The Sustainable Agriculture programme attempts to de-risk farmers from erratic weather events through the promotion of climate smart agriculture premised on dissemination of relevant package of practices, adoption of appropriate mechanisation and provision of institutional services. Currently, 4.15 lakh acres are covered under the Sustainable Agriculture programme which has a significant multiplier effect in terms of adoption by the farming community. Of this, 1.14 lakh acres, were covered through Choupal Pradarshan Khets, demonstration farms to disseminate scientific and technological best practices, directly benefitting more than 64,000 farmers. 2,084 Farmer Field Schools disseminated advanced agri-practices to farmers and 381 Agri Business Centres delivered extension services, arranged agri-credit linkages and established collective input procurement and agricultural equipment on hire. In pursuit of Company’s long-term sustainability objective of increasing soil organic carbon, a total of 2,731 compost units were constructed during the year taking the total number till date to over 37,500 units.

The ‘Village Adoption Programme’ pioneered by Company’s Agri Business presently covers 190 model villages in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Rajasthan. This initiative is aligned to the Prime Minister’s Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), an initiative to promote holistic rural development. An assessment of the impact created by this programme by an independent agency showed that it has generated significant economic surplus for the farming community including creating sustainable rural livelihoods and improved standards of living.