GENESIS OF KUTCH CROP SERVICES PVT. LTD. (KCS)
All the promoters of KCS are involved in activities related to socio-economic development of Kutch for more than three decades. The need for evaluating Date Palm as a source of income for the farmers of Kutch-Gujarat was established at Shri Vivekananda Research and Training Institute (VRTI) way back in 1994 and in 1995 a study was initiated in consultation with Israel scientists to identify elite varieties of Date Palm cultivars. A report was prepared for about 200 cultivars grown in Kutch.
In the year 1998 a devastating cyclone up rooted large number of Date Palms depriving many farmers of their source of income. This moved Shri. Sumati Chandra Mehta to search for a solution that can help large number of farmers to substantially resurrect their incomes and improve their life style. He consulted many scientists and in year 2000 decided to set up a tissue culture lab for Date Palm, least he knew about the complexity of Date Palm tissue culture. In the year 2001 he sponsored Rural Agricultural Research and Development Society (RARDS), an NGO, to set up a Date Palm tissue culture lab in Mundra, Kutch-Gujarat;India.
In the year 2007 RARDS approached KCS promoters to consider the possibility of supporting RARDS to market their Date Palm plant and an MOU was signed.
In the year 2008 KCS decided to take over the complete operation of the lab. With scientific and business acumen of the promoters KCS has succeeded in motivating the entire team to establish the protocol for about 16 elite cultivars of Kutch Date Palm and today the lab is producing more than 15000 saleable plants and recently has expanded the capacity of more then 30,000 plants annually.
KCS has also been importing the tissue culture plants of BARHEE variety from World over. In last decade years KCS has supplied more than 100 Thousand Barhee plants to farmers across the nation.
Kutch Crop Services Pvt. Ltd. (KCS)
VISION STATEMENT
VISION
To be one of the best tissue culture laboratories in the world for propagation of Date Palm through innovative and quality procedures.
MISSION
To improve the socio economic conditions of local farmers in Kutch-Gujarat and other regions across India.
To provide knowledge about scientific cultivation practices at cost effective manner.
To provide quality planting material at an affordable cost.
To conserve the natural heritage of elite Date Palm of Kutch-Gujarat.
OBJECTIVE
The prime objective of Kutch Crop Services Pvt. Ltd. is to provide quality planting material and horticulture related services to the local farmers of Kutch and other farmers in India and abroad.
KCS has taken technology based approach to significantly enhance the livelihood of the farmers helping them identify the right technologies for related crops and produces. Date Palm is considered because of it's economical relevance for the farmers in arid and semi-arid areas of India and other regions of the world.
Our approach has been to identify the elite local varieties for the purpose of rapid propagation through the use of tissue culture technique and successfully developing the scientific protocols.
We have been importing the Tissue Culture Date Palm plantlets of Barhee and other fresh fruit varieties from abroad and have supplied to the farmers and supported them during their initial stages of growth and have seen the plants fruiting since last many seasons.
In a short period of 10 years KCS has gained its reputations as a committed source of support to the farmers and has also gained the reputation as a successful scientific organization to develop protocol for Date Palm. Our objective is to bring the best of the technologies to the farmers for high value produces.
SUMMARY
• Kutch Crop Services Pvt. Ltd. (KCS) has established itself as a reliable and trust worthy supplier of Date Palm Tissue Culture plants.
• KCS has successfully established tissue culture protocols for several elite cultivars of Date Palm.
• The Kutch-Gujarat region produces the highest quantities of Date Palm fruits in India and has about 2 Million Date Palm trees.
• KCS has identified the best elite cultivars from which Tissue Culture Date Palm plants are produced.
• KCS is importing globally popular Tissue Culture Date Palm of Barhee and other fresh fruit varieties.
• KCS is currently operating a well established Date Palm Tissue Culture Lab in Kutch-Gujarat India with a capacity to produce more then 30,000 plants.
• KCS has very well trained scientists and lab operators for carrying out the operations of tissue culture lab.
• KCS has well established hardening centre with poly and net houses.
• KCS has well established extension program for providing support to the farmers from planting and up to harvest.
• KCS promoters are well established corporate houses and well qualified technocrats for successful expansion.