompanied by an improved distribution of onion size or grade. Increased percentage of larger onions will enable better marketability of the onions. Total Yield Yield by grade (Onion wt.) Treatment MT/HA (> 60 g) (40-60 g) (< 40 g) Control With Zeba Change 10.5% 27.5% 6.4% -35.7% b. In another plot Zeba applied plot was subject to a 50% reduction in fertilizer dose, whereas control plot received full dose. Here Zeba demonstrated its ability to increase fertilizer use efficiency in the form of 11.4% better yield. BCR for this plot is at 3.4. The table below summarizes this result - Fertilizer Dose Total Yield MT/HA Treatment Control 100% 30.6 With Zeba 50% 34.1

4 Change 50% 11.4% c. In trials to stress test Zeba applied onion plots the level of irrigation was reduced to 75% by reducing the number of irrigations. Also applied fertilizer rate was turned down to 50%. Despite these reductions, yield in the Zeba applied field was better than in control. Moreover, the BCR for this trial was in positive territory at Jai Research Foundation, Vapi, GJ. Leaching study as per OECD Guidelines This laboratory study was aimed at establishing improved retention of applied Nitrogen in soils using Zeba. In the study water is poured into 2 columns of water one containing soil with Urea (control) and the other having added Zeba. Poured water is collected under the column (leachate). Nitrogen in Soil column, Leachate Nitrogen, Treatment mg mg Control with Zeba Difference -86% 40% 86% higher retention of Nitrogen in the soil column treated with Zeba clearly shows its effectiveness in holding applied Urea in the root zone where it is useful to the plant. The corresponding reduction in Nitrogen in the water that seeped through (leachate) is 40%

5 lower in Zeba treated soil column. A clear demonstration that significantly lesser Nitrogen is lost to pollute water bodies. 3. UPL Farmer Field Demonstration Program, All India 359 Field demonstrations conducted in 5 Regional Office Each farmer demonstration is set up to helps farmers experience Zeba first-hand. The focus is not just on final outcome ie yield and quality but also application method and superior plant performance through its life cycle. Yield, MT/HA Treatment West North South Central East Control with Zeba Increase 3.7% 3.8% 7.7% 11.1% 12.4% Extra Income, Rs Results show a consistent improvement in potato yields across 5 Regions ranging from just under 4% in the West and North to over nearly 12.5% in the East. The result / The impact On the metrics identified by the group as material to agriculture in India; please used the framework enclosed with the template for this purpose WORK-IN-PROGRESS Please share the data, and other supportive materials to document the case; pictures to be shared in high resolution (> 300 dpi) WORK-IN-PROGRESS Areas of opportunity Farmer awareness and ultimate adoption of new technology is a huge challenge everywhere more so in India due to the scale and relative low literacy levels. UPL has a head start due to its existing presence in the Indian agri inouts market. Leveraging mobile connectivity is proving very valuable but farmers still want to see for themselves. A second area of improvement is in establishing systems to accurately measure the impact of Zeba in the Indian market. We welcome suggestions and guidance in both these respects.