The agri division of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with HZPC, Holland, one of the leading innovative companies in the world in potato breeding, seed potato growing and seed potato trading to offer the best quality seed potatoes to farmers within and outside India.

The joint venture will have Mahindra and HZPC holding 60% and 40% equity respectively in the company, subject to the parties receiving all applicable approvals.

The joint venture will benefit from the expertise of both companies where HZPC with their strong R8-D focus will bring in access to latest technology, new varieties and open up global markets for the Indian farmers. Mahindra will contribute through their strong farmer connect, wide spread domestic distribution and agronomy expertise.

The new company will construct a state of the art facility to produce Tissue culture plants and Mini-tubers. The aim of the facility is to offer high quality mini-tubers and early generation seed potatoes to the farmers, M&M said in a statement.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Sharma, chief executive, agri & allied businesses, M&M said, 'To further grow this business. we will require special technology and will also need to put in some investments in the supply chain. It is therefore a matter of great pride for us that we have signed this JV with HZPC Holland being one of the leading and the most advanced Seed Potato companies in the world. Not only will this help in our quest for delivering farmer prosperity through agronomy and better technology but will also open up global markets, thus providing our farmers with better returns.''

According to Gerard Backx, CEO, HZPC, ''We are honored to associate with Mahindra's Agri business division. We feel confident that this JV will help us provide high quality seeds and new varieties to the seed potato growers in India and also open up export avenues for them. HZPC is a farmers' company with its majority equity held by farmers. We have already sent 19 latest varieties from Europe for testing in India and are sure that some of them will go a long way in enhancing farmer productivity in the country.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 12.45, or 1.22%, to settle at Rs 1,036.75. The total volume of shares traded was 47,343 at the BSE (Wednesday).