ITC Ltd aims to support 4,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) by 2030 through its agri-tech ecosystem ITCMAARS, enhancing efficiency, market access, and financial services for about 10 million farmers.
As part of its agri-business expansion, the cigarettes-to-consumer goods conglomerate, through ITCMAARS (Meta Market for Advanced Agricultural Services), seeks to deliver e-market services for agricultural inputs and outputs, facilitate credit access, and offer a wide range of predictive and prescriptive advisory solutions.
“Our ambition is to take 1,700 FPOs (currently registered on the app) to 4,000. We want to take it across more value chains, whether it is fruits and vegetables or spices,” said S Ganesh Kumar, CEO of ITC’s agri-business division.
Through these FPOs, the app has over 1.5 million farmer registrations in 10 states.
ITCMAARS
Described as a ‘phygital’ ecosystem by the company, ITCMAARS offers personalised advisories to farmers, an e-marketplace for commodities, and AI-enabled solutions. Its market access feature enables farmers to sell their produce with greater freedom of choice, the company said.
Launched in 2022, the app has led to a 30 percent increase in returns for farmers registered on it through FPOs, the company said. ITC claimed the app has led to a 15-20 percent improvement in crop yields and a 10-15 percent reduction in fertiliser usage.
Around 40 percent of agri procurement of ITC, the second largest wheat procurer in India, is sourced through ITCMAARS in the states where the app has been rolled out.
The platform also gives farmers access to agri start-ups, climate-smart practices such as Broad Bed Furrow, use of drones, etc, and bank services.
Value-Added Agri Products portfolio
To scale up its Value-Added Agri Products (VAAP) portfolio, ITC is encouraging farmers to diversify and take up crops such as Ashwagandha and Kalonji, providing them with better returns and lesser climate risks.
Under ITC’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Extracts (MAPE) initiative, 13 medicinal and aromatic plants, including Ashwagandha, Shatavari, Licorice, Kalmegh, Gudmar, Moringa, Lemongrass, and others, have been studied to standardise farming practices and improve farm economics.
(The reporter travelled to Madhya Pradesh with the company.)
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