In a landmark collaboration, ITC Limited has partnered with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to strengthen the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) ecosystem in the Kalyana-Karnataka region.
As part of this initiative, Farmers' Training & Common Facility Centres have been established by NABARD and inaugurated by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon'ble Finance Minister, Government of India, in the presence of Shri M. Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Shri Shaji KV, Chairperson, NABARD, Mr. Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, ITC, and other eminent dignitaries.
These centres, inspired and facilitated by Smt Sitharaman under her MPLAD scheme, will serve as hubs for processing, packaging, and marketing of agri-produce, creating a value-driven, sustainable ecosystem that empowers farmers and strengthens FPOs. ITC is closely working with 7 FPOs representing 6,000 farmers in the region, focusing on crops like mango, tur, chilli, peanut, soybean and jowar. By promoting value addition and improved market linkages, the initiative aims to enhance farmer incomes, reduce post-harvest losses, and create new livelihood opportunities for SHGs and rural entrepreneurs.
The partnership will enable end-to-end FPO capability building in areas of FPO management, crop sourcing, quality control, and market linkages, including, specialised training modules developed with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, and training with Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr. Sanjiv Puri spoke about ITC's deep engagement with farmers in the State for over 100 years. He highlighted how ITC is working with the agri-community in the region end-to-end — from farming to market linkages. Welcoming this initiative as an exemplary instance of public-private partnership, he mentioned that farmers of seven partner FPOs in the region have been onboarded onto ITCMAARS - the phygital ecosystem that empowers farmers with agri-tech solutions like instant soil testing, leaf colour charts, fertiliser calculator, crop doctor as part of farm advisory. ITCMAARS also helps farmer to enhance productivity and quality of farm produce for better market potential. Reiterating ITC's commitment to this initiative, Mr. Puri added that many more such technologies and research-based innovations developed by ITC's scientists would be shared with the agri community to create greater value.
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