Dear Friends,
Greetings for the New Year – May it be a Happy and Prosperous one for you!
But before we forge ahead it behooves us to pause for a few moments and reflect over the happenings in the year that was, as well as the year to come.
Last year was special for IFFCO. On 3rd November 2016, the company entered the 50th year from date of inception.
With the advent of the New year we are moving fast towards the milestone date when this great institution will turn 50 years old.
A momentous milestone by any standards particularly considering the sheer size of the IFFCO family - 6000 employees and 36,000 cooperatives. A time to celebrate the triumphs, deliberate over the tribulations, muse over the memories and finally learn from all of it.
A time to take a bow and feel proud of our achievements. It is my honour to share these achievements with you.
It has been, and will continue to be, my endeavor to do this through outreach meetings with farmers and cooperative members across 125+ locations, in the country. So far I have had the pleasure of addressing 21 such gatherings in 5 states, a program that has never been attempted before. I am confident that I will meet the rest of the family in similar gatherings by the end of October 2017.
The most important achievement is the sheer trust that the cooperatives and the farmers have reposed on IFFCO and its products. I express my sincere gratitude to you for this and reiterate that IFFCO will continue to live up to this trust and do what it takes to nurture the relationship.
IFFCO has matured into an entity of a size and scale to be reckoned with.
However in these challenging times ,maintaining this leadership position is possible only by embracing change, the most significant being technology, even as we preserve our human values.
IFFCO can proudly claim to be an early adapter in the arena of technology. From encouraging the use of bank accounts and emails from way back in 1990s to converting all member cooperatives to doing business online through E-policies. From preparing balance sheets within 3 days of closing accounts, as all data is available online, to sending dividend payments soon after declaring it.
Which brings us to another noteworthy achievement of the organization - 20% dividend to all our cooperative members from the last 15 years.
IFFCO continues its focus on technology by educating farmers and cooperative members on mobile banking and how to manage digitally in a less cash economy. This is being undertaken through training camps in various locations and will soon cover all 125 locations. Thus we will be an integral part of the Digital India program.
Which in turn means that our members can connect to all Govt of India departments and get the benefits of DBT schemes as well as various savings plans, pension & insurance policies and much, much more.
In the arena of sustainability IFFCO’s large scale Energy Saving project will soon make its fertilizer plants one of the most Energy efficient ones.
Another offering that is special is IFFCO bazaar, the one stop solution for farmers. This has taken service to farmers to the next level. So far 60 bazaar outlets have been set up. By the completion of the 50th year this number will be 1000!
Yet another successful project has been JIFCO. This plant has grown into one of the largest producers of Phosphoric acid in the world with 96^ production levels. The plant itself was inaugurated by none other than the King of Jordan and the President of India.
Last but not the least IFFCO is an intrinsic part of the prime Minister’s Swachch Bharat Abhiyan with its contributions at the village level going all the way from building toliets to cleaning whole villages.
All of this would not have been possible without the trust placed on us by our cooperative members and the millions of farmers we are so closely connected with. I once again express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you.
Moving ahead it would be prudent for all of us to continue along the path we have already laid out for ourselves with reinforced dedication,
And renewed energy. This will bring us prosperity with peace.
I invite you to join us in our celebration of the 50 golden years. To know more and participate in the same just log onto our website or our social media accounts.
I close with a heartfelt prayer that you and your family have a wonderful year ahead!
Thank you & warm regards.
Dr. U. S Awasthi
