Bengaluru, April 15: ITC has been working on various interventions for farmers empowerment and connecting them to global markets through sustainable and traceable sourcing. Demonstrating its leadership in sustainable agriculture, ITC has become the first company in India to receive the globally-acknowledged Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA 3.0) certification for wheat and paddy.
For ITC, FSA certification helps build credibility with global customers by demonstrating that sourcing is responsible, traceable and aligned with international expectations.For buyers, especially in regions like the EU, it supports compliance with sustainability commitments and due diligence around issues such as agronomic practices, deforestation and labour standards.
The standards followed and adopted deliver clear benefits both for farmers and the environment. For farmers, they lead to better yields and price-realization with stronger market linkages. From an environmental perspective, these practices help improve soil health and reduce emissions by promoting efficient use of fuel, water, fertilizers and crop protection inputs.
ITC has successfully implemented the FSA 3.0globalfarming standards across 22,000+ acres in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, engaging 3,500+ farmers across 70+ FPOs. The initiative was anchored within ITC’s large-scale Crop Development Programme that integrates sustainability, traceability and inclusivity, earning it the prestigious third‑party validation.
The Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) standards, developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) platform with over 190 member organizations, is an internationally recognized framework used by global food and agri companies to assess value-chain sustainability. The latest version, FSA 3.0, was introduced in April 2021.
Commenting on the development,Mr. S Ganesh Kumar, Divisional Chief Executive, Agri Business, ITC Ltd, said
“ITC is deeply committed to empowering farmers by providing them with the knowledge, tools and support needed to adopt globally benchmarked sustainable practices. By promoting cultivation of traceable, high-quality agri produce, we are linking Indian farmers to global markets, addressing needs of international buyers and ensuring higher farmer incomes. Our continued focus on building resilient, farmer-centric value chains demonstrates that sustainability and business competitiveness can go hand in hand, creating long-term benefits for communities and the environment, while strengthening the country’s agri-export competitiveness.”
To achieve FSA 3.0, ITC rolled out a well-structured and clearly documented set of on-ground initiatives covering training, advisory, implementation, monitoring and sourcing. These efforts were supported by a strong three-tier external evaluation system to ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
To support these efforts, ITC developed around 30 formal policies and guidance documents aligned with FSA standards. These covered key areas such as agronomy, soil and nutrient management, health, hygiene and safety, use of crop protection inputs, waste handling, water use, environmental management, biodiversity conservation, air quality and emissions, traceability, and overall farm management.
Based on a detailed gap assessment, focused training and capacity building sessions were conducted for both farmers and field teams. At the farm level, demonstration plots and farmer field days were used to promote adoption of sustainable practices. Farmers were introduced to methods such as direct seeded rice, zero tillage, drone spraying, micro-irrigation and water saving techniques. Practices like soil test based nutrient application, integrated nutrient management and use of climate resilient crop varieties and advanced nano-fertilizers were also encouraged.
Digital tools played a key role in monitoring and traceability. All participating farms were geo-fenced through ITCMAARS, enabling farm level tracking and oversight. Sourcing was made end-to-end traceable, supported by separate storage and Volume Accounting System for accurate tracking. ITCMAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services) is a “phygital” ecosystem that provides farmers with digital AI-enabled crop advisories, high-quality inputs, and direct market linkages delivered through a dedicated super-app and physical hyper-local agri-services anchored by Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The ITCMAARS ecosystem has so far benefitted more than 2.2 million farmers and over 2100 FPOs across 11 states.
