Community Development: Creating Sustainable Value Chains

ITC's social development initiatives harmonise the Company's objective of creating shareholder value whilst simultaneously making a substantial contribution to society. The multiple drivers that have given shape to the strategy and ITC's responses can be illustrated as follows:

Compelling Agenda	Primary Stakeholders	Strategic Responses
Creating sustainable value chains	Indian farmers partnering ITC to supply agri-commodities	Web-enablement of the Indian farmer through the e-Choupal initiative Natural resource management to develop wastelands and soil and moisture conservation, and promote improved agricultural practices Genetic improvement in livestock productivity
Harmonious community relations	Communities residing around production sites	Sustainable livelihoods creation through the economic empowerment of women; Community development with focus on universalisation of primary education, health and sanitation
Commitment to Nation building	Indian society	Patronage of classical music, art and heritage

Creating Sustainable Value Chains

Through the e-Choupal initiative, ITC aims to confer the power of expert knowledge on even the smallest individual farmer. Thus enhancing his competitiveness in the global market.

The e-Choupal initiative, the single-largest information technology-based intervention by a corporate entity in rural India, is transforming the Indian farmer into a progressive knowledge-seeking netizen. It enriches the farmer with knowledge and elevates him to a new order of empowerment.

e-Choupal delivers real-time information and customised knowledge to improve the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby better aligning farm output to market demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The model helps aggregate demand in the nature of a virtual producers' co-operative, in the process facilitating access to higher quality farm inputs at lower costs for the farmer. The e-Choupal initiative also creates a direct marketing channel, eliminating wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, thus reducing transaction costs and making logistics efficient.

Varying grades of wheat have the potential to meet diverse consumer preferences and therefore generate better prices. But the benefit never trickled down to the farmers because all varieties were aggregated as one average quality in the mandis. e-Choupal is now helping farmers discover the best price for their quality at the village itself. The site also provides farmers with specialised knowledge for customising their produce to the right consumer segments. The new storage and handling system preserves the identity of different varieties right through the 'farm-gate to dinner-plate' supply chain, encouraging farmers to raise quality standards and attracting better prices.

ITC Limited
Sustainability Report 2006