Singapore, Dec. 8 -- A 122-year-old family empire may not be what first comes to mind when one thinks of cutting-edge farming innovation, but Mumbai-based Godrej Group is aiming to be precisely that.
Its agri-business arm, Godrej Agrovet, founded in 1991, is taking the humble and ubiquitous rapeseed, a crop that has been cultivated in India for over 6,000 years, and modifying it to create a cheaper alternative to soymeal as poultry feed.
Rapeseed meal has high quantities of glucosinolates, which are compounds that are unhealthy for poultry, said Godrej Agrovet chairman Nadir Godrej, and this is where technology comes in.
"We have developed a process to remove the compounds, which means we can now feed poultry at a greatly reduced cost...