Nutreco has announced that it will increase its stake in India-based Eruvaka to 93.7%, up from the 25.45% it entered the company in 2018. This acquisition of a controlling majority stake will enable Skretting, Nutreco's aquaculture business line, to deliver in-house on-farm software and smart equipment to shrimp farmers around the world so they can increase productivity and reduce the risk for their operations. Nutreco's plan is to gain full ownership of Eruvaka in the course of 2023.
Founded in April 2012 in Vijayawada, in India's Andhra Pradesh region, Eruvaka develops cloud-based aquaculture pond management solutions, including real-time monitoring and smart feeders. As Erik Tveteraas, Investment Director at Nureco, told us in his Talent View, for the company, investment is a tool for the future. That is why, when Nutreco decided to enter its equity, it did so with an original 25.45% stake in a business partnership designed to help scale the India-based company. Following the announcement of its intention to acquire a majority stake, Fulco van Lede, CEO of Nutreco has been delighted and said: "Our purpose of 'Feeding the Future' drives us to invest in innovative technologies that improve the sustainability of our food supply chain. This investment demonstrates our commitment to supporting aquaculture farmers in incorporating smart solutions that make their business more productive and efficient".
Eruvaka CEO Kunal Choudhary, has added: "Eruvaka has formed the basis for the exceptionally successful Skretting 360+ concept. We have been able to work with farmers to reduce uncertainty, provide peace of mind, increase productivity and reduce risk". Features of the technology developed by Eruvaka include automatic and intelligent sonic feeding, alerts, pond diagnostics, data logging, analysis, and automation.
This technology has been integrated into Skretting's offering for customers in Latin America from the very moment Nutreco became a shareholder in 2018 and, according to the company, "has enabled farmers to reduce production costs and increase yield and sustainability parameters, while significantly reducing their risk".
The Managing Director of Skretting LatAm, Carlos Miranda, assessed it as follows: "Eruvaka became part of our Skretting 360+ value proposition in 2018, supporting the Precision Feeding and Farm Management pillars of the programme. Together with Skretting premium extruded diets and the Sketting Technical Support, this enabled shrimp farmers to maximise their results and improve their production performance, considerably increasing growth and survival, and reducing the average FCR and cost by 26%. We are proud of supporting our farmers and the market growth in LatAm in this way and are committed to continuing this journey with our customers to pursue continuous improvement of efficiency and sustainability through innovation and digitalisation".
Nutreco has 12,300 employees in more than 37 countries across the globe, all of them dedicated to the company's purpose of 'Feeding the Future' in a way that ensures sustainability. Nutreco's solutions go beyond nutrition to provide advice and technology to help customers produce more food, in a sustainable way, to feed growing populations. With over 100 years of experience, Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition through Trouw Nutrition, and in aquaculture through Skretting. Since 2019, Nutreco has made over 10 investments across Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America, reflecting its ongoing commitment to support innovative new technologies that advance sustainability across the feed-to-farm value chain.