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The Company’s commodity trading operation
was accredited with ISO 9001:2000 certification, testifying to the high quality process standards resident in the system.
The business is progressively aligning its commodity portfolio with the sourcing needs of the Company’s Foods Business to generate higher order value from its agri procurement infrastructure. The acquisition of Technico, an Australian company with technology leadership in the production of early generation
seed potatoes, helped the business access a ready pipeline of new high-yielding varieties of chipstock potato seeds.
It is a matter of great pride that the e-Choupal network found special mention in the World Development Report 2008 published by the World Bank.
24 Choupal Saagars - Integrated rural hubs that complement the e-Choupal are now operational
in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
The ‘Choupal Pradarshan Khet’ (CPK), a collaborative and paid agri extension service, aimed at enhancing farm productivity through adoption of best practices in agriculture, now covers 43,500 hectares. The business has also taken up a project jointly with the Government of Madhya Pradesh under the Agriculture Technology Management Agency
(ATMA) initiative, wherein both classroom and
on-field training would be provided to farmers
by experts from various areas of agriculture including lead farmers.
The Leaf Tobacco business achieved a new high
in tobacco exports for the 3rd consecutive year, and despite the sharp appreciation of the rupee, recorded a 21% increase in export revenues over the previous year. In volume terms, exports for the year stood
at 62 million kgs, representing a 27% growth.
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