AgrEvo India executive vice-chairman and managing director KK Unni told The Financial Express that Vectobac would complement the company's existing mosquito control range. "We have already bagged the marketing rights to Vectobac, which is slated for launch in December 1998. The product will be imported and Abbott will render technical support to AgrEvo," he said.

Under the fipronil alliance, both AgrEvo and Rhone-Poulenc are marketing their respective brands Tempo and Regent in the country. Around 700 tonnes of Tempo and 2,500 tonnes of Regent have been sold since. "Both brands are expected to improve their performance this year andAgrEvo may consider a quid pro quo next year by offering its product to Rhone Poulenc," Unni said.

AgrEvo has also launched three new products --- Afalon (a herbicide for use on peas and potatoes), Kingfog (for mosquito control) and another biological product, Bassina (to control the American bollworm essentially in cotton). The company's launch strategy, Unni says, aims to introduce a fair mix of biological and chemical products to facilitate integrated pest management.

Meanwhile, AgrEvo has set up 50 helpline centres offering advisory services to farmers across the country. These centres are manned by retired agricultural scientists or officials from the department of agriculture and offer completely unbiased crop protection advice to the farming community.

"Their professional advice is not restricted to AgrEvo's products and include soil and water testing facilities and repair of spray pumps. This effort will help AgrEvo strengthen its customer service and assist farmers in bettering overallproductivity," Unni said.

Thirty-three such centres were operated during kharif 1998 in the major cotton growing areas of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and have been well received. AgrEvo has, on an experimental basis, also installed an electronic kiosk in five helpline centres. Interactive software to explain the nitty gritties in cotton cultivation, while offering total solutions to commonly faced problems, have also been added.

First-half turnover jumps 18% to Rs 168 crore:

AgrEvo India has registered a 18 per cent jump in turnover at Rs 168 crore for the first six months of the current fiscal, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The company hopes to close the current fiscal with a turnover of around Rs 290 crore. Net profits for the first half rose by 35 per cent.

Company officials said that brands like Decis (the new generation pyrethroid) and Hostathion (used against the whitefly in cotton) were the key contributors to the company'sgrowth.

Operating profit was higher at Rs 26 crore, against Rs 21 crore in the previous year. Exports were Rs 11.5 crore and are expected to scale Rs 22 crore for the full year. EPS (annualised) stood at Rs 29.4. The company's paid up capital now stands at Rs 9.2 crore, after the 1:1 bonus issue.