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Supplier engagement

Our commitment: Engage with suppliers, especially those in agriculture





The lack of water is increasingly becoming a limiting factor for food security, health, sanitation and economic development around the world and particularly in India, where the majority of agriculture is rain-fed. With agriculture responsible for 70% of global water withdrawals, helping farmers manage and conserve water can have a significant positive impact on the environment and alleviate pressure on ecosystems.

Our work with rice and sugarcane farmers

In Karnataka, 46% of the catchment area of the Kabini River is agricultural land, principally used for the cultivation of rice and sugarcane, both water-intensive crops. In recent years, low rainfall, combined with high water demand within the catchment, has resulted in periods of insufficient water supply for farmers in the river basin.

To extend water stewardship efforts across the whole catchment area, Nestlé India, in 2015, partnered with AgSri, an agricultural services company that developed ecologically sustainable systems, such as the Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), to conduct pilot projects. These trials will test the likelihood of rice and sugarcane farmers adopting improved techniques for growing water-intensive crops over a three-year period.

Water management in agriculture is based largely on managing variability. Through the interventions in paddy and sugarcane cultivation, the project aims to relieve the acute water shortage of the Kabini basin catchment. The interventions aim to:

  • Benefit farmers by improving their productivity through an increase in the yield per hectare and reducing input costs
  • Significantly reduce water usage by reducing flood irrigation for paddy and sugarcane
  • Benefit the environment through reduced energy requirements for irrigation, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers and promoting soil microbial activity to improve soil health.

Our work with coffee farmers

In line with our commitment to engage with our suppliers, we have implemented water management initiatives in agriculture. Through the NESCAFÉ Plan, we are raising awareness and providing technical support to coffee farmers on water conservation in irrigation, soil management, waste water treatment and recycling, and water use optimisation. We have also undertaken capacity building on integrated farming techniques, as part of which, we provide technical assistance for rainwater harvesting and recharging practices. Our aim is to empower farmers in water-stressed areas to conserve this vital resource for years to come.

Our work with milk farmers

Punjab is called the ‘Granary of India’ due to its high wheat and rice yields. Factors such as fertile soil, access to water, intensive farming by hardworking farmers and their families, along with the use of high-yield crop seeds for cultivation, have contributed to the rapid growth of agriculture in the state. On the flip side, over exploitation of groundwater has caused its severe depletion, as almost 92% of the irrigation water is sourced from groundwater.

Nestlé partnered with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to study the water footprint of the agricultural and dairy production in Moga. Some of the recommendations provided in the report for water management were changing the cropping pattern, delayed transplanting of paddy, laser-land levelling, increased bund heights, intermittent irrigation and system of rice intensification among others.

Based on these recommendations, Nestlé India has developed a programme for farmers to raise awareness about the importance of water, challenges likely to be faced in the forthcoming years and mitigation actions that they can take.


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