NEW DELHI (India CSR): The CSA programme de-risks farmers from erratic weather events through promotion and adoption of a climate-resilient approach, premised on dissemination of relevant package of practices, appropriate mechanisation and provision of institutional services. The programme is also aligned with the Government of India’s flagship initiative of the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) and other schemes for the welfare of farmers, including Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana.
Currently, the programme covers over 31.93 lakh acres across 113 districts in 17 states and 12.09 lakh farmers, including 2.27 lakh women farmers. As per the studies by ICAR – Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur, the CSA practices promoted in rice (Direct Seeded Rice) and wheat (Zero Tillage) have demonstrated reduction of costs by over 20%, improvement in yields by around 10% and increase in net returns by over 23% as compared to conventional practices. In pursuit of increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), more than 5,210 compost units were constructed during the year (cumulative 72,510 units).
During the year, knowledge was disseminated through 13,500 Farmer Field Schools and over 13,300 Choupal Pradarshan Khets (CPKs). 2,150 Agri Business Centres (ABC) including 468 exclusive women ABCs, delivered extension services, arranged agri-credit linkages, established collective input procurement and provided agricultural equipment for hire. Details of Climate Smart Agriculture interventions are also provided in the section on ‘Socio-Economic Environment’.
Alongside large-scale CSA adoption, the Climate Smart Village (CSV) programme supports entire communities in adapting to climate risks and mitigating the same through knowledge dissemination, natural resources management, livelihood diversification and institutional support. 7,055 CSVs covering major crop value chains are currently part of the programme. To further support farmers, 28.31 lakh linkages under six major Government schemes were facilitated during the year, raising the cumulative number to over 70 lakhs.
The Makhana Development Programme operates in 214 villages across six districts of Bihar, covering 7,100 farmers and 23,150 acres. It promotes high-yield varieties such as Sabour Makhana-1 and Swarna Vaidehi, alongside Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) practices. Additionally, 1,700 farmers have been linked to Makhana Vikas Yojana, PM Kisan Saman Nidhi Yojana and other relevant schemes.
ITC continued partnerships with the Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Management covering 35 districts of Madhya Pradesh for Climate Smart Watersheds, and the Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Department of Madhya Pradesh covering six districts. During the year, training and handholding support strengthened ground-level facilitation for implementation of the four components of the Climate Smart Village in 8,200 villages.
Leveraging ITC’s multi-commodity presence, ITCMAARS and agri-extension networks, ITC supported the formation of new FPOs and strengthened existing FPOs, engaging with 2,184 FPOs, including 31 women exclusive FPOs, enhancing farm incomes and rural livelihoods.
The ‘Adarsh Gram Programme’ pioneered by ITC’s Agri Business presently covers 513 villages in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Under this initiative, villages are supported to become economically, ecologically and socially sustainable. ITC is also addressing the human rights and farm safety challenges in these villages by educating the farmers, labour & communities while providing access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and promoting smart technologies such as drones for agro-chemical spraying in the farms.
