Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO)

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the environment measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the nutrition measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
While IFFCO has several relevant initiatives, such as the ICT initiative for farmers, Save the Soil and IFFCO-MC, no evidence of a clear or unified overarching policy on sustainable development topics was found in the public domain.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
The company does not disclose the governance structure for the implementation of its sustainable development strategy or targets, such as the person, team or committee that holds ultimate responsibility for its implementation.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose a process for identifying and engaging with any stakeholders other than its members.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
The company does not disclose quantitative evidence to demonstrate that it is reducing its scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions.

Soil health and agrobiodiversity
Through the Save the Soil programme IFFCO teaches farmers how to improve or enable productivity via soil health by promoting the balanced use of fertilisers, organics and bio-fertilisers and showing farmers methods to reclaim degraded soil, diversify crops and intensify agriculture. IFFCO could create incentives for soil health by disclosing targets and measurements related to this programme as well as demonstrating its impact.

Fertiliser and pesticide use
In 2019, IFFCO established the Nano Biotechnology Research Centre in Kalol, Gujarat to create a nano fertiliser that reduces the need for urea fertiliser by 50%. The company also supports farmers in nutrient stewardship by educating them on different methods of soil reclaiming and enriching, including a balanced use of fertilisers, organics and bio-fertilisers. However, the cooperative has an opportunity to disclose a commitment by setting targets to increase the percentage of production from sustainable practices that optimise use of fertilisers and pesticides, and reporting progress against the target.

Water use
The company does not disclose that it is reducing water withdrawals across its operations and supply chain.

Availability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment or activities to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
The company reports that it is improving farmers’ access to varieties of different crops through several programs. One example is its partnership with the Agriculture Department and the National Food Security Mission of the Government of India, through which the company has contributed 385 kg of vegetable seeds of 16 different crops to farmers. However, the company has an opportunity to improve its disclosure on the impact and reach of these activities, particularly on the accessibility and affordability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Workforce nutrition
While the company discloses a programme to improve workforce nutrition through dietary management education, it has an opportunity to develop this programme further to ensure the provision of healthy foods at work, nutrition education, nutrition-focused health checks and breastfeeding support throughout its operations.

Farmer and fisher productivity
IFFCO discloses initiatives to support the productivity of farmers. These include teaching farmers about balanced fertiliser use and agricultural methods that improve soil health via the Save the Soil programme and performing 78,728 soil tests to better instruct farmers on which and how much fertiliser should be used on their land. However, while the company reports on the scope of its programmes, it does not report on the impact these have on farmers’ livelihoods.

Child and forced labour
The company does not disclose a commitment to prohibit child and forced labour in its operations and supply chain in a policy.

Living wage
The company does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Health and safety of vulnerable workers
The company does not disclose that it specifically recognises the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young farmers.

IFFCO’s public materials do not identify any commitments or assessments related to protecting human rights, and no evidence of a grievance mechanism was found. No description of the company’s relationship with different stakeholders is made, nor the identification or acknowledgement of who they are. IFFCO could benefit from deepening and better managing their relationship with workers and communities throughout its supply chain.

The company does not disclose a publicly available policy on the health and safety of its workers. Regarding living wages, working hours, collective bargaining, or gender equality and women’s empowerment, no information or policy is provided either. IFFCO, its associated cooperatives, and the workers of its international units, could benefit from the creation a code of conduct by IFFCO that included human rights and decent work expectations and commitments.

IFFCO does not disclose a global tax approach that includes all of its operations. It also does not disclose any information on anti-corruption, responsible lobbying. While it provides information on data privacy rules, it is not publicly available.