Agri-commodities & rural services
Choupal Pradarshan Khet
Another path-breaking initiative - the 'Choupal Pradarshan Khet' - brings the benefits of agricultural best practices to small and marginal farmers. Backed by intensive research and knowledge, this initiative provides Agri-extension services which are qualitatively superior and involve pro-active handholding of farmers to ensure productivity gains. The services are customized to meet local conditions, ensure timely availability of farm inputs including insurance and credit, and provides a cluster of farmer schools for capturing indigenous knowledge. This initiative, which covers more than 70,000 hectares, has a multiplier impact and reaches out to over 1.6 million farmers.
Choupal Saagar
Following the impressive success of the e-Choupal, the Company launched Choupal Saagar, a physical infrastructure hub that comprises collection and storage facilities and a unique rural hypermarket that offers multiple services under one roof. This landmark infrastructure, which has set new benchmarks for rural consumers also incorporates farmer facilitation centres with services such as sourcing, training, soil testing, health clinic, cafeteria, banking, investment services, fuel station, etc. ITC is engaged in scaling up the rural retailing initiative to establish a chain of 100 Choupal Saagars in the near future.
