The theme for the International Day Of Forests 2024 - 'Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World' - gives us an opportunity to tell the story of ITC's extensive work in afforestation, spread across 11 Indian states. Over the years, we have greened over 1.1 million acres and supported 174 million person-days of employment among some of the nation's poorest.
Our innovative afforestation programme focuses on developing plantations on wastelands, supporting livelihood opportunities for many small and marginal farmers and at the same time, creating a positive environmental impact. We train the farmers in modern agricultural practices and provide them with high-productivity clonal saplings developed by ITC scientists.
In recent years, we have been expanding our forestry footprint in remote regions of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Already, more than 17,000 acres have been greened in these two states, benefitting over 9,000 farmers.
ITC has made sustainable and inclusive growth the bedrock of its corporate strategy. The Company's sustainability approach has not only led to globally distinctive performance but also contributed to making the enterprise, its value chains and the rural communities it engages with much more resilient.
