The Walmart Foundation on Wednesday announced a grant of over ₹4 crore to assist farmers across six States in India to manage supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic as well as sustain their farming operations. The grant will be presented to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and its partner organisations that are supporting their local communities as they respond to COVID-19.
With this new grant, ICRISAT will partner with eight other organisations, including Tanager, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), TrickleUp, International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Grameen Foundation India, Digital Green India, TechnoServe and Heifer International, to further scale up their efforts on the ground towards building support and resilience for India’s farmers.
ICRISAT Director General Dr. Jacqueline Hughes said that the grant from Walmart Foundation will impact more than 24,000 farmers across Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. ICRISAT will contribute towards combating the COVID-19 pandemic-related impacts on the farming communities and beyond.
Chief Sustainability Officer of Walmart Inc., Kathleen McLaughlin, said that the grant will help supplement the ongoing efforts on the ground and help farmers return to profitability in the coming seasons.
