New Delhi: DS Group, a multi-business corporation and one of the leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) conglomerates launched a new initiative #SaluteTheFarmHER to highlight the contribution of female farmers in agriculture. With this, the Group takes a small step towards attaining due recognition for them.
India is an agrarian economy where about 54.6 percent of the total workforce is engaged in agricultural and allied sector activities. While farming is perceived to be a male activity, agriculture employs about 80 percent of rural women, as per Niti Ayog. Yet, there is a lack of their recognition. The Group identified the need to sensitise the audience, create awareness, empower, and at the same time applaud the rural women workforce for their efforts.
Conceptualised by Grapes, the execution began by releasing a video to bring this gap to the general audience’s attention. It showed that when kids were asked to draw a farmer, most of them conjured up the image of a male. To change this perception, the Group intends to approach leading media houses, agricultural bloggers, and stock footage portals to make a small change to include images of both male and female farmers while covering relevant news.
Talking about the initiative, a spokesperson from DS Group said, “At DS Group, our CSR initiatives are designed on the principles that indigenous knowledge and skills of the local community are important towards sustainable development. We look at a holistic approach to add value, from creating awareness to implementation and ensuring sustainability. In the ‘New India’, rural women are leading the change in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. Empowering them can make way for a substantial leap towards the growth of the economy.”
Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Grapes, spoke about the campaign, “Today, when all of us regularly turn to digital for all our needs, wants, queries and much more, how something is represented in the online space has become even more critical. The representation of female farmers, however, is severely lacking. And due recognition is quite necessary in order to garner opportunities for equitable growth. So, the #SaluteTheFarmHER is a small step in that direction with the hope of initiating larger change.”
The initiative marks the company’s ongoing efforts in this space. Through their farm-based livelihood projects, which incubate women cultivators, business owners, and skilled farm labourers, DS Group’s CSR activities have diligently worked towards improving the lives of 24,000 women farmers in 12 agrarian States till now.
Guided by a clear set of values and built on a strong foundation of collective good, Corporate Social Responsibility is an integral part of the Group’s business objectives. The Group endeavours for the sustainable well-being of the stakeholder communities by addressing economic, environmental, and social issues and challenges.
