The significance of the role of the agrarian community in consuming the biosphere's most vital natural resource - Water, as sensibly as possible cannot be overstated. As the population of India grows and production of more and more food grains becomes essential, better water management in farming is becoming as critical as the water itself. Farming accounts for around 70% of water used in the world today. Over the years, irregular monsoons, large-scale deforestation and depletion of natural water bodies and surrounding bio-diversity have severely impacted the ground water table. Availability of water for agriculture is one of the major concerns across rural India.
ITC is proactively working with the farming community to protect the watersheds by implementing best practices and technologies to optimise water usage in farming. The main focus here is to produce more crop per drop of water.
The Company has designed and experimented various technologies in partnership with research agencies and knowledge partners. Some of the interventions include the implementation of Tray Seedling Production, Mulching, Subsoiling and Micro Irrigation Systems in the farms, reducing almost 40% to 60% of the water requirement per hectare of crop grown.