Adaptation to Climate Change Impact through Diversification of Farming Systems
ITC’s engagement in the social sector since 2000 has addressed these major challenges through interventions on two simultaneous fronts:
 Diversification of Farming Systems
This strategy is aimed at climate change adaptation by broad-basing the farmbased livelihoods portfolio of the poor. Initiatives have been spearheaded in five major areas: e-Choupal, wasteland development, soil and moisture conservation, value-added crop rotation and animal husbandry programmes.
Expanding Off-farm Income
Portfolios
This strategy aims to reduce the disproportionate dependence of rural households on land for supporting livelihoods with the help of two initiatives: economic empowerment of women and community development.
Coverage
Projects implemented during 2009-10 stood at 66, spread across 51 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Together, these programmes reach out to more than 2.64 lakh households and over 1.5 million individuals, who are directly impacted by various programmes spread over 3787 villages.
e-Choupal: A Path-breaking Tool
that Knowledge-Enables the Farmer
Experiments like e-Choupal show the way forward in the application of modern science to the betterment of the life of the people. We need more such examples of entrepreneurial creativity
- Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India
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The e-Choupal initiative revolutionised the Indian agricultural landscape by leveraging digital technology and customized extension services to empower farmers and raise rural incomes. By providing the power of Information and Digital Technology, small and marginal farmers are empowered with a host of services related to know-how, best practices, timely and relevant weather information, transparent discovery of prices and much more. The e-Choupal network not only connects farmers to markets, but also allows for virtual integration of the supply chain, to create significant efficiencies in the traditional system.
A business concept embedded with social goals, e-Choupal has been designed to benefit farmers by enabling a virtuous cycle of higher productivity, higher incomes, enlarged capacity for farmer risk management and, thereby, larger investments to enable higher quality and productivity. Given the productivity challenges and the new threats emerging from global warming, ITC’s e-Choupal is extensively engaging with farmers to promote sustainable agricultural practices through a dedicated initiative titled the ‘Choupal Pradarshan Khet’. This customized extension service is aimed at bringing the benefits of agricultural best practices to small and marginal farmers.
ITC’s e-Choupal network also serves as an effective rural marketing platform and, together with other channels established by ITC in rural markets, the network reaches remote villages in rural India. In recognition of the changing needs of rural India, new partnerships are being forged under the e-Choupal framework to help support microenterprises, as well as create new offfarm opportunities, through a recently created virtual rural employment platform available at “rozgarduniya. com”. These innovations will continue to add value to the rural population as India takes the next leap into the future. |
