Greening wastelands
ITC’s unique forestry programme, which began in 1996, has helped poor tribal farmers begin a new life. Deep in the heart of Andhra Pradesh, ITC has enabled transform erstwhile wastelands of small and marginal farmers into lush green plantations, thanks to the high yielding disease-resistant clonal saplings developed by ITC at its state of the art biotechnology research centre in Bhadrachalam. Under the programme, 19,500 hectares of wastelands have been rejuvenated through the plantation of 66 million saplings, creating livelihood opportunities for nearly 200,000 people. Over the next decade, 600 million saplings will convert 100,000 hectares of wastelands into plantations, with the potential to generate income for 1.2 million people.

Irrigating drylands
ITC’s integrated watershed development programme, initiated in 2001, seeks to achieve two critical objectives: water conservation and soil enrichment. This development initiative is a key intervention to reverse moisture stress in some of the more acutely drought-prone districts of the country. ITC organises farmers into water-user-groups that plan and build water harvesting structures like contour bunds, check dams, percolation tanks and farm ponds. These structures, financed by ITC, provide critical irrigation to over 8,000 hectares of drought-prone tracts. Over the next decade, ITC aims to bring soil and moisture conservation to 80,000 hectares of drylands under this programme.

Creating Women Entrepreneurs
ITC believes that economic empowerment of women transforms them into powerful agents of social change. Since 2001, ITC has been organising rural women into micro-credit groups, providing them money to build and manage a revolving development fund. These groups extend financial support to members to set up small businesses, thereby enabling them to evolve into entrepreneurs. ITC also imparts training to improve their vocational skills, thus enhancing their ability to supplement family income. This leads to better health care, nutrition and education for their children. Over the next decade, these micro-credit groups will have about 60,000 members, creating thousands of women entrepreneurs.