ITC launches ‘Mitti Mera Desh’ campaign to showcase climate-smart farming

On Kisan Diwas 2025, ITC launched its ‘Mitti Mera Desh – Tales from the Heartland’ campaign, celebrating Indian farmers and their contributions to agriculture. The initiative brings to life authentic, human-centred stories that reflect the impact of ITC’s Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) interventions. The campaign aligns with the Government of India’s ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ initiative, launched in 2023 as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, and reinforces ITC’s commitment to sustainable agricultural transformation under the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

The campaign showcases how ITC’s CSA programme helps farmers address the environmental and social impacts of climate change while building resilience across agri-value chains. CSA interventions include regenerative farming, climate-resilient crop varieties, improved agronomy, mechanisation, and nature-based solutions. Key crops under the programme include wheat, rice, soybean, onion, fruits, and spices, with practices such as zero tillage, direct-seeded rice, raised-bed planting, mulching, and alternate wetting and drying. Water-efficient techniques like micro-irrigation and trash mulching are applied to paddy, sugarcane, wheat, soybean, and horticultural crops.

During 2024-25, ITC’s CSA initiative benefited 1.2 million farmers across nearly 3.2 million acres in 19 states. By 2030, the programme aims to cover 4 million acres. Core agri catchments have also been transformed into Climate Smart Villages (CSV), currently spanning 7,000 villages across 12 states. These villages adopt a holistic approach encompassing Climate Smart Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Livelihood Diversification, and Institutional Support.

Soil health is central to ITC’s strategy, with initiatives including tank silt application, composting, zero tillage, happy seeder technology, surface seeding, site-specific nutrient management, biofertiliser promotion, and catchment treatments, all aimed at improving soil organic carbon. Gender inclusivity is another focus, with women farmers supported through Women Farmer Field Schools, Krishi Sakhis, and Women Agri Business Centres. In 2024-25, over 1.8 lakh women accessed scientific and technological best practices to enhance yields and incomes.

ITC is also driving NextGen Agriculture through a three-pronged approach: expansion of ITCMAARS, its Climate Smart Agriculture programme, and the Value-Added Agri Product (VAAP) portfolio. ITCMAARS, a ‘phygital’ platform, enhances agri-tech adoption, market access, financial inclusion, and advisory services for farmers. The ecosystem currently supports over 2.2 million farmers, 2,050 FPOs, and 100+ partners across 11 states. Pilot studies report up to 30% higher farmer returns and 15–20% yield gains. By 2030, ITCMAARS aims to serve 10 million farmers and 4,000 FPOs. Tools such as AI/ML-driven crop advisories, irrigation solutions, IoT-enabled farm services, drone technology, climate-smart farming practices, and Krishi Mitra, the first Gen AI voice chatbot for farmers, support personalised guidance in regional languages.

The VAAP portfolio focuses on high-potential categories including spices, shrimps, wheat-based products, coffee, processed fruits and vegetables, and medicinal and aromatic plants. This initiative strengthens traceable, demand-driven value chains, connecting Indian farmers to global markets and enhancing farm incomes sustainably.

‘Mitti Mera Desh’ forms a key pillar of ITC’s broader ‘Nation First’ narrative, following earlier campaigns such as Desh Ek Raag, Desh: Inn Haathon Se Ban Raha Bharat, and ITC: India Inspired. Through these efforts, ITC reinforces its century-long association with Indian agriculture, using storytelling to highlight resilience, innovation, and sustainable growth in the farming sector.