Bayer CropScience said that it has partnered with ITC’s agri business division in order to extend the reach of its crop protection products via ITC's e-Choupal 4.0 platform. The collaboration has started as a pilot project in Mysore, Karnataka and will slowly be expanded to other geographies across the country, Bayer said in a statement.
As the Covid-19 disrupting farming operations and on-farm advisory, this initiative will help growers get agri-inputs and digital advisory on a timely basis.
ITC & Bayer are jointly training and on-boarding retailers in the Mysore region, to cater to growers orders placed through the e-Choupal 4.0 platform. Field Officers from both the firms have also received extensive training on product knowledge & technical advisory to support farmers.
More than 42,000 ITC farmers, across 1,100 villages covering 60,000 hectares in Mysore will get the benefit from this partnership. Cultivators can place their order for Bayer products via e-Choupal 4.0 platform and track their orders. Those without access to smartphones can place their orders online with assistance from Bayer & ITC’s field staff or even place offline orders.
Speaking about the collaboration with ITC, D. Narain, CEO and MD of Bayer CropScience Limited told “Farmers in India often struggle to get access to agri-inputs, training and advisory under one roof. Lack of modern technologies and good agricultural practices hamper crop productivity and farm profitability. At Bayer, we are looking at meaningful collaborations to create greater value for farmers and the entire agri eco-system. Bayer’s partnership with ITC aims to offer tailored solutions, enabling farmers to achieve better harvests and progress to sustainable agriculture. We also plan to leverage ITC’s extensive rural reach to create capacity building for adoption of greater product stewardship and traceability of produce.”
