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AB InBev partners with ICRISAT to increase water access of communities in Sangareddy, Telangana

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ICRISAT
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Charminar and Crown Breweries to impact 12 target villages by establishing more than 100 watershed replenishment structures

  • Projects include on-farm ponds, check dams, promote water, soil conservation and management for sustainable agriculture

  • AB InBev and ICRISAT have successfully developed 94,000 cubic meters storage capacity at pilot villages in the past along with ensuring additional housing income through its Spent Malt initiative

Hyderabad, 06 December: Strengthening its commitment to ensure communities access quality water, AB InBev today announced that they have signed an MOU with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to develop watershed replenishment structures in villages around Charminar and Crown Breweries in Sangareddy district of Telangana, India. This association reinforces the company’s efforts to achieve its 2025 global sustainability goals on water stewardship and builds on AB InBev’s existing partnership with ICRISAT to establish water dispensing centers in the district.

Through this partnership, AB InBev is looking to positively impact 12 target villages in Sangareddy district by establishing more than 100 watershed replenishment structures ranging from on-farm ponds to check dams, promoting conservation and management of water and soil for smart, sustainable agriculture.

Speaking on this partnership, Gagandeep Sethi, Vice President Supply & Logistics – South Asia, AB InBev said, “India is among the 17 countries with the highest number of water stressed areas. We recognize water is an important resource for the well-being of our communities and are working tirelessly to address its scarcity. We are focused on delivering meaningful programs that will help us create value for our communities and achieve our sustainability goals. This agreement with ICRISAT will see us positively impact 12 villages with over 30,000 people while also promoting water and soil resource conservation and management to promote sustainable agriculture practices. We are confident that this will enable us to mobilize the community and ensure that we improve the quality and management of water resources in the areas we operate.”

This partnership will additionally focus on reducing poverty, fighting malnutrition, replenishing watershed, supporting rural development and promoting gender equality. This also helps achieve a circular economy of ensuring 100% of its products used for packaging or production can be recycled by 2025.

Representatives of the Government of Telangana’s horticulture and groundwater department, who were present at the launch, suggested strengthening farm diversification activities post improvement in water availability through cultivation of vegetable and improved market access.

AB InBev’s existing partnership with ICRISAT has already resulted in the development of 94,000 cubic meters of water storage capacity in pilot villages over the last seven years. To ensure upliftment of communities through women self-help groups, AB InBev’s spent malt initiative, to use it as animal fodder, was promoted as a business model in Fasalvadi and three other villages of Sangareddy. This helped beneficiary households in the area increase their monthly net income by Rs 5,000.

“ICRISAT’s Development Center is leading the way as an innovation broker, connecting entities concerned about giving to their communities. Many countries can learn from India about the role innovation can have in delivering benefits on the ground. ICRISAT has a key opportunity in taking the learnings from the partnership it has with AB InBev to the global community,” said Dr Peter Carberry, Director General, ICRISAT.

AB InBev has been leading several water security initiatives across the country including water reuse within breweries, watershed management for communities around breweries in Rajasthan, Haryana and Telangana along with water harvesting and management activities with barley farmers through its Smart Barley program. Through the setup of Water Health Centers, the company has been instrumental in providing water access to over 100,000 people in Bengaluru.

For more information, please contact:

Bratin Roy +91 983386862 Bratin (dot) roy (at) in (dot) ab-inbev (dot) com
Aditi Krishnan +91 9986906067 aditi (dot) krishnan (at) mslgroup (dot) com