‘The softer impact is far more significant’
Ruchi Khemka believes the real and long-term benefits of social development efforts — building community ownership and enabling families to live and eat better — often don’t make it to any report. But that, says the corporate social responsibility (CSR) head of Deutsche Bank Group in India, is at the heart of her company’s partnership with the Tata Trusts for the climate-smart agriculture programme in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
How did Deutsche Bank’s partnership with the Tata Trusts come about?
When the Tata Trusts and their on-ground partner, Centre for microFinance (CmF), approached us with this programme proposal for Dausa district, it aligned perfectly with our CSR environment objectives. The programme appealed to us for several reasons. First, it focuses on the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Second, it empowers women farmers and, third, it incorporates community ownership and a co-funding model that ensures sustainability.
In what ways has the collaboration with CmF enriched the programme?
We collaborated with CmF in 2023-24, launching a pilot project to empower 1,000 women farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices. In 2024-25, we renewed the project to support another 1,000 women farmers across 40 villages.
Some significant results from the first year include the adoption of micro-irrigation measures that have reduced groundwater consumption by 30-40%. The sprinkler irrigation method has been particularly successful, with 679 sprinklers installed in the first year.
The installation of 100 biogas systems has improved waste management, created a sustainable energy source and provided an organic fertiliser on the side. Farmers using the biogas slurry save up to 
2,000 every two months on fertiliser costs. Increased crop yields, thanks to enhanced agricultural and irrigation practices from the first year, have not only boosted farmer incomes but also led to the establishment of a mustard oil processing unit.
The formation of a farmer producer entity, the Lalsot Krishijivi Agri Producer Company Limited (LKAPCL), in October last year with 480 women farmers joining as shareholders, has played a crucial role in furthering the initiative’s goals. It has had a four-fold impact: Empowering and establishing women farmers as leaders; fostering financial independence and promoting gender equality; providing them access to quality products; and facilitating direct market linkages.
How does this programme align with Deutsche Bank’s CSR strategy and goals?
As part of our CSR strategy, we are committed to reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. This programme directly contributes to carbon emission reduction while also enhancing the income of women farmers.
Through our partnership with CmF, we train women farmers in climate-smart agricultural practices, including water budgeting, micro-irrigation, cultivation methods, biofertilisers and biogas plants. The project also improves soil quality and farmland productivity, establishing sustainable supply chains and increasing rural household incomes.
One of the project's strengths is complete community participation, ownership, and co-funding of each initiative, ensuring that it is embraced from the outset as the entire community is involved in the decision-making process. Agricultural and institution-building activities are integrated and this cements community engagement and sustainability. Additionally, it creates shared assets such as storage facilities and processing units that are managed by the community.
What have been the outcomes and how do you feel about them?
It’s been a year-and-a-half since we embarked on this partnership and the results have been outstanding. At the end of the first year, we wanted to assess the programme to see if we could invest in it for a second and third year. We have found that there has been a direct increase in income in the community. The biogas plants we have been able to install have created savings for the family while also providing quality manure for crops, which has led to more financial gains.
While these are outcomes you can call out, there is a softer impact as well. The women farmers are empowered and have a voice in the family as earning members. They have more income in hand, which means the family is eating better and living healthier lives. In the long term, this additional income has ensured that the families are no longer struggling to make ends meet, that they can send their children to school instead of putting them to work.
What takeaways from this programme could be applied to other (and future) CSR projects undertaken by Deutsche Bank?
This project has demonstrated the importance of a clear vision and aligned execution. The impact achieved in just one year highlights what can be accomplished with strong community participation.
As a corporate citizen, Deutsche Bank plays an active role in helping build equitable and inclusive communities. This includes supporting projects that help communities become more climate-resilient, and our collaboration with CmF aligns perfectly with our environmental goals. We aim to expand and scale the programme to reach many more households, villages and women farmers.
The goal for each intervention is for the communities to eventually adopt and implement good practices independently, becoming leaders in their region and training women farmers in neighbouring villages.
I believe the core of a successful programme is when you are able to exit it and let it run on its own. Over time, if we are able to create more farmer producer companies and they can micro-fund the work of future farmers in new programme areas — that would be a desirable outcome.
On a personal level, what has been the most rewarding aspect of leading this initiative?
The most rewarding aspect is the irreversible change we bring to the lives of rural people. The project not only has a strong environmental impact, but it also empowers women-led rural households, resulting in increased income and strengthening their role in uplifting their families and the broader community.