Don Agro International Limited (the “Company” or “Don Agro”) and its subsidiaries (collectively the “Group”), one of the largest agricultural companies based in the Rostov region of Russia, is pleased to announce the launch of a joint pilot project with a startup, Octaviana, which produces a new generation of fertilizer called Live Soil(TM).
The main ingredient of this fertilizer is sapropel, also known as bio deposit. This is freshwater organic-rich mud sediment formed from the remains of plankton, water plants, and other marine-dwelling organisms and is the same mud that is used for treatment at balneological resorts. The substance has a complex chemical composition with a broad range of values and is also an efficient and ecologically friendly natural material.
“Our fertilizer is an immunity amplifier and a bio-stimulator for plant growth. It is used as a soil amendment to increase its nitrogen, phosphorous, humus, and microelements’ content and it helps to transfer nutritional elements to plants faster. Sapropel also accelerates plant growth and increases the protein content in wheat”, explained Irina Soloveva, Chief Executive Officer of Octaviana.
She added that Octaviana had recently received a report from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Angola that indicated faster growth for crops that were treated by Live Soil(TM). Both photos were made on the 42 days after seeds were sown. Plants on the left photo have not been treated with anything while, plants on the right photo were treated by Live Soil(TM).
At Don Agro, seeds of winter wheat that were processed with the Live Soil(TM) have been sown on 210 hectares of arable land.
“We plan to see the result of this pilot project in summer 2022 when we harvest the yields. One of the main benefits of using Live Soil(TM) fertilizers, is that it is basically organic and eco-friendly. Our mission is to be an agricultural company that introduces new technologies to provide a sustainable future for all. Every year we will increase the amount of arable land that is dedicated to no-till farming and organic wheat cultivation. This should help us not only to increase the level of production but also to cut down carbon emissions”, said Ivan Kalaytanov, Chief Agronomist of Don Agro International.
Since the initial public offering in February 2020, the Company had made a number of strategic investments to acquire new machinery and expand facilities in an effort to fuel ongoing growth and sustainable initiatives. In June 2021, Don Agro applied the Cognitive Agro Pilot(TM) autonomous driving system for agricultural machinery to its crop harvesters. This helped to improve productivity and reduce the consumption of fuel and carbon dioxide emissions by 5%.
About Don Agro International Limited
Don Agro is one of the largest agricultural companies in the Rostov region in Russia principally engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops and production of raw milk. The Group is also engaged in crop production in the Volgograd region in Russia. The Group has a total controlled land bank of 67,340 hectares, of which more than 54,420 hectares are arable land. The Group owns approximately 17,200 hectares of its controlled land bank.
The Group’s operations are principally located in the Rostov region, one of the most fertile regions of Russia, situated close to the Azov and Black Seas and the Don River which house major international ports. The Group’s second operating division in the Volgograd region is located in close proximity to key trading routes including the Volga River. This allows the Group’s customers, who are mainly traders and exporters, to save on transportation costs and, as a result, be able to offer higher prices for the Group’s crops. Within the crop production segment, the Group is primarily engaged in the farming of commercial crops such as winter wheat, sunflower, and corn.
In addition, the Group is the largest milk producer in the Rostov region and owns more than 4,000 heads of dairy cattle which includes approximately 2,200 milking cows.
Issued for and on behalf Don Agro by Financial PR
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Romil Singh
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Don Agro International Limited (the “Company”) was listed on Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the “Exchange”) on 14 February 2020. The initial public offering of the Company was sponsored by PrimePartners Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd. (the “Sponsor”).
This press release has been reviewed by the Company’s Sponsor. It has not been examined or approved by the Exchange and the Exchange assumes no responsibility for the contents of this document, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this document.
The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr Joseph Au, 16 Collyer Quay, #10-00 Income at Raffles, Singapore 049318, sponsorship@ppcf.com.sg
