ITC - Ushering in NextGen Agri, Strengthening Rural India, 94 percent of ITCs businesses are linked to agricrops or plantations

Published at : Aug 30, 2026 12:02 PM (IST)

Total Views : 192

ITC Ushering in NextGen Agri, Strengthening Rural India, 94 percent of ITCs businesses are linked to agricrops or plantations

The Print Times
Excerpts from ITC AGM 2026 Speech by Chairman Mr. Sanjiv Puri:

I begin with agriculture — the lifeline of our economy and the foundation of rural India. India possesses vast arable land, diverse agro-climatic zones and leadership in several commodities. Yet, low productivity, fragmented holdings, limited value addition, climate vulnerability and inefficient market access continue to constrain its potential. Although India is the world’s second-largest agricultural producer, this sector contributes only 18% to GVA and just about 2.2% to global farm exports, while supporting nearly 46% of livelihoods. This points to a defining opportunity to transform Indian agriculture from volume-led production to value-led competitiveness, not only to fortify food security but to raise farmer incomes, deepen rural capability and enhance exports.

For a consumption-driven economy like India, agricultural buoyancy, resilience and development of the food processing value chain are vital. The Government has indeed spearheaded several commendable measures to support growth of the agri-food sector. Higher farmer incomes can trigger a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment, employment and rural prosperity. This requires a structural shift to shape NextGeneration Agriculture — from fragmented productivity to integrated competitiveness, from undifferentiated commodities to high-value agriculture, and from vulnerable farming systems to climate-smart, technology-enabled rural ecosystems.

With over a century of engagement with agriculture, 94% of your Company’s businesses are linked to agri-crops or plantations, generating substantial livelihoods. ITC nurtures 21 value-chains across 23 States to source nearly 6 million tonnes of agri-produce.  In this address, I will focus on ITC’s Agri Business, which is now the country’s largest private sector agri-enterprise, doubling segment revenue in just over 5 years to nearly ₹20,300 crore in FY26. The ITC Next strategy is today transforming the Agri Business, while ushering in NextGeneration farming and rural empowerment.

At the core of this transformation is the ITCMAARS phygital ecosystem, designed to empower FPOs with digital technologies, hyper-personalised advisories, quality inputs, market linkages, scientific agronomy and climate-smart practices to improve farm competitiveness and resilience. In a short span, ITCMAARS has onboarded over 2.6 million farmers across 11 States, with the ambition to benefit 10 million farmers by 2030. Initial estimates indicate crop yield gains of 15–20% and improvement in net returns by 25–30%.

Building on a recent horticulture pilot, anchored by FPOs, for the supply of high-quality fruits and vegetables, ITC plans to develop 4 additional hybrid Open-to-Sky and Controlled Environment Agriculture clusters to create a reliable, traceable supply chain for fresh produce. Progressively, ITCMAARS is introducing precision-led agriculture and advanced agri-tech solutions, like IoT-enabled weather tracking, remote-sensing, drone-based services, to promote smart farming.

A vital component of your Company’s agri strategy is to promote Value-Added Agriculture to enable farmers scale the next horizon of profitable growth. This portfolio, which has grown at a CAGR of 33% over five years, today encompasses certified organic crops, processed agri-products, such as food-safe spices, horticulture, premium coffee, aquaculture and attribute-specific commodities, like high-starch maize and high-gluten wheat.

Taking this further, ITCMAARS will drive a Farming as a Service (FaaS) ecosystem to ‘Grow the Buy’, where crop value chains are customised to meet specific buyer needs. Certifications, traceability and responsible sourcing establish trust systems at scale, linking Indian farmers to domestic and global export markets. ITC’s Spices Business, for example, is today the country’s leading exporter of organic spices, supported by certified cultivation, backward integration and one of Asia’s largest spices processing facilities at Guntur.

In an era of climate stress and rising food security imperatives, production of high-quality,  resilient seeds and hybrids is vital to enhancing productivity, improving quality, increasing climate resilience, strengthening nutritional security and raising farmer incomes. Your Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Technico, a global leader in pre-basic potato seeds, is investing in the world’s largest state-of-the-art aeroponic facility with 60 hi-tech controlled-environment greenhouses taking the combined capacity to 100 million TECHNITUBER®s.

Fostering an effective science-to-farm ecosystem, ITC’s LSTC is leveraging advanced breeding technologies, molecular genetics and digital tools to develop higher-yielding, climate-resilient, hybrid and disease-resistant varieties across crops such as tobacco, wheat, potato, eucalyptus and subabul. These have led to yields improving by 15-50%.

Your Company is making appreciable progress in high-value, future-facing categories, such as Biological Extracts, with the commencement of a US FDA-compliant, export-oriented, pharmacopoeia-standard nicotine derivative processing facility, serving customers in Europe, USA and South Korea. In addition, ITC’s medicinal and aromatic plant ecosystem is developing high-active varieties and proprietary formulations, besides manufacturing high-purity extracts for domestic and global markets together with farmer training in best practices.

As we look ahead, ITC will continue to work towards shaping a more competitive, resilient and inclusive Agri Business, which is not only creating new growth drivers but also contributing to enriching rural India, raising farmer incomes, fortifying food and livelihood security, and establishing globally trusted value chains.

I now turn to another area of vast importance — the necessity of creating world-class Indian brands as a badge of honour for the country.

Published at : Aug 30, 2026 12:02 PM (IST)

Total Views : 192