Coca cola The agricultural supply chain is increasingly complex with its numerous products and multiple suppliers,

many of which are small- to medium-scale farmers who have limited training on managing and responding to the challenging environmental, social and economic conditions under which they operate. Because multinational corporations provide a link between these numerous individual suppliers, corporations can take a positive role in helping farmers to successfully meet these challenges and see business success. One key area where multinational companies can be instrumental is in the management of water. With this in mind, BSRs Agricultural Water Initiative has set out to address water management challenges in the supply chain through development of indicators and an assessment tool, and execution of a pilot project to test the initiatives strengths and measure its results. This innovative initiative, geared around 10 primary goals (see the figure below), is farm-focused, since it is at the farm level that change must occur. The initiative aims to empower and motivate farmers through tying its goals and strategies directly to challenges that farmers can easily identify in their own environments and communities. The initiative also aims to engage multinational corporations to help them reduce their impacts and more effectively manage environmental, social and economic challenges that affect the communities around their supply chains. Companies can be involved in reviewing BSRs work at selected points and aiding in the rollout of pilot projects and other programs. The initiative is fully aligned with the Millennium Development Goals, which call for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and for ensuring environmental sustainability, including reducing by half those who lack access to clean and safe drinking water.

Goals of the Agricultural Water Initiative Social Environmental Economic 1. Human Health reduce the incidence of water borne diseases 1. Conservation prevent excessive exploitation of critical natural resources 1. Productivity - increase the crop per drop ratio 2. Equity - increase community access to meet water needs (i.e. drinking water, sanitation) 2. Soil Fertility improve farm land sustainability 2. Security assure water supply sustainability 3. Education - increase awareness of sustainable water management practices 3. Biodiversity preserve natural habitats of plants and animals 3. Farmer Welfare improve farmer income and livelihood of community 4. Gender seek to ensure that women and men are equitably involved in decision making for water allocation management

Testing the Tools in Maharashtra With funding from USAID India and the participation of The Coca-Cola Company and Indian NGO Winrock International, a pilot project was launched in the fall of 2006 in Maharashtra, India. This agricultural region was selected because of its progressive farmers, who have shown a willingness to try out new tools, and because of the significant challenges in water security within the region. Increasing costs for water and irrigation for farmers, limited water access that affects both farmers and citizens in need of drinking water, and feuds with neighboring provinces over water rights have created a crisislevel situation. Along with Winrock, the Agricultural Water Initiative is working directly with farmers in the Maharashtra province to help farmers effectively and efficiently reduce water use and energy consumption while increasing water quality, soil health and biodiversity. A water assessment tool developed to guide efforts was translated into Marathi, the local language in the province. Local field investigators were trained to use this assessment tool to gain an understanding of the operations at each farm they visit. Three sugar mills in the area were selected to participate in the pilot project, as were 10 related farmers in the command area of each of these sugar mills. An initial round of data collection has been performed. Some early results include the following: Majority of sugarcane farmers have small landholdings. Therefore, for any developmental program it would be more cost effective to club farmers into groups Micro-irrigation technologies have not been adopted by farmers, though some have tried and abandoned the practice due to the clogging of pipes (due to pollutants in river water) and tangling of pipes amongst the multiple cane shoots Typical problems associated with canal distribution systems are also seen in this project area. Farmers in the head reach face the problem of water-logging while the tail end farmers do not get sufficient and timely irrigation water Though there are perceived problems of soil degradation due to excessive irrigation, little is currently being done to address this issue Benefits of the Agricultural Water Initiative An initiative such as this provides a number of benefits for companies, suppliers and communities. Companies can gain insight and reliable knowledge about farm-level practices. The initiatives research will help to identify opportunities for improvement within specific commodities and regions, and it will broaden understanding of the social, economic, political and environmental factors that must be considered in formulating approaches to water management. All of this knowledge will be used to create an approach to water management that can serve as a guide and template for developing

solutions regardless of commodity or region. This approach will integrate an examination of issues and questions that are most critical to determining the water sustainability of a region. Companies will also benefit from direct interaction with farmers, which will place companies in a non-threatening position with key stakeholders through expert facilitation by BSR and its local partners. Next Steps in Improving Water Sustainability Following the completion of the pilot project in Maharashtra, BSR will roll out focused trainings targeted at the Maharashtra sugarcane farm community. Subsequently BSR will expand the scope of the Agricultural Water Initiative by including a more diverse set of crops and regions. BSR will also seek participation from additional companies and stakeholders.