A green planet for a bright future
As a business, we are focused on accelerating access to affordable and innovative medicines, and meeting the healthcare needs of patients around the world. But we work towards this while adhering to the golden principles of people, planet and profit. Our successes not only depend on our scientific prowess, but also on how well we meet our sustainability targets.
Over the years, we have set up planet-centric initiatives across all our offices, plants and facilities, as well as through community awareness programmes in India. One such programme is Marking Integrated Transformation for Resourceful Agriculture or MITRA, which empowers small and marginal farmers by pushing them to adopt latest technologies and best farming practices. It is geared towards fulfilling multiple objectives — helping farmers access public extension facilities, engage with agriscientists, embrace best farming practices and pass on knowledge to other farmers through peer learning and sharing. We focus on improving irrigation and water management, as well as imparting digital and financial literacy.
One of the geographies where MITRA has been implemented is in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh for maize cultivation. India’s maize productivity is much lower than the world average, so to remedy this, our team got working with scientists at Krishi Vigyan Kendra to address technology gaps in the farming system and offer better agricultural solutions to over 4,000 farmers in the region. They introduced farmers to the zero tillage system, which conserves soil and water while requiring no capital investment in machinery. Most importantly, zero tillage improves maize yields.
The result was an average income increase of INR 27,000 per hectare during the pilot phase and over the years, yields have gone up by a minimum of 15 percent. About 33,000 litres of water is saved per acre. This technology is now mainstream.
MITRA also helps paddy farmers to increase yields and income. “After MITRA’s intervention, I clearly saw the difference in yields between demonstration and normal plots,” says Pandranki Simhachalam from Nelivada village. “I am now expanding my paddy growing area, having consecutively recorded good yields in the past three seasons. I’m also supporting around 40 fellow farmers to promote such low-cost technology.”
No change can be brought about in this world by a single hand. Educating communities to do their part in saving the planet, while enabling them to succeed, is just as crucial to conservation efforts.
