ITC’s agri business becomes India’s largest private-sector agri enterprise, doubles revenue in five years

ITC’s agri business is currently India’s largest private-sector agri-enterprise, with revenue doubling over the past five years to nearly ₹20,300 crore.

“With over a century of engagement with agriculture, 94 per cent of ITC’s businesses are linked to agri-crops or plantations, generating substantial livelihoods. ITC nurtures 21 value-chains across 23 States to source nearly 6 million tonnes of agri-produce,” Chairman & Managing Director Sanjiv Puri told shareholders during the conglomerate’s 115th annual general meeting on Thursday.

“In this address, I will focus on ITC’s Agri Business, which is now the country’s largest private sector agri-enterprise, doubling segment revenue in just over 5 years to nearly ₹20,300 crore in FY26. The ITC Next strategy is today transforming the Agri Business, while ushering in NextGeneration farming and rural empowerment,” Puri said.

At the core of this transformation is the ITCMAARS phygital ecosystem, designed to empower FPOs with digital technologies, hyper-personalised advisories, quality inputs, market linkages, scientific agronomy and climate-smart practices to improve farm competitiveness and resilience.

In a short span, ITCMAARS has onboarded over 2.6 million farmers across 11 States, with the ambition to benefit 10 million farmers by 2030. Initial estimates indicate crop yield gains of 15–20 per cent and improvement in net returns by 25–30 per cent.

“Building on a recent horticulture pilot, anchored by FPOs, for the supply of high-quality fruits and vegetables, ITC plans to develop 4 additional hybrid Open-to-Sky and Controlled Environment Agriculture clusters to create a reliable, traceable supply chain for fresh-produce,” the Chairman informed.

Progressively, ITCMAARS is introducing precision-led agriculture and advanced agri-tech solutions, such as IoT-enabled weather tracking, remote sensing, and drone-based services, to promote smart farming.

A vital component of ITC’s agri strategy is to promote value-added agriculture, enabling farmers to scale to the next horizon of profitable growth. “This portfolio, which has grown at a CAGR of 33 per cent over five years, today encompasses certified organic crops, processed agri-products, such as food-safe spices, horticulture, premium coffee, aquaculture and attribute-specific commodities, like high-starch maize and high-gluten wheat,” Puri added.

Taking this further, ITCMAARS will drive a Farming as a Service (FaaS) ecosystem to ‘Grow the Buy’, where crop value chains are customised to meet specific buyer needs.