Responsible Growing
We’re committed to creating a responsible supply chain by supporting farmer livelihoods and reducing the environmental impacts of growing rice.
Our 2023 impact highlights
1,270
Rice farmers joined our Sustainable Farming Project to cut methane emissions, water consumption and energy use.
45%
Reduction in methane emissions delivered by farmers using Alternate Wet Drying (AWD) techniques compared to traditional techniques.
36%
Reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per kg of rice compared to traditional techniques.
Reducing the climate impacts of growing rice
We’re creating a more sustainable rice supply chain by partnering with the farmers who grow our rice. Our aim is to encourage all our basmati farmers to switch to climate-friendly methods of growing rice, along with farmers who do not supply Tilda.
Traditional rice farming methods produce large amounts of methane, a significant contributor to climate change. But there is a more sustainable way to grow rice, called the alternate wet and dry (AWD) irrigation technique. It reduces the amount of time rice plants are flooded, cutting emissions and saving water.
We started to test AWD techniques in the field with a small group of our farmers in 2021. We extended the programme to 700 farmers in 2022 and started to collect data direct from farms.
In 2023, the project expanded to 1,270 farmers in 2023 and we published our first data to demonstrate the impressive outcomes they have achieved.
Alternate Wet Drying
Protecting Biodiversity
Protecting biodiversity in and around rice fields is crucial to the health and resilience of the environment and farming communities.
Our farmer assistance programme guides some 2,500 basmati farmers on how to use Integrated Pest Management to move away from using pesticides, reducing their environmental footprint and protecting biodiversity.
We supply free pheromone traps so farmers can monitor pest levels in fields for more targeted and reduced use of crop protection. We also provide straw bundles that create a habitat for spiders which are a natural form of pest control.
In 2023, farmers reduced their environmental footprint associated with crop protection practices by 80% as a result of our work together.
Supporting farming family livelihoods
We support around 2,500 basmati farmers in the Indian states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with advice and equipment during the growing season.
This helps them reduce their costs, increase productivity and boost income levels. Farmers sign up for our programme annually in return for meeting specific environmental and quality standards.
When they sell their rice to us – and there is no requirement to do so, they can choose who they sell their rice to even with our support – the farmers receive a price premium on top of the market price for meeting our standards.
This provides a secure outlet for their rice and a degree of income security, in return for helping to protect the environment.
The results are in!
We now have impact data to show the outcomes that we are achieving through our sustainability efforts with farmers. The data shows the potential of AWD and changes to crop protection practices to massively reduce the impacts of the global rice supply chain.
Increased yields of nearly 7%
Improved farmer gross income by nearly 10% per hectare
Reduced the amount of pesticide active ingredient applied by about 70% per kg of rice
Resulted in a larger 80% reduction in the environmental footprint associated with the use of crop protection products as measured by an indicator known as the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ)
Reduced fertiliser use by 25% per kg of rice
Cut electricity use by 27% per kg of rice
Reduced the amount of water required for irrigation by 28% per kg of rice
Reduced carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 36% per kg of rice
Find more detail about our purpose and the positive changes we’re making by reading our latest impact report.
Read our 2023-24 Impact Report
We’re proud to be a B Corp!
This means that we have demonstrated high standards of social and environmental performance and are dedicated to using our business as a force for good. B Corp brings more transparency to our work and provides a framework for further progress. We are committed to putting people and planet at the heart of what we do, and recognise that there is much work to do to drive sustainability across the rice industry.
