Context:
ITC Limited is focusing on medicinal and aromatic plants, diversifying beyond traditional crops like wheat and rice.
- 101-acre Organic-Certified Farm:
- ITC runs a demonstration and training center for 27 medicinal plant varieties in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh.
- MAPS Programme:
- ITC is driving the MAPS Programme, focusing on raw herbs and value-added products.
- Modern Agriculture Platform (MAP)
- A program that aims to help farmers sustainably grow high-quality crops. MAP uses digital agriculture systems and a quality control system to connect the agricultural and food value chains.
- Agro-MAPS
- A web-based information system that provides statistics on primary food crops. The data is presented on a map background and can be selected by country, crop, and year.
- Precision agriculture mapping
- A subset of GIS (geographic information systems) that uses satellite and aerial imagery to map agricultural features. Farmers can use this information to determine where to apply water, fertilizer, and pesticides, and to assess soil conditions.
- Farmer Support:
- Trains and guides medicinal plant cultivation across 14 districts in Madhya Pradesh.
- Growth in Income:
- Farm families growing medicinal plants earns 26% to 35% more than the other crops they grow.
- Value-added Support Post-Harvest:
- Grading, sorting, marketing, and a buy-back.
- NextGen Agriculture Strategy:
- The effort is aligned with the strategy of scaling up the portfolio of Value-Added Agri Products.
