Plastics are helping India to expand its agriculture

India’s use of plastics is increasingly important to the country’s farmers, according to the latest report by petrochemicals specialist GlobalData.

Its latest study examines the subcontinent’s booming polymers industry, highlighting how it is not only important in growing the country’s economy, but how it can also help tackle India’s food concerns.

The use of plastics in agriculture and horticulture is growing in popularity across India. In particular, micro-irrigation – the strategic placement of small devices used to deliver water to specific locations – which can reduce water requirements by up to 70%.

The Indian government’s Micro-Irrigation Scheme (MIS), launched in 2005, has brought 1.8 million hectares into cultivation at an approximate cost of £290m.

This coverage is expected to rapidly increase during the next five years, with proposals to expand micro-irrigation coverage to over 10 million hectares by the end of 2017 – a development that will create demand for a range of materials, especially polyethylene.

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