New Delhi: DS Group, a multi-business corporation and a leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) conglomerate, launched #SaluteTheFarmHER on the International Women’s Day, aiming to highlight the contribution of female farmers in agriculture. The Group intends to take a step towards acknowledging and honouring their contributions.

In India, approximately 54.6 percent of the total workforce is employed in agricultural and allied sector activities. Although it is widely perceived as a male-dominated industry, as per the Niti Ayog, agriculture employs about 80 percent of rural women. The DS Group felt the need to raise awareness, empower and give credit to the rural women workforce for their efforts.

Conceptualized by Grapes, the execution began by releasing a video to bring this gap to the attention of the public. The video showed that when kids were asked to draw a farmer, most of them conjured up the image of a male. To change this perception, the Group intends to approach leading media houses, agricultural bloggers, and stock footage portals to make a small change that is to include images of both male and female farmers while covering relevant news.

Talking about the initiative, a spokesperson from DS Group said: “At DS Group, our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are designed on the principles that indigenous knowledge and skills of the local community are important towards sustainable development. We look at a holistic approach to add value, from creating awareness to implementation and ensuring sustainability. In new India, rural women are leading the change in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. Empowering them can make way for a substantial leap towards the growth of the economy.”

Shraddha Agrawal, Co-Founder and CEO, Grapes, spoke about the campaign, “Today, when all of us regularly turn to digital for all of our needs, wants, queries and much more, how something is represented in the online space has become all the more critical. The representation of female farmers, however, is severely lacking. And due recognition is quite necessary in order to garner opportunities for equitable growth. So, the #SaluteThe farmHER is a small step in that direction with the hope of initiating larger change.”

DS Group firmly believes in upholding a set of values that promote the common good, and their CSR activities are an integral part of the Group’s business objectives. The Group endeavors for the sustainable well-being of the stakeholder communities by addressing economic, environmental, and social issues and challenges.