In an enormous session on sustainable agriculture, Anandana – The Coca-Cola India Foundation, in association with Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies, recognized relentless farmers through the famous Project Unnati Apple in Champawat, Uttarakhand. It saw the felicitation of 10 farmers for their dedicated efforts toward the adoption of sustainable farming techniques and showcased how these techniques brought transformational changes in the local agricultural scenario.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami joined in virtually. In person, the following dignitaries attended the function: Shri. Rajiv Gupta, Director, Coca-Cola India Foundation; Shri Suresh Joshi, Spokesperson BJP; Smt. Jyoti Rai, Chairman, District Council, Champawat; Shri. Prakash Tiwari, Representative CM; Shri. Nirmal Mehra, President, BJP, Champawat; Shri. Navneet Pandey, District Magistrate; Smt. Rekha Devi, Block Pramukh, Champawat; and Shri. Sudhir Chadha, Director, Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “I commend Anandana-The Coca-Cola India Foundation and Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies for adopting Champawat for their Project Unnati Apple. This initiative has been successful because of the people associated with it, and I congratulate them all for making it possible. It is simply great that the apple orchards have borne fruit in just 20 months. Other than contributing to the growth of farmers, such initiatives may help reverse the problem of migration in the state. I request the Coca-Cola India Foundation to continue contributing towards the production of apples while diversifying into the production of other fruits for the realization of Adarsh Champawat and Adarsh Uttarakhand.”
During the inauguration of Project Unnati Apple in Champawat, more than 250 tree saplings were given to farmers for cultivation. Within a period of 20 months, each tree grew with a yield of more than 5 kg fruit. Thus, proving the prodigious success of the project. This success has opened up newer avenues for the cultivation of other fruits in the area. Envisioning Champawat as a stronghold of agriculture, the local administration, Coca-Cola India Foundation, and Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies are pledged to providing full support to the farmers.
“The success of Project Unnati Apple exemplifies our vision of empowering farming communities toward economic self-sufficiency with sustainable interventions,” said Rajiv Gupta, Director of The Coca-Cola India Foundation. This project is part of our larger Fruit Circular Economy Initiative focusing on raising farmer productivity and poor technology adoption. We are offering them advanced horticulture solutions, thus improving farmers’ livelihoods, furthering the vision of the Government of India of Atmanirbhar Bharat, driving economic prosperity by better crop output outcomes.
According to Sudhir Chaddha, Director, Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies, “Project Unnati Apple has changed the way apples are grown in Uttarakhand. It really has worked to make farmers ‘Atma Nirbhar’ with new innovative agriculture practices. This successful initiative of our company, along with the Coca-Cola India Foundation, has increased apple productivity and yield in the state and reaffirmed our commitment toward developing sustainable livelihoods.”.
Launched in 2018, Project Unnati Apple—The Anandana, the Coca-Cola India Foundation, together with Indo-Dutch Horticulture Technologies Pvt. Ltd. as its implementation partner, aimed at providing and educating farmers on advanced agricultural techniques to better their livelihoods. It has been rather successful in enhancing apple cultivation and farmers’ income for the well-being of communities of farmers, yield enhancement, and sustainable use of natural resources in the area.
Project Unnati is part of the Coca‑Cola Fruit Circular Economy initiative—a critical area in the Company’s ESG priorities: Sustainable Agriculture. In this area, it tackles farm-level efficiency execution through best-practice techniques, such as ultra-high-density plantation and drip irrigation. In the past 12 years, Unnati has empowered and enabled close to 4 lakh fruit farmers in 13 states and Union Territories across India. This program, under consideration of focused attention on seven crop varieties, covers mango, apple, orange, grapes, litchi, coffee, and sugarcane. It primarily has the objective to provide impetus to the chain of supply in horticulture and construct capacities of agricultural production throughout the country.
