In recent years, sustainable trade has assumed significant importance basis a profound realisation across businesses, governments, and civil society organisations, that a business’s sustainability strategy, approach and outcomes hold only as good as the social, economic and environmental benefits that accrue in the supply and value chains. This is more so when it comes to agri-commodities and their value chains, where much of the food production is by small holder farmers, working on small parcels of land.

Small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land account for 86.2% of all farmers in India, but own just 47.3% of the crop area, according to provisional numbers from the 10th agriculture census 2015-16. In comparison, semi-medium and medium land holding farmers owning between 2-10 hectares of land account for 13.2% of all farmers, but own 43.6% of crop area, the survey showed.

With such large numbers of small holders in the supply and value chains, companies can’t afford to ignore their present situation in terms of their falling agricultural productivity, lessening earning potential, lack of safe agricultural practices (with balanced used of chemical inputs), access to quality agricultural inputs, crop diversification generating additional earning potential, among other issues and challenges.

Thus, creating responsible supply chains is the need of the hour, though it remains to be seen how geared up are companies to attend to this challenge and how much of active work they can implement to reduce their scope 3 carbon emissions which come from their supply chains.

IDH works to convene businesses, governments and civil society organisations to collaborate on finding and funding solutions to issues and challenges in agri-commodity value chains such that there is concerted grassroots action on better income, better jobs, better environment and gender. We follow a landscapes approach that ensures we are connected with small holders across the annual cropping cycle and work with them for multiple crops around the year through regenerative agriculture and climate resilient practices.