Farmers score CPL tickets in UPL countrywide promotion

…10 selected for Guyana-Trinidad clash; another 10 to head to India for IPL 2027

Ten farmers from across Guyana have been selected for a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) experience as part of a countrywide promotion by agricultural company UPL Limited aimed at giving back to farmers who have supported its products.
The farmers were selected on Tuesday during a draw held at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) substation at Lesbeholden, Black Bush Polder, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Entries for the promotion were collected from farmers across the country through retailers supplied by Caribbean Chemicals. The coupons were brought together at Black Bush Polder for the selection of the 10 winners.
UPL Country Manager for Guyana and the Caribbean, Deoram Prahalad, said the initiative forms part of the company’s wider community-centred programme and will see the selected farmers attending a CPL match between Guyana and Trinidad.

“This year, we will be taking 10 lucky farmers who are using Gynexa to CPL here in Guyana, where they would witness a game between Guyana and Trinidad. We would also give them accommodation and some gifts during that period of time, where they will spend one night in Georgetown,” Prahalad explained.
The CPL promotion is only one phase of the company’s plans to reward farmers.
Prahalad disclosed that another draw will be held next year to select 10 farmers for a trip to India to attend matches in the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL). UPL also intends to select another 10 farmers to attend CPL matches in Guyana in 2027.
“So, this is UPL; we are giving back to the farmers who have been supporting us throughout the years,” he said.
Explaining why the company took Tuesday’s draw to Black Bush Polder rather than hosting it in Georgetown, Prahalad said UPL wanted the activity to be held among the farming communities it serves.
In 2024, the company took 12 farmers from Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname to India, with the draw for that initiative held in Region Five. This time, UPL decided to move the activity to Region Six.
“It doesn’t make sense to do these draws in Georgetown. It has to come to where farming is actually happening. And in Black Bush, we have been having a lot of support from the farmers,” Prahalad said.
He added that farmers in the area have been using the company’s products and reporting positive results.
However, he stressed that Tuesday’s promotion was not restricted to Black Bush Polder or Region Six.
“What we did is that these boxes, or this promotion, is countrywide to all the retailers where Caribbean Chemicals distribute their products. So, what we have done is that we have collected the coupons that were deposited by the farmers in all the rice-growing and agricultural regions,” he explained.
The UPL official said the initiative reflects the company’s broader policy of involving its partners and customers in major sporting and other international events.
UPL previously took partners from around the world to the last two FIFA World Cups, and Prahalad said cricket was a natural choice for its programme in Guyana.
“Guyana being a country with its base and the national sport being cricket, we thought it best to take some of the farmers to get them involved and let them look at the cricket, giving back to the community,” he said.
UPL Limited, formerly United Phosphorus Limited, is an India-based multinational company headquartered in Mumbai. It manufactures and markets agrochemicals and other agriculture-related products and operates in more than 130 countries.
Apart from its promotional activities, Prahalad said UPL is also a stakeholder in the crop insurance programme for rice farmers in Guyana.
He said the initiative, which began in 2025, provides participating rice farmers with insurance coverage at no cost to them and is intended to protect against risks associated with excess or deficient rainfall.
According to Prahalad, UPL partnered with Philip Morris International and the Government of Guyana, through the Guyana Rice Development Board and Ministry of Agriculture, to implement the programme.
He said 4433 farmers were covered during the November 2025 crop, with the premiums paid on their behalf.
The programme is continuing, with Prahalad reporting that approximately 4000 farmers have been covered for the current season. (G-4)