Cargill monitors its CSR project in Karnataka through a mobile app

The app ‘P3’ provides real time updates

By Rusen Kumar

NEW DELHI: In India, Cargill’s operations started in 1987 and has businesses in refined oils, food ingredients, grain and oilseeds, cotton, animal feed and trade structured finance. Cargill Foods India, markets leading consumer brands of edible oils such as Nature Fresh, Gemini, Sweekar, Leonardo Olive Oil, Rath and Sunflower. It also markets wheat flour under the Nature Fresh brand name. The Animal Nutrition business of Cargill provides animal feed and premix and nutrition for aqua, dairy and poultry. It markets animal feed and premix under the brands such as Provimi, Purina, Citura and Cargill. The Grains and Oilseed crush business originates grains & oilseeds at 240 storage locations.  Cargill employs more than 2,000 employees working across various offices and plants and a network of warehouses and depots across India.

“Cargill believes and supports technology and innovation at work. The company is now extending the use of technology in monitoring its CSR projects here in India.”, Cargill said in a statement.

Cargill in India has partnered with NextGen, CSR management platform to ensure streamlined data collection and reporting of progress of CSR programs on-ground, with last mile, real time visibility through a mobile app p3. patented by NextGen.

P3 platform has been applied as a pilot for an integrated development project in Karnataka.

The mobile app promises its stakeholders real-time updates on the multiple CSR projects being undertaken by Cargill India along with its implementation partner in the state of Karnataka.

This integrated development project is a partnership between Cargill and United Way Bengaluru and aims to  improve lives and livelihoods of 15000 marginalized population including children, women and youth in Cargill operating communities in 25 villages in Doddaballapura district  of Karnataka. The key components of the project are:

1. Anganwadi Project: To provide early learning support to children below 6 years of age in 5 Govt. run anganwadis in Doddaballapura
2. Lake Restoration: To restore the Rachenahalli lake in Bangalore by  enhancing biodiversity
3. Mobile Health Van: To make healthcare facilities available to over 15000 residents in 25 villages affected by landfill.
4. Scholarships: To provide holistic educational support to 40 college going students.
5. Improving Facilities at School: To provide value added support to 4 Government schools to improve existing facilities thereby impacting over 700 students directly
6. Livelihoods: To promote sustainable means of livelihood amongst women.

Robert Schubert, Managing Director, Cargill Premix and Nutrition India says, “We at Cargill are committed to helping our communities where we operate in, thrive. Our integrated development project in Doddaballapura has been designed to take care of the basic needs of the community including education, health and livelihood generation.  With this new mobile app, we will be able to monitor the status of all our interventions and the impact it is making in the community.”

Manish Michael, Executive Director of United Way Bengaluru, “We are extremely glad to be partnering with Cargill for their CSR initiative in Bengaluru. The various CSR initiatives executed on ground by United Way Bengaluru for Cargill is touching and impacting lives of over 15000 people in Dodballapura, District, Bengaluru Rural. The Volunteering by the Cargill team demonstrates commitment to the cause as well. Adopting P3 platform greatly augments reporting and helps in our operations which is the hallmark of United Way Bengaluru.

1. Anganwadi project

The Born Learning project, flagship of United Way of Bengaluru is an Aanganwadi project. The Cargill – UWBe partnership is supporting 5 Govt. run anganwadis at Doddaballapura in order to provide holistic early learning support to  over 120 children below the age of 6 years. The main objectives of the project are:

To provide additional learning aid materials

To undertaken health campaigns for mother and children

To enhance infrastructure and facilities

To closely monitor the overall growth of the children through digitalized data

2. Lake Restoration

The project aims to restore the Rachenahalli lake in Bengaluru by enhancing bio-diversity, clean water body and promoting volunteerism and community engagement. Types of maintenance activities undertaken at the lake include de-weeding, loosening of soil, and segregation of waste into degradable and non-degradable. Over 600 saplings have been planted around the lake.  The overall quality of the lake is assessed based on multiple indicators such as fence, solar lighting and water quality. The lake is given a score after every assessment. The total area reached at Rachenahalli lake is 138 Acres.

3. Mobile Health Van

Mobile Health Clinic is a mini hospital on wheels equipped with oxygen cylinder, lifelines, stretcher and emergency equipment, drugs cabinet. It is an innovative way to provide healthcare facilities to people living in interior villages with no access to Public Health Care Centres (PHCs).

The Mobile Health Clinic has appointed qualified health personnel that include:

1. B.B.S Doctor (Team Leader)
2. Staff nurses
3. Pharmacist
4. Assistant
5. Driver

Free medicines are distributed to patients in the Mobile Health Clinic. Services provided included First Aid, family planning service, ante-natal and post natal care and immunization. The project covers 25 villages in Sasalu Hobli of Doddaballapura Taluk of Bangalore Rural District and over 13500 villagers have been provided medical assistance.

4. Scholarships

The project provides education scholarship to 40 meritorious students pursuing their education (PUC/Degree/post-graduation/diploma/professional course etc). The first preference for scholarships is given to girls from economically backward families, with disabilities and orphans. The selected students are enrolled in colleges located at Marasandra, Doddaballapur and Yelahanka. The project currently supports 40 students out of which 32 are girls and 8 are boys.

5. Improving Facilities at School

The project supports 4 Government schools at Kasavanahalli, Yellupura, Bashettihalli and Bisuvanahalli. The project seeks to provide basic infrastructural support to schools towards their betterment.

6. Livelihoods

The project on livelihoods aims to promote sustainable means of livelihood among 25 rural women by undertaking Entrepreneurship Awareness Program (EAP) and Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) in order to motivate women to take up micro-enterprises. Some of the activities pursued by women include cow rearing, tailoring, cloth and flower selling. The women are trained and provided financial support worth Rs. 15000 each for their business. The project aims to reach out to 50 women by 2017-18.

United Way Bengaluru

United Way Bengaluru is an affiliated chapter of United Way Worldwide. It has been actively operational in Bengaluru for the past 8 years. It has partnered with the Government for key projects such as lake rejuvenation called ‘Wake the Lake’ Campaign and working with government anganwadis to build a holistic development for children between the age of 0-6 years under the ‘Born Learning’ Campaign. Its primarily focus areas are education, livelihood, health and environment.

(Rusen Kumar is the Editor at IndiaCSR.in)