Visit to Syngenta India Lmt, Nelamangala

Syngenta Global is an agricultural R & D company providing technology to the farming community focusing on increasing productivity, reducing input costs and increasing the return on investment. Syngenta India Ltd has branches across the country. Rakshitha visited Syngenta India Lmt located in Nimbenahalli village, Nelamangala. It is an agricultural farm spread across 30 acres and started around 15 years ago. It works on producing Seeds, Seed Care, Crop Protection, Crop Nutrients and Yield Protection. It is a 30 acre campus. 

Map of Syngenta farm

Images of Snygenta farm

Water management 

Water is a key requirement of Syngenta as farming happens in 30 acres throughout the year. The farm has 2 borewells which were drilled when the farm was started 15 years ago. These are around 1000 ft deep. There is one failed borewell. The farm did not face any water crisis till. In the words of the manager, RWH was implemented recently to have water security in the long run. 

Functional borewell

Defunct borewell

Recharge wells and Percolation pond

Well digger Raghu Muniyappa has dug 8 recharge wells and 1 stonelined percolation pond in the farm. Raghu Muniyappa made the concrete rings himself on the farm and it took about 25 days to complete digging Rws and percolation pond. These RWs are dug in a channel which carries stormwater. There are 4 RWs dug in one channel and 4 RWs near poly houses. There are 8 small bunds dug along the channel to reduce the speed of water flow and to collect the silt at the bottom of the bunds. These bunds will help in passing only clear water to the recharge wells. The overflow from the RWs are connected to the percolation pond. The RWs are 4 feet in dia and 20 ft deep.

Silt settling bunds in the channel

Recharge well near poly houses

Percolation pond (left) and recharge well (right)

Raghu Minyappa has dug 2 silt traps to a RW and a percolation pond of 3 ft dia and 4 ft deep to further avoid the silt accumulation in the wells. The percolation pond is stone lined. It is 40 ft in length and 40ft wide. The depth of the step well is 20 ft. There is an inner well of 4ft wide and 4ft deep inside the percolation pond.

The percolation pond

Rooftop rainwater harvesting: 

There are four poly houses on the farm. Rooftop water from one of the poly houses is connected to the dead borewell directly. The inlet is given to the borewell by making a 4 inch hole to the casing pipe at a depth of 3ft from the ground level. 

Rooftop RWH implemented to the Poly house 

The manager is expecting positive results in the coming years. 

Listen to Raghu Muniyappa here:

- Rakshitha