India’s leading producer of specialty coffee- Tata Coffee (TCL), recently won the ‘Sustainable Agriculture Award’ at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Agriculture Summit and Awards 2021. The company was recognized for its Soil and Water Conservation initiatives undertaken at its plantations and instant coffee plants.

Kiran Ganapathy (head of Plantations -Operations) and Samir Palsule (head -Business Excellence) received the award on behalf of the company from members of the FICCI Agriculture Committee. The award was granted under the ‘Large Corporate’ category and TCL was conferred the award for significant on-ground interventions in sustainable agriculture development. The entries were shortlisted and evaluated based on the agricultural challenges faced, the initiatives to mitigate such challenges, the outcome and impact of the practices, its scalability and ways to extend the program to benefit small farmers.

The Agri summit brought key stakeholders and policymakers on a common platform to ideate an implementable smart and sustainable agriculture strategy. It was attended by CEOs and business heads of the agri and food industry, policymakers, multilateral and bilateral institutions, NGOs, academicians, researchers, embassies, financial institutions, development organizations etc. who discussed and recommended practical pathways for the promotion and adoption of best sustainable agriculture practices on a large scale.

Chacko Thomas, managing director & chief executive officer, Tata Coffee, speaking on receiving the award, said, “Tata Coffee is honored to be recognized for its commitment to sustainable agricultural practices, and soil and water conservation are a key part of our sustainability strategy. We have adopted scientific ways to conserve water to store excess rainwater runoff in healthy catchment areas. As a result, we now have 274 tanks with a 3.4 million cubic meters storage capacity. This model has ensured that our irrigation is 95% self-reliant and no groundwater is ever exploited. Over the last few years, we have also successfully enhanced the soil fertility in the estates through the regular application of organic compost into the soil. Few other initiatives undertaken towards soil conservation include – contour planting, intercropping, planting new trees and cover crops. We have also carried out several interventions in training programs and awareness campaigns towards adopting improved technologies in all operations. We are extremely proud that such esteemed organizations recognize our efforts.”