BALCO Employees Join Hands with Farmers for ‘Ropai’, learning the SRI technique
2nd September 2024
Balconagar, 2nd September 2024 – Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a part of Vedanta Aluminium, joyously celebrated the festival of Hareli by conducting a collaborative Ropai activity with its employees and communities under its project ‘Mor Jal Mor Maati’. Ropai is an agrarian method, which involves transplantation of rice saplings. Over 50 employee volunteers came together to contribute a total of 86 man-hours to plant rice seedlings across 4.5 acres of farmland, reducing labour costs by about 15 percent.
Celebrated during the onset of the rice planting season in Chhattisgarh, the ‘Rice Bowl of India,’ Hareli is an important festival for the farmers in the state. This year, BALCO encouraged its employees to actively engage in the plantation of tender rice seedlings alongside farmers, fostering a spirit of togetherness.
Rajesh Kumar, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “Our employees’ involvement in activities like Ropai goes beyond mere volunteering; it represents our heartfelt commitment towards the community. Through projects like Mor Jol Mor Mati, BALCO has been helping local farmers through the introduction of modern agricultural practices like the System of Rice Identification (SRI) technique. With essential knowledge and resources, we aim to bolster the resilience of the agricultural sector in the region.”
BALCO trains nearly 2,300 small and marginal farmers in SRI throughout the year, contributing to their economic growth.Traditional practices of random seed dispersion often led to competition with weeds and pests, resulting in lower yields and increased losses. The adoption of the Systematic Rice Intensification (SRI) method strengthens root development, leading to healthier harvests more resilient to pest diseases, and often results in a 20-30 percent increase in rice production.
Dhansaya Patel, a resident farmer from Bundeli Village, shared his experience, stating, “The training in SRI techniques for rice production was very useful. Since adopting this farming method, we have witnessed an increase in production. Compared to traditional methods, this technique has helped me achieve better crop yield.”
Sarthak Patel, a BALCO employee who participated in the Ropai activity. “It was inspiring to work alongside farmers and be close to nature, learning about the crops while making a positive impact outside of our jobs.”
BALCO’s Mor Jal, Mor Maati project reaches out to over 4,749 farmers, covering more than 1,400 acres of land in 32 villages. More than 80% of farmers have adopted modern agricultural techniques under this project, such as System of Rice Intensification (SRI), trellis, organic farming, climate-resilient cropping, and vegetable & wheat cultivation. Around 15% of the farmers are engaged in livelihood diversification activities like animal husbandry, horticulture, and non-timber forest produce. The project intervention has led to an increase in their average annual income, a 50% rise in production, and a 40% reduction in input costs.
About BALCO:
Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) is a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, operating a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium, i.e., 2.42 million tonnes in FY25. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow. For more information, please log on to
www.balcoindia.com
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Disclaimer:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil
& Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver,
Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa, Namibia, and
Australia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building.
Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong
focus on health, safety, and environment. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is
focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. Under the aegis of Vedanta Cares, the
flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars have been set up as model anganwadis focused on
eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with
skill development. Vedanta and its group companies have been featured in Dow Jones
Sustainability Index 2020, and were conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020,
CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020, CSR Health Impact Award 2020, CII National
Award 2020 for Excellence in Water Management, CII Digital Transformation Award 2020, ICSI
National Award 2020 for excellence in Corporate Governance, People First HR Excellence Award
2020, ‘Company with Great Managers 2020’ by People Business and certified as a Great Place
to Work 2021. Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar Project was identified as best CSR project by the
Government of Rajasthan. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the
National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit
www.vedantalimited.com
